POV: Sloth
Relishing the moment, I flicked the bud of my cigarette onto the ground and looked up into the cloudy morning sky, allowing my mind to drift briefly until I brought myself back to reality with a sigh.
I've worked way too hard today.
Directing my attention towards the boy, several thoughts appeared within my mind as for a moment, I began to regret the inevitable that was to come, despite the beating I received from the boy.
No…
"You will now obey my every command. Do you understand?" I asked as the boy nodded against his will.
"Unsheathe your sword and aim it towards your heart." I ordered as the boy followed my command without hesitation, unsheathing his sword from his scabbard as he hovered the tip of his blade over his heart.
This boy must die.
"Now pierce through your heart." I commanded as the boy gripped the handle of his sword tightly, but his next action left me at a loss for words as instead of obeying my command, blood began trickling from within his mouth as he inflicted himself with pain in order to neutralize my hypnosis, prompting him to sharpen his gaze as his eyes returned to their natural color.
This boy bit his tongue in order to free himself from my Aspect.
"You really are desperate-"
"You said that only the strong are allowed to rule this world? Who gave you the right to decide that?" The boy questioned as I spun his blade around his hand before positioning himself into a stance that exuded pure confidence.
"Nobody has the right to rule this world as everyone deserves to be free, regardless of their power, although, I doubt a pathetic being such as yourself who takes pleasure in slaughtering innocent lives for the mere thrill of it would ever come to understand that fact." The boy added with anger laced in his tone as witnessing him express an intense emotion surprised me.
So this boy is capable of showing anger also.
That's good as those who are prone to anger allow for more mistakes within their actions.
"Do you think that the weak are given a choice? Their fate was already sealed the moment they were born into this world. Your wishful thinking means nothing in the face of overwhelming power." I replied harshly as I positioned myself into a fighting stance, preparing for the boy to make his move as we refused to understand the ideals of one another.
"You're right. That's why I'm going to take this wishful thinking of mine and make it into a reality!" The boy exclaimed, closing the distance between us at an unbelievable pace as he slashed my chest cleanly, his increase in speed leaving me stupefied as I winced in pain and tried to understand the strange occurrence before me.
How is he even faster than before?
Was he holding back this entire time?!
Unable to find a solution, I tried to space myself away from the boy as I needed only a few seconds to fully grasp the situation, but the boy refused the give me any space as in the moment I tried to flee, he hurled his sword precisely towards my eyes, forcing my focus to be directed elsewhere as I weaved my head and caught his sword by its handle, although my body tensed with apprehension as the boy was nowhere to be found within my range of sight, urging me to scan the area in a panic until I noticed his presence below me.
How in the-
In the instant I discovered him, the boy struck my chin clean with a brain-rattling uppercut, knocking me unconscious once again as I lost grasp of the boy's sword, allowing it to fall into his own hands as he then pierced through my abdomen and twisted his sword with a vicious motion, forcing me to regain consciousness through the unpleasant sensation of pain as I spewed out blood from the blade of his sword disassembling my inner organs.
This must be a joke.
As the cold steel of his blade agitated my organs, I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip out of exasperation as I endured the pain and tried to grab him by lunging forward, but my attempt was to no avail as he avoided my grasp with an immediate back step, ripping out his sword from within my abdomen in the midst as he landed a reverse side kick into my face.
Utterly confused, I stumbled backwards until I fell onto my side as my composure shattered from being unable to comprehend the boy's unnatural prowess for combat, urging me to release my pent up stress by digging my nails into the rocky terrain of the mountains until the tips of my fingers bled.
This is ridiculous.
I am a retired B-Class hero who managed to survive against the unforsaken terrors that ran amok during the Athenian War.
I've fought against death so many times that I've lost count and through those harsh adversities, I've accumulated nearly two decades worth of experience in combat.
This boy, who is just a mere teenager, is not only dominating me in combat, but even with my enhanced vision, I'm unable to anticipate his movements at all, despite the boy not even using his Aspect.
I won't partake in this foolishness any longer.
I'll hypnotize him and end this fight now!
Spitting out the excess blood within my mouth, I picked myself up from the ground as the boy dashed towards me.
"It's over-"
Huh?
Upon trying to hypnotize the boy by glaring into his eyes, I was met with failure as the boy's willpower instantly shattered my hypnosis, bringing arise to an alarming sharp pain that erupted within my chest as I spewed out blood, suffering from the side-effects of experiencing a rebound, which happens when an opponent forcibly breaks my hypnosis with their willpower.
