"Wait wait wait~!" Kazuichi panicked, putting his hands up to guard Arisu’s kick. However, that didn’t mitigate the damage at all. He could’ve sworn he heard a crack when the attack connected, and his arm limply hung in a weird way as he was forced to put it down.

Even though Kazuichi was a Hybrid and should be much more powerful than Arisu, he felt like he was losing. Somehow, Arisu was overpowering him despite being a Hound— which was known for its burst and speed, not its powerful attacks.

With a fluid motion, Arisu supported her entire body with her arm, twisting her wrists so she could produce more torque. Flexing her core, she once again delivered another kick at Kazuichi, sending him flying before he even realized what hit him.

"Oi~!" Kazuichi called out, but before he could even go up, Arisu was right in front of his face, intimidating him with her bloodthirsty gaze before she pinned her down on the ground. Just when Kazuichi finally caught up to what was going on, Arisu was already choking him.

Although this was the first time they met after a long time, Arisu already saw Kazuichi in combat, and she somewhat knew the limits to his power and she utilized it to her advantage. If it weren’t for that fight with the Merc by the forest, Arisu wouldn’t have known just how powerful he was.

That estimate was unexpectedly too accurate, and Arisu managed to overpower Kazuichi. In hindsight, she attacked him while his guard was down so that gave her the upper hand.

Out of desperation, Kazuichi tightened his neck in hopes that he could stop Arisu from choking him. To his surprise, it worked, and Arisu couldn’t even squeeze his neck anymore. Forcing a smile on his face, Kazuichi gritted his teeth as he let out a comment. "I can’t believe you’re into this kind of thing, Arisu."

That moment was enough for Kazuichi to turn the tables. Catching Arisu by surprise with his misplaced comment, Arisu softened and Kazuichi rolled over. This time, it was he who pinned Arisu on the ground, and Arisu still clutched his neck as if her life depended on it.

And then Arisu smiled as if she was planning something. Without warning, Arisu twisted her leg at an insane angle, and then she sliced at Kazuichi’s arm using the blade on her calves.

Like butter, Arisu swiftly cut both Kazuichi’s arms, causing him to keel over as Arisu dodged out of the way. A smirk appeared on her face while Kazuichi reattached his lost limbs.

Since Arisu separated herself from Kazuichi, he finally had the leisure to activate his Blood Art.

"Uoaghhh~!" Kazuichi clenched his fists and let out a scream as if he was turning berserk mode. He could feel the power surging from within, and he knew that his Blood Arts were about to surface.

However, Arisu somersaulted and launched herself at Kazuichi, slamming her legs onto his chest before he could continue his weird scream. With an oomph, Kazuichi felt the air knocked out of his lungs as he wheezed in pain. He struggled to stand up due to the intense kick Arisu forced on him.

Feeling his chest, he could’ve sworn that Arisu broke a rib or two. It was hastily repaired by his system though so there was no need to worry about the injury.

As Kazuichi went on all fours in a poor attempt to stand up, Arisu dove forward, grabbing Kazuichi by the head and slamming her knee on his nose.

Kazuichi felt her knee to his brain and his skull rattled violently. Disoriented, Kazuichi grab Arisu by her leg and slammed her on the ground.

That’s when he felt something click inside. In an instant, his Blood Art activated, and all his appendages ballooned in size. Quite frankly, the newfound strength he felt was so weird, and it was difficult for him to control it. Although he only swayed his hand while holding Arisu by her ankle, she was slammed to the ground and a huge crater was formed.

Blood and saliva escaped her mouth but that didn’t stop her from lashing out at Kazuichi, aiming the blade on her calves at his arm.

Ting!

"What the—" Kazuichi said to himself when Arisu’s blade just bounced off of his arm. Somehow, his arm was as durable as the formed blade on Arisu’s calves. Flashing her teeth at Kazuichi, Arisu struggled until Kazuichi finally let go of her leg.

She had already accomplished her initial goal of helping Kazuichi activate his Blood Art at will. Nevertheless, she didn’t stop attacking him like a feral beast.

This time, Arisu moved faster than usual, her blades slicing through the air and it sounded like cracking whips. Fortunately, Kazuichi could still follow her movements, but her afterimages blurred whenever she changed direction. If it were a normal person looking at Arisu, he’d barely be able to see her.

"Oi~ Arisu?" Kazuichi asked since they should’ve already been done with training. But Arisu relentlessly kept on attacking for some reason.

"You. Have. To. Control. Your. Power. Output." Arisu explained... but that was just her way of reasoning out.

After all, the moment she planted her knee on Kazuichi’s face, Kazuichi felt like her attacks were too personal.

...

BOOM!

From a distance, Amaya and Tris heard a couple of huge booming sounds and it piqued their curiosity. Then again, they couldn’t risk checking it since they were defenseless. Of course, Tris was confident about fighting a zombie head-to-head. However, she doubt that she’d be able to stand against a Hybrid.

"What was that?" Amaya asked glancing at her sister and indirectly telling her to check it out.

"I don’t know. I’ll check and come back, okay?" Tris responded with a gulp. She knew that she had to do it since it might be a threat that Arisu and Kazuichi might be oblivious about. If that were the case, then she was the only one who could deal with it.

Sneakily, Tris got out of their hiding spot and lightly jogged toward the source of the noise. She was skillful when it came to sneaking around, hence she could survive this long in the apocalypse.

"Wait isn’t that... oh well, I guess I should just leave them alone." Tris shrugged, realizing where the sound was coming from.