Lightning Is the Only Way

Right now, since Gravis' body was shrunk to a size of two meters, his power had been halved. With this body, he was only double as powerful as a level two King. With the Plant Ultimate having created a Divine Beast body, her body was four times as powerful as Gravis' body.

Whoom!

Gravis pushed all his power into his body, making it three times as powerful. With this, his opponent's body was only 33% more powerful, a gap that wasn't hard to overcome.

All these thoughts had happened in an instant, and the Plant Ultimate was still charging at him.

BANG!

Gravis shot forward, but he didn't use his Spirit, Will-Aura, or lightning. This would be a purely physical fight.

The Plant Ultimate closed in on Gravis and punched forward. Gravis simply caught the punch with his left hand. Then, he jumped a bit and grabbed her other hand as well.

CRSH!

Gravis rammed his two feet downwards, right at the Plant Ultimate's feet. The claws on his feet easily dug into her feet. With this, Gravis had caught all her appendages. She couldn't move anything anymore.

Gravis smirked and used his long mouth to bite the flower on top of the body.

CRK!

Gravis' teeth broke as he bit the hardest thing he had ever come into contact with. Yet, instead of feeling helpless or angry, Gravis simply jumped back again.

"If you were a level three King, you would be dead right now," Gravis said with a smirk.

"Again!" the Plant Ultimate shouted as she charged forward again with another punch.

Whoop!

Gravis easily evaded the attack with his flexible waist. "I know why you're doing this," Gravis said.

"Enlighten me!" the Plant Ultimate said again as she performed a kick, which Gravis also dodged. He simply had way too much experience with fighting humans.

"You've probably seen that Ascenders can transform into humans," Gravis said as he easily dodged more attacks. "You know that you will also be able to transform into that body when you ascend, so you're using me to gain combat experience with your future body."

The Plant Ultimate stopped attacking. "Fuck! How did you know that!? Only I have seen the last Ascender! No one else should know that they can transform their bodies! Also, what the fuck is a human!?" she asked.

Gravis only smirked. "I know a lot of things. Haven't you heard Ferris say that I'm filled with wisdom?" he asked with mirth.

"You're filled with shit, is what I think!" the Plant Ultimate said. "Now, stop dodging!"

Gravis didn't comply.

"I want something in return," Gravis said between dodges.

"Oi, can't you just enjoy the fight!? What's with your greedy-ass attitude!?" she asked as she continued attacking.

"How about this," Gravis said. "Every time you would die, I will get one year of wood comprehension."

The Plant Ultimate continued attacking for a full minute as Gravis dodged. Ferris simply watched with interest.

"Hey, Ferris," Gravis transmitted to him. "Didn't the Empress say that I'm not allowed to fight any beasts?"

"You're not. She's a plant," Ferris said. "Also, this is not even a fight since no one is in danger of dying. It's more like a scuffle or playing. Additionally, she is an Ultimate. Her command outweighs the Empress' command."

'Well, okay,' Gravis thought.

After another five minutes, the Plant Ultimate became incredibly frustrated. "Fine!" she shouted with her melodious voice. "One year for every victory you get!"

"We have a deal," Gravis said with a smirk.

BANG!

Gravis used one of his dodges to turn around. Using the power of his turn, his tail smacked right into the Plant Ultimate's abdomen, throwing her away. Her body was stunned for a bit, and Gravis used that moment to bite a huge chunk out of her abdomen.

BANG!

Then, he bisected her with his claws. After that, he simply jumped back. "One year!" Gravis shouted.

CRRRR!

Her body instantly regenerated. Then, she charged at Gravis again. She unleashed another punch, which Gravis evaded with his waist.

CRACK!

Gravis' claws shot into her chest, destroying everything inside it. With another kick, he threw her body away again. "Two years!"

Her body healed again as she continued charging at him.

Over the next hour, a lot of fighting happened, with Gravis always emerging victorious.

"23 years!" Gravis shouted. Yet, he didn't sound confident anymore. The Plant Ultimate was becoming more used to her body with frightening speed. In the beginning, Gravis only needed one or two exchanges to "kill" her, but now, he needed more than ten.

Another hour passed.

"28 years," Gravis said with an icy but concentrated voice. He couldn't take her lightly anymore. Her growth was absolutely astonishing!

Another hour passed.

"30 years," Gravis said.

Another hour.

"32 years."

Another hour.

