Belle was launched for the umpteenth time by the Butcher. It was its axe versus the nikana and sword of extermination in Belle's hands, and she was losing ground, accumulating injuries her ether/mana reserves worked to repair.
*CRUMBLE!*
Belle staggered out of a destroyed wall and backflipped away from the next axe swing while swinging the sword of extermination at the Butcher's large face plate. A shallow cut and the loud scraping of metal against metal is all that happened. Then, she was sent flying with a lightning fast punch that kicked the air from her lungs and bruised her ribs.
*THUMP!*
"Fuck!" Belle cursed, gritting her teeth as she flew down the ruined trainyard, metal arm latching on to a metal railing.
She felt the strain on her body as the metal warped around her hybrid arm. Her body spinning around the frame to bleed off the momentum before she stood up again and spotted the Butcher absolutely hauling ass to chase after her, like a pitbull named 'Princess' to a mailman. Belle grunted, seeing its use of mana to practically teleport short distances.
"God damn it.."
[Master, the Dead End Butcher seems to be using the Class: Assassin skills for speed and the Class: Tank skills for defense]
It was true. Its body was originally tough but adding those colored mana crystals to it made it gain class skills. Belle knew it hadn't even used most of those skills yet either. It was kiting her, like it was sentient.
Belle started running, moving away from the pursuing monster and leaping across stationary train cars.
[Master, you have three currently viable options. One, flee the Hollow before the Ethereal catches you. Chance of success: 13.05%. Two, wait for reinforcements from the Cunning Hares agency and fight the Ethereal together. Chance of success: 07%. Three, activate Mahoraga abilities and continue to fight the Ethereal. Chance of success: 50.07%.]
'If I run toward a Hollow exit, it'll just speed up and attack more relentlessly. If I spend the energy to adapt.. it'll bisect me long before any adaptation happens. Why is waiting for reinforcements so low?' Belle asked in her head, cursing as she kept running, feeling the Butcher getting closer but not quite catching up.
[Answer: Nicole Demara, Anby Demara, Nekomiya Mana and Billy will be prioritized by the Ethereal and killed, lowering Master's chance of survival.]
Belle felt something in her gut clench at that prediction. It wasn't exactly wrong though. Nicole and the others were not prepared to fight this thing. And the distress of losing them would really hinder her and likely get her killed. All she knew was that the Butcher was playing with her, driving her away from Hollow exits and toward an area that had higher Ether activity.
'Explain why fighting has the highest option.' Belle demanded while running toward a large, circular area she recognized from canon as the place where they fought the Butcher.
[Answer: High amounts of Ether detected in this area will rapidly refuel Master's energy reserves, allowing for continuous use of 'Reverse Cursed Technique' until Adaptation.]
'So it becomes an endurance test.. Can I endure long enough to Adapt to everything or will he destroy me so thoroughly I can't heal? Fuck it.. I guess we'll see.' Belle slid to a stop, pushing her template on as her hair bleached from blue to white and the Dharma wheel floated above her head.
*CLAAAAANG!!!*
The next moment, the Butcher employed the assassin movement skill and struck Belle's blade, hard enough to drive the Blade of Extermination into her ribs, cutting across her flesh and breaking her ribs. Before she could fly away again, the Butcher reappeared behind her and caught her in one hand and slammed her into the ground with enough force to pulp the average C rank Hunter.
Belle felt her bones snap and crack under the immense force but grit her teeth and pushed up, driving her nikana into the Butcher's palm as her energy worked overtime to heal her.
"RAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
The Butcher screamed, more in rage than anything as it kicked Belle across the circular arena hard enough to crush her bones again. Belle felt pain unlike anything she felt before as she kept pushing her energy to heal, feeling her reserves drain away quick but refill even quicker with how much Ether energy saturated the area.
*CLINK*
The Dharma wheel rotated, making the next punch delivered by the Butcher marginally easier to take. Though it still felt like her arm was going to be ripped out of its socket when she blocked.
Seeing that Belle hadn't gone flying like before, the Butcher grabbed onto its axe tighter and once again used its movement skill to dash right in front of Belle, striking down at her with its massive, hefty axe.
