POV: Rai Shinsei
As I stood before Arthur, who seemed to be on his last stand, I felt alarmed.
Arthur, whose organs are currently ruptured with a body marred with many baleful injuries, arose a disconcerting sensation within me.
Although I'm rusty as I haven't used my Aspect properly since two years ago with the exception of our mission today, I was certain that I would win against Arthur today and yet, the ambition within his eyes reminded me of my own as I felt a venerating grin creeping onto my face.
I'll admit it, Arthur.
"Alright, Rai. One last dance!" Arthur shouted, his bloodstained grin widening as his aura spiked exponentially to an unprecedented level, arising a sense of shame within me as I subconsciously underestimated Arthur, who is far from weak as his Aspectual Force was beginning to challenge my own.
You're strong.
Springing us into action was none other than a debris of rubble as the moment it shattered onto the ground, we appeared before one another within a split-second as we cross countered, but to my surprise, Arthur was able to match my speed, nonetheless, delay my attack as he initiated an exchange of hand-to-hand combat with a brutal right hook into my jaw, causing me to stumble sideways as his sudden boost of power left me puzzled.
There's no way…
As Arthur grabbed my head, I decided to test my suspicion as I swiped his hands away from my head with my own, causing him to stagger backwards as I stepped forward amidst the motion and landed several lethal jabs across Arthur's torso, but as expected, my attacks were instantly nullified as my grin widened.
He's risking his life just to win.
Once again, I apologize, Arthur.
Your ambition is far from hollow.
As of now, I'll face you with everything I have.
As I pondered during the final minute of our battle, Arthur used my lack of focus to his advantage as he tried to land a decisive punch into my face, but as his fist approached my face, I entered a trance-like state within a split-second as time began to slow, my senses sharpening considerably as my ferocious lightning began to surge before vanishing into my body along with my Aspectual Force, prompting me to clash my fist against Arthur's as the impact created a reverberating echo resembling the sound of a gunshot throughout the facility.
In a standstill, the force of our impact eventually separated us as we both slid backwards across the ground, but in the midst of his motion, Arthur aimed two fingers towards me and flicked them rapidly as he sent several near-imperceptible slashes of air towards me, although, because of my heightened senses, I was able to perceive the slashes as I gracefully weaved through every one, rousing a vexing grin from Arthur as I planted my feet firmly with the intention of ending this fight once for all.
Within a flash, I appeared before Arthur as we initiated our final exchange of hand-to-hand combat, but despite Arthur's technique giving him the power to match my own, time wasn't on his side as through our exchange, I dominated him as his enervation refused to allow his eyes to perceive my attacks, allowing me to end our exchange as I slipped under Arthur's high kick and elbowed his solar plexus, winding him as I the followed up by grabbing his head and smashing my knee into his face.
As Arthur staggered backwards with blood gushing from his nose, I continued my aggression by landing multiple acrobatic kicks across his body until I ended my relentless spree with a crushing uppercut into his liver, but to my dismay, Arthur managed to nullify my attack as my fist rested within the side of his abdomen, allowing him to slash my chest deeply as I nearly staggered backwards, but despite the agonizing pain, I endured as I gritted my teeth and hovered my hand over his torso, arising a perturbing sensation within Arthur as his eyes widened.
"You've fought well. Now fall, Arthur." I remarked as I smashed my fist into his abdomen with a one-inch punch, seizing his breath as the impact sent him tumbling backwards until he slammed against the damaged cliff on the other side of the river, but despite his ruined body, Arthur miraculously picked himself up once again as his perseverance was terrifying, yet, oddly thrilling as I couldn't help but respect his ambitious desire.
As I watched Arthur forcing himself to stand, I felt a sense of fatigue wash over me as if a weight was placed onto my chest, prompting me to clench my chest as I tried to control my breathing while focusing on Arthur, whose eyes brimmed brilliantly with an undying light.
I was careless earlier.
I'm losing too much blood and alternating techniques with my Aspect leaves a heavy strain on my mind and body, but despite my injuries, the chances of Arthur winning are slim to none as he's sustained far too many injuries.
If he used a sword, the outcome of this fight would have been very different, but that's it.
He's able to use his hands as a makeshift replacement for a sword, but the reality is that his hands are nothing like the blade of a sword.
