Chapter 258: Cheap Victory?
[The weakness of Achilles
The Olympians thought they had a firm grasp on Achilles' weakness because they knew his heel wasn't soaked in the river Styx. But the obvious weakness blinded them to a more subtle weakness in Achilles' invincibility.
Styx is a river in the underworld that the dead cross to reach Hade's realm. It is filled of ghosts and the essence that makes them up. Soaking in the river caused Achilles' skin to be immune to all forms of harm. But one can only wonder why he suffered bruises when facing Memnon.
The answer is simple; Achilles' skin acquired a property of ghosts, which is immunity to physical harm. Being that he was alive the property evolved making him immune to all forms of harm.
But with this benefit comes a weakness. He inherited the quality of undead that makes them vulnerable to all forms of healing. As a result he gained bruises in his battle against Memnon who was the son of the goddess of dawn. This was because Memnon had acquired a subconscious habit after being unrivaled all his life; he partially healed his opponents with every strike so that they could last longer.
Achilles who never needed natural healing, talk less of magic healing, never learned that it was his bane. Hence Achilles' weakness which he never knew till his death was healing.
The mace does the same thing as Memnon but with way more focus on healing and it heals mental damage so you can imagine what it would do to Sasha. The validity of this solution has been tested by future sight.]
Mira groaned while holding her nose bridge as she thought 'Of course the solution would be something that no one of the forum even thought of. Now that I read it, it makes a lot of sense. I guess I was right; knowledge is all that is needed to beat Sasha. I wonder who else has already figured this out'.
Mira looked at the battle stage only to see another two people fighting; Daisuke had won while she wasn't paying attention She thought 'My match should be starting soon' and stored the mace in her ring and teleported to the arena for her bracket.
A few minutes later Mira was looking at her opponent being introduced by the host. "On the left here we have Sasha, THE UNBREAKABLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!!! Seeing her race's name has caused her previous opponents to go for her Achilles Heel. Her last opponent managed to reach it only to fall into despair when he found out it was also invincible.
"The hopelessness, the despair, the torment of all who face her, give it up for SASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The crowd erupted in cheers; this fight was different from the previous ones. Although some people had made their speculations, the outcome of this fight was truly uncertain.
The host continued his introduction "And on our right we have Mira, THE DARK HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Surprisingly enough Mira has gotten no wounds throughout this competition. Her crystalline energy has proved to be unbreakable to her previous foes. Although some say she hasn't fought any challenging opponents and is therefore just a wolf terrorizing sheep. The truth of the situation will reveal itself to us during this battle.
"Give it up for MIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The crowd cheered although Mira could mostly feel encouraging intent from their cheers, like they were saying 'Everyone's a winner'. Mira sighed and thought 'Is it ok just using this knowledge to win. Sure I paid for it but… It doesn't matter, as long as I can beat Zivon, it will all be worth it'.
The host adlibbed before announcing the start of the match, Sasha then jogged toward Mira who stood and braced herself. Red aura covered the jeans and yellow shirt Sasha wore along with her whole body before condensing and turning her skin red.
Mira recognized that the trick she just pulled was similar to what Gbenga did when they fought Camille. Although she didn't know it, it was a skill called Aura Tempering.
Black patches formed the shapes of eyes and mouths of various creatures that moved as if they were weeping on Sasha's red skin. Mira covered herself with shining Diamonds as she deduced that Sasha using her soul ability.
Mira's skin fused with the shining diamond as she increased her temperature turning her skin red. Combined with the glow of the diamonds Mira looked like a luminescent ruby as she threw a punch toward Sasha who met it with a punch of her own.
Sasha slid back a bit due to the strength difference but regained control soon after. Mira didn't let Sasha rest, she went after her and set off a diamond explosion at her elbow causing it to release a stream of chaotic energy and propelling Mira's arm forward with a bang.
"BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The ground of the arena was forced to accept a new crater due to the amount of pressure it was subjected to. Sasha was thrown back, spinning on the ground but she quickly stabilized herself. Only, when she stopped spinning she was swiftly drawn towards Mira giving her no time to gather herself.
She thought 'Oh, the drawing ability. If the fight follows her rhythm I won't be able to hit her. It would be pointless if both of us don't get hurt. 2nd Stage Aura Activation: Blood Thirst'. Sasha's aura condensed to a never before seen stage and started pulsing like it was alive as the wailing faces fused with it. It started dripping like blood giving the illusion that she was drenched in blood.
Red aura is fueled by passion. When activated it breaks down atomic and molecular bonds. But in this stage, for Sasha specifically, it gives her aura an attribute she called Thirst.
The aura would break down reality and convert it into energy. This energy would come alive and consume anything to grow, forming a monster that sought to consume Sasha's target.
The drops of aura that fell off Sasha ate through the air before sinking into the ground. The new properties of the aura did not escape Mira's or anyone's notice. Mira transformed into a humanoid fox with 4 tails as she assumed her Vulpecula (Fox) state.
She swiped her tails toward the unwillingly approaching Sasha releasing a wave of diamond energy. Mira had become more proficient in using her forms hence the new move. The wave of diamonds trapped the dripping red aura in diamond while stopping time for both the aura and the diamond without affecting Sasha.
The wave could not scoop up the aura that had fused with her skin but Sasha entered Mira's striking range the moment the wave passed her. Sasha didn't know she was in range of Mira's attack since Mira was swinging her arm down before she was with arms reach.
The mace appeared in Mira's hand, gaining all the momentum Mira had gathered in her swing. The next moment, it had struck Sasha's head.
"BAAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The healing spell in the mace activated after taking some energy from Mira. Sasha fell to the ground but managed to keep her feet under her. Her eyes had rolled to the back of her skull showing only whites and she drooled, staggered and trembled as she struggled to stay conscious.
Sasha still had other tricks up her sleeve, but all of them became worthless when her lights went out due to Mira's second mace blow.
And so the battle ended anticlimactically after Sasha fell on the floor. Mira stored the mace as the host stuttered the announcement of Mira's victory to an audience with dropped jaws.