Ash jumped into the air and performed a somersault, retracting his left foot while extending his right on the second half of the somersault and on his way down. Pyrrha had just enough time to snap out of the stupor the consequence Ash set out should she lose, and bring her shield up, bracing herself for the impact. Before his attack could connect, Ash retracted his right foot and instead placed his right hand on the dip of his opponent's shield. He forced his body to spin horizontally before extending his right leg once more, catching Pyrrha by surprise. She tried to use her semblance to deflect the attack out of instinct, but the lack of metal on Ash proved the attempt useless. Ash bent his leg and forced his knee to crash against Pyrrha's temple.

Ash pushed off her shield and landed safely on the ground, getting back into a fighting stance while Pyrrha was forced to the side. She caught her footing with one leg and spun on it as fast as she could, throwing her shield at Ash while she steadied herself. Ash spun to the side, just barely getting away from the shield's trajectory, but as he faced Pyrrha once more, he saw her hand stretched out. He turned around in a panic and saw the shield already hurtling his way. Without time to dodge, out of instinct, he placed his clothed left forearm between him and the shield. The shield smashed against the forearm, threatening to cut it off with sheer force. Ash, though in pain, pushed the shield off, which went back to Pyrrha's left hand, allowing Pyrrha to get back into a defensive stance.

Ash rushed Pyrrha once more, knowing that if he allowed her, she can overwhelm him with long and mid ranged attacks, disabling him from getting anywhere near close enough to attack back. Pyrrha swung her javelin horizontally at a wide angle, fully knowing and expecting that Ash would be able to dodge it to defend himself and continue his charge. As she expected Ash defended himself, but instead of ducking or jumping back, he deflected the attack by pushing against the shaft below the blade with his left forearm as if it was armored. Miló was pushed away and Pyrrha let it go earning her free use of her arm still, simply allowing the weapon to deplete it's momentum on its own.

Ash threw a rather unrestrained right straight at the girl, only for it to be blocked by her shield. Though it was blocked, she was pushed back a foot or so and some of the momentum from the blow went straight into her arm, forcing it to test its connection with her shoulder. It was then that Pyrrha experienced what he meant by dragons possessing strength surpassing others'. She grit her teeth as she refused to let it get to her. With her free hand, she activated her semblance once more and forced Miló to fling towards the dragon from the air.

As much as she tried to keep Ash's attention to herself, Ash managed to see the flying javelin hurtling towards him. He jumped back and Miló stuck itself a blade deep into the floor, causing some shock in the rest of Team JNPR. There was something about Pyrrha forcing her weapon that fast, that hard into the ground in an attempt to land a blow against her opponent, especially since that opponent was a friend. As he landed, Ash crouched down slightly till he was able to touch the floor with his right hand and pushed off the ground with both feet and arm, flinging him towards the weapon.

Once he was able to, he grabbed the middle of the shaft, pulled it out of the ground and threw it as hard as he could at the champion. Pyrrha used her semblance once more and slowed the javelin as much, but there was one fact she momentarily forgot: if enough force is applied, a magnet's polarity could be cancelled out. With the lack of fights against much stronger opponents than the usual muscle heads of Beacon, she had gotten used to using the same amount of semblance strength to deflect attacks. Although, her semblance did manage to slow down the javelin hurtling towards her, she was still forced to raise her shield to defend against it.

The javelin hit the middle of Akoúo and the room was met with a loud clang of metal on metal. Ash charged towards the champion once more and Pyrrha stepped on the blunt end of Miló' and with the assistance of her semblance, it moved to her free hand, already turning into a sword before it even reached her hand. She got back into a fighting stance, ready to fight Ash up close and personal.

Ash, once more, threw a right straight at the champion, though this one faster and a lot more restrained. When it connected with Pyrrha's shield, it was soft, barely making a sound. Pyrrha swung her Miló horizontally at Ash's head, to which he ducked under. She continued the swing even though it was already a failed attempt, her entire body continued the spin, and she used Akoúo to continue the attack, using the edge of the shield to launch an attack on Ash's head once again.

Ash pulled his head up as fast as he could in reaction of the attack, and though he had already dodged the attack, he continued to lift his head up until eventually his body was forced up, and soon his feet. Using the momentum, Ash drove both feet up through Pyrrha's open guard and up to her chin, forcing her off the ground as well. Ash completed his back flip as Pyrrha stumbled backwards.

The two of them got into a stance once more, but didn't move, simply staring each other down, evaluating the situation for a more favorable way for a win. Both had clear advantages over the other, Pyrrha more so than Ash, but those advantages also proved to be disadvantages that may suddenly turn into a fatal flaw.