I'm sure he's well aware of this fact, but as long as he continues to solely focus on mastering his swordsmanship, his dream will be impossible to achieve.
With a deep breath, I continued to watch Arthur, who seemed as if he could fall any second and yet, I felt an spine-chilling sensation as Arthur grinned at me weakly, prompting me to position myself into a proper fighting stance for the first time since our fight began as my instincts screamed at me to run away.
Something is off.
As I heightened my senses to its utmost extreme, Arthur pointed a finger towards me and in that moment, he vanished from my sight as I relied solely on my instincts to evade Arthur, who flashed past me at a speed that even my lightning amplified eyes were unable to perceive.
Enveloped within cold sweat, I panted heavily from exhaustion as I turned around to find Arthur, who used every ounce of his remaining strength left to keep himself up standing as our eyes locked.
"It's your win, Rai." Arthur stated with a faint grin as the moment his Aspect naturally deactivated, he suffered the rebound of his own ability as every attack he delayed from me struck him in that instant, forcing him to lose consciousness as he spewed out an absurd amount of blood, falling face-first into a spill of his own blood as I dropped onto my bottom to recuperate.
In the final moment of our fight, he delayed his entire body, meaning that not only was he invulnerable temporarily, but his power and senses were heightened to their utmost limit.
A near-invincible state that allows him to utilize the full potential of his body without any immediate repercussions, but despite the heavenly blessing it offers, the technique is far too risky to the point that I believe it's not even worth using unless the situation is dire as the rebound could certainly lead to death.
As I pondered on our fight, I realized that Arthur was on the verge of death as I prepared myself to carry him to the infirmary, but coincidentally, Ryan and Jennifer suddenly arrived as they were bickering with one another until Jennifer let out a sigh of defeat and approached Arthur.
It seems Ryan must have been watching in case something like this happened.
"I expected the two of you to fight, but who would have thought that two teenagers could devastate an entire facility?" Ryan asked rhetorically as he approached me.
"How long have you been watching?" I asked curiously as Jennifer activated her Aspect, concealing her Aspectual Force in the midst as she crouched down and began healing Arthur, who remained asleep as her aura enveloped his body and rapidly healed him within the span of a few seconds.
"Almost the whole time. I was preoccupied with a lovely matter, so I unfortunately missed the beginning of your fight." Ryan replied as Jennifer shot Ryan a menacing glare, prompting a dry swallow from Ryan as he averted his eyes away from her.
"I want you to be honest with me. Have I grown?" I asked earnestly, his eyes widening in surprise as he pondered on my question before answering it.
"Are you referring to your power?" Ryan asked as I nodded.
"From when we last trained, you lacked experience and in terms of raw strength, you were on the weaker side, but as of now, you gained a tremendous amount of experience and as for your raw strength, it's comparable to my own and I'm an adult of nobility." Ryan answered as Jennifer approached me and began healing my injuries.
"What about my Aspect?" I asked as within seconds, I was relieved of my injuries as I awaited Ryan's answer.
"I'm sure you also realized, but the power of your Aspect has deteriorated. Neglecting your Aspect for nearly two years is bound to reduce its power and after watching your fight today, I can say this with certainty."
"In terms of Aspectual Power, you're weaker than you were two years ago." Ryan stated as I sighed, disappointed as I expected myself to be out of touch with my Aspect, but not to this degree.
"Rai, are you going to be alright with watching Arthur? After I leave here, I'm clocking in for the night, so if anything else happens, you have to report to the nurses on the night shift." Jennifer asked, her tone much softer than when I first met her as the change in her attitude made me somewhat uncomfortable.
Could I be imagining things?
"I should be fine. Thank you for healing us." I replied with gratitude as Jennifer nodded before heading towards the exit of the facility along with Ryan, who waved his goodbyes as the two of them began conversing with one another, leaving Arthur and I alone within the facility as I glanced at Arthur, who slept peacefully on the wet grass as I suddenly recalled his final attack, which would have made him victorious if it had landed.
Arousing my curiosity, I shifted my attention towards the wall of the facility behind him as there was a massive slash marked within it, stretching across half of the dome as he severed nearly half of the forest amidst his final stand, inspiring a nervous chuckle from me as trying to comprehend Arthur's potential was nerve-wracking.
If that's the destruction he can create with only one hand, I don't even want to imagine what he can do with a sword.