Marie vs Han

"Infusion Authority?" asked Yeona.

"Yes, I can control the flow of my aura as well as any other aura at will," replied Marie.

With a fluid motion, Marie began to juggle Han's knife in her hand. As she did, she added a hum of aura, then increased it, infusing the blade with a pulsating glow. The knife seemed to come alive in her hand, as if it were Marie's infusion weapon.

Looking at that, Han's eyes narrowed, his confusion and restlessness growing with each passing moment. He took a step back and pointed his blade towards Marie.

"What the fuck is this? How can you do that? That's my Infusion weapon," yelled Han.

"Oopsie, sorry." Marie teased Han.

"I will kill you-"

"Han, summon it back. Summon your knife back to yourself." said Yeona.

Just before Han was about to complete his sentence, Yeona called him.

"Huhh? What?"

"Just do it!" Yeona said it loudly.

Han's eyes locked onto the knife in Marie's hand, and he opened his palms in a gesture of summoning. The knife started to vibrate with tension as it began to shudder in Marie's grasp, its aura reducing like a flame in the wind, and then vanished altogether. In the same instant, the knife leaped from Marie's hand through the air to land with a soft thud in Han's palm.

"Arghhhh, I still can't hold another person's weapon for long," said Marie.

"Oh, it came back to me again," said Han in surprise.

"Shit- I don't like this."

"Hey, It came back to me again. Thanks, Yeona," said Han, waving his hand towards her.

"Heyy, you bitch, stay away from our fight. You can't even stand properly anymore. We don't need handicapped people here. Go somewhere else." said Marie, taunting Yeona.

"Tch, don't feel so confident after landing a lucky punch."

"Huh, I couldn't hear you. Say it loudly, loser!"

"And haha, I knew it."

"Knew what?"

Marie's gaze turned sharply at Yeona.

"Infusion Authority. You can control the flow of aura, but that doesn't mean you can transcend the soul-abiding ritual and claim it as yours."

"Umm..hmmm...means..? Han is confused by the explanation provided by Yeona.

"You are just simply adding your aura to amplify the weapon, or you can deamplify other people's aura to make it look as if it doesn't exist."

"You are smart for being so weak. I'll give you that," said Marie, smiling.

"Let me heal first. You won't see another morning in your life."

"Umm. Yeah, okay."

Marie turned her eyes back to Han as she felt bored by the empty threats from Yeona.

Han takes his pose with his two knives in each hand, ready to attack Marie.

"Infusion Authority, or whatever it is. I don't understand, but I'll kill you for sure now," said Han.

"Oh, sure, give your best," said Marie, stepping back.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING NOW??!!!" screams Han.

Han's eyes blazed with fierce madness as he charged towards Marie. He unleashed a flurry of strikes, his knives slicing through the air with his infused aura, gleaming in it.

"TAKE THIS, TAKE THIS, TAKE THIS. JUST DIE."

But Marie somehow managed to dodge and wave around Han's attacks.

With a subtle flick of her wrist, she unleashed her Infusion Authority and momentarily disrupted the flow of aura in the blades. The knives faltered, their glow vanished, and in that instant, Marie's deflected it with her bare hands and a slight aura of her's into her palms.

*Clang* *Clang*

Her fingers were brushing against the steel with a soft clang.

"HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?!!" yelled Han.

"Keep using your brain. You creep," replied Marie.

As Han's madness intensified, Marie ran on the side.

"Stop running away, will you?" Groaned Han in a damped voice.

Han's desperation knew no bounds; his eyes fixed on Marie's running form. He launched himself at her, his knife at the ready. But Marie instantly darted to the side, avoiding his attack by a hair's breadth, and Han's hand smashed into the lane's wall with a loud crack.

*THUD*

With no break, he launched himself again and swung his knife in a wide arc, aiming for Marie's exposed back. But she spun around, and the knife smashed into the wall mere inches from her skin. Han attacked again and again, his blows raining down like a storm, but Marie dodged and weaved her body, spinning against the wall and evading his attacks.

*Thud*

*Thud*

*Thud*

*Thud*

And in the midst of it, Marie took the chance, snatching her own knife from the wall where she had thrown it earlier while attacking Yeona.

With a swift motion, she raised it to meet Han's next attack. The blades clashed with the sparks, and the air vibrated. The sound echoed through the maze.

*CLANG*

"Not bad. Not bad," said Marie, smiling at Han.

"You..." said Han, with irritation on his face.

Both of them were now heavily exhausted, their breaths coming in ragged and uneven sighs, but no matter how it looked, the one who was more out of stamina was none other than Marie. 

Infusion Authority: When Marie uses it to infuse any weapon, she can do it as many times as she wants, as long as her stamina and will to fight stand. But...this wasn't the case when she was using her authority to neglect the effect of another person's Infusion authority, for it is like any other knight using their core infusion move. The amount of her own life energy taken to perform the task is extremely high. So she can't use the authority to neglect other infusions more than three times a day. And she has used up all her daily quota. 

"So what's next, creep? Got something else to do?" said Marie.

"Just wait. Just wait. Just once. Just one change, and I'll show you your place," replied Han.

"Aww, but you've been saying that since a while now."

Marie's kept her expression steadfast, a mask of confidence hiding the fact that she can't use her authority to neglect the effect and is completely drained to the last drop of her blood. But despite her best efforts, her vulnerability did not go unnoticed. The one who saw through it was none other than Yeona.

Just then, a vibrant display of crimson and fluorescent yellow beads came forth in front of Marie. Their radiant glow illuminates the fog-shrouded air.

"Huhh!?" expressed Marie.

It left Marie's eyes wide with wonder, her mind reeling in surprise at the unexpected. She thought Yeona couldn't summon any more of her beads.

*CHRRRRR* *THUD*

A blinding flash erupted from the beads, and in the heartbeat that followed, a deafening blast shook the air around Marie, sending shockwaves through the mist.

*Cough* *Cough*

As the dust gradually dissipated, the scene revealed itself with clarity, and Han, who pulled himself a few steps back in time, was coughing and holding himself. In front of him, Marie's body lay motionless, her chest rising and falling with laboured, shallow breaths about to extinguish.

"The fuck, Yeona? Can't you at least just warn me or something? Cough*," said Han.

"No. It was necessary to do it like this," replied Yeona, who was on the ground, lying upside down. She can't move or breathe properly as she put her last remaining strength into those beeds.

—This is it if she stands again. I am dead. I cannot do anything anymore. It's all on Han now.

Yeona said it in her mind.

"Heeehhhhh..."

The creepy voice cracked in the air, and Yeona raised her head to see that Han had lost himself looking at Marie's merciless body.

"Now you are mine, baby," said Han.

—Ahh- It's over for her now. I hate to look when Han does it, but the job had to be done. Sleep in peace, Marie.

Yeona said it in her mind.

Han walks towards Marie's body and stands, gazing at her every part closely. As the saliva drops from his mouth, Han drops his knives on the ground and closes himself on Marie—