Pyrrha had her trusted weapons. She had the advantage in overall combat, long, mid with Miló and perhaps even close quarters combat with both Miló and Akoúo. There was also her free use of her weapons with her semblance, whether they're on hand or somewhere else. Ash had no weapons to speak of other than his training in hand to hand and knowledge on weak points that Pyrrha might not even be aware of. That also meant that there was no way for her to defend against any of his attacks with her semblance like she normally would. But for some reason, it was that clear advantage over her opponent that made her feel a lot more conscious of Ash's movements.

Ash had the advantage of the unknown, like always. With his training with General Ironwood and his study of various fighting styles, he'd ensured unpredictability. However, a seasoned fighter like Pyrrha is able to adjust to the different styles as soon as she could recognize them. However, there was one more unknown that he had against Pyrrha: the physique of dragons. She had next to no idea how strong dragons really were, and was still used to the students of Beacon. However, the more he uses these unknowns, the less effective he'd be able to use them against Pyrrha in the future… that is, if he ever has the chance again.

When Ash began to laugh bitterly, it caught all of them off guard. Ash got out of his stance to laugh more freely, causing Pyrrha to get out of her stance as well, both of them standing up straight with very little hostility between them. Ash ran a hand through his slightly flattened hair a little, keeping his hand over his eyes as he continued to laugh. He laughed at his strange restrain against using all he knew. If he wins now, there wouldn't be a next time to speak of. But even if he lost now, his deal with Ozpin still stands. Even if he ends up telling the four of them about his plans about Menagerie, the island is a much bigger place than anyone would originally think, the chances of them ever meeting even if they were on the same island, was slim if any at all.

"I'm sorry, but there's just something humorous about all of this," Ash explained in between bursts of bitter laughter. The members of Team JNPR were unable to say anything. Jaune and Pyrrha were slightly worried that the dragon may have lost it a tiny bit, and was now nothing more than a ticking time bomb with unreadable numbers. While Nora and Ren could only focus on the lonesome voice lost in the laughter, calling for help. "I shouldn't care anymore, but here I am, holding back a little, in fear of future bouts. If I win this now, I no longer have to care about this any longer."

"Ash, you're—" Pyrrha found herself saying without a direction to go to with that sentence, but luckily the dragon very quickly interrupted her.

"No, no, no Miss Nikos," he said, gathering what breath he lost in his laughter. He breathed deeply twice before returning to a strange stance that could be called neither offensive nor defensive. His left arm was wrapped across his back, his forearm resting on the small of his back. His right forearm and right hand were the only ones raised up, as if his elbow and upper arm was simply hanging off his shoulder. He was turned to the side, lessening the chance for Pyrrha to hit him with a bullet should she choose to fire. "It would've been best if you had used that opportunity to try and win this duel. Now I'll be coming at you with all I've got."

She blinked once and glared at the dragon. Only thoughts of her damaged pride went through her mind. How dare he hold back when she was not? Was this only something that he was doing for fun? She morphed Miló into a rifle and fired at her opponent three times with at least a second in between each one. Ash spun to dodge the shots, spinning to the side, alternating between each arm, which would be the one resting at the small of his back. Whenever he'd spin to the left, it'd be his right arm that's at the back, and whenever he'd spin to the right, it'd be his left arm. Pyrrha's frustration grew as his movements only made it seem like he was dancing to her and her teammates. Once all the shots have rung out and hit the wall behind him, Ash removed the arm behind his back, crouched down, and once again, used both feet and hand to propel him forward.

Pyrrha met his approach by running at him head on. The two met in the middle with Ash throwing the first hit. Pyrrha moved her shield to block, momentarily blocking her sight of the fist as well. She was still able to see Ash, but when the familiar force of his strike never came and when he ducked to disappear from her sight, she was forced to move her shield to the side to see him. She jumped thinking that he was aiming to sweep his leg and knock her off of hers, but he finally came to view again, he was only bending his back with his left fist already coming up to deliver an uppercut. With her wasted movements still full of the momentum she exerted, she was left helpless when the fist struck her chin. She was blown high up into the air, losing her ability to see for a good amount of time as her brain shook within her skull.

Ash wouldn't wait for her to land, whether it's on her feet or on her back. He leapt into the air and grabbed her ankles, spinning forwards and slamming her back on the floor, pushing up dirt and dust as well as cracking the floor. The air in Pyrrha's lungs forced its way out from her mouth at the impact, and given the fact she was unable to put up her guard in time, the back of her head hit the floor with a force as well, once more shaking her brain.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Ash pushed himself up from her ankles to her chest. He brought a fist down on her diaphragm not allowing her to recover any air she lost and pushing whatever air was left inside, out. Pyrrha's body screamed in pain from Ash's blows and lack of air, though she may not show it on her face. Before Ash could strike her diaphragm another time, she forced Miló to slice at his temple and knock him off of her, using her semblance to add more than necessary force to it, when her oxygen deprived muscles could not deliver such force. Ash was knocked to the side, recovering from the strike to his temple, while Pyrrha pushed herself up from the floor and coughed, panting deeply and forcefully, trying to recover lost breath.

