The pressure was insurmountable.

Hanaken's flaming barrage of earth-shattering fists danced furiously at Stella, creating chaotic patterns that reflected the brute's yet unreadable fighting style! Impressive, considering the speed difference.

Speaking of speed, this was the theory the young girl devised in the final hours before the battle. After gaining a basic yet solid control of her Saniya, her swiftness reached a level beyond any Human athlete in her lifetime, although not as formidable as Lien's. Additionally, whenever she paid attention to the Oni fighting throughout their shared training in the old coot's glade, she was always more impressed with the giantess' strength than anything else.

A wave of relief doused the anxiety inferno that was Stella's nerves when she concluded that indeed she held the speed advantage, proven by all the devastating blows she evaded, mostly without the need to use earth magic. Nevertheless, the walking pile of rage and muscles had some sneaky tactics of her own...

"Can you handle THIS?!" Hanaken raised her fist in the air. An easily avoidable attack by simply jumping back.

Stella backflipped her way out, her energized arms and legs granting her the strength to hop around like a spring. However, when her hands touched the ground, a particularly concentrated quake formed beneath the earth.

Earth magic. Shit.

The girl used the momentum to push her further away before a towering earth spike was erected from that spot! Was Hanaken trying to make some Human kebab?

Before Stella could complain, the Oni was already too close to allow a breather. And she thought taunting this monster into a mistake would be easier than Yuki-onna...

And once again, they were locked into a fiery dance! Not in a sensual way, mind you.

Jokes aside, the young girl gradually began to realize that this push and pull wasn't enough to eat away at Hanaken's stamina. Perhaps, if this was the brute from before Hōkō's training, this could've worked...

No good deed... Then again, if she didn't show mercy to the Trouble Troop, this fight could've never happened, so...

Those tangent thoughts were swept away by Hanaken's arm, which Stella needed to jump over to avoid. However, before her feet landed on the ground, a sharp, excruciating ache pierced her back like a bullet, eliciting a pained cry from her throat!

The world ceased as the girl's mind delved deeper into the sensation, reverberating through bone and muscle as loudly as a bell's tolling. She felt utterly pathetic, unable to help herself as she slowly descended to an awkward fall, rolling limply over the ground.

Her vision flickered, the brief moments of darkness sending a cold anxiety into her stubborn conscience. Was this all the girl could muster on her own, after all this training? She couldn't even last a couple of minutes against one Monoke?!

...Her arms held no strength. She could barely feel her legs...

"Look at you!" Hanaken's mocking tone bombarded her hearing, fueling her veins with frustration. "You sure talked a big game through all this time! Don't tell me that's all you can do!"

"It sure... as hell... isn't." Her mind conjured motivation while her arms fortified, slowly supporting her until her knees assumed their role. "You... bitch..."

From one foot to the other, Stella stood with wobbly feet as her back burned in agony still. Her blurred vision was not an issue when the enormous red blot before her was so easily discerned.

"Good enough for ya?" she muttered between long breaths and hisses. "What... the hell did you do to me...?"

The Oni scoffed. "You think I'm just a brute who thinks only with her fists in battle? You may be faster than I, but I have my own way to deal with bothersome foes like you."

By the time Hanaken was finished, Stella's eyes could see more clearly. "Man... I gotta say..." She sighed. Her hands reached to rub her sore back, a smile twisting her lips as she conceded. "You're much better than I gave you credit for. Kudos."

The Oni crossed her arms, letting out a loud, hearty laugh. "About time you figured that out, brat!" Her eyes narrowed while her wily smirk blossomed. "Makes me kinda charitable..."

Stella raised her brows. "What do you mean by that?"

"The thing is, all of this doesn't seem very fair, does it?" She scoffed, shrugging her shoulders. "Sure, the way you are now, you could've wiped the floor with the me from a month ago with your girlfriend's help, not to mention how I'm outnumbered." Her sly grin widened as she leaned closer. "Don't think I've forgotten about her, by the way..."

A sharp, cold sensation coursed down the Human's spine. It seemed the Oni wasn't as easy to be consumed by hate as she assumed...

"But..." Hanaken rested one hand on her hip while carelessly gesturing at the girl. "Since we probably won't be seeing each other for a long while, how about I throw caution to the wind and give you a single hint?"

