2238 2238. Helplessness

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Ulpia reviewed the previous exchange countless times to find his mistakes, but she failed to put the blame on herself. She had been perfect both in her movements and attacks. Alexander had simply been better.

Alexander had lost his reason for a good part of the last exchanges, but thoughts had managed to make their way inside his chaotic mind. His instincts had stepped down long enough to grant him partial control of his body and perform a smarter offensive.

A pull had been more effective than a mere cut. Alexander had pinned Ulpia down through that action, which had allowed him to inflict deadly injuries.

Ulpia was only a shadow of her former self now. She had lost her right arm and her lower body. A long injury ran through her torso, and Alexander kept her head still from her ponytail. Her battle appeared over.

"You are a tough one," Alexander commented as blood flowed from his mouth. "I can't remember the last time I suffered so many injuries."

Alexander's state was far from ideal. His face had lost its original shape since his nose, mouth, and skull had endured countless attacks. His head actually appeared flabby, but he kept it together through his energy.

Holes, bruises, and far more gory injuries covered Alexander's body. He seemed on the verge of falling apart, but his immense resilience kept everything together. He could still stand and fight at his peak power, but he could sense his energy reserves vanishing quickly to retain that level.

"You had me for a bit," Alexander admitted as growls fused with his human voice. "I didn't think you would force my survival instincts to come out. That was some feat."

Alexander was gradually regaining the entirety of his mental faculties. His instincts still raged loudly, but he was almost entirely in control. The only feeling he couldn't disperse was the constant dizziness caused by the many blows he had suffered.

"Why would I take pride in something so meager?" Ulpia weakly sneered. "Don't try to add beauty to defeats."

Alexander tried to smirk, but his muscles didn't follow his orders. Still, Ulpia seemed to recognize his expression from behind his wounded face. She could feel it even with her eyes closed.

Alexander had every intention to end the battle quickly. He had lost enough time getting beaten throughout the higher plane, and he even needed to rest for a bit. Wasting time talking would only hurt his side.

However, when Alexander threw his clawed hand toward the center of Ulpia's wounded chest, he heard a clanging noise accompanied by a white radiance. His fingers had pierced Ulpia's skin, but they couldn't dig past that.

"Did you forget what I said?" Ulpia chuckled as her white avatar grew under her skin and gave her a humanoid shape. "I'll fight as long as life burns inside me."

Alexander mustered multiple abilities to push his arm forward, but a shining right hand grabbed his wrist and slowly pushed his clawed fingers back. Ulpia's new arm shone with power and allowed her to match her opponent's sheer physical might.

<br/>A kick faster than anything Alexander had experienced before landed on his waist and flung him away. Multiple abilities still empowered him, so he stopped himself after flying for a while. His consciousness didn't turn dark either, which allowed him to inspect Ulpia's transformation.

Multiple cracks opened on Ulpia's skin until what remained of her body transformed into a mess of tiny shards laying on a white avatar. It seemed that her energy was reaching levels of power that her flesh couldn't withstand, but the transformation didn't end there.

The various chunks of flesh began to melt and fuse with the avatar. Ulpia soon transformed into nothing more than pure energy that shone with power but carried no solid form. She retained her features, but she was only power kept together by her will.

Alexander didn't need to use any of his many abilities to know that Ulpia wouldn't survive that transformation. That form was a desperate attack that exchanged her very life for a burst of power.

Running away was the best tactic. Alexander didn't know how strong Ulpia had become, but he was confident the many innate abilities accumulated throughout his life. He could escape and force Ulpia to deplete her energy until she turned into nothing.

In theory, Ulpia should have never resorted to something so easy to counter, especially when she was against someone like Alexander. That was a dumb move from a strategic perspective.

Nevertheless, Ulpia and Alexander had reached a deep understanding of each other while exchanging blows through the entire higher plane. They knew what kind of maniac they were fighting, so Ulpia felt beyond confident that Alexander wouldn't run away.

As Ulpia expected, Alexander's aura burst forward, and his laugh spread through the void. Roars and human cries came out of his mouth as he expressed his anticipation for the incoming clash.

Instincts and thoughts fused inside Alexander's mind to bring out the best innate abilities accumulated in his world. Dark strands of energy came out of his injuries during the process, and chunks of his body exploded due to the massive amount of energy flowing inside him.

Alexander was also going all-out. He wouldn't achieve victory by running away. Even if the effort would worsen his condition, he had to prove his superiority.

"Maybe it was fate that put us on opposite sides," Ulpia spoke through her bright figure. "Today, the world will witness the peak of the fighting arts against the apex of brute power."

"You shouldn't waste that little power you have left," Alexander mocked. "Come at me with everything you have."

"You are right," Ulpia stated. "Let's talk through our fists."

Ulpia disappeared, and torrents of dark energy shot out of Alexander. Ordinary experts would fail to follow to understand when the exchange started, but the shockwave that spread through the entire higher plane made sure to tell them when it ended.

In an instant, a giant chunk of the battlefield saw white and dark energy taking control of its space. The two attacks unleashed waves of power that filled the area with their respective shades before dispersing among the void.

Everything had happened so fast that no one could understand who had won. Moreover, the void's space-time array had suffered enough damage to make inspections impossible. Even peak rank 9 inscribed items would struggle to gather details in the areas involved by the clash.

The space-time array quickly stabilized and revealed two maimed figures. Alexander stood proudly, but he was impossible to recognize from his figure.

The muscles on Alexander's chest had disappeared, leaving his fuming rib cage in the open. That damage also expanded on other parts of his body, involving his neck, shoulders, and abdomen. His skin reappeared only in his arms, waist, and chin.

Meanwhile, Ulpia appeared quite fine. Her radiance had dimmed, and holes had opened on her figure, but her new state prevented anyone from understanding how serious her injuries were.

A tremor ran through Alexander's body and forced him to bend forward. A violent cough took control of his lungs, which only made his maimed figure spurt blood in every direction. His resilience tried to fix some injuries, but he wasted most of those efforts during his spasms.

"I can barely float," Ulpia sighed in a cracked voice, "And you are still alive."

The cough made Alexander unable to answer. His spasms also affected his consciousness, which struggled to remain awake.

"Congratulations, you win," Ulpia announced. "I guess I can consider my debt to the sky paid since you'll need to leave the battlefield for a while."

The holes on Ulpia's body started to expand. In a few seconds, her bright figure turned into nothing more than a floating head that stared at Alexander. She appeared slightly annoyed, but helplessness eventually replaced that feeling.