It didn't take me long to realize that my opponent was immortal.
They were completely untouchable. Not a single attack that any of us used managed to scratch or hurt him in any way. Despite the fact that me, Yuri, and Nova were all jumping him at once, making use off all of the abilities at our disposal, and despite the fact that we were actually landing what would normally be fatal and devastating attacks, the opponent in front of us stood tall, not even fazed.
There wasn't even a scratch on his perfectly white suit. It was demoralizing. As I swung my blade with everything I had, imbuing it with lightning mana, I could hear the voice in the back of my mind telling me:
Clearly this isn't working. He can't be hurt no matter what you hit him with. So why are you just burning mana by attacking uselessly?
Sliding to a stop, I looked to Yuri and Nova. "We should fall back! Nothing we throw at him can even put a scratch on him!" As I shouted that, Nova came to a halt, the ground below her melting from the heat that was surrounding her. Throughout the entire fight, I had watched her in awe as she moved insanely fast, with a blazing hot aura surrounding her. I didn't know the specifics of her ability, but whatever it had allowed her to not only be buffed, but also to emulate fighting styles. There was definitely more that I wasn't seeing either.
If anything had a chance at becoming an S-rank ability, it was Nova's.
However, even though both of us had stopped and pulled back, Yuri did not. He continued to attack wildly, using his mana switching so rapidly that he was only visible for a split second before he vanished once again. He was launching massive blasts of mana at the man in white. Despite his ceaseless attacks, he was not without strategy. he continued to weave together complicated magic sequences as well as using various feints and misdirects.
But it didn't matter, because no matter what he did, the attacks that he used did nothing. The opponent in front of them was untouchable in every sense of the word.
"Shit! What's gotten in to that guy." I muttered to myself as I watched, waiting for an opportunity to intervene and stop him.
"He was doing the same thing before you arrived here as well." Nova said, as she moved to stand closer to me. "In fact, he's just been acting weird for a while now. It happened ever since we finished fighting Wrath and Suijin completed her battle. He talked to her for a little, they got into a bit of argument about each other's safety, and then he said something cryptic about not ever lying to her."
As I listened to Nova explain, I began to run through what I knew about Yuri in my head.
Besides the fact that I didn't like the guy, I knew that he cared for Suijin a lot. In fact, he cared for Suijin probably just as much as I cared for Kami. He seemed to be indebted to her. Just like I had been given a mission to protect Kami, he had given himself the same mission, to protect Suijin.
I knew that me and him were more similar than I had originally thought. By the simple fact that he knew how to use mana-switching told me he had a dark past. He harbored a deep hatred for non-mages, that we had seen from our first meeting. Probably a bad encounter in his past.
As I tried to figure out what could have caused Yuri to lose so much control, Nova turned her attention back to the battle, trying to find a moment where she could intervene and separate them.
As she began to prepare for her attack, I came to the realization.
He was spiraling. Completely. Just like I was not too long ago. While Thor was beating me into the ground, my mind was completely spiraling out of control. I let the worst thoughts take over and dictate my actions. During his argument with Suijin, he must have realized something that made him completely disgusted. After realizing that, he made a decision.
Just like that time when I had decided to betray Kami's feeling, and stick to my mission, Yuri came to a decision. One that Suijin probably wouldn't approve of. Just from the way he was fighting now, it seemed like he didn't have a care for how he ended up after this battle.
In that moment, as I reached my conclusion, Nova dashed forward. Like a shooting star, she weaved between the two who were battling, and used her momentum to grab and pull Yuri, while blasting the man in white away. He crashed into the mid-section of the magic academy. '
She landed back where I was standing in a wave of heat, tossing Yuri to the ground. Yuri slid along the ground for a few moments, before coming to a stop. He was breathing heavily, and I could see from his posture that he was tired.
Using mana sense, I could see that he was running low on mana. In fact, his brain was probably also on the verge of completely frying.
I stared at him for a few moments, looking at how he breathed heavily, noticing how without his glasses, his eyes clouded with uncertainty, and noticing how exhausted he really was.
"You look pathetic." Is what I decided to say. His eyes widen, as he looked up at me.
"I don't want to hear anything from a slave like you." Yuri gritted his teeth in anger. Even now, his words still irked me, however I didn't let my emotions get the best of me. Instead, I smiled.
As soon as I did, I could see the anger that flared in Yuri's eyes. I continued to speak, never breaking eye contact. "You think you failed Suijin in some way, don't you?" I spoke condescendingly.
"What the hell do you think you know about me?" Yuri asked, taking a step forward. I did not back down however.
"You said it yourself, didn't you? On the walls of the magic academy, as we faced off against each other. That's when both of us realized the similarities between us." I reminded him of our battle, the one where Yuri had ripped my character apart, and laid my pathetic nature out for me to see. My inability to truly understand or care for Kami. A self-sacrificing nature, and a lack of purpose that mixed to create the nightmare that I used to be.
Back then, Yuri had punched me, insulted me, and fought me. All of it was because he couldn't stand the person I was. And because me and him shared so many similarities, when he looked at me, he was reminded of a past version of himself. And he hated what he saw.
■■■■■: Right. But what he did back then wasn't just because he saw something he didn't like.