As Pyrrha continued to recover, she couldn't help but think about her mistake and how much her body hurt because of it. If she allowed him to get the advantage like that again, then the fight might not end in her favor and she'd blame herself for dragging her entire team into it. That was another thing that she couldn't figure out: why would Ash want to be forgotten? She shook her head, getting rid of the thought, instead replacing it with thoughts of winning, for if she does, she can ask him for his reason. She couldn't lose. She wouldn't allow herself to. But there was one problem that lingered in her mind: how would she force the dragon to say 'I give up?'

When she forced herself back onto her feet, she was still recovering, but Ash was already fully recovered, already rushing towards her. She kept her shield low and to the side, making sure to watch Ash for every single movement he was able to make. He raised his hands in front of him, much like Yang would, forcing her to try and focus her eyes better. Yang had always been a challenging opponent for her, and if Ash were implementing the same type of boxing then, she'd have to more on guard than usual.

Before he could even make it close to her, she got onto one knee, morphed Miló into a rifle and shot at him five more times. As she expected, he forced his charge to a stop and dodge the bullets. It wasn't much but it gave her time to come up set some sort of trap. She morphed Miló into a javelin once more and threw it at Ash, ready to use her semblance to force it to the side should he decide to catch instead of dodging. Luckily, he sidestepped and the weapon was embedded onto the wall outside of the arena.

The dragon ran towards her again, knowing that she was now weaponless excluding her shield. Pyrrha threw Akoúo in response, in an attempt to keep the dragon at bay. Ash dodged the shield, but as it flew past him, Pyrrha used her semblance to redirect the trajectory of her shield, slamming against Ash's back and flying past him again, only for Pyrrha to do the same thing again and again. She kept using her semblance to redirect her shield's trajectory, as well as renew its speed, leading him to a position where she was able to attack at both sides with both Miló and Akoúo.

It took a while, of simply watching Ash dance around her shield, but Pyrrha raised both hands to control her weapon and shield, finally able to put her plan into action. Miló was forced out of the wall and was flung towards Ash's back, hitting the boy square on the small of his back and knocking him off balance. Akoúo was next, flying towards Ash and hitting him dead on his nose, forcing his upper body back, while his lower body was forced forward thanks to Miló.

When Ash's body hit the ground, Pyrrha had already recovered her weapon and shield and was rushing towards the dragon, in an attempt to capitalize on her plan's success. She jumped up and momentarily morphed Miló into a rifle, firing down at her opponent several times now that he was unable to dodge. Every single shot was successful in hitting Ash and keeping him down as she came down, morphed Miló into a javelin once more and slammed the blade against Ash's body, causing an indentation of his back into the floor.

Pyrrha tossed Miló up and jumped back. Ash tried to get up, but Pyrrha threw her shield again, hitting Ash's forehead, forcing him back down on the ground. In that instant, Pyrrha used her semblance to fling Miló towards the downed Ash, but Ash managed to recover enough to catch it before it could make contact with his body. Pyrrha clicked her tongue in irritation, cursing herself for even thinking that the trick would work twice against him. She contemplated on trying to pry her weapon from Ash's grip, but considering his strength, it might only be another wasted movement.

Ash stood up using Pyrrha's weapon as support. His body hurt, having to brave through the champion's attacks, unable to defend against them, but it wasn't pain he hasn't felt before. Once he was back on his feet, he tossed the javelin back to its owner, much to her confusion. He'd successfully disarmed her, yet he'd immediately relinquished that advantage. She caught the javelin and morphed it to a sword, taking a stance with it, ready for a fight. Ash, on the other hand, was completely relaxed with no defense to speak of. It unnerved her. When the familiar red smoke began to lightly pour out of his body, she knew why. Not once this entire time had he used his semblance against her.

The unnatural strength that she was cautious of previously now became a much bigger threat. She'd watched him fight plenty of times now to know that the extra boost of speed was minimal, but since it was backed with such a force, such speed is critical. Judging from the intensity of the smoke around him, the drain on his Aura was minimal, more than likely the same usage as the rest of them at the state. It also proved to be one more thing she needed to watch. The moment it thickens, she'd have to focus on defending whenever he moves. She didn't like the unknowns when fighting Ash, and dreaded fighting against it with strength that could rival Yang's semblance. Her grip tightened around her weapon and shield as she watched Ash crouch down slightly, preparing to charge her once more.