How... noble? Honestly, for Stella, it was more patronizing than anything else.

...

Would this victory be something to savor if she were being babied by her opponent? It was like fighting the final boss with a pack of 99 Max Potions and Revives each.

......

"Nah."

Hanaken's face softened, raising her brows.

"This ain't a sparring match, damn it!" Stella shut one fist tight, flaring her golden aura to its peak. "I don't need this handout! I will figure out your dirty secret by myself! While we fight, if that's what it takes to win!"

The Oni's expression of utter bewilderment was slowly twisted into... another laughter, louder than ever before.

"The hell's wrong with you?!" Stella huffed.

"N-Nothing at all..." As her chest heaved uncontrollably, Hanaken put her hand over it until she took control of her composure in a few seconds. "It's just... ironic."

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Stella's frown contorted in confusion.

"Alright, enough talk." Hanaken straightened her posture, every muscle in her massive body bulging with power before she spread her legs apart, cracking the rocky floor with each step. "Let's see how good your eyes really are!"

Stella took a deep breath, reassuming her stance. "Let's."

With sharpened attention, the tiny girl reignited combat with the monstrous warrior!

At first, everything about the Oni was the same as it was at the start of the battle. However, as she misdirected the pile of muscles by raising dust clouds, sliding between her legs, and propelling away via earth pillars, she noticed a strange undulation in the brute's pants, almost as if a tiny creature crawled under it...

Or rather... a small object moving around, controlled by Saniya...

...

Stella dared to peek higher as Hanaken chased her, directly at the bandages holding the beast's less-than-modest breasts. Shameless gaze aside, there it was, the same moving lump as bef-

"HEY!" her instincts blared when her eyes witnessed something peeking out between bandages, flinging itself straight at her face! Her senses only registered her position when she was already crouched, the lack of pain indicating either a rush of adrenaline or a successful evasion.

Regardless, she was on the floor while a rampaging red, horned, and tusked creature threatened to trample her! Not ideal.

In the heat of the moment, Stella decided to lie on her belly, her energy compelling the earth to carry her like a sledding penguin! In this embarrassing position, she successfully slid away from the zone of imminent doom, then quickly shaped a sizeable chunk of rock into a ramp to toss her in the air long enough to land on her feet!

"There might be a way to make this less..." the girl muttered while gently rubbing her hand over the sizzling front of her torso, surely covered in hundreds of superficial cuts. "...painful."

Hanaken eventually stopped charging, slowly turning back at her like a tank. "You're good... I didn't think you'd catch up so quickly. Good eyes, pipsqueak!"

Hiding tiny rocks in her clothing, keeping them in check with earth magic, then flinging them at a target as a surprise weapon, like those fiction characters who somehow carried a bunch of hidden knives on their person.

Holy fuck... That lady was a fucking genius! In fact, it was oddly similar to... To...

...

Stella burst out laughing. This couldn't be happening! Oh, the fucking irony!

The Oni launched a disturbed look at her over the admittedly villainous laughter. So much for a hero's sidekick, huh? She supposed she would be more of the Red Hood type.

"More kudos to you, Hanaken!" Stella smirked, resuming her composure, deciding to keep the ball rolling as the Oni slowly approached her for one more round of gloating. "Infusing so much Saniya into those tiny rocks so they can go so fast and hit like a horse's kick is a genius work for someone who can't sense energy like me."

Hanaken chuckled. "Even if you could, the Saniya in these stones is practically camouflaged with the energy inside my body. I had them prepared long before this battle, you know. Making sure they don't turn to dust from excess energy is the tricky part, but you can get the hang of the right amount to infuse."

So, even if Lien was taking her place, the pup wouldn't sense those coming, regardless? Wow, that ugly hag really thought of everything...

But even so, there was a secret Stella held that could potentially be exploited here, the one thing she convinced Lien to not tattle to Gentō before the battle against Yuki-onna.

But first, something remained to be clarified...

Stella's posture loosened as a humble smile settled in. "You got me good, Hanaken. Really, you almost knocked me out cold." Her facade almost cracked once she lingered on the pain in her back, desperately drowned by stubborn determination. "But that pebble is just the beginning." Her aura reignited, heat coursing from atom to atom. "I'll catch whatever else you're hiding! Fuck around long enough, and I'll return the pain you gave me tenfold!"

