Zeke's instincts screamed at him to move as he saw this scene. But the blond's form blurred, unnatural speed coursing through him. He appeared before Zeke in a blink, and his sword came down like divine judgment.
"Shit, is he faster, a forbidden technique maybe? damn it."
Zeke raised his own blade just in time to catch the attack. The force behind the strike sent him flying backward, crashing into the dirt, bouncing once, twice before sliding to a stop.
Groaning, he staggered to his feet, his arms trembled slightly, the aftershock from the strike still present.
The blonde guy was already walking towards him smiling, although the gushing black energy made him look like an otherworldly demon.
Zeke coughed up blood before lowering his blade slightly.
He couldn't win like this in a head on fight, before it may have been possible but now, with the forbidden technique, trying to fight the blonde was impossible. He'd already been adapting, mirroring small movements throughout the fight. But now he would have to do more. He would have to see more.
Zeke's eyes glowed slightly as the lens technique he had gotten from Professor Lira deactivated.
A world unseen by many was revealed to Zeke, blood-like tears trailed down his face as he turned his attention towards the blonde guy.
He took in a deep breath trying to calm the affects of the sensory overload.
He squinted his eyes as he tracked the blonde's figure, analyzing the his movements. He copied the blond's footwork, the loose fluidity of his arm, the angle at which he turned his blade during blocks and most importantly the flow of the mana within his body.
"He's dying" Zeke muttered as he saw the mana in the blonde guy slowly turning black, corroding his body a side effect of the forbidden technique, but it was enough, he saw the flow of the mana, the way he used it to move like a shadow and seemingly disappear and applied the principle to his own mana, his legs burned as he forcefully learned a technique he saw for the first time. but he smiled, he could feel it, the power.
This time when their blades met, it wasn't a clash, it was a conversation. Zeke mimicked every motion of the blond's fighting style, matching him beat for beat, when the blonde guy raised his blade Zeke did the same, a few students chuckled as they watched this scene, a little confused but for the stronger people and majority of the professors they were baffled, watching wide-eyed, it was as if there was a mirrow infront of the blonde executioner, movements, techniques even small habits the blonde executioner had were all being mimicked by Zeke, but that wasn't the thing that made them shocked, it was the fact that Zeke's mana signature changed into the Blonde's as well.
Even if most of the students saw this they wouldn't know what it means but for the professors it was a startling discovery, everyone is born with their own unique mana signature and their own mana pathways, copying someone else's was an act suicide, it involved an insane amount of mana, body and mental control, something most of the professors didn't even have.
The blond's grin slowly faded as he watched Zeke copy his movement.
"What…?" he muttered, the disbelief in his voice was overwhelming. "You're… learning from me?"
Zeke still said nothing, blood still tailed down his face from his eyes, still stuck in his own world absorbing all the information that was infront of him.
His next parry wasn't just defense, it redirected the blond's own momentum, turning power into vulnerability, the blonde stumbled forward pulled by his own deflected momentum.
Zeke's blade snapped forward like a whip, slicing across the blond's chest in a clean, brutal arc. Blood sprayed, dark and fast, and the older boy stumbled, his rhythm momentarily broken.
He pressed the advantage, muscles screaming in protest. Their swords clashed again, but this time Zeke's movement had flow, precision, he wasn't just reacting anymore. He was reading, anticipating.
The next slash came from above, but Zeke twisted with it, knocking the blond's blade away then stepping into his guard.
A shoulder slammed into the blond's bleeding ribs, just enough to shift his stance.
Then Zeke dropped low, ducking beneath a retaliatory swing that shaved a clean line through the air above his head. Dust exploded around his feet as he spun beneath the blond's outstretched arm and rose with a cry, sword flashing upward in a vicious diagonal slash moving from his body up to his head.
Steel met flesh.
UGH!
The blond staggered back, a guttural sound escaping his throat, most of his skin looked dry, taking on a hint of grey, something Zeke guessed was another side effect of the forbidden technique he used to increase his power.
His headcracked down the side, split by the force of the blow. A jagged cut ran from his temple to jaw, the white of his teeth visible through the opening, the blonde's face was comepletely mangled on oneside, his bloodshot eye's stared at Zeke with fury and pain.
The crowd fell into an excited hush, the noise muted as everyone waited for the final few exchanges. The executioners, who had been murmuring excitedly, cheering for their leader, fell silent.
