Shattering Humanity-Chapter 96: How Poetic A Battle Between Eye Users Can Be

In the middle of the padded room, Itsuka and Scylia bow towards each other and give friendly smiles.

Itsuka: "It’s a pleasure to get the chance to spar with you Ms. Scylia."

Scylia: "Oh darling, the pleasure is all mine. Please don’t overestimate my sword play abilities. It’s not really my strong suit."

Charybdis chuckles and the audience wall looks over.

Aiden: "Since you’re the only one here who has seen Ms. Scylia fight, weren’t you saying she was the fighter for you both while in ’Hell’?"

Char nods.

Char: "Our parents were very engaged with us when we were kids. I can remember watching my mother and sister’s practice sessions when they were training on the beach sand. While me and my father were working on the jet skis or working on a custom surfboard together. When we were separated from our parents during the meteor rain that brought all those monsters, Big Sis and I were in ’Hell’ for 25 months. In those months, countless anarchist survivors, that I was useless against, but she was able to defeat so easily.

When a couple of cocky male ’soldiers’ from those Mountains made it out past the Shizuka Suburbs, with the Anti-Iceman Weaponry, they made the mistake of trying to kill me and take my sister to use her like a piece of meat. She killed them and we quickly figured out what their weapons were designed for, but it wasn’t until Uncle Mina came around that we found out there was a hidden society attempting to fight back with them."

Sol: "Huh, the big sister protecting the little brother?"

She looks at Shelly with a mocking grin.

Sol: "Sounds familiar."

Shelly smiles back.

Sol then takes a second to fully examine the room.

Sol: "I never asked, but why do you think this room is fully padded?"

Before anyone can answer, Daisuki steps up as the fight director.

Daisuki: "Ladies, gentlemen, and Princess Kawaii, we’re slated to have a Round 3, consisting of not only the most mature of Takamagahara’s women, but also the most beautiful."

Shelly and Sol shoot hateful glances at him.

With a smile Daisuki holds his hand up. He looks back and forth between competitors.

Daisuki: "Scylia, are you ready?"

Scylia nods.

Daisuki: "Itsuka, are you ready?"

Itsuka nods.

Away from everyone’s attention, Katsu and Saku, once again, are side eyeing each other in a not so friendly glare and more than just competitive smiles.

Daisuki: "Aaaand BEGIN!"

Itsuka and Scylia EyeEngage and slowly start walking in a circle in the middle of the room. Waiting for the other to make a move.

Shelly looks as if realizes something.

Shelly: "Hold on a second."

The others look over.

Shelly: "This is only the second fight between eye users that I’ve got the chance to witness, but between Charybdis Senpai and Dominic’s fight and the first few seconds of this one, there’s something ’different’."

Aiden gets surprised too.

Aiden: "Now that you mention it..."

Katsu and Saku are still burning holes into each other with just their side stares.

Aiden: "I wonder how much of a difference it makes? IceEye users weren’t allowed to spar against each other at the academy, and we were graded on a curve because of it. The reason was said to be that way because there weren’t that many students with the eyes and still not enough information about them. Against non-eye users, they’re a significant advantage, well except against people like you Shelly. That’s the major reason you were ranked #1 unanimously."

Shelly looks at the ground in front of her.

Shelly: "I did lose though."

Char begrudgingly gives them important information.

Char: "I didn’t EyeEngage."

The audience wall looks at the embarrassed man.

Char: "Eye users that EyeEngage in combat with all seriousness, have the capability to fight like how Sis and that tan goddess are going to display. But since I’m not a fighter, I try not to look at people in the eyes in the first place. Which is the reason neither Dom or myself dodged the others swings. It’s almost like these eyes help the eye user independently, as a being of their own accord."

Shelly: "Oh yea, we got A LOT to catch you guys up on."

Aiden and Char look confused.

There’s a loud CLACK and they turn their heads.

Shelly’s eyes widen, impressed in amazement from seeing the two older women in Takamagahara, showcasing just how different a battle between two alien eye users can be.

Itsuka and Scylia are still EyeEngaged but their wooden swords are connected.

After an insanely fast jump backwards, Itsuka charges forward at even more impressive speed. The wooden sword in her hands goes practically invisible as she swings a couple slashes at Scylia.

The 28 year old woman dodges every attack, but just barely.

After the fury of swings, Scylia backflips, attempting to catch her opponent’s chin with the top of her foot.

A small string hanging from the toe of Scylia’s sock grazes Itsuka’s smooth sharp chin as she leans back to dodge. Itsuka goes to attack while Scylia is mid-flip, but Scylia’s sword points towards the ground while upside down, it connects with the foam floor, she flicks her wrist and Scylia spins 180°, reconnecting the EyeEngagement while upside down.

It catches Itsuka by surprise. Within the reflection of her beautiful purple eye trying to catch up, is an incoming side kick that her IceEye has already focused on.

From within Itsuka’s head, the alien symbiote has already sent her brain the proper imagery that creates an electric shock informing the female organic computer to duck out of harm’s way.

