"Almost... done..." Nova muttered through bloodied lips.
He pivoted away from a stone shard, struck the edge of a nearby wall to redirect its path, and lunged forward before the bully could raise another barrier. His knee slammed into the man's chest, followed by an elbow to the ribs. The bully gasped, stumbling backward, but managed to absorb another mana crystal before Nova could strike again.
Golden energy surged around his body, and the injuries Nova had inflicted began to disappear.
"Ahhh... pathetic..." the bully laughed, raising both hands. His eyes were wide, and the veins along his neck had become more noticeable. "This is the end for you!"
"You've said that already," Nova replied, although speaking made his split lip sting.
He ducked as a jagged rock flew toward his head. Another rose from beneath his feet, forcing him to throw himself sideways. His shoulder struck the ground, and he rolled through the dust before pushing himself upright. For a moment, his vision blurred from the blood and sweat running into his eyes.
His muscles begged him to stop. His arms were trembling, his legs felt heavier with every step, and the pain in his ribs had grown difficult to ignore. But he had wanted this confrontation ever since their first meeting at the Guild. He had wanted to face the bully in the tournament and settle their differences in a fair fight, at least on his own part.
'Fair fight, my ass. How many crystals does this guy have?'
The bully slammed both palms toward the ground. Several stone walls rose around Nova, their upper edges tilting inward while pointed fragments emerged between them. He saw the openings narrowing and immediately charged toward the weakest section.
His fist broke through the first layer, sending cracks across the wall. He followed with his shoulder, forcing an opening large enough to escape, but the bully was already waiting outside. A hand caught Nova by the collar and lifted him off his feet.
"Look at you," the bully said, grinning as Nova struggled in his grip. "You keep coming at me, and you still haven't learned anything."
Nova grabbed his wrist with both hands. The pressure against his throat made breathing difficult, and a fresh wave of dizziness passed through him. For an instant, all he saw was the golden light surrounding his opponent.
Then he noticed something strange.
The light was pulsing in uneven waves. Some of the veins on the bully's exposed skin had darkened, and the red patches Nova had noticed earlier seemed to have spread farther across his chest and neck. Each time the energy flared, the bully's grip tightened for a moment before easing again.
'What the hell is happening to him?'
Nova did not have time to find out. He drove an elbow into the bully's side and twisted his body as the grip loosened. The man staggered, allowing Nova to drop to the ground, but a thick slab of stone burst upward beneath his feet before he recovered his balance.
The impact hurled Nova backward. He struck the rough floor, pain shooting through his back, and rolled to keep his head from slamming into a broken pillar. By the time he stood again, his breathing had become painfully shallow.
The bully raised a hand, and a new crystal disappeared into the golden aura around his fingers.
"Seriously? Another one?" Nova asked, wiping blood from his mouth.
"What? Jealous?" the bully replied. "You think brute strength is enough to defeat me? Every strike you throw is meaningless when I can recover from all of it."
Nova did not answer. He had already heard enough boasts to last him several lifetimes.
Instead, he watched the man's stance. The bully had started relying more heavily on the stone around him, placing walls between them whenever Nova approached. His attacks had also become faster and less predictable, but there was a pattern to the way he moved his hands. Every large construct required a brief moment of attention, and his defenses weakened whenever he tried to attack from several directions at once.
'There's an opening. A small one, but it's there.'
Nova stepped forward, deliberately moving toward the nearest wall. As expected, the bully swung his right hand, drawing a large fragment of stone across Nova's path. Nova changed direction before it reached him, slipped around its edge, and closed the distance.
His palm struck the bully's jaw. Before the man could turn, Nova drove an elbow into his ribs and followed with a knee to his abdomen. The attacks forced the bully backward, leaving him briefly unable to concentrate on the surrounding stone.
For the first time in several exchanges, Nova felt his opponent lose the rhythm of the fight.
But the advantage lasted only a moment.
The bully stomped on the ground, and a wall rose between them, catching Nova's next punch. Stone fragments burst outward as his knuckles struck the barrier. A second wall emerged at an angle, forcing him to retreat before it pinned his legs.
"Do you even know what an honor it is to fight me?" the bully shouted, charging after him with a wild swing.
Nova blocked the uppercut with his forearms. The force jarred both shoulders and drove him back several steps. He lowered his body and swept at the bully's legs, but the man twisted away, caught himself with a raised platform of stone, and landed on one knee.
"An honor?" Nova repeated between breaths. "You've spent most of this fight eating crystals and shouting at me."
The bully's smile disappeared.
"You insolent little shit!"