As she expected, Ash charged her, leaving a trail of red smoke behind him. He threw a straight at her shield, and the force transferred to her was nearly overwhelming. If she hadn't braced herself for it, she would've been knocked down and left helpless as Ash struck her body over and over again. Instead, she was pushed back a couple yards, her shield arm steadily growing numb. If she continued to take more blows like that, then even her Aura would eventually give out and it'd be her who might end up saying 'I give up.'

Ash continued to charge her as she slid backwards, jumping just high enough to clear her if only he was a bit closer. Instead, he extended his right leg and tried to slam it down on Pyrrha. The champion moved her shield up; unable to dodge the kick due to the unbalanced state Ash's straight left her in. When Ash's leg connected with her shield, she felt her knees buckle. Before she could fall on the ground, more than likely receiving the rest of the kick, she pushed against his leg and threw herself to the side. She tried to recover as fast she could, but was too slow to react when another straight from Ash made contact with her chin. It didn't hurt as much as she thought, but when she caught sight of him again, the smoke around him was gone. He'd deactivated his semblance for some reason or other, but it didn't make the blow received any less crucial. Considering the fights, she'd seen Ash in, a blow to the chin meant trouble. If she takes more, she'd end up paralyzed and he'd be free to beat her without much resistance.

Jaune, Nora, and Ren continued to watch the duel in anxiety. Even Nora, who'd normally be excited about fights, was nervous about the outcome of the match in front of her because of the possible consequence. The best case scenario they could think of is if Pyrrha manages to beat the dragon into submission, but considering what was on stake, they had no idea to what extent he is willing to go. This match was one of resilience, not Aura. Both of their Auras could run out and the match could still not have an outcome. It'll only end after someone utters 'I give up.' It was a match where one of them could very well die if it isn't stopped in time.

Despite the caution her entire being screamed for, Pyrrha was the one to charge Ash. She couldn't allow him to gain the momentum he sought for, fearing for the worst should he achieve it. Once more, she initiated by throwing her shield, fully knowing that nothing she could do with it, would be able to hit him, much less discourage him from attacking back. Ash rushed towards her, dropping his body to the ground, sliding on his knees and shin to pass the shield, watching Pyrrha for the slightest movements just in case she decides to use her semblance for another sneak attack. When she raised her left hand a little, he quickly pushed himself off of the floor till his entire body was a yard in the air, turning himself around as he did so. As he predicted, the shield was hurtling towards him again. This time, instead of dodging it, he allowed it to hit his stomach, allowing him to grab it. He could feel Pyrrha's semblance working against him, and he allowed the shield to go back to its owner, but not before adding his own semblance-boosted strength to it.

Instead of wasting time and effort trying to slow the shield down with her semblance, Pyrrha instead deactivated her semblance and dodged to the side, allowing the shield to fly past her and imbed itself to the wall behind her. Before she could retrieve her shield, Ash rushed her, no longer allowing either of them to even recover a little bit of their breath. Pyrrha was relegated to brawling against Ash with only Miló. She morphed Miló into a sword and prepared for the clash.

With only Miló in her hands, Pyrrha was still a formidable opponent, but her efficiency in combat seemed to decrease. She spent more time defending than her usual attack and deflect flow when fighting people the likes of Yang and Team CRDL, granted she wasn't able to get into her usual flow at all throughout the duel, since her opponent was someone who wasn't so easily read. Ash kept on the offensive, very quickly picking up on her drop in efficiency. Whenever she tried to retrieve her shield, he'd break her concentration by sneaking in a small but quick jab to the chin. In total, so far, she had received a total of eight blows to the chin. Several times did she feel her knees buckle; focusing her strength in the area, while she defended against any more blows to the chin.

Ash's barrage of attacks felt like years to Pyrrha, not knowing when it would stop. To her, every thing came to a slow, Ash's, her teammates', and even her own movements. Everything seemed to be moving through molasses. Her hearing seemed to have stopped working as well. She was still able to hear, but it was almost as if she was underwater. She wasn't sure what happened, she might've taken a blow to her head without knowing and that was the cause, but she took advantage of it. With Ash's movements slowed, she studied every single punch, every single kick, and every single movement of any muscle.

Pyrrha paid very special attention to Ash's breathing wherever she was able to see it, albeit his chest, nose, mouth, or throat. Despite continuing his bombardment of strikes, his breathing seemed to be just a little faster than regular, whereas she expected him to be on the brink of exhaustion. By this point, anyone in any fight would be feeling the effects of exhaustion, and yet here he was breathing as if he had just gone on a small walk. She remembered his ten-hour jog. She thought that he must've taken a number of breaks in between, but now she began to think of the impossibility of him running the entire ten hours.

