Lucas vs Ruby

A young couple faced each other on a futsal court in the sunlight. On the side of the court, two strong men were watching them, the man with the black hands said:

"Did you see the report? According to what Gloria said about the girl, her ability is very useful to us. Hopefully she knows how to defend herself at least. Apart from Ingrid and Lara, only we know how to fight here, we urgently need more training, otherwise the casualties will only increase." He spoke in a derogatory tone, clearly disgusted with the situation.

"Calm down Beto, do you think it's easy to adapt so quickly? Out of nowhere we gained powers when we thought we were going to die. Billions of people died and those left fight for life against evolved animals. We're lucky to find this place, we don't even know if we're the only survivors of the human race, so let's not get mad about it." Asa spoke with contagious calm, never taking his eyes off the arena.

"I know! We just need people who know how to at least defend themselves! Look at them! They look like a bunch of kids playing wrestling! I understand that it's not easy to get used to this kind of life, but it's been over a month, that's enough time for that." Roberto replied, also not looking away from the arena.

"Yes yes, but there's no way they can be the fighters you want in just a month, besides getting used to their skills they still have to learn to fight from scratch. Now let's see the fight." Asa ended the conversation.

In the arena, Lucas and Ruby faced each other. She had a piercing and focused look, while he had a relaxed look. Even though it was not her intention, the girl saw this gesture as a provocation and humiliation. In his mind, she decided she would make him pay for that look.

Lucas thought as he walked to the arena:

'I have to take it easy, I don't want to hurt her. I know how to control blood much better, but I don't want to risk it. I'm not going to wear the [Blood Armor], [Shot Crimson] or my blood. I think only [Blood Intuition], and [Vital Reinforcement] should be used. The only thing I lack now is fighting experience, I'm going to gain a little now.'

After making up his mind, he pulled out his old knives, worn down by the continual use of his corrosive blood, and took a defensive stance, crossing his arms and flexing his knees. Ruby also used knives and positioned herself similar to him, the only difference being that her arms weren't crossed.

Seeing that the two prepared, the man with the black hands said:

"Fight!"

Instantly, the girl disappeared from view. The two trainers, even knowing in advance of her abilities, widened their eyes when they saw her disappearing. They squinted their eyelids trying to find at least some silhouette, but realized that this was impossible.

Lucas was also surprised, but it wasn't the disappearance itself, it was the speed. Weeks ago, he'd seen her use that same skill up close. However, it wasn't as fast as it is now; or maybe she'd slowed down early on purpose, whatever the truth, it wasn't the right time to think about it.

He immediately activated [Blood Intuition] along with [Life Reinforcement] and dodged it to the side. His perception, enhanced by his mutation, informed him that something was approaching in a straight line, so his first decision was to dodge. Even though he knew Ruby's position, he didn't know if she would attack him with knives, kicks or something else. His perception only let him know that something was there, but that was enough to surprise the trainers watching from the side.

"Did he dodge anyway or because he was used to fighting her?" Asa thought.

'How did he do it? No one can see me now!" However, who was most surprised was Ruby, she knew he couldn't see her, but he could still dodge, it shocked her.

After dodging to the left, he ran into the same position as before, but was now preparing to take a kick. He could still feel that she was there, so he lowered the [Life Booster] blood concentration to her minimum capacity, barely strengthening her muscles, and kicked where he thought her stomach would be.

However, her foot hit nothing and as he passed the 'target' he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. When he completed his move, stepping his foot back to the ground, he glanced quickly at the source of the pain. On his right rib, a cut a few millimeters wide and four inches long gave way for the purple blood to flow down his waist.

Fortunately, the wound almost immediately healed, allowing him to refocus on the fight.

'It's hard to touch her, I don't know her moves, just where she is. That way I'll just be hurting myself. I can easily resolve with my armor or with [Crimson Shot], but it wouldn't survive. I only have to use the basics. Tsk, complicated, if my blood wasn't corrosive I could fight much better!' His thoughts raced at full speed to find an answer. He even increased the blood flow to his brain to find a quicker solution.

Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a solution in time, as Ruby immediately attacked again, this time using her legs to kick Lucas in the face. He only knew that she was approaching at high speed, so he veered off to the side again, staying in the middle of the arena. His speed was much faster than Ruby, so he managed to dodge the attack again.

'So, it looks like he can feel her position, interesting. He's a lot faster than a normal guy, but he was still injured. Maybe he doesn't know how she attacks, he just feels her presence." Roberto analyzed the battle in his mind. Few knew about his past, he was one of the officers of the Brazilian army, so he received strategic and hand-to-hand combat training. Few matched his combat experience. So it was easy to find out the details of the fight ahead of him.

The fight continued, from time to time Lucas tried to attack Ruby, but he always missed the blow and received a wound in return. He even thought about controlling the blood from his wounds to protect himself, but right before he did, he gave up on the idea. Even a few drops of blood could permanently injure Ruby.

So he remained being wounded, the only thing keeping him in impeccable condition was his mutation, which healed him in a matter of moments. Both Asa and Roberto were impressed by the fight, but not by the blows, which looked like children using knives; and yes by the mutation of each one. Ruby was the perfect explorer, while Lucas was guaranteed his life in virtually any life-or-death situation.

They watched as more and more wounds appeared on the boy's body, but almost instantly closed. It was practically a free pass to immortality, they said.

'Well, I'll admit defeat right away, it's no use continuing like this. I don't know what she's going to move or how she's going to attack, I just know when she approaches. Every time I try to hit her with my minimally improved speed I can't touch her, but if I increase the speed, I'll end up seriously hurting her." Gathering his thoughts, Lucas dodged once more away from Ruby and took some distance.

Turning to the trainers, he said:

"I lost, there's no way to beat it."

Ruby stopped attacking and became visible again when he heard her words, but her expression showed no happiness or satisfaction at the victory. In fact, she was angrier than before, but before she could express her feelings, Asa spoke up:

"Lost? You have not once attacked with your skill. Did you lie in the registry?" Asa was confused, according to his thoughts, even though the girl could go invisible, she couldn't win against him. At best it would be a draw, but a defeat would be impossible.

However, he only had praise for her, even though he didn't have an offensive ability, he managed to inflict several wounds on someone theoretically much stronger than her without suffering any scratches! She was a born fighter!

"Yes, you didn't do anything but dodge." Roberto was not at all satisfied. Even though he knew he was overcharging two newcomers who had just arrived, he was eager to see them improve, and the quickest way to do that is by being 'on the brink of death' constantly, or at least close.

Before he could explain, Ruby said:

"Lucas! I'm not made of glass for you to treat me like one. I've seen what you can do, at least respect me! I'm going to go all out now, and I expect the same from you!" She was very angry, after the treatment received by the trainers and Lucas's comparative look, she still had to be underestimated.

He didn't know how to respond or act, in his mind he did his best not to hurt his mate, but it didn't seem like the best decision.

"I really did, I despised her." He realized his mistake and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'll respect you now." After apologizing, he resumed his fighting stance, but this time he cut his arm with the knife and a purple liquid enveloped him, forming a kind of gelatinous armor.