Zeke stood several feet away, sword still raised, arm trembling violently, clearly struggling to even stay up at this point. His clothes were tattered, his frame heaving with exhaustion, blood soaking his left sleeve and dripping from a cut near his brow.
But he was standing, and ready to fight. Maybe.
"Huh… why are his eyes closed?" a student murmured from the circle's edge.
Heads turned. All eyes fell on Zeke's battered figure standing still, sword in hand.
"Hey, what's happening?" another whispered, the question laced with unease.
"Holy shit, Look at the mana around Zeke…" another voice chimed in excitedly.
It shimmered, thin tendrils of pale-blue energy weaving around his form like threads of moonlight caught in motion. The air felt heavier. Mana stirred the leaves at Zeke's feet, lifting them as though gravity had turned gentle in his presence.
Zeke's brows were furrowed in concentration, lips parted slightly and moving as if whispering to something. His blade remained lowered, the edge stained with blood, but it didn't tremble anymore..
Inside Zeke's mind, the world had gone quiet, even the overwhelming noise that came when he turned of the lends technique was gone. Every slash, every dodge, every counter the he had used was being played back in his mind over and over again, like a mental echo chamber. He saw the circular pivots, the aggression hidden in feints, the subtle footwork that allowed power to flow like water through steel. But more than that, he felt the weakness in it. The flaws.
His breath deepened.
Then his eyes opened.
Clear. Focused. With understanding.
He raised his sword.
"This technique," Zeke muttered, voice low and steady echoes across the clearing reaching the blonde's ears, "isn't yours anymore."
The ground trembled faintly as mana surged to meet him, pooling along his blade like liquid starlight. Students gasped as they watched it happen, his stance shift slightly, weight drop, arms loosened, not sloppy, but free. Like the weapon wasn't being held at all, but floating in his hand.
"Watch closely," Zeke said, stepping forward. "Let me show you how to do it."
His body moved and it was unlike anything they'd seen from him before, he dashed forward, but they couldn't keep track of him, his legs looked as if they weren't even moving. Then he raised his blade, SSsshinngg! the slash that followed wasn't just fast, it defied all logic. It carved through the air with ease, a simple movement yet it was as if he was moving in water, the light bent around his blade leaving a faint line visble arcing through the air, he was still a few meters away from his target yet it didn't matter. The blond barely got his blade up in time, and even then he was too late.
The students, professors and even the forest went quiet as the blonde swung his blade to defend from Zeke's invisible attack.
Then his chest stopped moving, the life in his eyes were gone as he stood there, blade still in hand, all the mana in his body gone, as if it was never there.
"W-what was that?" one of the students breathed.
"I couldn't see it…"
"Huh, did nothing happen."
Zeke exhaled slowly and smiled, his fingers trembling slightly while holding onto the hilt of the blade, the light still spiraling off his sword in soft coils giving it an ethreal glow. He wasn't sure how he knew but something in the back of his mind told him no one else could use this technique, it was his. If he knew that this technique would one day grow to be known thorughout worlds he would be baffled, but thats just how nonsensical this technique was.
...
Above, the teachers said nothing for a long moment. Then-
"He made a technique mid-battle... adapted it from the enemy's form. Brilliant."
"Ridiculous. He'll burn himself out like that, did you see his eyes? he forcibly watched his enemys mana flow."
"But."
Everyone shifted uneasily, knowing what was coming next.
"How did he sever the other kids mana?"
Silence, it shouldn't have been possible for a student to know how to sever mana infact, severing mana isin't even something they thought humans could do, only monster can, and more importantly, humans number one enemy the hollow could do it too... they all turned to the headmaster, knowing that he most likely knew the answer.
They turned to see the headmaster shaking his head, they heard something like "hybrid" before the headmaster saw everyone looking at him. He scanned them all before saying, in a tone that looked down on all of them "Tsk Tsk Tsk You guys think he cut the mana, he's just a kid, maybe you all have gone senile?"
...
On the ground, Zeke's form cumpled to ground in exhaustion, his hands, numb and bleeding touched the damp grass making him shiver slightly. He lifted his head, bruised and bloodied, and looked out across the battlefield, rocks and broken trees littered the area, students watched from far away waiting for the final result.
He smirked through the pain before mustering up his remaining strength, letting out a loud roar.
"WE WON"
"YEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"