"W-why… not…?"
Jerry repeated the words he heard both Ciara and Legris say to him, and he felt an immense wave of confusion.
"I-is it not trite to hide your advantages and utilize them to the most optimal degree?" Jerry stuttered in his speech, but he thought his question was valid.
Or was he the one being crazy?
"You shouldn't have told her about how your ability works!" Jerry yelled at Ciara, and then he turned his gaze to Legris.
"And you… I'm surprised you told her all about why you aren't disappearing. You even answered all her questions honestly."
It felt like he wasn't even witnessing a fight between enemies.
"What in the world is going on here?!"
At this point, Jerry knew he had to let out his inner frustrations.
Watching these two fight made him feel like everything he did to stop Legris and achieve victory was unnecessary.
"Ahh… I didn't think of it that way." Ciara spoke, her honesty oozing from the words she uttered.
"Me neither. But, I can see where you're coming from."
Even Legris seemed totally calm in the matter. The same Legris that was considered an unpredictable mastermind by even Jared!
"Y-you can't be serious! In fights, you're meant to—"
"And how did that work out for you?" Legris' sudden words caused Jerry to pause.
He could not say anything.
"Hiding your abilities and doing your best to win… how exactly did that work out for you?"
In the end, even though he won the fight, he lost the battle. He actually stood no chance, to begin with.
Especially if one considered the bigger picture.
The silence that followed Legris' question forced Jerry to think back on all he did, and just how futile it all ended up for him
"Hey! Don't bring that up and bully Jerry!" Ciara yelled, suddenly drawing him out of his slump.
"Ah! My apologies…" Legris replied, once again causing Jerry to suspect that something was definitely off with the way these two interacted.
He wasn't being crazy at all.
"Jerry, I think you misunderstand what's going on here." Ciara finally turned to Jerry, giving him a warm smile that instantly healed whatever doubts or emotional anguish he was experiencing.
"I understand your points, and in a normal fight… you'd be correct. But, this isn't a normal duel, which is why I haven't taken that route yet."
Jerry still didn't understand, and thankfully Ciara noticed that.
"To be honest, we are at a stalemate. I can't really defeat him, and he can't defeat me either. We both recognize this, so there's really no point trying to one-up the other."
"H-huh…?" Jerry found himself even more confounded than he was before.
"It's simple, Jerry. She's much stronger than I am currently, which means I can't harm her. But even if she tries to harm and kill me, it's of no use."
The way Legris put it made it simpler for him to digest, but that didn't make the situation any easier for him to accept.
"So… you'll just continue to drag this out?" Jerry asked.
"Pretty much. I don't see the problem with that. Legris here is clearly stalling for time, but so am I."
"Ah! So you noticed that already, huh?" Legris responded to Ciara's observation, chuckling a little under his breath.
"Yeah. It was obvious. You clearly have an agenda that is beyond just eliminating us, and you're stalling for it."
"If you know that much, why are you allowing him to keep it up?" Jerry asked, his face depicting obvious disapproval.
To that, Ciara sighed softly.
"I can't do anything about his plans. Even if he was to tell me right now, I have no means of stopping it, especially since the Constellations are not intervening as well."
"Correct." Legris smiled.
"Plus, I'm also stalling for time. I'm hoping Jared, or someone else who is smarter or stronger than I am, figures this stuff out before Legris succeeds."
"That is highly unlikely." Legris added once more.
"Maybe even the Constellations… argh! I don't know, honestly. Right now, Legris won't let us leave this place, and since I have to protect you and myself, it's much safer to simply fill up time by engaging in this form of combat."
Jerry couldn't believe it. All along, this was a battle without stakes.
"To be honest, I would have just been content waiting things out. But, when I discovered that he hurt you, and he probably hurt some of our friends, I decided to keep beating him up. It's pointless, but that's the best I can do."
Jerry perfectly understood where Ciara was coming from.
He couldn't fault her line of reasoning.
"So you're saying… whether we ultimately win or we lose… isn't up to us? We can only wait for external factors to decide?"
"Yes! Precisely! You get it." Ciara beamed happily.
"Yeah, I get it…"
"Then, you don't mind if we—"
"… But that doesn't mean I accept it!" Jerry's voice resonated throughout the area, causing both Legris and Ciara to recoil in shock.
Surely, they had presented the situation in the most logical and reasonable manner. Jerry even said he understood what was going on.
Yet… the expression on his face as he abjectly disagreed with their position was enough to send shivers down anyone's spine.
"I know it's pathetic for me to say this, despite my current situation. I know I lack the strength to back up my words. But… this is all bullshit!" Jerry roared.
"There's nothing you can do? Who decided that?! Wait for external factors to decide… why does it have to be that way?!"
He was breathing heavily now, ignoring the pain he felt as a result of straining himself so much, but Jerry did not care.
From the depths of his heart, he truly believed in what he was saying.
"I completely get why you would arrive at your conclusion… but I do not support it!"
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