A thick stone pillar shot upward between them. Nova leapt backward, but another rose behind him. He twisted in midair and struck its side with his foot, changing his direction enough to land beside the first pillar rather than between them.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt his knees threaten to buckle.
'Come on. Don't give out on me now.'
Dust filled the arena. The floor had become uneven from the repeated attacks, and broken sections of wall lay scattered across nearly every open space. Nova could no longer move in a straight line without risking a hidden spike or a sudden change in the ground beneath him.
The bully, however, seemed delighted by the destruction. He laughed as he lifted several stone fragments into the air, sending them toward Nova from different angles. Nova ducked beneath one, knocked another aside, and narrowly avoided a third that tore through the fabric near his shoulder.
He attempted to rush forward, but a row of spikes erupted from the floor. One scraped across his leg as he jumped over it, drawing another line of blood. The injury was not deep, though it added to the pain already spreading through his body.
The bully reached for another crystal.
Golden energy spread across him again, healing the damage Nova had inflicted. Yet his movements had grown increasingly erratic. The strange red discoloration across his skin did not fade with his injuries. Instead, the patches looked darker, and his glowing hands trembled whenever the energy surged.
Nova noticed, but he couldn't tell whether the crystals were responsible or whether the bully was losing control of his ability.
'Whatever it is, he doesn't seem to care.'
"Foolish!" the bully shouted, raising a stone slab from the ground. "You keep trying the same thing. Don't you understand? You're nothing compared to me!"
He swung the slab sideways. Nova ducked beneath it, but the broken edge struck his upper arm as it passed. Pain spread through his shoulder, weakening his next punch. The bully blocked it and struck Nova across the chest with a smaller fragment of stone.
Nova stumbled, recovered his footing, and drove his knee into the man's ribs. He followed with an elbow aimed at the temple, forcing the bully to raise an arm to protect his head. The blow still connected, though not cleanly, and the bully staggered sideways.
For a heartbeat, both of them stood facing each other, breathing hard.
Nova's fists were bloodied. Every time he clenched them, pain ran through his split knuckles. The bully's wounds were already closing, but his wide grin and shaking hands made him look far less composed than he had been at the beginning of the fight.
"You think you can corner me?" the bully shouted.
He slammed both fists into the floor. Jagged stone shards erupted outward, forcing Nova to leap away before they surrounded him. A narrow spike passed close enough to his side to tear through his clothing. He landed awkwardly, one hand pressed against the floor, and barely avoided a second wave of fragments.
"I am chaos! I am perfection!" the bully continued, almost screaming now. "And you... you're nothing!"
Nova glanced up at him, his expression tightening.
'Does he ever shut up?'
Despite the thought, there was no amusement left in his situation. He had barely enough strength to defend himself, and every successful strike against the bully was undone by another crystal. The contest he had imagined, one where he would struggle and overcome someone stronger through effort alone, had become something far more dangerous.
For the first time, he understood that his determination would not necessarily be enough.
Still, he refused to stop moving.
He waited until the next stone wall began to rise and stepped into the space beside it before the opening closed. His fist connected with the bully's shoulder, and he immediately followed with an elbow to the jaw. The man grunted, stumbling backward, but managed to retaliate with a jagged fragment pulled from the floor.
Nova twisted away from the sharp edge. He seized another fallen fragment and struck the bully across the ribs with it. The weapon broke apart on impact, but the blow bought him enough time to retreat a few steps.
"You'll die!" the bully screamed, sending more rocks flying toward him.
"Then stop talking and fight!" Nova shouted back.
He ducked beneath the first projectile. The second clipped his side, knocking the breath from his lungs. He dropped to one knee, using the stone floor to steady himself, while another wall rose directly in front of him.
The bully absorbed yet another crystal. His golden aura flared violently, spreading through his arms and chest in uneven bursts. For a moment, the red patches beneath his skin appeared darker still, though he seemed too focused on Nova to notice.
Nova forced himself upright. Blood dripped from his chin, his legs shook, and he struggled to draw a full breath. He knew he couldn't continue trading blows forever. But if he stood still, even for a few seconds, the bully would bury him beneath the arena.
He rushed forward again, slipping past a broken wall and driving a punch into the bully's ribs. Another struck the side of his face. The bully recovered almost immediately, twisted his body, and slammed Nova against a stone barrier.
Pain exploded across Nova's back and chest. He gritted his teeth, planted one foot against the wall, and pushed himself away before the bully could pin him there. His elbow caught the man's jaw as he passed, drawing a furious shout.
The bully turned, raising both hands. Stone spikes twisted upward around Nova while the broken walls on either side began closing in.
Nova staggered back, fists clenched despite the pain, searching desperately for an opening as the space around him narrowed once more.