Envy's Ford [Vanyel, Veralia]

Even though there was no physical view of the ability, Vanyel could tell that there had been something that his hand hit when it made contact with Veralia's, something akin to spiritual steel -- Hierro. From what he could tell, their pure strength through that clash was relatively even. Good information to have, but it also likely meant that she had a different specialty.

Right as he drew his arm back to make another swift attack, Veralia leapt backward. Slippery, with a defensive coating -- and, that brief fiery burst gave way to even further ideas. Continuing to subconsciously monitor the flow of energy through his body, the notion of swiftness briefly made him think to the feats of the Monkey King from A Journey to the West. As Veralia released a series of pressurized air and emerald slashes toward him, he let the flow of the energy creep toward his legs, building and ripening.

'Now...release it!'

Like the Monkey King, who soared across the world and through the clouds in a single bound, the energy surged outward, the burst of speed akin to a Shinigami's Shunpo or an Arrancar's Sonido allowed him to clumsily fire to the side, avoiding the first attack.

'Again!'

The process repeated -- faster than the first as he danced between the ranged attacks. It wasn't as clean as it used to be before all of this happened, it still needed some refinement, and he wasn't able to dodge all of the emerald slashes, getting cut up a bit during the process, but, it still was something that gave him a bit more sudden mobility.

Pushing off the ground with one more burst of speed, he launched forward, aiming a high kick toward Veralia's head as he closed in, following with a swift drawing of a jet-black jian. Regardless of whether or blocked, or even if she tried to grab his leg, the years he had spent fighting, his experience combatting and mastering so many different forms of martial arts, would allow him to quickly adapt, pouring energy into the weapon and swiping at her with just as much ferocity as he had without a weapon.

Right now, it was a battle of attrition, with its resource being information.

Veralia's eyes moved like bullets as she observed the man's movements. A smirk formed on her face as she would have to put in some effort to clutch this battle, given her initial impressions of his speed. Not wasting time, a flow of energy enhanced her hierro so she could tank the blows that struck her head. Given the dangerous heat flowing from her body, Vanyel may even find himself taking mild damage from the fiery aura pulsating from her body.

Without squandering a moment, Veralia unleashed a wall of flames, pushing outward in a fierce wave to repel Vanyel and carve out space between them. She then retreated several feet back, her movements fluid and purposeful. Using Sonido, she blurred across the distance, aiming a powerful drop-kick at his head, intent on cratering the ground beneath them.

As chunks of rock and dirt scattered for a few feet, even if her foot missed the mark, Veralia's heart would be pumping as a small hissing noise escaped her mouth from the spectacle taking place before her. Eyes alit with an emerald flame, her claws protruded out as she licked her lips and prepared to see what this human could do.

He wasn't surprised that his attacks weren't doing much, despite hitting their mark. An Arrancar's Hierro was especially frustrating to work around, and hers seemed especially tough. However, the searing aura that she had didn't allow him to maintain close-range for very long, his skin starting to turn red as he quickly bolted backward in response, right as she unleashed the wall of flames.

Even as he kept a steady retreat, the lingering heat lightly singed his skin until he made it to a more immediately safe distance. But, despite that, he wasn't given much time to rest, as he could sense her energy signature swiftly closing in. Without thinking, he swung his sword to his left, cutting through a nearby tree with little effort.

Infusing a small amount of energy into the weapon, he tossed it to the side and let it get buried into the ground as he quickly stepped to the side and unleashed a powerful kick to the tree, both reinforcing it with energy to keep it from breaking, as well as sending it flying toward the incoming Veralia, reaching a hand out to call the discarded sword back to his hand through the energy he left in it.

Even if she broke through the tree, he braced himself for her dropkick, raising his arms above his head and reinforcing his sword with energy to use as defense. Yet, even with his shift to defense, he still gathered energy, allowing it to expand and ripen as it channeled through his body and focusing into his hand.

However, his thoughts were split between the fight, and the illustrations he had drawn and written notes on earlier -- fire's motion and energy, the warm amber of the sun after a storm, and the light, parting the darkened clouds.

