POV: Rai Shinsei
After gauging each other's strength through small exchanges, I eventually kicked up the notch and dashed towards him with a spinning high kick towards his jaw, but despite my sudden shift in speed catching him off-guard, he was still able to react as he blocked my kick with his forearm and tried to counter with a cross punch aimed for my face.
Although he seemed experienced in hand-to-hand combat, it wasn't enough to keep up with my movements as amidst parrying his arm downwards, I used the momentum from his swing to propel myself upwards as I countered with an angled acrobatic kick into the back of his head, causing him to stumble forward as I landed onto the ground.
"You truly are a nuisance." Sloth remarked as he cracked his neck with a sigh.
Upon our eyes locking, Sloth sprung towards me with several punches aimed towards my head as I swiftly weaved through every punch before attempting to land a spinning back kick into his abdomen, but surprisingly, Sloth caught my foot and grasped my leg as he pulled me towards with the intention of striking my face clean.
He's open.
Twisting my foot free from his grasp, I managed to weave his punch as amidst the exchange, I landed a sharp hook kick into his chin as upon landing onto the ground with my hands, I spun myself, pivoting on one hand as I landed an angled spinning high kick into his jaw, startling Sloth as my acrobatic movement seemed to be something he's never experienced before.
Disoriented from the unsettling sensation of his brain rattling against his skull, Sloth stumbled backwards as I closed the distance between us with a single step, hovering my fingers over his chest as I ended my offensive spree of attacks with a one-inch punch, seizing his breath as the impact sent him tumbling backwards across the ground until he recovered his footing.
"Who are you? Your combat skills are beyond my own, but you appear to be only a teenager. What kind of life could you have possibly lived in order for you to accumulate this much experience in combat?" Sloth questioned with a pained expression, but I spared him no answers as I remained silent and sprinted towards him with a roundhouse kick into a spinning high kick towards his temple and chin, although Sloth was able to block both of my kicks and decided to capitalize on my vulnerability within the air as upon clenching his fist, he intended to knock me unconscious as he aimed his full-force fist towards my abdomen.
I can't let that land cleanly.
Leaving him astonished once again, I blocked his fist with both of my hands despite being nearly upside down within the air as I then used the momentum from his swing to space myself away, sliding backwards across the rocky terrain of the area as we were at a standstill.
POV: Sloth
I've fought many heroes and even killed some within my lifetime.
Some were so weak that it was laughable and then there were some whose strength made me question my very own existence, but despite all of my experiences against them…
They don't compare to this boy.
From the moment I set my eyes upon him, I knew there was something wrong as in what world does a boy his age not show an ounce of fear, despite being in the face of death?
Not only that, he's not even bothering to use his Aspect against me, which would be absurd if only I was stronger than him.
After several exchanges with him, I came to realize something.
I don't stand a chance against him without my Aspect.
He's somehow stronger than me in terms of raw power which doesn't make sense for someone of his age, regardless if he was a noble or not and to make matters even worse, his combat prowess exceeds that of my own, despite my decades of experience in combat.
"How amusing." The boy said, bringing me back to reality as I shifted my focus onto him.
"I'm just a mere boy and yet, you're scared?" The boy asked with a condescending grin, intending to provoke me with mockery as he approached me with a feint into a side kick towards my ribcage, but to his dismay, I activated my Aspect and released my Aspectual Force towards him as swatted his leg away and drove an uppercut into his abdomen, causing him to spew out saliva as I enveloped my fist with aura and smashed it into the boy's face, sending him flying backwards until he crashed into a nearby boulder, creating a human-sized cavity as I removed my trench coat and folded it before placing it onto a dead log beside me.
"I'm not sure why you haven't activated your Aspect yet, but unlike Pride, I'm willing to do anything in order to survive." I said as the boy wiped the blood trickling from his nose before propelling himself off of the boulder towards me, but upon approaching me, I noticed he was still refusing to use his Aspect as we engaged into a short exchange of hand-to-hand combat.
Why is he not using his Aspect?
Is he just arrogant or is there something else to it?