I assumed his willpower was weak since he injured himself in order to break free from my hypnosis, but I couldn't have been more wrong!
This boy could have freed himself whenever he wanted as he wanted to use this opportunity to stun-lock me by making me suffer from the rebound of my Aspect!
This boy is far too dangerous!
As the boy approached me, I immediately raised my guard out of desperation, bracing myself for his incoming attack until I felt the blade of his sword scrape across the bones of my forearms, causing me to howl in agony as I staggered backwards, unable to maintain my guard any longer as with a single, decisive step, the boy struck his foot into my jaw with a spinning heel kick as the impact forced me to buckle onto my knees, allowing the boy to stand over me as I felt his glare piercing through the back of my skull.
"This isn't a fight you can't win. If you tell me where you're hiding the children you kidnapped, I may have the mercy to spare your life." The boy demanded as he held the tip of his sword at my neck, his blade ready to draw blood without any hesitation as his vibrant, cold blue eyes contained such animosity as if I were to move even an inch before this boy, my death was certain, although, I was unable to understand his vague demand.
Kidnapped children?
What is this boy talking about?
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. My comrades and I have never kidnapped any children." I answered truthfully and obediently, disregarding my own pride for the sake of my survival as there was a moment of silence until the boy sighed.
"I see." The boy said as I felt an oppressing wave of bloodlust directed solely towards me, bringing forth a spine-chilling sensation I haven't felt since meeting my leader as my skin began to crawl with fear while cold sweat enveloped my entire body and in the instant I felt the tip of his sword draw blood from my neck, an instinctual drive to live commanded my body to act.
This boy is going to kill me!
Glaring into the boy's eyes, I was able to hypnotize him for a mere second until he shattered my hypnosis with sheer willpower, causing me to suffer from the rebound of my Aspect as within that time frame, I was able to escape by spacing myself away from the boy as he sprinted towards me while I racked my brain in hopes to find a solution that leads to my own survival.
It doesn't matter.
No matter how much I try to think about it, nothing about this boy makes sense.
Even if his prowess for combat is exceptional, he shouldn't be able to move faster than I can see, nonetheless overpower me in a contest of raw strength when I'm the one who has the advantage of being empowered by an Aspect!
The boy's existence was truly an anomaly.
Every action he made was nearly incomprehensible as he approached me by spinning his body in a rapid motion of what seemed like he was trying to slash me, but instead, the boy used that motion as a feint to land a spinning back kick into my abdomen, sending me crashing backwards into a thicket of trees as despite the many branches of bushes stabbing into my back, the pain coursing throughout my body from the grievous wounds I received from the boy continued to ache as I watched the boy leap above me with the intention of piercing his sword through my heart from the air.
Damn this day.
Evading his attack with a side roll, the boy landed onto the ground and with no wasted movement, he dashed towards me with the intention of slicing through my torso, but with a miracle, I dodged his swing with a desperate side-step as I then smashed my fist into his jaw with the remaining strength I had, sending him flying backwards through the forest until he regained his footing as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion from me using my arms, despite the severity of my injured limb.
With the distance between us, I desired nothing more than a minute to recuperate as the injuries carved into my body was nothing less than excruciating, but as I watched the boy walk towards me, my pain soon subsided as my mind became clear from reaching a sudden, yet unnerving realization.
I was arrogant.
What if this boy forced his body to naturally adapt to the raw power of his own Aspect, resulting in his overall attributes increasing exponentially?
There's a critical state that all Aspectors are cautious of.
The Exhaust Limit.
Once an Aspector expels every ounce of energy residing within their body, they reach the Exhaust Limit and in that moment, their body suffers mild backlash as the Aspector is unable to use their Aspect until they recover their energy through natural means or energy conversion, but in rare cases, an Aspector can surpass their exhaust limit through sheer willpower, manifesting energy at the expense of harming their body further.
Just as straining your muscle leads to muscle growth, the same could be said for enduring the raw power of your Aspect.
It's not common for somebody his age because of the rigorous training it requires, paired with the intolerable pain from the severe backlash that comes with it, but despite all adversities, with an unwavering will, you're able to enhance your physical attributes dramatically.
That method of training alone is what allowed me to ascend past my limits and achieve the ranking of a B-Class hero.
Although, if that's the case, then that explains his absurd raw power and inhuman reflexes, but if he's able to achieve this level of strength without even using his Aspect…
How strong is this boy with his Aspect?!