Veralia had no intentions of wasting physical strength to tear through the tree. With abundant kinetic energy generated from her movements, she cackled out, ready to attack. The Envious Arrancar manifested a powerful gust of wind that was used to deflect and throw the trees into the nearby grasslands with a damning crunching noise that echoed in the area around them.

With her adrenaline pumping, she snarled out happily before using her soindo to try to position herself behind Vanyel.

"Desirous Blitz`"

Talking in a hushed tone, this whisper of an incantation foreshadowed what was to come. Her hands became drenched in fire before she unleashed a fury of strikes toward his back, hoping to overwhelm Vanyel with a barrage of strikes, combining her strength and speed.

Her assault was not merely driven by fury; it was meticulously calculated. She targeted his shoulder blades to potentially impair Vanyel's arm movements, reducing his ability to wield his sword effectively. Simultaneously, she aimed at his lower back, specifically the kidney area, aiming to inflict excruciating pain and significantly weaken him.

It was a gamble, but one worth taking.

Though he didn't expect her to use an unorthodox method to get the obstruction removed, it was valuable information as to what she was capable of, as well as potential proclivities toward certain methods within combat. But, before he could aptly respond, he could sense her energy signature moving behind him, too quickly for him to be able to turn around as Veralia unleashed a flurry of attacks.

However, even with such swift, punishing blows, it wasn't enough to incapacitate him. He'd taken far worse from far stronger people. Thus, despite seeming to fall, Vanyel released his knees, shoulders, and hips, his arms moved forward to break his descent. In a single swift motion, his hands pressed against the ground, supporting his body as his leg suddenly tore upward to kick Veralia in the jaw with the explosive speed and force of a truck.

A variation of the Knee Release and Manji Kick from the Taido martial arts created on the fly, Vanyel was quick to adapt, lifting one of his hands to quickly allow him to turn in a move that some would say felt more at home in a breakdance routine, swiftly spinning to both face her and follow-up his attack with two more kicks to the face, before leaping forward to either launch another kick, or simply to get back onto his feet.

Well, that hurt, eh?

Veralia briefly saw stars as she felt the swift kick from Vanyel rock her jaw. She could feel the burning and heavy weight of a clear hit against her. In response, her mouth spit out whatever saliva was left and she went into analysis mode. His movements seemed far more refined than hers, the strength behind his hits was manageable. And given he wasn't a bloody mess on the forest floor, she figured his durability was durable enough to last in a prolonged fight, perhaps—no way to know that without testing that theory.

The air around her shimmered with intense green fire as she channeled her envy and rage into a kinetic force. As she moved, the very space seemed to split, creating a visible distortion—a weaponized aura that sought not just to defend but to aggressively dissect the onslaught from Vanyel.

As Vanyel turned around to continue his assault, trailing the momentum of his spinning kick, came slicing through the air towards her—but it met not flesh, but a barrier of blazing energy. The impact sparked a cascade of emerald flames, and instead of finding his target, his leg encountered the harsh resistance of her counterattack. The kinetic energy he had so skillfully harnessed was now a double-edged sword, his own force turned against him, threatening to slice through his defenses.

Then, with a low dangerous laugh, she narrowed her gaze at him and commented

"Your hits have finesse to them; I might be able to level up from this if I study ya a bit."

The sudden feeling of his leg heating up forced Vanyel to shift back to defense, twisting himself and using his hands to catapult himself backward not long after his leg made contact with the wall of burning energy. In a brief panic, Vanyel's thoughts shifted to that of water in response to the sudden blaze forming on his leg. The cool, soothing, refreshing feeling washed over his mind as he frantically swatted at his burning pant leg.

Instinct forced him to suddenly ejected a brief wave of the collected energy from his hand over his leg, infused with those properties. Or, at least some of them. The fire was extinguished, and his leg went from one extreme to the other, but despite the light shivering and stinging as a result, Vanyel was able to hold firm, thankful that he had at least managed to get rid of the initial problem.

A hand slowly reached for his chest, taking in a deep breath to calm his racing heart. This Arrancar had pretty nasty defenses that could mix in with her offense. But, like she elucidated herself, the knowledge that these existed warranted study. So, shifting his footwork and adopting a low stance, Vanyel slowly started to recite one of the most base components of stance and movement training in baguazhang: circle-walking.