Of course. Because me and him were so similar, Yuri's punch, his words, and everything that happened day were also done to snap me out of my spiraling. To bring me to the reality of my decision and choices.
And now the roles were reverse. Yuri was spiraling, unable to rein in control of his own mind, and he was doing something that he was going to regret. And now I stood before him, seeing a bit of me.
A Raiden who turned his back on his sister, because he thought that having her hate him would be easier than having her expect something from him. Looking at him in that state, without a single care for what would happen next, I realized how truly pathetic I had been.
It made me angry.
Is this what you felt in that moment, Yuri?
Without hesitating, I stepped forward, and punched Yuri hard. He was too exhausted to react, and his head snapped backwards. A bruise appeared on his left cheek, and he staggered back a few steps.
He looked at me with a mix of shock and anger, unable to believe what had just happened.
Now I had truly gotten back for his punch. In that moment, a myriad of emotions passed over Yuri's face. For a moment, he seemed ready to retaliate. And so I spoke.
"I don't know what you and Suijin spoke about. But I do know that whatever conclusion you came too, is wrong. I'm sure Suijin would more than agree. I mean how do you feel about yourself? She's burning herself out honorably, being a leader, and putting everything on her own shoulders selfishly, and yet here you are trying to one up her. Are you jealous? Or do you hate what she's doing so much that you can't find any other outlet but to burn yourself out, 'for the sake of her'?"
I laid on the ruthless comments, staring down Yuri. With every sentence, the anger in his visage expanded even further. However, when I got to that last sentence, Yuri's eyes widened momentarily, and he gritted his teeth even further.
He balled his fists for a moment, before finally letting go.
"I think this guy is 'the white knight of pride' who was terrorizing South America while Wrath was on his rampage." Yuri spoke through slightly clenched teeth, however the look in his eyes had faded, replaced by suppressed anger.
I didn't mind that. In fact, I felt good. After all, if my words could reach this bastard, there was no way I wouldn't be able to reach Kami.
"The white knight? Well, the only thing that really tells us is that he's freakishly strong." Nova chose this time to remind us of her presence. "We still have no clues as to what his ability actually is. Besides the fact that it renders him completely invulnerable to literally everything."
"Something about this feels off." I said, as I turned to face the section of the building from which Nova had smashed pride into. I could feel his aura growing stronger, so I knew he was getting closer. "Judging by the fact that he isn't even affected by dirt, and no matter what hits him, he isn't even left with a scratch, his ability has to work on some sort of space distortion level. However, I can't think of a magic sequence that can do something like that. His ability is quite literally an impossibility." I racked my brain for possibilities, but I couldn't think of any combination of magic spells and layering for sequences that could create an ability as unique as Pride's.
I couldn't calculate everything, but the many possibilities I could were telling me that this should be impossible.
"About that." Nova said, walking up beside me. "When Suijin's battle completed, her opponent revealed some information. Apparently, the group of 5 attackers that arrived here are part of the same group. They are led by this leader that they call 'the witch', and she granted them the power of delusions. I think it's some sort of contract, judging by the fact that Wrath was missing an eye, maybe they give something up, and they gain abilities that normally would be impossible. Like Wrath's ability was to wipe things from existence completely."
At the mention of the witch, my entire body went rigid. The same witch that Eve had spoken about.
Just how powerful is she? How far does her reach extend? And what the hell does she want?
In that moment, Pride had returned. Standing in the hole in the wall, he was literally looking down at us. "With how little respect your superiors, you all would make great candidates for the seat of pride. However, there's a fine line between pride and hubris. Well, that doesn't matter, we're only looking for envy and gluttony anyways. And it seems like Wrath, lust, and sloth as well? tch! Useless."
"Seats?" Yuri muttered to himself. "Just what the hell are you talking about!"
On the other hand, I was continuing to mull over what Nova had said about delusions. If they're specifically called delusions, does that mean-
"Why should I explain anything to you? I have no interest in disrespectful children." He then pointed directly at me. "Hand that one over. Then we can be done here. What the witch wants, she gets."
"I'm not interested in the love of this witch. Tell her I'm flattered though." I said, imbuing my sword with lightning magic.
Pride began to laugh. And then his face turned serious "Your seriously so conceited you think you can decline the love of your savior." When he said savior, my mind flashed to ■■■■■. "You don't realize anything yet boy. Nothing at all. Everything you think you now is only a sliver of the truth. But don't worry, she'll show you."
"Nova. Yuri." I ignored his rambling and turned to my allies. "I think I get it. It's a farfetched conclusion, but what if this delusion has to do with his excessive pride. Maybe his power has to do with that Ego of his. If this is the white knight of pride, he's known for being a conceited bastard who rambles about humility while he imposes himself upon others." I laid out my sketchy conclusion. I didn't have much evidence besides speculation, and it didn't give us a clear way to beat him, just more questions.
However, Nova nodded. "I say we keep going. Even if he's immortal, he doesn't have infinite mana.
Pride raised his hand in the air, beginning to gather immense amounts of mana. "Do you really intend to fight her love?" Pride asked, staring down at me.
I stared right back at him, flashing a cocky smile.
"Would she care if I was taken?" I asked.
Pride sneered at me.
"Careful boy. Pride is the downfall of man Afterall."
And then he released his spell.