"34 years."

Another hour.

"36 years."

Another hour.

"That's 38 years," Gravis said. Surprisingly, the last four hours had the Plant Ultimate losing at precisely the same frequency. This could only mean one thing. The Plant Ultimate was no longer growing more powerful.

What was the reason for that?

The reason for that was that her fighting style with her body had already reached its absolute peak. She was using 100% of her body's potential. She was no longer just attacking directly but also used feints. Additionally, she was very good at using her waist and legs to evade.

Gravis had taken many years and many fights to become that good at using his body, but the Plant Ultimate achieved this in just a couple of hours. Gravis guessed that this was thanks to the incredibly long lifespan she had. She had probably seen more beasts fighting than Gravis had seen humans in total.

Surprisingly, after this death of hers, she no longer charged at him. Gravis couldn't read her expression since she was a flower, but he guessed that she was probably making a decision right now.

After some more seconds, she finally said what was on her mind. "Consider yourself a smartass!" she shouted. "So, tell me, why can't I win against you anymore?"

Gravis relaxed. "It's your body," he said. "You are just as good at using your body as me. Yet, your body is not as combat-oriented as mine. My waist is more flexible. My hands and feet have claws. My tail protects my back and is an additional appendage that isn't in my way. My head has teeth as a backup weapon. My legs can accelerate faster than yours."

"The only reason why you can fight with me for an entire half an hour is that your body is 33% more powerful than mine. If our bodies were just as powerful, your losing-speed would rise by over ten times," Gravis explained.

The Plant Ultimate remained silent for a bit. "Fuck!" she shouted in frustration. "So, as long as I remain in this body, I can't win against you physically."

Gravis nodded. "Exactly! Yet, the body of a human has a power that you haven't realized yet."

The Plant Ultimate wasn't convinced by Gravis' words. "And what, pray tell, is that?" she asked.

Whoom!

Gravis retrieved his saber and showed it to her. "The ability to use a weapon."

The Plant Ultimate looked at the weapon, and if she had a human face, she would probably furrow her brows. "I don't get it," she said.

"Let's fight again, and I will show you. No worries, I won't count this towards my comprehension time," Gravis said.

If she hadn't lost to Gravis so many times, she wouldn't even entertain that thought. Yet, Gravis had proven very powerful for his level. Maybe there was something to his words.

BANG!

She charged at him again. With her increased combat-experience, she also managed to use her muscles better, making her faster.

SHING!

Gravis easily split her body in two with his saber.

CRRR!

The body regenerated. "Hey! That stick is above the level of a level three King! That's cheating!" she said.

"No, it isn't," Gravis said. "This is a natural material that's just as powerful as a level three King. Additionally, I didn't use any Laws when I made this. If I used a Law, it would be even more powerful. I simply gave the saber an edge. Here, let me show you."

BANG!

Gravis punched the side of the saber, breaking it into two pieces. "By punching its side, I was able to destroy it. It's not harder than our bodies. Yet, by creating an edge, it's even more powerful than teeth or claws."

Whoom! BZZZ!

Gravis summoned the destroyed tip and reforged the saber. Such a soft material didn't take much lightning at all to reforge. "You see this?" Gravis said as he showed the reforged saber. "I can simply make more of these. It's an easily replaceable, powerful weapon."

The Plant Ultimate remained silent for a couple of seconds. "Fuck! How is that shit even allowed!?" she shouted with frustration. "That's way too useful and powerful!"

Gravis smirked. "That's the power of the human body. Look at your body. You don't have any claws or powerful teeth. Using just your body as a weapon would make you weaker than nearly any beast. Yet, if you create a weapon and use it with your hands, your body will be incredibly powerful."

The Plant Ultimate remained silent for a while.

CRRRRR!

Some roots came out of the ground and transformed into the same shape as Gravis' weapon. Yet, the edge wasn't nearly sharp enough.

CRRRRR!

The Plant Ultimate used her hand to grind off the wood on one side of the saber, creating a sharp edge. Then, she did some practice swings and even swung at her own arm, easily cutting it off.

"Why the fuck didn't you say that earlier!? Now, all my previous combat experience becomes useless since I now use a completely different weapon!" she said.

Gravis only smirked. "I guess because I wanted to fuck with you," he said.

The Plant Ultimate remained silent for some more seconds. Then, her body drooped.

"At least invite me to dinner first," she said, defeated.