Vegetto's scowl returned, grunting lightly and tensing up in preparation for Demi-Fiend's movements. However, his head only whipped back from the knees that struck him square in the nose, blasting backwards through the air from the kick to his chest. He cried out in pain as he soared through the air, crashing into Snow first and bouncing off of his back onto the hard ground below. Blood streamed down his right nostril, his arms wobbling as he attempted to stand up.
C'mon...move, arms. Lift...me...up....
He quietly crashed into the ground shortly after, his limbs responding in kind to his demands and losing all strength. He panted heavily, lying in the dirt with his head to the side as the remaining shards traveled down towards the floor. His eyes fluttered for a moment, unaware of the approaching danger once again as Whis' voice rung out in his mind.
"Your mind limits your potential. When your body begins to weaken and stress, your mind will shut it down to prevent you from doing more damage. Shut off your mind instead...and then your instincts will guide your way."
His eyes began to shut slowly, the voice waning.
"The energy is there, the power is there."
His eyelids fully shut, his breathing slowing.
"Let it take control."
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Kassava grimaced, her arms flowing in an attempt to block the punches. However, her eyes darted to the side, narrowly dodging pebbles and having to avoid the shards while Cuki continued her assault. She grunted in annoyance, faltering and slipping in her defense to block the blows.
Damnit...she isn't even worried about those damn shards...how come none of them are flying her way?!
Her eyes widened, the shield formed around her body cracking further and further underneath the pressure.
No...no no no no-
Kassava finally stumbled back, the golden barrier shattering into light particles and her arms flying up to block the jabs at her pressure points. Her head suddenly whipped to the side, however, the blow aimed for her head missing the initial target but striking into her right side cheek. Stumbling back, Kassava roared as a blue flame like aura replaced the golden hue surrounding her body.
"Damn pest!"
She let out another small roar as a massive gust of wind and energy exploded outward from around her body, pushing Cuki back only a step in order to stop her offensive assault. With the momentary break caused by the wind throwing off Cuki's movements, Kassava launched forward with a flurry of punches of her own. However, her speed and movements flowed slower than her typical power, the fists flying slow enough to be tracked and seen.
However, she suddenly stopped, her eyes darting to the side at another explosion of heat that shook the ground beneath her feet.
=========================
A glowing silver fire began to rise on the edges of Vegetto's still body, growing steadily outward. As if the bare skin was like timber, the flames steadily ignited his body as it flowed steadily across every limb. His right arm shot up first like it had a mind of its own, propelling him up into an upright position. With his eyes still tightly shut, Vegetto's upper torso swayed from side to side, each shard wizzing past his bare chest and striking into the ground below. His legs pushed off the ground next, moving him out of range of the remaining incoming shots.
He landed gently on the ground, now a few feet away from Demi-Fiend as the shards aimed towards him erupted into a massive explosion, the wind gusting behind him and ruffling his still black hair and ragged gi. His body stumbled forward slightly, his limbs still adjusting on their own, but he soon straightened his chest out. The silver flame-like glow receded slightly around Vegetto's body once he stood still, glowing particles of lightly appearing and cascading upwards around his body. The silver glow surrounding his hair seemingly ignited the bundles of spikes shortly after, the black strands now shining brightly with a matching shade of silver, his eyebrows also shifting in color.
Now standing tall, Vegetto's eyes slowly opened, his pupils shining brightly with a silver gleam. His typical scowl had mostly remained, but lessened in intensity from before with his eyes trained solely on Demi-Fiend, breathing steadily through his nose. His right arm lifted up seemingly on its own again, lightly wiping the small trail of blood above his upper lip away.
==========================
Whis perked his eyebrows at the sight, but kept a flat expression.
"Oh my, well, at least one of them has already made a step in the right direction."
His eyes turned to Bernkastel, a small frown forming.
"Your attack definitely did the trick, but I would advise we avoid interfering in Demi-Fiend and Vegetto's battle from here on out. Those two are now more than capable of causing enough havoc to disrupt the others in combat, we should focus more closely on the others to help them reach that breaking point."
Whis turned his attention towards Cuki, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Cuki seems to be moving more appropriately...but there's something missing."