Time and her hearing soon reverted back to normal and by this time, Ash's attacks came to a stop. Without asking questions, Pyrrha activated her semblance and retrieved her shield from the wall. It was only when she had Akoúo in her hand again did she actually look back at Ash. He was standing a good ten feet away from her, without a stance, simply just standing there as if waiting. Pyrrha got out of her stance as well, relaxing her body and recovering any breath lost.

"Why did you stop attacking?" Pyrrha found herself asking, as she panted lightly. Unlike before, the thought of him taking it easy on her didn't grace her mind, though she did recognize that he hadn't used his semblance ever since he threw her shield at her. "You're not taking it easy again, I know that, so why?"

"I was waiting for you to retrieve your shield," he explained, reaching up to completely unzip his hoodie, tossing it to the side, and stretching his tired muscles. Without the hoodie, he felt lighter, faster, less hindered by the extra friction-causing cloth. "You are like me, Miss Nikos. You lust for a good fight. And ever since you entered Beacon, you've yet to find a fight good enough to completely satisfy lust. Whether the reason is your opponent, or maybe even the rules that bind you, you are left only barely satisfied to not notice. After all, isn't that why you're smiling right now?"

Pyrrha placed Miló against her back, the weapon seemingly magnetized to it, and reached up to lightly touch her lips. Sure enough, a small smile was formed on her face as the feeling of satisfaction slowly became much more evident in her chest. She never knew the side of herself that Ash described, but now that he forced her to acknowledge it, she felt ashamed, yet at the same time happy. Ashamed that she was slightly ridiculing her opponents or the school rules on the inside, and happy that she was finally able to find a part of herself that she'd yet to know.

"Now, shall we continue?" Ash asked, getting back into a defensive stance should the champion decide to be aggressive as revenge to his barrage of attacks. But when Pyrrha refused to take a stance, Ash got out of his. "Is there something the matter Miss Nikos?"

"Ash, I will beat you in this duel. I will force you to give up," Pyrrha swore, using her semblance to retrieve her weapon from her back, and tightening her grip on both Miló and Akoúo when she could. She morphed Miló into a rifle and took aim at the dragon, but refused to pull the trigger until he was ready. "And when I do, you will answer all my questions. You will tell me everything."

"And when I win this duel Miss Nikos," Ash promised, taking a stance, ready to dodge her bullets. They both were smiling, satisfied with their opponent in the less restricted match, despite the worried expressions on their audience. "Once I have fulfilled my deal with Mister Arc, I will disappear once more – from Beacon, and from your memories."

Instead of pulling the trigger immediately, Pyrrha placed her shield on her back and ran towards Ash first before pulling the trigger three times. As anyone would've expected, Ash easily dodged each bullet and ran towards Pyrrha as well. The champion kept her weapon in the form of a rifle even when Ash was within a leap's distance. She spun her weapon from the stock, keeping the trigger within reach. She pulled the trigger when the barrel was pointing towards Ash, stopping him in his tracks, forcing him to dodge to the side, but still within arm's reach. Pyrrha continued to spin her rifle, releasing it for a brief moment only to grab it higher up, just at the barrel, and using the stock to bat Ash with. The unusual attack caught the dragon of guard and received the attack on the cheek, forcing him to look away from Pyrrha. She continued to spin her rifle, moving her hands lower to the stock and pulling the trigger when the barrel was facing Ash again. Unable to see the attack, Ash took the bullet to his side, with his Aura mitigating it.

Her teammates and Ash recognized the attack pattern. It was a similar attack pattern, if not the same, as a certain scythe wielder they all knew. In all honesty, this was something Pyrrha didn't wish to use. Not only did she never practice it, a single mistake could force the flow to end and may even disarm her or even harm her at the worst possible outcome. Should that mistake occur, no matter the outcome, Ash would capitalize on it and go into a flow of his own.

Ash was hit with a bullet four more times and was hit with the stock twice more before Pyrrha morphed Miló into a javelin. Placing the middle of the shaft against her neck, she spun it with the help of her semblance with the bladed and blunt end of the weapon slamming against Ash two times each. She brought the javelin's blade to the floor while her opponent was dazed from the blows, and brought it up, crashing against Ash's chin and propelling him slightly into the air. Pyrrha jumped into the air, as she pulled her shield from her back once more, and struck Ash with it when she could. Ash's body hit the floor with a loud thud, cracking the floor just under the middle of his back. However, Pyrrha wasn't done. While she was still in the air, she threw her shield once more, striking Ash's midsection, forcing his upper body up, before landing on his chest with two feet to force it back down.