As he picked up his discarded sword, he thought back to his prior actions during this spar -- the motions he had gone through so many times before, prior to his transformation into a demon. He could tell that his body remembered them, and in his soul, he could remember how his energy felt, how to manipulate it and channel it, the knowledge of how to execute what he had thought was lost.

This was not just a time to study his opponent, but to take time to also reflect and study himself, his own actions, and how they all came together. With a brief flourish, Vanyel's foot pressed down harshly into the dirt, before suddenly charging forward in a brief, low-reaching leap. Despite having an advantage in reach, Vanyel allowed himself to move closer before suddenly twisting his grip and thrusting the pommel of his sword toward Veralia's stomach.

Even if she put up that burning barrier again, or simply let it collide with her Hierro, Vanyel would steel himself to continue his assault, a mixture of aggressive slashes, as well as powerful low and high strikes from his free hand, as well as his legs.

Veralia observed that no movement was wasted with Vanyel regarding his defensive and offensive actions. Focusing her senses to relax and focus, she exhaled a soft release of breath as her eyes further narrowed to anticipate what was to come next from the man.

As Vanyel’s sword pommel drove toward her, Veralia’s core tensed, bracing for impact. The force collided with her, but the sensation was more akin to striking a wall of living flame. The heat of her own aura flared up, a searing defense against his relentless advance. Pain bloomed beneath the surface, a bruise forming where the sword met her flesh, but she stifled the discomfort, her body moving on instinct.

The follow-up of relentless slashes aimed to tear and rip her to pieces made Veralia chuckle. With her reflexes that had been honed through centuries of conflict, her body acted on it's own to duck, weave and make her way through the series of cuts from his blade. It was excelling in its own right as her eyes lit with desire.

Yet, even as she evaded the blade, his free hand and legs kept her on the defensive, pressing her with an unexpected ferocity. The hits felt like a constant barrage of pressure beginning to gnaw and slither into her muscles and body.

This wasn't ideal to tank forever, so in the blink of an eye, she inhaled before exhaling and pulling the blazing heat of her internal flames out of her lungs in an exhale of destruction as if she were a dragon. She didn’t flinch, her gaze locked on him, curious to see if this would test his endurance.

Surely, he could withstand it. And if not? The forest...well, it had seen worse from the battle so far.

That slippery nature of hers was frustrating to deal with, since even if he kept with the aggression and forced her to remain on the defensive, it didn't matter if she was able to dodge his attacks. But, he knew that even she couldn't keep dodging forever. Even the fastest people would eventually make a mistake, whether it be from exhaustion, a misplaced thought, or something else. He just needed to try and make sure that he outlasted her.

But, then she did something unexpected. Before he had a chance to think of his next move, she had taken in a breath, unleashing a hellish deluge on the exhale. Without being able to do much, Vanyel's instincts forced him to bring his arms close to protect his face. It hurt, that much was unquestionable, but, he pushed through it without even so much as flinching.

Not a whimper nor groan, Vanyel only slid back as the flames enveloped him. Even as he tried to coat himself in a film of energy to protect himself a bit more, his skin still reddened from the searing flames, any moisture remaining on it drying out. Forced to retreat, Vanyel leapt backwards, slashing at the trunk of a nearby tree, grabbing ahold of it even as it burned with him, before hurling it at Veralia with the force and speed of a semi-truck.

If nothing else, it'd at least interrupt the breath attack enough for him to get a moment's rest and think of a new plan.

"Alright, you're strong."

No malice was held in her voice, but rather an intrigue as she observed the man. Even though her attacks injured him, lesser men would now be burnt to a crisp. So, as she saw a tree trunk heading toward her, the woman mimicked Vanyel's thought patterns and jumped upwards to give herself some distance and time to evaluate things further.

"What's the deal with your techniques? Could have sworn you were going to use something watery in one of our earlier exchanges."

Her body remained poised, ready to react instinctively to any sudden movement, but she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Projecting her voice across the distance between them, she continued.

"But damn, you’ve got good hands and a good body. What’s with your hand-to-hand? You move with impressive fluidity."