The Oni laughed once more. "You still haven't touched a finger on me!" Her crimson aura engulfed her like a mighty geyser. "I hope you don't break your wrist like a wimp this time!"

Ah ha! Stella knew she was only being nice back then!

Whatever. The Human assessed her opponent's size while they readied themselves for one more clash. For someone that big, Stella would need to use most, if not all, of her energy to pull this off.

Unless... she pushed Hanaken to do half the work for her.

Judging by how much the Oni was treating her like an appetizer, barely worthy of acknowledgment, this plan was looking more feasible as long as she pondered it.

"Here I come!!!" Stella cried, taking the initiative for the first time in the fight since she separated from Lien.

Hanaken's smile faded away once she held her arm before the Human's blazing punch, the golden light transferring and coating the gigantic limb once the impact was made!

The Oni hissed, her twitching eye an indicator that Stella's punch did some damage. "What's this about?"

The girl's smirk grew more devious as a tiny earth pillar sprouted beneath her feet, sending her high enough so she could latch onto the brute's biceps, which also started to adopt her Saniya's hue.

"How about a makeover?! I got something that'll make your skin glow!"

Hanaken huffed. "Not interested!" Her other hand shifted towards the girl, ready to flick her away. Nevertheless, Stella jumped to the remaining arm, the Saniya coating her legs surrounding and capturing another large piece of Oni flesh as she climbed to the giantess's shoulder!

Both of Hanaken's arms were covered in gold. Yet, no reaction was happening. Now, for the next step...

Jumping to Hanaken's head, Stella conjured a massive chunk of her energy reserves into her hands, almost peeling off her skin from the sheer, concentrated heat, and blinding her eyes with a sea of gold! This should be enough to cover her target whole.

The Oni growled, her hands quickly moving up to catch the little pest. "What's with Humans and stepping on my h-"

"SOLAR CAGE!!!"

The young girl's energy expanded and wrapped tightly around the mighty Oni like a second skin layer, delaying her movements before her robust fingers could reach the young Human, granting her time to jump off her head!

Gasps and excited chatter filled the background. Even Stella surprised herself when she took the time to appreciate her handiwork, enough to halt even a powerhouse like Hanaken entirely. The brute's frustrated scowl while she drowned in Human Saniya sure was amusing.

Nevertheless, a technique like this was too costly to be usable in the battles in Chikukei. Hell, she could barely pull it off without draining herself dry before she unlocked her potential. Hanaken's particular condition was the defining factor of its suitability now.

Slowly, the Oni's scowl became a smirk. "You got me there, kid! This is quite the spell! And you're not even using an elemental path to pull it off!"

Stella walked smugly to stand before the bound brute, hands on her hips. "I know very well how important it is to make folks bigger and meaner than you helpless." She crossed her arms. "In my case, that's almost everyone who picks a fight with me."

Hanaken chuckled, her arms bulging as her grin contorted with strain. "If you pulled that off on me before meeting Hōkō, you'd have won. But now..."

A reddened filter covered her body, clashing fiercely against the golden layer. Two forces, utterly incompatible in nature, created a reaction that sent shockwaves across the entire battlefield, loudly cracking as the giantess poured more and more of her power into her search for freedom!

...

How easily she played into Stella's hands.

"Bye-bye!" The girl grinned from ear to ear, waving impishly before she diverted her attention to the ground. Her fists, now covered with the other half of her energy reserves, pummeled the plateau's rock deeper and deeper to create an escape tunnel!

"H-HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY T-"

The progenitor of all tremors ravaged the stone around Stella. The motes of light from above were quickly covered by the rubble that the aftermath of her plan must've created.

The only thing that could make this better would be if-

"Stella!?"

A muffled voice, Lien's voice, echoed through the rock. How far apart were they?

"I've set up everything! What was that just now?! Are you okay?! Are you alive?!"

The words came out rapidly like a cheetah after five energy drinks. It was oddly overwhelming AND endearing.

Stella let out a chuckle. "I'm okay, Lien! More than okay."

"Why's that?"

She scoffed, unable to hold her laughter as the irony washed over her like a tidal wave.

"Guess what? Hanaken and we took a page from the same book!"

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