She jumped off of him, using her semblance to retrieve her shield, and got into a defensive stance, satisfied with the amount of damage she was able to do. Ash was motionless for a few seconds, before her turned his body so that he could use his hands to push his body up. There was a slight moment of stagger as he stood up, but managed to catch himself before he fell to the ground again. When he finally stood up straight, there was blood at the corners of his lips. He'd finally run out of Aura, but the duel has yet to reach its conclusion, and now any more damage he receives won't be mitigated.

"Ash give up," Jaune pleaded on the sidelines. Ash only wiped the blood off his lips and got back into a stance, ready for more.

Jaune wanted nothing more than to run in there and force them to stop, willing to turn to his remaining two teammates to help him. But knowing the dragon, he would fight them all till the very end. The only way they'd be able to subdue him is with violence, and with no Aura to speak of, it'll be a severely delicate operation. There was also the fact that he could still use his semblance without Aura. Naturally, he was stronger than all of them, and even with Nora's semblance, he could very well grow even stronger.

"Now why would I do that Mister Arc?" Ash asked with a smile on his face, never breaking his gaze from the champion. He was truly enjoying himself, that was obvious to all of them, and he was willing to go the distance to continue. "This duel has yet to reach its climax, so why should we jump straight to the resolution? I shall continue until Miss Nikos or I utter those three words."

"Why!? Why are you going this far for something like this?" Jaune asked, his frustration now obvious to the world. With all the people that he's met throughout his life, he couldn't think of a single person that would ever want for something so negative. It was the complete opposite of what Ash was from when he first came to Beacon. "What do you get out of this?"

"Have you already forgotten the deal Mister Arc?" Ash retaliated sarcastically, earning him a glare from the leader. He and Pyrrha got out of their stance; taking whatever time they could get to relax their bodies in order to prevent them from tiring too quickly. "If I win, then you all have to wipe my existence from your memories. That, of itself, is a priceless treasure."

"How does that make sense?" Jaune continued, his right arm, gripping the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white. He fought his body's desire to run in there and stop this entire duel even without any back up, even if incurs the wrath of the dragon and the depreciation of his partner. "That doesn't benefit anyone. Especially you."

"I don't need to explain myself to you," the dragon replied victoriously, increasing the leader's frustration more than it already is. He knew that Jaune wouldn't do a thing, or rather couldn't do a thing, without much hope of winning with such an all or nothing deal. "Once I win, such information is useless to you all."

"You have no Aura left," Pyrrha reminded him, once more tightening her and adjusting her grip on her weapon and shield. She couldn't understand where such confidence came from. He had the clear disadvantage and yet he was as, if not more, confident than when they first started. "What makes you think you still have a chance of winning this?"

"Why don't I show you?" Ash challenged, getting back into a strange stance.

His left foot was in front, pivoted slightly to the right. His right foot was back, half a step behind his body. The rest of his body was turned so that his left arm was in front, seemingly uncomfortably. His left arm was slightly stretched, pivoted slightly to the left so that it was able to freely move around in front of him with an open hand. His right arm was behind him, fully bent at the elbow, sticking as close to his chest as it possibly could, with a clutched fist. It looked as if he was planning on throwing a straight, around chest high.

Pyrrha took a stance as well, her shield was in front of her, ready to block whatever he throws her way and morphed Miló into a sword, turning it 180 degrees so that she now held it as a dagger, and placed it behind her shield, to help support her shield should Ash's intended strike prove to be too powerful for a single arm to support alone. It was obvious that it was his right hand that was going to be the one that would launch the attack, but for some reason, she couldn't help but be cautious of his left hand. It seemed out of place, as if it was just there to be there, but at the same time, it had a much more vital purpose than the rest.

She cautiously took two steps forward, her eyes always watching Ash for any movement, but he did not move, not even his breathing was visible. Not knowing what else to do, and not wanting to lose the momentum she'd gained over his opponent, Pyrrha began to run. She was still posed to block any attacks Ash throws her way, but throwing one herself was an impossible feat. Even with all that, there was still the fear of the unknown.

As she was within five feet of him, Ash pulls his left arm back and tucks it in close to his body. Shield and shoulder met with Pyrrha being the unfortunate loser of the meeting, having her entire body pushed back a single foot away. Ash stepped in and extended his left hand once more, grabbing the edge of the shield and ripping it to her left, away from between them. When her shield and arm were pushed away, Pyrrha swung her sword, cutting Ash's midsection, but not deep enough to stop the flow he created. Now with her means of defense gone, her body was left open to any attack. Ash steadied himself with his left foot, and swung his body forward, dragging his right arm along with. A blow straight to Pyrrha's body, pushed her back a little more as her eyes shot wide open in pain.

