Eric Egoshin had two unique Clarion techniques in his arsenal. The first, "Divergent Moon," was a technique he had mastered by studying Joshua's training and teaching himself.
*****
The shadow monster suddenly rushed toward Eric, but he He didn't draw his sword. Instead, Eric suddenly charged straight at the monster. Just as its claws were about to tear into him, Eric vanished from its sight.
In the same instant, he reappeared above it midair, his blade sliding free from its sheath in one smooth motion.
Eric: [WHITE: KENJUTSU SLASH]
He cut downward, but to everyone's shock, his blade never touched the monster. It looked as though he had only sliced through empty air.
Takimo: Huh!?
Rin: It… didn't work?
Jason: (smirks) That's not it.
A heartbeat later, they understood.
Even though Eric's sword hadn't made contact, dozens of slash marks erupted across the monster's body all at once. The wounds carved deep, overlapping, striking simultaneously. The creature let out a distorted shriek before collapsing and dying almost instantly.
Lisa: Oh… I see now.
Rin: His sword didn't need to touch it.
Jason: Exactly. He's launching slashes with light energy alone with no physical contact required.
Takimo: That's insane…
Jason: (to himself) Joshua didn't have that. That must be Eric's second lighter technique.
Eric Egoshin's second Clarion technique "Kenjutsu" allowed him to channel light energy through his blade and fire slashes through the air. These weren't ordinary cuts. Anything they struck was erased on contact, leaving damage that was nearly impossible to heal.
Eric watched the monster fall and gave a small, satisfied smile.
Eric: It landed… just like I wanted. (looks at his sword.) Big brother… watch over me.
At that moment, more shadow monsters emerged from the mist, surrounding him on all sides. Eric shifted his footing and lowered his stance, ready to face them all.
Lisa: He's impressive. And he has two techniques already… Looks like he was trained before coming here.
Jason: (nods)
As Jason watched Eric carve through the monsters, his mind drifted back to what Eric had said when they first met:
"I won't make the same mistake. It doesn't matter how strong they are. When I face the Kaimi Daja, I'll correct my brother's mistake… and kill them"
Jason: (to himself) His heart's set on vengeance and he's using it as fuel. That's something Joshua never did. He never fought for revenge. (sighs) So I guess that's the real difference between you two.
*********
During their academy days, Jason was always trying to outdo Joshua, but no matter how hard he trained, no matter how much he refined his lightning, he never managed to surpass him.
Joshua was always one step ahead.
It wasn't that Joshua tried to compete and that was what frustrated Jason the most. Joshua never looked at him like a rival. He looked at him like a friend.
And Jason hated that.
The gap between them began to feel suffocating. Every sparring session ended the same way, with Jason on the ground, staring up at the sky while Joshua extended a hand to help him up.
One day, fed up with swallowing that bitter taste of defeat, Jason made up his mind.
He would challenge Joshua properly in a real fight.
Before doing so, he told Haruto, Lisa, and Marlo and as expected, their reactions were less than encouraging.
Lisa: Huh?! Fight him?! Are you crazy!?
Jason: YES!! I'm going to challenge him and end this rivalry once and for all
Marlo: It's not a rivalry if you're the only one bothered by it.
Haruto: So, you just love making a fool of yourself, huh?
Lisa: But why fight him? He's a pretty nice guy, and everyone seems to get along with him.
Haruto: Everyone except his dumb ass. (Points at Jason.)
Jason: He just annoys me so much! He gets everything on the first try, while the rest of us have to work hard for it.
Haruto: He's an Heir, you moron. Of course, he'd be good at almost everything. They're literally born different.
Marlo: That's true. The heirs are usually born more gifted than the rest of us.
Jason: Doesn't that infuriate you guys?
Lisa: Nope
Marlo: No
Haruto: Not really. Why get mad over something you can't control? You'll just go bald early thinking about it too much.
Jason bit his lower lip.
Jason: I'm still going to do it.
Haruto: What? Challenge him?
Lisa: You're already number 2 in the whole class. Isn't that enough?
At that moment, Joshua walked into the classroom and Jason immediately turned his eyes on to him.
Jason: HEY THERE JOSHUA!!!!!
The whole class turned to Jason's direction and Haruto slapped his hand on his forehead in embarrassment.
Haruto: What an idiot…
Joshua: Jason? What is it this time?
Jason: I CHALLENGE YOU TO A HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT FIGHT!
Joshua: Huh? A fight with me?
The entire class overheard Jason's declaration and gathered to see Joshua's response.
Jason: (points at him) That's right! I'm challenging you to a hand-to-hand combat fight.
Joshua: Why? I don't want to fight you.
Jason: You've been a pain in my neck ever since we came to this academy, and I just want to settle the score.
Joshua raised an eyebrow.
Joshua: Score?
Haruto: (to himself) What are you, five?
Later, Jason and Joshua stood outside, preparing for their fight. Their entire class gathered to watch the showdown. However, the fight was over in ten seconds. Jason lay on the ground, his right cheek bruised from Joshua's single punch. The crowd voiced their disappointment as they dispersed, leaving Jason on the ground.
Joshua walked away with a stern expression on his face.
Haruto walked to Jason and stretched his hand to help Jason stand up
Haruto: We all told you this was a bad idea.
But Jason scoffed.
*****
Later that evening, Jason went to the nurse's office, where his bruise was treated with a small bandage. On his way back to his room, he heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw Joshua beckoning him to follow. The two walked outside and sat down, watching the sun slowly descend.
Joshua: How's your face?
Jason: It hurts. (sarcastically) Thanks for asking.
Joshua:Well, I'm sorry for hitting you.
Jason: Don't be. I was practically asking for it.
Joshua: Yeah, but why? Why did you want to fight me?
Jason: Huh? I already said the reason, didn't I?
Joshua: I could tell that wasn't it.
Jason: HUH!? You did!?
Joshua: NOPE. But you just confirmed it by your answer just now.
Jason: DAMN YOU, FOUR EYES.
Joshua chuckled.
Joshua: Well, I have a guess. Correct me if I'm wrong. You joined the academy because you feel like your powers were given to you for a purpose, and you want to give it your all. That's why you're number two in the class. But since I'm number one, it makes you feel like you're not doing enough. You wanted to fight me to prove to yourself that you are.
Jason widened his eyes.
Jason: Wow. You really got everything right.
Joshua: I did?
Jason: NOPE. I just wanted to make you feel like you were on the mark.
Joshua: Trying to get back at me?
Jason: I guess it didn't work, huh?
Joshua: Keep trying and maybe you'll get it.
Jason: Maybe?
Joshua: Look, I won't say something obvious like "I understand what you're going through" because I really don't.
Jason: Bragging much?
Joshua: But you shouldn't compare yourself to someone who's more blessed than you. You'll just end up with a low self-esteem.
Jason: So, what do I do then?
Joshua: You're number two in our class. Isn't it obvious? Hang around those at the top. See what they do right, and learn from it. Maybe then, you'll beat me in a fight.
Jason: (smirks) I'M GONNA BEAT YOU TO A PULP WHILE I'M AT IT TOO.
Joshua: Do that after you've learned from me.
Jason: Right