POV: Aria Akari
The tension within the air was thick as the stress I was currently under was beginning to suffocate me.
Rai, who was confident and yet, without an Aspect, was approaching Pride, who also matched Rai's confidence as he refused to use his Aspect due to his sense of pride, but despite that, I was still worried as Rai was the same age as myself while Pride on the other hand was a known villain who terrorized heroes for the mere joy of it.
No matter how strong Rai was, I couldn't imagine him winning against Pride, who has accumulated years of experience as well as having the resolve to actually kill someone.
Although my worries were for naught as upon walking towards Pride, Rai released a sudden wave of bloodlust towards Pride, whose body tensed with fear for only a split-second but within that time, Rai closed the distance between them at an astonishing speed, startling Pride as his eyes widened in surprise.
What is with that speed?!
He's not even using his Aspect!
"It seems I've underestimated your eagerness to die!" Pride exclaimed as he tried to grab Rai, but he underestimated Rai once again as Rai swiftly evaded his grasp with proper footwork, allowing him to pivot on his foot as he landed a spinning back heel kick into Pride's chin.
As Pride's eyes rolled back, his body began falling towards the ground from blacking out as in that moment, Rai unsheathed his sword and with a swift, yet lethal motion, he attempted to end Pride's life by slashing through his neck with a rapid spin, but Wrath saved Pride's life by raising his hand and using his Aspect to pull Rai towards him as the sudden force gravitating his body startled Rai.
Wrath can manipulate gravity?!
As Rai's body slid backwards across the rocky terrain of the forest towards Wrath, he spun his body around amidst planting his sword into the earth below as leverage to throw himself into the air towards Wrath, who applauded Rai's quick-witted thinking with a grin as Rai tried to land a spinning high kick into Wrath's head, but Wrath had already anticipated Rai's attack as he grabbed Rai's leg and hurled him into the earth below with his grin widening.
"Interesting!" Wrath remarked exuberantly as he tried to stomp his foot onto Rai's chest, however, Rai was able to evade his foot with a back roll as Arthur suddenly appeared beside Wrath and tried to slash through the side of Wrath's torso with his swords, but to his frustration, Wrath repelled him away with an internal force of gravity as the impact sent Arthur sliding backwards across the ground.
Recovering his footing, Arthur planted his feet firmly into the ground before dashing towards Wrath with several lethal slashes aimed with the sole purpose of cutting him down, although none proved to be effective as Wrath weaved through Arthur's swings with unexpected agility as Rai dashed towards his blindspot with a spinning side kick, but despite Rai's inventive prowess for combat, Wrath dodged Rai's kick with a quick back step, allowing him to grab Rai's vulnerable leg in the midst as he hurled Rai into Arthur's chest, seizing his breath briefly as the two of them to tumbled backwards across the ground, entangled with one another.
"Now I can understand how my comrades were defeated." Wrath said with an amused grin as Rai was the first to pick himself from off of the ground, sprinting towards Wrath alone as he initiated an exchange with a feint into a roundhouse kick towards Wrath's chin, although Wrath had parried Rai's leg away as the two of them began exchanging attacks through hand-to-hand combat.
As they fought, I was astonished that Rai was slowly gaining the edge over Wrath, but despite being superior in terms of hand-to-hand combat, Rai's loss was inevitable as his forearms began trembling with pain from the accumulated damage building up from blocking Wrath's heavy fists.
Wrath immediately took advantage of the accumulated pain built up within Rai's guard as he used his Aspect to pull Rai towards him before striking Rai's abdomen with a gut-wrenching left hook, causing Rai to spew out saliva as the impact sent his body tumbling through a thicket of trees nearby while Wrath directed his attention towards Arthur, who approached him with a fierce gaze.
"One has an exceptional sense for combat as well as a trained body that can hold their own against an Aspector, despite not even using their own Aspect and as for the other…" Wrath remarked as he watched Arthur, who closed the distance between them with a single step as he gripped the handle of his swords with immense force.
