Dimensional Descent

"Your ability isn't bad, big chested beauty. Did we strike a nerve?"

Sael's ability wasn't one that was publicly known. It was often difficult to tell what a person's ability was unless it was far too outside the norm. Something like the combination of techniques Sael had just used were most definitely too out there to not be an ability.

Her eye technique, especially, made Aphestus quite serious despite the grin on his face. She had only landed two of those tattoos on him, but just those two was enough to cut his Force circulation down by 20%. Whether it was his Force control or output, it all took a hit.

Beyond that, Aphestus' instincts also told him that landing these tattoos also allowed Saels to see through his Force circulation as well, as though she had a connection to them. While her tattoos were hindering his Force circulation, she could sense this flow and predict his next action based on this.

It was truly a fearsome ability, indeed worthy of coming from a top disciple of Valiant Hall. In fact, if it wasn't for the lack of destructive ability, Aphestus would feel that this ability was even better than Raylion's. If Aphestus was honest, Sael's ability might even be at a higher evolutionary stage than Raylion's too.

But, there was a difference between Sael and Raylion…

Aphestus grinned a toothy grin when Sael didn't respond.

"I guess it's about time I get serious. It's a shame, big chested beauty… You would think you would have realized by now that a fancier ability doesn't necessarily make you more powerful."

At that moment, the change to Aphestus' eyes set, his eyes glowing with a radiant yellow as the sun continued to set.

His muscles wiggled and writhed, seemingly intent on bursting out from Aphestus' tanned layer of skin.

If Sael's ability made her a radiant diamond, Aphestus ability was just a copper coin found by the road side.

Sael could use all these beautiful tattoos and flower petals. As for Aphestus, his ability was known simply from its title: Beast Mimicry.

[Author's note: stay away Kiba]

Aphestus could copy the physique of any beast he consumed the meat of into a humanoid figure. It allowed him their agility, their flexibility, their strength and their instincts all in a human form.

Of course, he could do this with beasts only powerful to a certain limit. Or, rather, the more powerful the beast, the more of its meat he would need. Even a lower level beast would need tens of carcasses for him to devour.

any beast, he didn't. Rather, there was just one beast he liked to consume.

The Black Patterned Jaguar.

canines grew,

Sael's pupils constricted.

BANG!

Aphestus' feet cracked, the wind pressure of his sudden movement blowing

he

countered the punch of his dagger, aiming for his head. She didn't block in the slightest. She directly pitted her determination against

dauntless. Mid-flight, his shoulder dropped and his neck curled to one

punch were to continue, she would mere take a small chunk of Aphestus' shoulder. But,

of countering, retreating instantly. But it was then that her irises rotated by yet another petal. This was her true goal. As long as this tattoo landed, a 30% decline wasn't something even Aphestus'

almost instantaneously, Aphestus' strike came to a grinding halt

flexed all at once, his body hopping to

then that Sael's irises stopped rotating, but there was no third

making it avoidable. And, if Aphestus

forward, his daggers raining down in a combination of feints and

a heavy foot backward, the blades hovering around her feet cracking the ground. But,

lift her foot to take another step back and reposition herself for a counter, the split

sweeping across and

realized that Aphestus almost ripped her chest band in two.

feeling a deep slice run through

roared from the

suffered her first injury, it wasn't long before she suffered a second, then a third. As though a beast cornering their prey, Aphestus' gaze bore down,

became a lethal killing machine. His close combat ability was off the charts. His reaction time, his combination attacks, his counters. Each was more

his two arms, he seemed capable of battling all of Sael's vines alone with her own arms and feet simultaneously. A single one of his strikes could sever a

and it only occurred to a

a battle of experts, this

forth so fiercely that unshed tears brimmed at her eyes. However, what did fall wasn't those tears, but rather the blood from her popped blood