*CLANG!* *CLA-CLANG-CLANG!*
Its axe glowed, signaling a skill use as three more strikes rained down on the Nikana held up to block them. With the onslaught of extra magical slashes added in, Belle's body sunk into the ground and her grasp on the Nikana fractured. The webbing of her hand split open the first strike, then her body was nearly split in half from shoulder to ribs by the remaining slashes.
*CLINK!*
Belle's mouth hung open in a silent scream of pain as her body was thrown back, twitching as the wound exposing her bones and damaged lung repaired quickly but not quick enough to not feel it.
"F-aack!" Belle cursed, coughing the blood remaining in her healed lung as she stood up shakily.
She looked at the Butcher, who seemed to be reveling in the fact that it had a plaything it didn't break. Belle growled, pushing her energy to reinforce her body as she dashed forward to attack.
The Butcher surpassed her in speed, agility, durability and strength and relished in the battle. It knew Belle was growing steadily, but she was still leagues below it. It was going to enjoy the fight until she grew almost strong enough to give it a good fight, then it would kill her.
But it was unaware that, even adapting to the fight, the blunt force trauma, the cutting, the magic attacks and the speed, Belle was adapting to something else.
*CLINK*
[Mahoraga template: 70%]
Her Adaptations were getting more frequent. Her durability and strikes were increasing in quality. Belle had unsummoned the Nikana and fought with her fist and Sword of Extermination. Her fists bloody from the enhanced durability but managed to pack enough force to actually drive the Ethereal back half a step.
*CLINK*
Another rotation of the wheel as the Butcher used its movement skill and the triple slash to nearly bisect Belle horizontally. Her blood splashed across the ground as her muscles tore, bones cracked and organs ruptured. Then, they knitted themselves back together as a seemingly endless amount of Ether flowed into her body, saturating every corner with enough energy to corrupt even someone with the highest level of resistance five times over.
"Heh..."
*CLINK*
Her metallic arm groaned as she blocked a kick and slid back. Her head ducking a swipe that would decapitate her. Then, she kicked its faceplate hard enough to move it back two feet and swung her blade down, once, twice, over ten times. The Butcher's axe clashing with her before it jerked forward and punched her face hard enough to have popped her head earlier.
Now? It knocked her teeth out and cracked her skull a little as her body rocketed backward.
*CLINK*
[Mahoraga template: 88%]
She couldn't pay attention to the notifications anymore. Too enraptured by the feeling of Adapting- no.. evolving. Belle did a handspring off the ground, just in time to evade an overhead swing to her head. Then, both her and the Butcher threw a punch at each other.
*CLANG!!*
The metallic fists crashed into each other, but the larger fist of the Ethereal gave way to the smaller one as black sparks of lightning flew out of her hand.
"Black Flash!"
For the first time in the fight, the Dead End Butcher flew back several feet and observed real, tangible damage to its enhanced body. Its fist cracked and damaged from the attack. It disregarded the damage and continued attacking Belle, noting the strange, deranged smile on her face as her eyes glowed a myriad of different colors. Ether pumped into her body more and more, fueling her further. Her arm and right side of her face glowed with strange, glowing markings even as they cut each other apart.
*CLINK*
"I GET IT...." Belle laughed, madness radiating from her smile as the Butcher's fist smashed into her ribs again, this time only making her slide back a few meters, without the accompanying sound of bones breaking.
*CLINK*
[Mahoraga Template: 100%]
The Butcher roared in challenge, swinging its axe down at Belle's head as it witnessed the sudden change. Behind her, four white wings grew from behind her, accompanying her white tail.
*CLANG!!*
Belle parried it with her hybrid arm, leaping into the air as her new wings spread out. Her mad grin stretching into a full blown smile as she looked up.
"I GET IT NOW... HAHAHA!" Belle announced, arms spread.
She was experiencing the same high that Satoru Gojo did after nearly dying to Toji Zenin. The one that came due to achieving something amazing. The use of Mana and Ether had uses very similar to Cursed Energy and Positive Energy. Mana had a healing, positive branch. Ether had a destructive, corroding presence. One that warped space and created enclosed spaces where rules of reality were altered.
Belle understood and adapted. Adapted to the Template itself and to Ether and Mana.
So, she clasped her hands together and announced it.
"Domain Expansion.."
[I realized I had jumped a chapter ahead. Chap 27 was actually 28 so I fixed it]