"Ascension!" Arthur shouted as he tried to slash upwards through Wrath's torso, but consternation consumed her mind as Wrath placed a veil of gravity with tremendous pressure over Arthur, negating his momentum as well as preventing him from moving an inch as Wrath's fist began to swell with gravity before grasping the blade of Arthur's black sword with absurd strength, bringing forth an apprehensive expression from Arthur as evident desperation rose within his eyes, which pleased Wrath greatly as he tightened his grip on Arthur's blade in delight.
"Has the potential to surpass even my own power, but in the end…" Wrath added as by applying a surge of internal force within the blade of Arthur's sword, he ultimately shattered it with the press of his thumb as Arthur watched the blade of his treasured sword crumble before him.
"YOU ALL ARE FAR TOO WEAK!" Wrath roared, repelling everything away from him with an overwhelming external force of gravity, sending debris flying towards us as Everett and I shielded ourselves with our forearms while Arthur slid backwards across the ground, but amidst Wrath's repulsion, the radiant light that usually shined within Arthur's eyes had vanished as if his spirit was tethered to his sword.
Discouraged, Arthur stared at his broken sword in bewilderment as he remained silent, struggling to accept the new reality before him.
As Wrath approached the dispirited Arthur, Rai emerged from within the thicket of trees and dashed towards Wrath with the intention of exchanging attacks through hand-to-hand combat once more as he initiated the exchange with a feint into a sharp uppercut towards Wrath's chin, but Wrath was beginning to become bored as he swatted away Rai's arm with his hand and used his other to backhand Rai across his face before stepping forward and placing his hand onto Rai's chest.
"Distortion." Wrath uttered as he blasted a destructive force of gravity through Rai's chest, causing Rai to spew out blood from his organs being disarranged as the impact sent him flying backwards into the distant forest.
"RAI!" I cried out as I briefly stared into the general direction of where Rai's body had landed, unable to determine whether Rai survived such an attack.
Is he dead?
No, that can't be-
"I thought I sensed something within you, but it seems my judgement was wrong." Wrath added, disappointed as he continued to advance towards Arthur, who was unable to come to terms with the tragedy that fell upon his sword as he stared at his broken sword in utter disbelief, but within my peripheral vision, I noticed Pride walking towards the general area of where Rai was sent.
Is he trying to-
"What do you think you're doing, Pride?" Wrath questioned sternly as Pride continued to advance towards Rai with a furious expression.
"I'm going to kill that boy." Pride answered irritably, prompting Wrath to sigh before directing his bloodlust towards Pride, who suddenly froze in place with cold sweat beading across his forehead as their gazes locked until Pride eventually gave in, averting his eyes towards the ground as he bit into his bottom lip out of frustration.
"That boy almost killed you because of your arrogance. If that boy was able to survive my attack, then I will be the one to fight him. Dispose of the others while I kill this boy. Do I make myself clear?" Wrath ordered as Pride nodded, activating his Aspect and releasing his Aspectual Force as his eyes locked onto me, bringing forth an unsettling sensation as I prepared myself for the inevitable.
I have to stand strong.
If I want to live, then I have to stand strong-
Amidst my search of courage, Arthur suddenly began laughing to himself as I felt his Aspectual Force skyrocket to an unprecedented level, stealing the attention of everyone within the area as Arthur's laughter only grew.
What is wrong with him?
Has he lost his mind?!
"What a joke. Rai didn't even use his Aspect and yet, you think somebody as weak as yourself is strong enough to take them on all by yourself?" Arthur questioned, mocking him with a condescending grin as Pride fell for his obvious provocation, clenching his jaw in exasperation as Arthur sheathed his broken sword and pointed his other one in the direction of them both.
"You two are bound to lose today, but there's no need to fret over the outcome as I'm going to become the strongest in the world and for that…"
"I'll give you two the honor of facing me, SO COME FORTH!" Arthur shouted in exuberance, his overwhelming Aspectual Force dominating the area as the aura surrounding his body began to surge, prompting an ecstatic grin from Wrath as he matched Arthur's newfound energy with his own.
Arthur.
Are you...
Trying to sacrifice yourself for us?!