You just have to stop her from blowing up your hands, and your chest

Walking into the arena Asune twirls her sword in hand, smiling happily at you. You think there is almost a skip in her step when you take position opposite each other. Stephanie walks between the two of you. Given how this has usually gone before you ready your magic to prepare for an attack from Stephanie that Asune will use in her own attack.

"If you detonate the stone around his neck -" Stephanie started.

"No." Asune said flatly. Stephanie looked at her and Asune blinked at her, not saying anything else just staring her down.

You relaxed your eyes to check their magic. Asune's golden threads had unspooled from the band hidden in her hair. Beginning to whip around her, building speed and confirm the imbuement that granted their power. They didn't strike Stephanie but Stephanie seemed aware of the danger forming. She moved her hands to her weapons, ready to defend herself if needed. Even if she couldn't see or even know about Asune's threads she knew when she was under threat.

"Very well." Stephanie walked out of the arena, her eyes didn't stray from Asune, the way you watch a wild animal who could attack you.

Asune didn't watch Stephanie in kind, she was focused on you, the happy smile still in place. "We haven't fought in a while." She said, the hiss from her sword as she slowly imbued it was more unnerving than the wires becoming a swirl of razors around her. "Do you remember what I told you about hurting me?"

You nod, "That I'm allowed to." Not that you have any intention of doing so.

She licked her lips then left them parted while she pushed the tip of her tongue against a canine until a little bead of red formed. "These will make it better." She said showing off the stones on her wrist.

It was a distraction. The flashing on the stone on her wrist pulling your eyes and making you focus them out of seeing magic for a second. You felt a line of pain along your forefinger. Jumping back before her wire could move any closer to the stones on your wrist you started threading magic through your body. You felt a heat on your chest and stopped.

Your hesitation gave Asune an opening and she rushed you. The wire's moving in advance were easily countered. They couldn't penetrate a strong enough shield and a shield could be used with magic touching the stones.

Her sword hit your shield and deflected off it, throwing her wrist towards the magical wall. You dropped the shield so her hand didn't blow off.

For a moment you saw her smile falter. Her sword corrected. Without having a shield, and with your own sword not raised since a block with it would demand magic to strengthen your wrist you have no choice but to take the slash.

As her imbued sword nears your shoulder you notice the other issue with dropping your shield. Her wires are now free to cut at you. You can't think of any way to avoid this, a slight pain hits your leg as she uses a wire to try to cut into your muscles. It earned a knee jerk reaction.

Your knee comes up and hits the hilt of Asune's sword poking out from the bottom of her hand. The force knocks her arm out of the way and you can hear a crunching. For a moment you think your knee cap was broken but she jumps back, her sword hanging limping from her thumb and forefinger, the rest of her fingers and hand were crumpled though healed quickly. The stone on her momentarily crippled hand not so much as glowing. Man you wish you could move magic as easily as she could. Imagine how much stronger you'd be if you didn't try putting out a campfire by dumping a lake on it.

She watched her hand heal and licked her lips again. "Thank you." She said, changing her stance, now wrapping her sword in her wires, giving it more reach and a much stronger and faster swing.

You put your foot back onto the ground, not daring to look down and away from Asune. You'd honestly kinda forgotten you can kick people in a fight. Basically all of your training so far has been on using a sword. However it does give you at least two limb that won't get blow off.

Your throw your sword out of the arena and fold your arms behind your back, grabbing your stump in your left hand. Threading your legs with magic you get ready for a brand new to you style of fighting. Good thing you've been watching Vatarie's butt so much during her training, it had given you a collateral view of her legs and how she moved them.

Asune bite her tongue hard enough that her lips stained red. She started circling you, testing your legs and the reinforcement you'd just put in them. It was a smart thing for her to do, you'd ramped up the reinforcement more than usual so the step to your right torn your pants from the speed of it. Asune attacked, the tiny slip enough to make clear that you are not prepared.

