"If you ask me, the reason for your lack of finishing power isn't just your low magic power, Misery. I think the real issues are dispersion and insufficient charging."
"Dispersion and... insufficient charging?"
"Yeah. Well, look, it’s going to be a bit of a rough explanation, but—"
Standing before Misery and the others, who had all resolved to overhaul her fighting style, Yugo began to lay out his theory.
Wanting to do everything he could for the disciple who had finally looked within herself and realized what mattered most, he held out both of his arms to use as visual aids.
"During a fight, you’re trying to put roughly equal magic power into your left arm for feints and creating openings, and your right arm for the finishing blow. In your mind, it’s probably a fifty-fifty split."
"Well, yes... that is more or less the image I have, I suppose."
For Misery, whose combat style relied on boxing-like combinations, both arms served distinct but vital roles.
The right arm was meant to deliver the heavy hits, but the left arm was indispensable for creating the openings needed to land them. Yugo, who also specialized in close-quarters combat, understood the theory well enough, but he believed this was the fundamental flaw causing Misery's lack of finishing power.
Fee, picking up on the logic, gave a small nod and chimed in.
"I see... Since she’s splitting her already limited magic power between her left and right, she can’t generate enough force for a decisive strike."
"Exactly. In fact, Misery, if you focused all your magic into just your right arm, you could probably hit as hard as Belver did earlier, right?"
"Yes. If I concentrate it on one side, it is entirely possible. However, simply throwing a single strike is quite different from doing so in the middle of a combination. I have been practicing with that difficulty in mind."
What Misery had told the meddling Belver earlier wasn't a lie. Even she could deliver a blow powerful enough to pierce a heavy log if she truly focused; she simply hadn't prioritized it in practice because the likelihood of landing such a slow, telegraphed hit in a real fight was low.
The reason she couldn't seem to land a magic-charged right in actual combat came down to the second issue: the lack of charging time.
"Let’s say you manage to break your opponent’s stance with a jab. To finish them with a right, you have to shift your magic power into that arm instantly. But your style is built on high-speed, rapid-fire punches. Even if you see a momentary opening and try to shift that fifty-fifty split entirely into your right arm... you’ll never make it in time. The rhythm of your one-two is just too fast."
"Now that you mention it, even you usually break your opponent's stance and then take a moment to charge your magic before unleashing a big move, Big Brother," Fee noted.
"Plus, in his case, the sheer volume of magic power is on a completely different level. Even if they both split their power fifty-fifty, the difference in total capacity between Misery and Yugo is massive. That gap is what creates the difference in destructive power."
"...I believe the gap between my father and me lies there as well. Even beyond the physical differences in build and muscle strength, the disparity in magic power is a daunting wall..."
Even if she tried to concentrate the magic dispersed between her arms, the very high-speed agility that was her greatest strength became a hindrance, leaving her no time to shift the energy. Consequently, she could never fully put her weight—or her magic—behind her right hand, leading to attacks that felt half-hearted. That was Yugo's diagnosis.
While Misery grew despondent as the Technical Team members confirmed the reality of her limitations compared to her father, Yugo spoke up to encourage her.
"It’s true that there’s a big gap between you and your old man. But I think you have a weapon that doesn't lose out to him at all, Misery."
"I do? And... what would that be?"
"The speed of your jab. Honestly, I had a hell of a time trying to read it. I’m not even sure I ever fully saw through it."
Having personally traded blows with her, Yugo had seen more than just her weaknesses; he had seen her potential.
Misery's greatest asset was the whip-like agility of her left-handed strikes. Her reach was short and her frame was small, but her speed was world-class. Remembering a jab that was fast enough to rival even the speed Isaac displayed with his Demonic Sword, Yugo nodded firmly.
"But Master... no matter how fast my jab is, surely it cannot fix my lack of finishing power? The problem remains that my right hand lacks weight."
"No, no. If you take everything we've talked about and look at it from a different angle, doesn't the answer become obvious? Your problem is that you're dispersing magic between two arms and that you can't shift it fast enough. But doesn't it stand to reason that the problem disappears if you stop trying to use both arms? To put it simply, here’s the idea."