Meanwhile, Arisu almost dropped her jaws as she closely watched the duo’s display of power. On one hand, Kazuichi’s blows had the power comparable to hand grenades, each with pinpoint accuracy.

On the other, the woman defended with grace and ease. It was clear that they were on the same level, and the advantage could tip to one side at any point. Arisu pursed her lips. The fight continued to wear on.

As they circled each other, the tension between them crackled like electricity. Kazuichi feinted left, then darted right, his fist streaking towards the woman’s unprotected flank. She twisted, her torso rotating to intercept the blow, but Kazuichi anticipated her move. In a split second, he redirected his strike, his fist colliding with her ribcage with bone-crushing force.

The woman grunted, the impact reverberating through her body, but her defenses held firm. She retaliated with a rapid series of punches, each one aimed with deadly precision. Kazuichi weaved through the barrage, his superspeed allowing him to dodge and counter with equal ferocity. The air around them seemed to crackle as their fists and feet met, a relentless storm of violence and power.

With a sudden burst of speed, Kazuichi closed the distance between them, his muscles coiling and releasing like a spring. He landed a powerful uppercut that lifted the woman off her feet, her body arcing through the air before crashing into the side of a ruined building. The structure groaned and collapsed, burying her beneath a mountain of rubble.

For a moment, silence reigned. Kazuichi stood, panting, his muscles still thrumming with the aftershocks of the battle. But he knew better than to assume victory. The woman was a Bulwark, and her resilience was legendary.

The rubble shifted, and with a deafening roar, the woman burst free, her eyes blazing with fury. She was battered and bruised, but her defenses remained unbroken. With a speed that belied her size, she charged at Kazuichi, her fists a blur of motion.

Kazuichi met her assault head-on, his own fists flying in a desperate attempt to break through her impenetrable defense. The ground beneath them quaked with each impact, the very air vibrating with the force of their blows. Despite his best efforts, Kazuichi’s strikes seemed to do little more than annoy the woman, her Bulwark defenses absorbing the brunt of his attacks.

"This is not working." Kazuichi clicked his tongue as he blocked a flurry of kicks coming from the woman. He then ducked before activating his core, unleashing a counter-kick that sent the woman tumbling backwards.

Momentarily, he was able to widen the gap between them.

"Don’t aim for her body, Kazuichi. You’ll just tire yourself out. Incapacitate her, you know, aim for appendages or joins or something." On the sidelines, Arisu was beginning to panic.

She knew that the longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for Kazuichi since the woman clearly had more endurance than him.

"Got it, thanks." Kazuichi pursed his lips.

Realizing he needed a new approach, Kazuichi shifted his strategy. Instead of focusing on brute strength, he began to utilize his superspeed more creatively. He darted around the woman, striking at her exposed joints and weak points with lightning-fast jabs and kicks. Each hit was precise, aimed at destabilizing her and forcing her to expend energy maintaining her defenses.

The woman growled in frustration, her movements growing more erratic as she struggled to keep up with Kazuichi’s relentless assault. She swung wildly, her fists cleaving through the air with bone-crushing force, but Kazuichi was always one step ahead, his speed allowing him to dance out of reach at the last possible moment.

Seeing an opening, Kazuichi surged forward, his muscles bulging as he delivered a devastating blow to the woman’s knee. The joint buckled, and she staggered, her defenses momentarily compromised. Seizing the opportunity, Kazuichi unleashed a flurry of strikes, each one aimed at her now-vulnerable torso.

The woman’s defenses crumbled under the onslaught, her Bulwark muscles unable to keep up with the sheer speed and precision of Kazuichi’s attacks. With a final, earth-shattering punch, Kazuichi drove his fist through her chest, shattering her ribcage just enough to not kill her.

Air escaped the lungs of the woman as she let out a gasp. Her eyes seemed to beg for mercy as it peered into Kazuichi’s soul. Guiltily, Kazuichi grabbed the woman by the shoulders and sat her down.

Finally, she had lost her will to fight.

The woman collapsed to the ground, her body twitching as she fell into unconsciousness. Kazuichi stood over her, his breath ragged and his muscles quivering with exhaustion. He had won, his body was battered and bruised, his muscles aching from the exertion.

"Well... I’m alive, I guess." Kazuichi let out a sigh of relief as he too collapsed on the ground. "Still, this woman is strong... probably on par with Arisu. I can’t believe I won that on adrenaline rush alone."

"To think you could already fight against a Stage III, and a Bulwark at that." Arisu concernedly said as she checked the visible parts of Kazuichi’s body. "Looks like you didn’t suffer any deadly wounds."

Honestly, if Kazuichi hadn’t gone all out, he would’ve died the moment the woman tapped into her Hybrid powers. And adding to that, Kazuichi knew that the woman didn’t use all of her powers. She only covered her torso with her Blood Arts when she could’ve done more.

"What are we going to do with her? Should we leave her?" To be fair, Arisu was skeptical about bringing the woman with them, but they couldn’t just leave her out in the open where she was vulnerable to undead attacks.

Not to mention, she has a curvaceous body as well, but it wasn’t as noticeable due to the dirt and grime all over her body.

"Should we bring her? I mean..." Jerking his thumb towards the mountain of undead corpses, Kazuichi implied that they didn’t have to hunt for Omega Zombies.

After all, the meteorite ores were right there, they could simply harvest it and head home. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"I’m not carrying her." Arisu outrightly rejected before walking towards the pile and getting meteorite ores from the motionless undead.