Not knowing why, Itsuka ducks.

However, Scylia kicks her hair bun, making Itsuka’s silky platinum hair come out of the hair tie and fall to her back as well as in front of her face, covering her left human purple eyeball.

They both take a few seconds while breathing heavily.

Everyone, except for the Division Leaders who are still in their intimidating side eye stare down, is transfixed on the amazing females showcasing the possibilities of combat between two humans with these alien symbiotes.

Each movement meant to attack from one woman, fitting in place and barely missing the other, making it seem like it was perfectly practiced choreography.

Shelly: "How- how can they-?"

Sol: "Holy Sh-. Shell, if you got one of those eyes, you would be unbeatable."

Shelly looks as if she is thinking about it for a second but continues watching after another CLACK is heard.

Just in time to see Scylia land on her feet after another few flips and she deflects Itsuka’s immediate attack, once again, just barely.

The force makes Scylia fall on her back, but from the ground she attempts to drop-kick the looming Itsuka.

It connects with Itsuka’s stomach, her strong, most defined feature. It doesn’t hurt but the drop kick does push her back.

Scylia also uses the strong surface to backflip and create more distance between them.

Aiden looks over at Charybdis.

Aiden: "You said she trained with your mother on the beach sand. What fighting style did she train your sister?"

Char smiles watching his sister enjoying the passion of fighting again.

Char: "Capoeira."

Within the small amount of time for Itsuka to recover from the strong drop kick, Scylia has already launched herself in the air, spinning like a top.

Itsuka’s IceEye tries identifying and focuses on Scylia’s incoming foot from above but it’s her left heel that connects with Itsuka’s ribs making the first connecting attack in the entire match.

Saku gets horrifyingly shocked as he watches Itsuka’s body fly off of Scylia’s foot like a kickball, into the padded wall and then fall to the padded floor, coughing.

Daisuki acts nonchalant.

Daisuki: "And that’s why we have this room designed this way."

Itsuka slowly gets up from the floor.

Saku watches as Itsuka raises her head up and behind her fallen hair over her face, her IceEye goes into 2nd Stage, while fighting and EyeEngages with her opponent. Her aura, grey.

She smiles without looking away from Scylia and shouts at the fight director.

Itsuka: "Hey, Mina!"

The now "chaloir" Mentor looks at her while she confidently smiles with her unprecedented fighting 2nd Stage with a cautionary aura.

Itsuka: "How much time is left?"

A smile creeps on to Saku’s face from her question and he turns to Katsu who looks back at him.

Saku mouths and holds up the appropriate number of fingers to taunt the opposing Division Leader.

Saku: "3-0."

Katsu scoffs and turns his head back to the fight.

aisuki: "20 sec-"

Before he finishes the word "seconds", from Sol, Aiden, and Princess Kawaii’s untrained or non-alien eyes, Itsuka has "disappeared".

Scylia blocks her left side but ’something’ connects with her right set of ribs, then her back, and finally Itsuka appears as if out of thin air, squatting in front of the injury stunned Scylia.

The oldest woman regains her composure and sees the 2nd Stage eye with grey smokey aura.

Scylia’s IceEye sends her body an electric message to raise the sword and protect herself from an incoming attack but Scylia is unable to raise the wooden weapon. Her IceEye looks down, it widens seeing Itsuka has her own sparring sword in her left hand, holding down Scylia’s gripped sparring weapon without effort and a balled up incoming fist in her right.

The tall, toned woman sends a right uppercut that connects with Scylia’s chin launching her over 10 feet in the air and makes Scylia’s yellow human eye go all white.

Her IceEye wildly spasms in every direction as she falls to the floor.

Knocked-Out.

Katsu, Daisuki, Aiden and Char run to her side while Saku runs to Itsuka.

Daisuki: "Scyl! You okay?"

Char: "Sis!"

Aiden pulls out the smelling salt sticks but before he can wave one under her nose, Scylia quickly regains consciousness as they converge around her.

She softly smiles and looks around.

Scylia: "Darn, not only did I lose, I must’ve died and gone to heaven. But at least I have all these handsome angels surrounding me."

Daisuki picks her up and brings her to sit against the audience wall.

Daisuki: "Don’t worry about losing, Scyl. You perfectly showed these kids how ’poetic’ a battle between IceEye users can be. And, you helped unlock new information on these eyes not even the Mountains were aware of, because of their fear suppressing the next generation." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Itsuka relaxes her 2nd Stage IceEye and the grey aura fades as Saku collides with her into a hug. Without saying a word. Itsuka’s eyes swell up with tears and she squeezes her arms around him, hard, comically crushing Saku with her love.

Shelly looks at the two in envy.

Shelly(thinking): *I wanted that moment with Katsu. And I will have it, at any cost. She’s only known him for a few days. How come she gets that happiness, and it’s with HIM?*

Katsu turns around to see Itsuka making Saku regret his impulsive decision as he tries to break free from her bear hug...."Tries".

Katsu menacingly talks under his breath.

Katsu: "Now what’s your next move, you bastard."