Klein tried to restrict the area that was under the influence of the domain with his space-time manipulation.
If he thought life mofei was complex, just activating the fingernails was proof of the effects the nature-infused core gave.
He naturally comprehended the elements, but as far as applications went, he was aiming blindly.
Still, it was as if Klein became separated from space and as if time slowed ever so slightly under his influence.
'He's faster and has access to multiple types of attacks and defenses, yet he's not properly using them all. Currently, his mind is operating at another level in order to facilitate the use of the space and time elements. If you don't end this soon, he's no doubt going to end this farce once he utilizes the two at their maximum potential.'
Rage continued to analyze and relay information to Z'oelo while the latter continued clashing with Klein.
At this point, his speed was severely lacking and he was beginning to take scratches all over his body.
Some were burnt while others reached deeper and at this rate, Z'oelo had decided on a method not specifically mentioned in the functions of the battle spirit.
While it was possible to reach a level where he could command a domain, nothing was said about what he did next.
The domain shrank, but as it did the concentration of Rage rose empowering Z'oelo further.
'In my domain, I am undefeatable!'
Muni went from two tonfas to one as the other formed a short sword.
Instead of defending all the time, he would get reckless with his assault defending with a blade.
Instead of the Rage confusing Klein's mind, it worked to strengthen his will in tandem with the influx of mind mofei.
'Fuck! Is there nothing I can throw at him that won't fail?!'
This time, it was Muni that responded, 'Why are you so afraid of hurting him? Even if he does get hurt it's not like we don't have the best healers with Edmond's holy flames and Evangeline's radiant light, right?'
It finally clicked in Z'oelo's head that this turned into a real fight the moment Klein declared so.
So, why was he trying his best to defend against someone eager to defeat him instead of beating his ass black and blue.
'You wanna cut me?! You wanna resist my Rage?! Blasphemy!'
This time, the tonfa turned into another short sword.
Muni did not have enough mass to create more weapons at the moment, so he had to settle for this.
Still, the results of his next attacks showed the disparity between Z'oelo's defense and offense.
Slice!
Everyone was shocked to see the ruthlessness in Z'oelo's offense as Klein's right hand was sliced clean off.
"That's for making me think I was blind."
Klein could not properly feel pain while in his current state, but losing the connection of half of his treasures left a bit of distaste in his mouth.
His eye even dimmed a bit in response, but inside the elements were still present.
Promptly following the feeling, his roots actually grew outwards from the severed part and snatched up the falling hand.
Before anyone could react, they contracted and pulled the hand back in place.
'Again, I'm such a fucking idiot.'
Noticing the mote of sentience his roots had, Klein should have either paused the fight or done something to end it, but basking in the feelings he had while fighting freely awakened something inside himself.
The thought he had was in regards to the roots and his organs and their saturation.
Presently, he had given each organ an element that he felt suited it and gave a proper enhancement in return.
His core was limiting him and so too were his saturated organs.
They were inferior to his fingernails and could not even withstand the brunt of his Universal Rules.
The solution?
Let his roots grow all throughout his body and flood himself with all the pure mofei he could muster.
The only thing his body should be limited by was his strongest factor.
Why would he not use earth to saturate his skin instead of the light and darkness?
Would that not increase the sturdiness of his body and protect him from an attack like the one he just suffered?
In the end, he was desperate and clueless.
For Imeni, they relied heavily on their mei veins to manipulate.
It was normal for them as humanoids to use their limbs to control their manipulation as they formed a certain conduit between mofei and their mei veins.
For meibeasts however, their limbs were predominately supporting them on the ground, so they had other ways of manipulating.
They used their clear claws and teeth, but more specifically their bodies.
Every tendon snaps into place allowing for bursts of speed and layered muscles provide sturdiness.
Klein already noticed the change in his body as ever since he was a child he trained his body.
He never lost that acknowledgement that a healthy mind requires a healthy body, it just was not his main focus after a while.
Now, he let the roots do everything from gathering energy to moving it throughout his body.
They carried traces of each Universal Rule and that allowed his organs to function off of more than a single element.
This way, he could gain a burst of speed from anywhere in his body or shielding himself in any part.
Unfortunately, he would have to postpone his research on the extent of the roots' abilities because Z'oelo was still bombarding him.
"You're not just going to improve enough to beat me!"
He merged the short swords and let Muni take her original weapon form of a bat and sword in one.
He was serious.
His Universal Rule of Vulnerability was going to make sure anything Klein did was weakened to its core.
Even after seeing the danger Klein presented, Z'oelo still chose to advance while wildly swinging the living weapon.
He was tired of seeing someone he deemed a rival improving so rapidly.
'He drew blood first, but it's like he's still got more to show. Well, so do I!'
His next actions carried all of the finesse he could muster as Muni took on the task of controlling her size and flexibility.
This made Klein's movements fall into a more predictable fashion to which Z'oelo showed no mercy.
The more Klein was injured, the less high he was and his thinking returned to normal.
Since the Rage domain had shrunk, his mind was safe and Z'oelo found himself facing the might of the multiple Universal Rules Klein's elements abided by.
Air circulated and rotated around itself forming a tornado that sucked Z'oelo in.
Then, flames ignited and grew from the abundance of air fueling it and turning the tornado into a flaming disaster.
Z'oelo made it so that there was no harm coming to him, but he was still trapped inside of the flaming tornado.
Klein continued with the rest of the primary elements by adding water to the tornado making it a scalding cyclone.
Then, he controlled it all to converge and covered the hole thing in dense earth.
On the receiving end of the whole ordeal, Z'oelo found himself trapped in an endless sphere of boiling hot water that was further encased by earth so unable to excavate by an illusory endless mass.
This was one way Klein had manipulated a small amount and made it exponentially stronger.
Whenever Z'oelo tried pushing himself to a direction, the encasement shifted in response, essentially leaving him struggling just to remain in the same position.
'You idiot. We're doing this together, so rein it in!'
'I don't know whose voice is more irritating, yours or the blabbering Emotion!'
All Z'oelo was met with was a prick to the hand and silence.
"Ouch!"
'I dare you to let go!'
Forced to grip a spiky handle, Z'oelo could only blame himself.
With a single full moon slash of the blade, the combination of Vulnerability and Indominability tore through the encasement alongside the boost of th Rage aura.
The water dissipated and the stone crumbled to nothingness after Z'oelo was free.
Seeing as Klein was gaining more of his sanity, Z'oelo knew this would be his last opportunity, so he figured he would overwhelm him with all he had.
Klein met him at the first strike.
Z'oelo seamlessly switched weapons and attacked from a different angle.
Klein wanted to use his elements to gain some space, but he would always be met with another strike regardless of the outcome.
He had to defend against a staff, nun chucks, an axe, a polearm, a bat, a sword and then the combination of the two.
His hands blurred as each weapon perfectly struck and blocked without the slightest margin of error.
'That's right! Rage is subtler than it may seem, but that's was makes it so effective. It seeps into you and dictates your every move.'