While that is true with Asune only having one point of attack it is much easier to dodge her attacks. You only need to put magic in your abdominal muscles to lean and slide your way around her sword, no danger of setting off the stone around your neck.

Her slashes and thrust change to be small. Larger heavier slashes would be more effective against you, just in terms of being able to cut through your reinforced skin, but they are very easy for you weave your way around. Tiny adjustments to her wrist to turn a thrust into a little slash against your turned gut are a lot harder to move out of the way of.

You manage to avoid any wounds while you get used to your new legs. Since you are planning on using them for attack not just defence you really boosted how hard you've made your skin, sadly unlike your arms the skin on your legs needs to able to move a lot freer.

You only notice Asune's trick when you feel a cut on the hand behind your back. A single wire had left Asune's sword to try and touch a stone. With it's placement on your back if a stone went off you'd lose a chunk of your spine. You respond with another knee jerk, this time her thrust and your dodge made that knee slam into her stomach.

She falls to the ground and vomits. Her sword is still in her hand so you back off rather than check if she is ok. It was the smart decision since you feel a wire slash your stomach where a stone had just been. Asune stays bent over holding her stomach for a few more seconds and you start to worry you really hurt her.

You don't let that lower your guard however. Even if she'd been crippled her wires only need magic and her mind to operate, and a single touch from one of them will set off an explosion.

"Harder." She said in a gasped breath, standing up a little shakily with a broad smile. She breathes in deeply and throws her sword over to where you'd thrown yours. Raising her hands she wrapped both her arms and legs in the wire, leaving a portion exposed, barbing her whole body so any touch would impale the attacking limb. Frankly it's such a perfect counter to hand-to-hand you are stunned you haven't seen her use it against Vatarie. The gulf between Asune and everyone else in terms of versatility is just staggering.

She lunches herself at you. No attempt at defence this time, her arms were spread as if she was going to hug you, all to get a single wire inside you.

A range fight just became your only option, however there is no way you can do that without her stones getting caught. You jump into the air to give yourself some time. You legs sending you soaring over the top of the Academy's buildings. Asune's wires try and follow you but unwinding them takes too long.

At the pinnacle of your jump you hover for a moment, not using your wings just throwing magic down to hover. The only spot you can attack from range without blowing her up is her legs. Not something you can do from the air. You only other alternative is just accept that her stones are viable targets. Not like she doesn't have enough magic to regenerate a hand or two.

You reverse your magic, sending yourself shooting downwards. Hitting the sand you send a pulse out. The grit you'd thrown into the air flying out and hitting her face. She doesn't react to it at all, running through it even as you see bits hit her eyes, running through it while you get your leg hit ready. She spear jumps at you before you can take out her legs. Her hands leading for a grapple.

You clench your teeth and let the ranged magic fire. The magic hits her outstretched finger, causing them to crumple as the magic moves through her hand.

*POP*

All four of her stones explode at the same time. Her hands almost completely destroyed. The explosion and the magic that caused it cut her jump short. The impact does nothing to her otherwise. Wire's shoot forwards from bloody stumps slashing and stabbing at you.

You try to dodge back but can't. The edge of the arena in right behind you, you hadn't even thought of that when you'd aim your landing, simply intending to be as far from Asune as possible.

The feeling of her wire stabbing into your stomach and then growing inwards is honestly more unsettling than it is painful. It is still extremely painful however and you let out a grunt.

Asune's body slams into you, thankfully you throw a shield up around the stone around your neck while her wires tried to push further inside you. That earns one final knee jerk reaction. And it is the sort of reaction everyone in the entire arena instantly agrees is a foul.

Your knee pulls down from between Asune's thighs. She leans against you for a moment before falling down the move pulling the wires out of your body. She falls onto her side, putting her hands between her legs and letting out a deeply pained groan.

"I am so sorry." You say, kneeling down to check on her.

"Perfect." Asune said looking up at you with watery eyes. "Kiss me Christopher." She said pursing her lips.

