*
"... There's no way in hell that's okay!" (Present Sariel)
"So... Have you changed?" (Middle school Sariel)
"... There's no way you think otherwise!" (Present Sariel)
"... You're right." (Middle school Sariel)
A smile bloomed on her youthful face, as if she got full marks on a test. Without any friends, it was realistic for her to get full marks on a few test these past few years. She was always seen as a role model, but it was only because she couldn't dedicate her time to anything else. Mundanity, there was nothing else to it.
Even if the current her thinks about it now, it was impossible to change the past. There was nothing Sariel could do about anything, she remains as powerless as all those other times. And even if she did have the power like when she met Erida, she didn't have the courage to reach out.
"Stupid, have you not learned from the past?" (Kindergarten Sariel)
"It's fine to run. Would it not be fine to fight for what you want as well?" (Elementary school Sariel)
"I know best, there's always something more important than you believe. Something you have to take for yourself, don't you?" (Middle school Sariel)
The 3 figures stand atop a world of darkness, the moment she blinked she was back in the present, waking up from the moment she was knocked unconscious with the wind pressure of Lastia's fist.
Pivoting on one foot, the other swung high and slammed tightly into Lastia's body. It struck the dark scarlet light protecting her body, and it felt like she hit pure crystals firmer than any metal.
She stepped back and braced herself to continue fighting. What her past selves tried to tell her... Was that it wasn't all pointless. She was here now, she learned from the mistakes of the past. Slowly, she built herself up. It's fine to mess up, she's no longer the same as before, she couldn't be. At the same time, she's the exact same person, she simply learned and grew a little stronger at heart. It was okay to be as weak as she is, and it's definitely okay to fight for what she believed in right now. The fact that she was fighting instead of compromising or letting up, the fact that she was singlehandedly driven by her desires right now was enough proof.
Prioritise yourself, love yourself more. Loving yourself is the best way to repay your parents and those who care for you. That's why, she must selfishly insist on her desires, and beat down Lastia! She was a single rank above Lastia, and Lastia was immobile! That's why...!
She slammed her leg into the thick coating once more, causing a crack in the same spot. She avoided Lastia's fist with ease, the struck Lastia's fist with her own devastating punch. Lastia's arm bends the wrong way, destroying her bones with her shrill cry.
"Kghh!! Playing with ranks now, huh?" (Lastia)
"You never revoked my access..." (Sariel)
"Yggdrasil's capabilities are beyond my control." (Lastia)
A blatant lie. Sariel keeps to herself quietly. She didn't know what Lastia was planning, but she won't stop taking advantage of this odd lie. Her body flashed past its usual speed, vanishing before reappearing, over and over, until multiple Sariel's seemed to show up in Lastia's vision. Showering her barrier in kicks and punches, more cracks formed and the light ball began to seep in.
Lastia crouched down onto one knee, repairing her barrier and lowering the amount of surface area exposed. She had to think of a quick plan, hiding in here wouldn't do anything. At this point Sariel was finally using all of her power, she wouldn't last much longer even with yggdrasil's help, so waiting it out was completely viable.
If she was a coward, that is.
"... Yggdrasil, compress the barrier until it's as thin as fabric and recalibrate to account for all damage factors." (Lastia)
With her barrier becoming thinner, it was easier to transmit the force in Sariel's physical attacks through the barrier and break Lastia's bones. But... She doesn't budge even after a few punches in the same spot. All damage factors include Sariel, the defensive power has now taken Sariel's sttacks into account, making it near impossible for Sariel to damage her.
"Let's do this too. {Swap}, recalibrate to the same thickness." (Sariel)
With the click of her fingers, the white ball of light has been compressed further into something resembling a white barrier for Lastia. It was hard for Lastia to see anything, but she hasn't been using her sight for quite a while now. She can sense the magic in the air through Yggdrasil and was calculating locations of objects based on that. This was the usage of her own computing power, instead of yggdrasil's.
"There." (Lastia)
She stepped to the side and swung her fist, hitting Sariel squarely in the torso.
"...!?" (Sariel)
She spat out drool and blood in disbelief, slowing down before warily staring at Lastia.
"Prediction." (Lastia)
She pointed to her head with a delighted tone. Sariel couldn't see her expression, but she expected to see a smug smile if the light were to come off.
Even with predictions, it required perfect and precise execution. Lastia would be forced to manufacture the flow of battle in a way that made Sariel ram herself into Lastia's fist. With agility beyond perception, Sariel swung her foot into the air and slammed it onto Lastia's head. The ground below her cracked in protest and her posture broke. Her arms failed and one of her legs slipped under her. She tucked her arms in and thrusted her leg forward, without any sense of bodily balance Lastia was still able to dish out a frontal kick into Sariel's abdomen.
The impact blew her body back a few steps, but nothing more. Sariel's posture didn't even break, she leapt into the air and prepared the next wave of attacks. Starting off with a spin kick, Lastia braced herself but still couldn't do much about it. She didn't fall over this time, but Sariel wasn't planning on stopping just here.
Working a couple of feints with her fist, her third punch slammed into Lastia, then her forth and so on. She rained punches over and over, shattering the barrier like pelleting a machine gun's rounds into a window. Blood flew out and the light seeped in to burn her flesh. Prediction was nothing to overwhelming strength. Simply hit her with attacks that she can't dodge, block or counter.
The scarlet light repairs her barrier once more, but even that shatters just as fast. Computation and distribution of energy couldn't handle the attack, as Sariel was hitting Lastia before the energy could gather and form a durable shield. Her barrier was destroyed while incomplete, warding off none of the attacks.