Weaving one of my punches, the boy threw a feint as he intended on landing a spinning roundhouse kick into my chin, prompting me to block his attack with my forearm, but as I blocked his kick, the boy locked his foot around my forearm as he then used the sturdiness of my guard to spin himself upwards, displaying an unnatural display of core strength as he intended on landing an acrobatic ax kick into the top of my head, leaving me astonished for a moment as I found it hard to believe that I was going against a child.
Who in the hell trained this boy?!
As the boy's foot approached the top of my head, I managed to block his attack with both of my forearms as the impact nearly made me buckle, but with my physical prowess enhanced by my Aspect, I easily regained my ground as I used my semi-crouched position to fling the boy's foot away from me, disrupting his balance within mid-air as I grabbed his leg and with a strong spin, I launched him into the mountainous wall of a nearby hill, burying him underneath a fair amount of rubble as my focus remained on the boy, who wasn't out for the count yet as I heard him rustling within the rubble.
Although the situation should have been unfavorable for him, the boy seemed to have defied the odds once again, allowing his mind continue racing with ideas that somebody like myself was unable to even fathom as despite being under heavy rubble, the boy sprung forward as amidst his approach, he hurled a hand-sized rock precisely towards my face as his intentions remained unclear to me.
What is he…
With a simple side-step, I effortlessly dodged the projectile he had thrown at me, but what I assumed was a desperate attempt was none other than an ingenious feint as within the split-second my vision was obstructed, the boy had already closed the distance between us as he tried to smash his fist into my chin with an uppercut, although my physical prowess was enhanced by my Aspect, allowing me to barely react in time as I weaved past his arm and struck my fist into his jaw, sending the boy crashing into the earth below as he tumbled backwards across the ground.
He minimized the damage from my punch by turning his head away at the last second, but that doesn't make any sense.
My physical prowess is enhanced from my Aspect and yet, not only is this boy able to match my strength, he's even able to anticipate my attacks without even using his Aspect.
It's as if he perceives time differently.
As the boy picked himself up, I rushed towards him in hopes of ending this fight with a decisive strike, but despite my advantageous position, the boy had foreseen my every move through his meticulous calculations as amidst weaving my arm, the boy threw dust into my eyes, obstructing my vision once more as within the second of my blindness, the boy smashed his fist into my liver with devastating force, seizing my breath as I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip in an attempt to ease the agonizing pain coursing through my organ.
How is it that this boy can deal so much damage without even using an Aspect?!
Amidst my suffering, the boy continued his assault by grabbing my head and smashing his knee into my nose, irritating my eyes even further as water began to well within them while my nose gushed out blood, provoking me to try and land a right hook into the boy's jaw, but my disoriented senses prove to be too much for me as my swing went wide, allowing the boy to spin under my arm as he landed a back heel kick into my chin, causing me to black out momentarily as I awoke to kneeling before the boy while my brain screamed in displeasure from rattling against my skull.
This nonsense has gone on long enough.
Prepared to defeat me, the boy clenched his fist tightly and tried to knock me unconscious with an overhead punch, but alarming him was the fact that I regained my senses faster than he expected as I dodged his attack with a quick step back before following up with a spinning back kick towards his abdomen, although as expected, the boy managed to block my kick in the nick of time with his guard as the impact sent him sliding backwards across the rocky terrain.
"I'm putting an end to this fight. I don't know what the hell you are, but your existence sickens me." I said spitefully as I glared directly into the boy's eyes and used my Aspect, hypnotizing him within an instant as the color of his eyes changed to a fluorescent purple hue.
"It's a shame. Your talent for combat is beyond exceptional for your age as had you lived today, there's no doubt that you would have become a well renowned figure, but for you to survive in this world, what you need isn't talent…"
"But overwhelming power." I remarked as I pulled out my box of cigarettes from within my pocket and placed one inside my mouth.
"Only those who possess such power are allowed the right to rule this world." I added, lighting my cigarette with my vintage lighter as I stared at the boy, who was silent as his body was utterly still, waiting to obey my very command.
This is the end for you...
Boy.