"Enough." Stephanie said, walking into the arena and pulling you away from Asune. To stop Asune from retaliating, or to stop her from trying to have sex right here and now. It's both, it's absolutely both.

She pushes you towards the line and pulls Asune up. Asune has already recovered and skips over to hold your hand stroking you with her thumb. She almost stands next to you but Vatarie clears her throat looking down at Asune's regrown but bare hands.

For feel the entire room tense, prepared for Asune to attack Vatarie for attempting to separate you. Asune doesn't, she puts a kiss on your cheek and takes her new position as Four, that'll last until next Friday.

"Very good." Stephanie says looking. "Now everyone who didn't fight raise your hands." You can feel a groan of expected pain as arms are raised. "Smart decision." Stephanie nodded. "Eight, your stone." Eight stood on slightly weak legs and walked over to Stephanie handing over her stone. Stephanie put it into her pocket, "Time to wash up. Asune a word." She walked out of the arena. The suddenness of the ending of that left everyone aside from Asune, who had followed Stephanie, momentarily lost. The lack of advice based on elimination fights is kinda an integral part of this whole thing.

Slowly the audience starts to stand and leave, helping the students who need support as they do. You do feel a few dirty looks aimed at you for the foul but Ana and Vatarie give you support and ignore how it ended. Heading to the baths your other lovers and friends follow their lead, though Clare points out that making your enemy cum is a totally valid victory. None touches that comment and everyone silently agrees to not bring it up.

You want to wait outside the baths for Stephanie to arrive but your clothes are more than a little bloody and it is making some people squeamish. Having a bath is a short affair less Stephanie arrives and departs while you are underwater. You needn't have worried about that possibility however, as when she arrives it is with Asune and Asune runs over to you, pulls your cock and starts riding you the moment she can get you hard enough to do so.

Too horny from the duel then the delay in her release. Asune does not give you a chance of seeing anything but her body by pushing a nipple into your mouth then grabbing your jaw to apply the pressure she wants. You are able to hear when Stephanie strips, enters, exits and towels back up before leaving, you are starting to think that is all your are going to get until your duel in two weeks.

After Asune is content enough to allow you out of the bath you all have dinner to talk about the coming weekend.

"You can come to my estate. I'd love to show you some of my equipment." Asune offers to everyone but focusing on Vatarie.

"I'm spending time with my friends. More the merrier," Vatarie avoids giving Asune an answer while opening the invitation to everyone, "We're going to check out a tavern that's opening. The staff are meant to have really skimpy-" She cuts off and looks at you with a blush.

"I am taking Edin shopping for his wedding." Ana says, saving Vatarie. "And you need new clothes as well." She gives you a raised eyebrow. Fair enough, you have gone through a lot of clothes almost entirely not your fault, with the exception of the crime that was the one you destroyed in training.

"We've been invited to the Palace." Delilah said, wolfing down their second plate full of meat. "Isabelle wants to spend more time with us, if you want to join." Eve adds licking their fingers a little too suggestively for Delilah who blushes.

"I'll do whoever you're doing." Clare says with a wave of her hand. A hand that ended up on your crotch.

"We're going to-" Oriana starts only for her sister to cut her off.

"That tavern sounds fun, doesn't it sis." Auria grins at her sister who shuts her mouth. "Oh wait," she looks at Lucia, "is it just guys or will there be girls?"

"You could just take your tits out if there aren't any skimpy barmaids." Lucia said with a broad smirk. She has gotten a lot more bold ever since Auria managed to get something on her sister.

"I do have some things I need to do in the morning that I don't know how long will take." You say, your visit to the Royal Library and/or Palace to try and find the Elf's name does need to take precedence, without the sky metal sword you won't wins Stephanie's duel.

There was some more chatting but with the weekend options laid out the talk was light. Vatarie asked what Stephanie had wanted with Asune but all that had done was remind her about how horny she was after your fight and the dinner was cut short in favour of rapid ascent to your room.