Her Aura mitigated most of the damage dealt, but the shock to her body was left unattended. She was afraid of another body blow, hence going on the defensive. Last he hit her body, all her breath was knocked right out of her, as well as prevented her from breathing for a few seconds and continued to restrain that ability for a minute further, but this one was different. In all honesty, the only similarity between the two was the pain, but that was it. It was lower, so that it completely missed her diaphragm, and because of that, she still had her breath. This one, all it did was send a shock throughout her entire body. She tried to take a step forward, but she found that neither her feet were listening to her commands. She didn't have the time to figure out why as Ash was already on his way to her again.

She put up her defenses again, shield in front and sword just behind it. Once more, Ash grabbed her shield and this time pushed to her right, unable to counter the grab, Pyrrha instead used the push to spin around and try and strike him that way. Her feet still weren't cooperating with her, but being off balance was better than taking another blow to the body. When she faced Ash again, she directed sword to come at an angle, starting from high up going down low, wanting to cover as much ground as the situation would allow her.

But as she swung, Ash ducked under it, and turned his body towards her again. Her body was left open once more and as he brought his right arm forward, she swung her shield at him, desperate to interrupt him. Before the shield edge could come crashing towards his open temple, Ash grabbed the shield's edge with his right hand and pushed it away again. Pyrrha's eyes darted towards his left hand, curled into a tight fist, and very rapidly on it's way to the side of her body. As it crashed there, her entire body twisted in reaction to the excess force.

Half of her breath was forced out and her eyes widened in pain once more. She could feel her ribs and muscles straining against the force, as pain surged through her like a wild electrical current. For a moment, her consciousness was whisked away as her mind seemed to think that his fist had somehow dug its way into her body through armor, skin, muscles, and bones.

When she regained her consciousness, it was just in time to watch as Ash's right fist was forced into the pit of her stomach once more. A familiar electrical shock went through her body, losing feeling in her legs, unable to even stagger backwards. The pain from the consecutive attacks surged through her. Her body wanted nothing more than for her to just lie down and let the pain lull her to sleep, but she wouldn't let herself do so. Ash had taken much more damage than she had, and yet he was still on his feet, fighting as if they'd just begun. It was when he drove yet another left to her diaphragm that she fell to her knees, only able to stab her sword tip into the floor to stop her from falling over. Ash stepped away from her, waiting for her to end the duel by uttering the three words.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yelled her name as he ran over to her, kneeling down, allowing her to stabilize herself against his body. She had labored breaths as she tried to get air back into her lungs. She refused to drop her Miló and Akoúo, fearing that it would mean that she lost is she does so, even though they were barely hanging on her fingers. "Are you ok? That's enough ok? It doesn't matter anymore."

"I'm… alright," she said in between shallow breaths of air, both words coming out as barely intelligible wheezes. Anyone could tell that she wasn't. She now somehow seemed severely exhausted, even though she seemed to have enough energy to fight the entire day before she had taken those body blows. "I… can still… fight."

"No, no you can't," Jaune argued. He only supported her as she caught her breath. He was extremely worried about her, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. She was supposed to be the invincible one, and yet it was as if she was on the brink of death. "Why didn't you move out of the way? Why did you just stand there?"

"It was because she couldn't," Ash explained. They both turned to him, and simply watched as he walked closer. Jaune hugged her closer to his body, in caution of the dragon, something that Ash quickly picked up on. He stopped when he was a yard a way and continued to explain, placing a finger on his stomach. "A blow to the solar plexus is a lot like constant blows to the chin. To paralyze someone, one needs to deliver constant blows to the chin, if they are to hope to affect the central nervous system. A single powerful blow cannot do it, as the shock would be delivered to the entire body before it's applied to the spinal cord. In the exact opposite is the solar plexus. As it is in the center of the body, small blows would only bruise the muscles. However, a large and powerful one would send a shock throughout the entire body, especially the legs. It confuses the electrical feedback, sending information up the spine, but disables responses going to the motor neurons, temporarily losing the ability to even walk."

"But that doesn't explain why she's hurt like this, she still has her Aura," Jaune argued as the near silent beeping of Pyrrha's scroll, telling her that she was nearly out of Aura, began to echo in the room. Jaune adjusted his grip on her body as it began to slide off his arms. Her breathing was going back to normal, but was still somewhat labored.

"Enough blows to the body can very quickly deplete someone of their stamina Mister Arc," Ash further explained, watching the champion's breathing in case there was some emergency. He made the mistake of leaning closer as Pyrrha's last attack on his body did indeed cut deep enough to cause a good deal of damage. He immediately leaned back and clutched the wound tightly, hiding it from the two in front of him as best he could. "It works especially well if the weak points are struck: the liver, the solar plexus, and the diaphragm. If you think back, I struck her liver once, her solar plexus twice, and her diaphragm once. I've put down people several times my size with much less. This only proves Miss Nikos' dedication endurance and dedication to her training. Are you alright Miss Nikos?"

