F-Rank Soul Eater-Chapter 40: A Thousand Battles For One Win.

Chapter 40: A Thousand Battles For One Win.
Just like the last time, Soren, Polystar, Vass, Tommy, Pencil, and Bloodshine worked together to bring down Marcus.
Tommy grabbed Soren by the chest, nagging him for not telling him about the eldritch being, a
Cordycenex pupporum.
However, Soren waited.
For her arrival.
Ivory.
Standing there, she was as breathtaking as ever. However, after rejecting her offer in the previous loop, Soren only saw her as a formidable enemy.
Things progressed just as they did before.
Soren jabbed his dagger into the box, and then he made Ivory admit that she was the person that brought the Eldritch.
However, unlike last time, when Vass released his soul energy, Soren had Polystar back off before he attacked in his rage. Therefore, Ivory could not take advantage of the situation to attack.
"The plan is easy." Soren spoke up, "You attack from the left flank and I from the right."
Both boys kicked against the ground.
They came from her sides.
Fast.
Of course, Vass distracted her with his unending flames.
Ivory caught them from the corner of her eyes.
Her tongue shot out.
long.
Hard.
Fast.
Like a Gatling gun.
But unlike the last time, Vass dodged the attack.
Yes.
Soren had informed Vass of Ivory’s attack beforehand.
Ivory’s Shade was C-rank, and it had morphed her body.
If Soren were to describe what she was, then it would be that she had the likeness of a frog.
It was for this reason that she was able to use her tongue like that. It was also the reason she was abnormally faster than usual, and lastly, it was the reason her hand expanded the way it did, like a ’basin,’ when she smashed Polystar’s head the last time they faced her.
While knowing what Ivory’s Shade did and how it enhanced her body, this knowledge also presented another problem for Soren.
She was faster and stronger than any Soulbound warrior enhanced by soul energy.
She was a monster, and
unfortunately
, she was their opponent.
Polystar took the left flank, his fingers shooting leaves as fast as bullets.
Since Vass attacked with flames from the front and Polystar attacked with blades from the left, she had no choice but to dodge left.
Soren was waiting for her there.
Whoosh...
his dagger came down for her throat.
It was a seamless tactic. One that a normal enemy should not be able to evade.
But Ivory was no normal person.
Only the cream of the crop became Soul Mecha pilots. She had fought enemies in calibres Soren could never dream of.
Ivory smirked, as if to say she already anticipated such a move.
Just as Soren reached her, her tongue shot for him, grabbing him in midair and placing him before Polystar’s leaf blades.
Shit! Can she do that?
[You died]
.....
...Soren had learned his lesson. Ivory’s tongue could not only create
holes
in people, but it also acted as an extra arm to grab and throw.
This time around, as he dove for her neck with his dagger and her tongue came for him midair, he rotated his body—just enough to offset the trajectory of her attack.
Her tongue was unable to grab him.
Her eyes widened in surprise. This was a move past enemies never saw coming until she ended them.
But a veteran was still a veteran.
She suddenly squatted low.
Her legs contracted with such force that Soren could see the veined patterns on her thighs through her tunic.
Boom.
She exploded up, leg going for a kick midair.
It crashed into the middle of his body.
Crack.
Soren heard all—absolutely all—his ribs crack, piercing his lungs and heart.
[You died]
...
...Again, he moved—this time around, faking the target to be her neck but going low for those strong legs.
The blade almost hit the target, but that kick came again...
[You died]
....
Soren knew he had to change tactics. But what would work?
Should he go low, bite into her leg, or maybe ask for assistance?
He tried again and again, but it was the same thing.
[You died]
...
{122 deaths later}
She moved to kick him again. However, Soren was like a cat in the air, dodging the kick, and then she used her second leg.
Boom
Ivory’s eyes widened in surprise. ’Did he just take my kick?’
She looked closely.
There.
His chest area was covered with soul energy.
’This kid didn’t know how to use Soul energy yesterday; how did he figure out soul energy could be used like that?’
Even Ivory had never seen soul energy used as partial armour for different body parts. The level of control one needed to master such a skill must be terrifying.
But more amazingly, Soren suddenly wrapped himself around her leg. Somewhere along the battle, his dagger had left his hand and was now in his mouth.
He had a savage grin, eyes smiling, as if to say. ’Got you!’
The dagger came down, tearing against her flesh.
But it was not a single strike. He was like a dog ripping into meat.
’Ahhh!’ She cried out. Her soul energy became fierce, amplifying her movement.
She kicked him away.
Soren crashed into a charred tree behind, breaking it.
But he stood up, dagger still in his mouth and covered with blood, her blood.
She frowned. "You bastard."
But she was not the only one surprised by this.
"Is that really Soren?" Tommy muttered.
Ivory tightened her leg muscles some more, focusing soul energy on her wound, barely stopping the bleeding.
But she was furious. She was about to have her revenge on Soren.
However--
"You’ve forgotten about me."
A voice came from behind her, Polystar’s glasses gleaming under the light of the sun.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
He attacked, targeting vulnerable parts of Ivory’s body.
Her arms moved, blocking two attacks before the last one got her on the right side.
Polystar had been smart enough to attack the part of her body closest to the wound Soren had inflicted.
She was pushed back.
Whooshhhh...
Flames came again.
Boom. Clap.
Polystar had to use his technique to defend himself from the flames in time.
"Hey! Hothead, watch it!" He shouted at Vass.
"Then get the hell out of my way, Cupeyes." Vass retorted.
"What did you say to me, peasant?" Polystar replied, obviously about to attack Vass.
Soren watched this.
Shit! There is no synergy with them.
Soren turned. Ivory had already recovered. She gave a side smile, no doubt understanding that her attackers were not in sync.
She moved. Targeting Polystar first.
Her speed had obviously slowed, but her opponents had also become too cocky.
"Hey, firebrain, can you hit me?" She called to Vass but ran toward Polystar.
Polystar was forced to defend against Vass’s attack but also against Ivory’s.
With Ivory’s experience, that was not going to be possible.
Before his clapping technique could reach her, she slammed hard against his back.
Break.
The impact shattered his spine, leaving him vulnerable to Vass’s attack.
Polystar screamed in pain as he was roasted alive.
Vass saw what he had done and froze.
He shouldn’t have...
Ivory was already in front of him.
Her tongue shot forth, carving a hole in his head.
Then she launched for Soren.
[You died]
.....