KNIGHT VS BUTLER

Mekna managed to use the force of Leo's blow to knock himself back while trapping his opponent in a glacier by reversing the fire he'd set on him with the skill Thermal Reversal, turning the Saint into a sculpture of ice. He leaned on his Cleaver and struggled to catch his breath, his battered body aching from the brutal beating he had just endured, despite having hardened his body. He couldn't help but think that he was lucky to have made it this far. The old him, the him before and during the tournament who considered himself the strongest, the one who had existed before he became a member of the household, wouldn't have lasted this long against an opponent as formidable as Leo.

Mekna's thoughts were a jumbled mix of pain, fatigue, and frustration at not being able to do his job. That and the fact that he was losing. Granted Leo was a high-ranking Glory Knight, ranked fourth within the church, and wasn't exactly what you'd call weak. Mekna didn't expect to be backed into a corner this much. He had been upgraded, elevated to a new level of power and ability. He remembered Eden and how smug he would be if he were to see him struggling now.

"Guess I need to get stronger to be of better service," he thought just as the ice broke and Leo freed himself.

"There's still time," he said.

"Surrender yourself, and the goddess will show you mercy," the knight said.

"Sorry, sir, but I'm finding it very hard to understand you."

"I guess that's a no. Then die, and may mercy be on your soul," the knight said, raising the sword vertically in front of him.

Mekna bent forward and raised the cleaver above his head, beads of sweat forming on his head.

He did well to not overuse his powers in order to prevent damage from coming to his master's property and limited it only to the barrier within which the two of them faced off. In an enclosed space such as this, he should have had the advantage, but he wasn't so sure.

One of Mekna's Special Abilities was the skill Nucleation.

It granted him fine-grained control over heat and all of its characteristics. He could generate, absorb, redirect, and manipulate thermal energy with incredible precision. This allowed him to create intense heat or cold if he applied the absorption aspect of his ability or any other means at his disposal. He could shape thermal constructs and even influence the flow of Entropy.

On the other hand, Leo's abilities revolved around kinetic energy manipulation. He could disrupt the kinetic energy of objects, causing them to shatter or crumble. He could also absorb and redirect kinetic energy, making him highly resistant to physical attacks. This also granted Leo a form of Telekinesis. He could create Phantom Limbs, invisible constructs of kinetic energy that could strike or restrain his opponents.

Aside from his Phantom Limbs, Leo also possessed a range of telekinetic abilities that made him a formidable opponent. His Telekinetic Blast allowed him to compress air into a focused, concussive blast, similar to a telekinetically-controlled shotgun blast of pure force. This ability could be varied in intensity and spread, making it a versatile tool for both offense and defense. Additionally, Leo could use Targeted Telekinetic Pressure to apply precise pressure to specific points, allowing him to crush a single bone in an opponent's hand without affecting the rest of their body.

Leo's defensive abilities were equally impressive. He could employ Kinetic Absorption/Redirection to absorb the kinetic energy of incoming attacks and redirect it back at his enemies. He could also use Telekinetic Weaving to create complex, mobile shields that could be layered for extra defense or shaped to ensnare his opponents. Furthermore, Leo's limited Spatial Distortion ability allowed him to briefly warp the space around himself or a small target, deflecting projectiles and protecting himself from harm. These abilities combined to make Leo a highly skilled and formidable opponent in both close combat and long-range battles.

And these were only what he'd showcased in their fight or what Emkan had been able to deduce. He had no idea of the full extent of this man's abilities.

"Well, he is a Saint, after all. He wouldn't exactly get that title if he was weak," Mekna thought, then charged at the knight.

As the fight began, Mekna unleashed a wave of intense heat, hoping to scorch Leo and gain the upper hand. However, Leo was prepared. With a swift motion, he absorbed the heat energy, using it to fuel his own abilities and reinforce his blade, which he used to knock Mekna back. He used his powers to pull him towards him and threw him over his head and into the barrier he had made.

Mekna quickly got to his feet and attempted to generate a thermal construct, a ring of pure heat energy, and caused it to shrink around the knight, but Leo's kinetic disruption broke the attack apart.

Seeing that the use of his Nucleation would only strengthen Leo's abilities, he opted for a close-range clash, believing he could cancel out his absorption trait with his own and make the battle more even.

The two fighters clashed, their abilities locked in a struggle for dominance. Mekna's heat energy was met by Leo's kinetic disruption, the two forces canceling each other out as sparks sprayed from the clashing of their swords.

Despite his best efforts, Mekna found himself being pushed back by Leo's relentless assault. The Saint's kinetic energy manipulation was simply too powerful, too precise. Mekna's heat energy was being disrupted, scattered, and absorbed by Leo's abilities, leaving him vulnerable to counterattacks. At this point, the only thing keeping him from being butchered was his ability to influence Entropy, which he didn't know how to use that well.

Leo sensed his opponent's weakness and pressed his advantage, deflecting a slash that was randomly about to land on his torso and created a phantom limb, a kinetic construct that struck Mekna from above, causing him to bounce on the floor only to be sent flying through the barrier and into the house with a boot to the face. Mekna sat up on the broken debris and spat blood.

The Saint's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on Mekna's prone form, slowly walking towards him with his sword outstretched at his side.

"In your last moments, say a prayer. A prayer with the assurance that your soul shall be saved."

He raised the sword to swing at Mekna but raised his other hand and caught a bident seconds before it pierced his skull, but Keo, not missing a beat, took any of this and appearing in front of him pulled her arm back and delivered a powerful uppercut that sent the knight flying out of the broken house and into the compound.

Keo turned and stood over him, a hint of amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Thank you," Mekna said, his voice weak but sincere.

Keo snorted, her expression dismissive. "You wouldn't need saving if you weren't so pathetic. I let you deal with the intruder because I thought you could handle it, but it seems even this is too much." She folded her arms.

"And who made you superior?" Mekna asked.

"You're still talking?" She glared at him. He reached out, and she glared a bit before she reached out and hauled him to his feet, her grip firm but not ungentle.

As Mekna steadied himself, Keo stepped on the shaft of her bident, which was lying on the ground. The weapon sprang into the air, spinning into her waiting hands with a soft whoosh. Mekna, meanwhile, summoned a second Cleaver, its blade shimmering into existence beside its twin.

Leo got to his feet and ran at the two.

Keo's gaze flicked towards Cassandra, who was still frozen in place, her eyes wide with fear.

"Hold on for a few seconds, Mekna," Keo said, disappearing as Mekna crossed both swords to block an attack, then pushed Leo back.

"Well, now that the house was destroyed, he could let loose a little and blame it on the other guy when master showed up," he thought, swinging his swords and sending several arcs of heat at the knight.

"Speaking of master, he had put an enchantment over the house to alert him if there was danger as well as prevent outsiders from using magic within it's range. Why hadn't he shown up when the house got broken? Had the knights presence somehow broken that spell?" Mekna wondered once again, dueling with the knight.

Cassandra stood still, staring into the distance. The moment Keo appeared and touched her, she collapsed and fainted.

Keo looked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. Then covered her with a nearby sheet and put her in a multi-layered barrier. She then turned her attention to Leo and rushed to help Mekna fight him.

Cassandra, however, was once again lost in her visions.