"I'm fine," Pyrrha said, with her breathing almost nearly back to normal, now only panting to regain lost breath. She looked to Ash with regretful eyes and smiled lightly. Her body still hurt, but it felt like it was rejoicing to be able to have an even fight. She breathed in once more and spoke again. "I give up, Ash. This is my loss."

"Good," he replied, as some more blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. Jaune and Pyrrha looked down slightly and found his hand still clutching his wound. There was blood seeping from it and more saturating the bottom of his shirt. "Because I can no longer fight."

Ash collapsed to the side. His eyes closed and his hand loosening from his wound. Blood spilled to the floor and continued to drip from the wound. Jaune quickly called for his two remaining teammates to help in a panic. He screamed at Ren to help Ash, to try and put as much pressure on the wound as he possibly could. He commanded Nora to run as fast as she could, to get Miss Goodwitch, anyone who might be able to help. Keeping Ash's presence at Beacon a secret was no longer important, now only saving his life mattered.

Nora burst through the door; scroll in hand, already calling their blonde professor. As she left, Ren ran over to Ash and knelt by him, quickly removing the dragon's shirt so that he could inspect the wound. Ash's midsection was cut open, with blood constantly flowing from it. From what Ren could see, Pyrrha's blade didn't reach in far enough to damage any of his internal organs, or even cause them spill out, but it was deep enough to be life threatening if not treated immediately.

Ren looked at the cloth in his hand and used to wipe away as much of the blood as he could, only growing more frustrated as it was replaced with more and the shirt was now nothing more than a rag completely drenched in blood. Ren bit his lower lip and simply just placed the shirt against the wound and pressed down on it, using his strength and body weight for as much pressure he could muster. He could hear his heart pounding against his chest, with flashbacks of Kuroyuri running through his mind. He wished that his semblance could do something, but bravery could not save someone from death who's already there.

It wasn't long before Nora, Glynda, and Lava came bursting through the doors, but to Ren and Jaune, who started helping keep pressure a little bit earlier, it had been years. The first thing that Glynda noticed was that two of her students were dressed in full armor, ready to take on anything in the world, granted one of them was clutching her stomach in pain. It was the two boys gathered around another boy that caught her attention next. Their hands were joined together on a familiar gray shirt, bathed in blood, crumpled in a heap on top of Ash. Her heart and mind began to race, wondering if her son had already died. She and Nora ran forwards, with Glynda barely able to hear the sound of their footsteps through the beating of her heart.

Lava was first to the group, immediately ripping both Jaune and Ren off of her brother before taking the shirt off of Ash's wound. The amount of blood from the single cut was unreal. How such a thing came to be was something she'd have to question the junior team, but it was something that will wait for later. She focused all of her energy into her semblance, wanting to quickly heal her brother, as she had no idea how long he has to live.

However, due to her panic, her semblance began to wane, slowly closing the wound before it began to revert back to its original state again and at times even opening it further than it was originally before beginning to heal again. Her heart hammered away at her chest, the beating reaching even ears. She grit her teeth and tried to focus on her brother again, trying to use her anger to somehow speed up the healing before her panic opens it up again, however it continued. Ash's expression contorted in pain as his wound opened and closed, the receptors in his body being constantly activated as the muscle was forced to contract as it healed.

It took nearly ten minutes of Lava trying to heal the wound before it had healed enough for the bleeding to be maintained. Glynda stopped Lava before she could try to close it further, only to open it again with the panic-caused irregularity. The ground around them was drenched with at least a gallon of blood, and they could only guess the same amount is now covering all their clothes. Ash was out cold from pain and blood loss, simply lying in the pool of his own blood, his tattered body out for the world to see with his bandaged chest and back being the only exception.

"Exactly what happened here?" Glynda asked, looking at the unconscious dragon, as well as panning her head left and right to look at the extent of the damage the room had taken. Holes and craters littered the walls and floor. Any number of things could've happened, but considering the state she found Pyrrha in when she entered the room, and the possibility of Jaune afflicting the wound, there was only one thing that could've happened. "I was told this would only be a simple spar between Jaune and Ash. How did a 'simple spar' turn into this?"

"Let's get to the infirmary first," Lava said in a slightly restrained tone of voice. She picked up her brother and led the way to the infirmary, looking at Ash with worried eyes, though at the same time, imagining him floating in the sky with large wings stretched out below him.