POV: Rai Shinsei
After deducing Pride's style of combat, I found myself grinning in elation as my senses sharpened considerably, my eyes tracking every movement within the span of my vision as I refused to raise my guard in an attempt to provoke Pride once again.
I'll end him here.
"Try that again." I said with a condescending tone as I taunted pride, who took the bait of my provocation as he began seething with rage while several veins formed across his forehead, but before he could advance towards me, Wrath slowly picked himself up from the ground amidst combing back his wild bangs with his fingers as he then placed his hand onto Pride's shoulder.
"He has the means to kill you, Pride, so from here on out, I'll take over as it would only be detrimental if we tried fighting together." Wrath said as Pride clicked in tongue in annoyance amidst Wrath setting his eyes upon me.
Something is off.
"I'll admit that I didn't expect Arthur to leave me in such a pitiful state as had you fought with the intent to kill me, you would have certainly won as Pride and I don't stand a chance against you even if we were to team up." Wrath remarked as the sense of uneasiness remained within me, urging me to stay alert as I watched Pride manifest a circle of his aura that began to circulate around the Wrath, unable to anticipate their next action as the circle of aura began to intensify around him until a sparkling pillar of light engulfed Wrath.
Wait…
Is he…
"Although it's a different story if I'm fully recovered." Wrath added with a widening grin, massaging his now scarred trapezius with his hand as Pride deactivated his Aspect amidst walking off into the distance in order to find a nearby tree stump to seat himself.
That's unexpected.
Pride has already gained the insight into using Aspectual Restoration as an output source and to the extent that he was even able to fully heal Wrath's injuries within the minute.
It would be concerning if Pride were to heal his comrades, let alone try to kill my own, but I don't think he'll resort to those measures as it seemed he would rather kill himself than to show weakness, although…
"Until our fight ceases to exist, I won't allow Pride to intervene, so let's continue where we left off, shall we?" Wrath asked as his aura began to intensify amidst his approach towards me, halting his advance until he was no further than a meter away as despite his gifted rejuvenation, it made no difference to me as I remained unfazed amidst the earth around us crumbling apart due to the overwhelming force of our power clashing.
"Do I have your word that as long as our fight remains, Pride won't harm any of my teammates?" I asked firmly, resolved to do whatever it takes in order to kill Pride if he were to cross the line.
"If you stop holding back and fight me with everything you have, I can guarantee the safety of your friends if they're still alive." Wrath replied as I allowed my aura to surge, matching Wrath's intensity as I cracked my fingers with my thumb.
He assumes I'm holding back, but the reality is that this is all I have to offer.
"I see." I muttered, initiating the first move with an immediate dash towards Wrath as I tried to land a one-inch punch into his solar plexus, but before I could even approach him, Wrath repelled me away with an external force of gravity, sending me flying backwards through the expanding forest as with an extraordinary sprint, he chased me down within seconds as I underestimated his sudden shift in speed, allowing him to grab my face with the palm of his hand.
"I've always wondered what's stronger…" Wrath voiced as slammed the back of my head into a mountainous wall of a hill, creating a large cavity within it as amidst my body resting inside it, Wrath began amassing gravity around his off-hand as he tried to strike his fist into my face, but his fist would shatter the hill instead as amidst weaving his strike, I kneed him abdomen before using his shoulder to throw myself over him with a spin as upon landing on the ground and attempting to space myself away, Wrath extended his palm towards me.
With a tremendous force of attraction, Wrath used his Aspect to pull me towards him as my face tensed out of annoyance.
He doesn't want me escaping.
As I gravitated towards him, I stomped my foot into the earth in an attempt to resist his gravitational pull, but my efforts would be in vain as the force proved to be stronger than I anticipated, unable to negate the force as I continued sliding towards him while he dashed towards me with gravity amassing around his fist once more.
"Gravity or lightning?" Wrath asked rhetorically, exhibiting an unsettling rush of exuberance as he drove his empowered fist into my abdomen, penetrating through my natural defenses as my insides felt as if they had exploded from within, causing me to spew out blood as I struggled to regain control over my bodily functions.
This man…
Amidst my struggle, Wrath then landed a heavy uppercut into my chin, nearly knocking me unconscious as my senses were disoriented beyond control and yet, I gritted my teeth and endured as I tried to land a sharp right hook into his jaw, but despite my persistence, Wrath slipped under my arm and placed his hand onto my chest, repelling me away with an external force of gravity as the impact sent me tumbling backwards across the ground with the foul taste of metal tainting my mouth.
He's much stronger than I anticipated.
With his power, he's at least at the level of a high-ranking A-Class hero.
With a deep breath, I picked myself up from the ground and sprinted towards him with the aim to regain my tempo, but as I approached him, I felt a spine-chilling sensation as Wrath's eyes sharpened with dissatisfaction.
"Do you play me for a fool?" Wrath asked with an unusually calm tone, but choosing to ignore his vague question, I planted my foot into the ground and leapt towards him with a spinning triple high kick towards vital points along his head, but Wrath had slipped under my leg and grabbed me by my neck, grasping it with considerable strength as my face flushed red with blood, unable to breathe as I gritted my teeth and glared directly into Wrath's eyes.
Through desperation and quick-witted thinking, I slammed the side of my fist into his wrist, sending a jolt of pain through his arm as he was forced to release his grasp, allowing me to land onto the ground as I tried to follow up with a spinning heel kick into his ribcage, but nothing seemed to work as Wrath parried my leg away, stepping forward in the midst as he countered with a brutal right hook into my jaw, sending me crashing into the earth below as I was left in a daze with the throbbing sensation of pain aching within my jaw.
Buried beneath the rubble of the earth, Wrath tried to end our fight by stomping his foot into my head, but through an instinctual drive of survival, I was able to avoid death by rolling sideways, picking myself up in the midst as I turned to face Wrath, who was nowhere to be found until I was met with a rude awakening as upon turning around, Wrath struck my abdomen with a violent back kick into my abdomen, nearly piercing through my torso as I staggered backwards, clutching my abdomen all while resisting the urge of vomiting.
Despite my discomfort, Wrath spared no pity as he clenched his fist tightly and struck my head with an overhead punch, sending me crashing face-first into the earth below as I was beginning to become more comfortable with the cold, moist ground than my own bed.
Seconds passed until Wrath used his Aspect to pull me towards him as he grabbed the bangs of my hair and held me up, gazing into my dead eyes with disgust as he clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"I'm a villain who has slaughtered and terrorized the lives of many and yet, I've granted your ridiculous request out of respect for your power and despite that, you still have the audacity to hold back against me?!" Wrath berated with a strong scowl as he lifted me up into the air and smashed his fist into my abdomen with a pierceful uppercut, forcing my senses to awaken out of displeasure as he then began brutalizing me with a variety of crude attacks until I parried his arm away and countered with a sharp palm strike into the side of his chin, sending him stumbling sideways as I tried to follow up with a reverse crescent kick towards his jaw, but despite my retaliation, Wrath didn't budge an inch as my foot rested against his jaw, bringing forth an unnerving sensation as I felt a droplet of cold sweat trickling down my face.
I underestimated him.
Although I could see and process the intent behind his every move, my body was unable to react.
It wasn't because my body was incompatible with my eyes and brain, but it was because of something deeper within.
A trauma ingrained into the very essence of my core as even after two years, I was still unable to overcome it as every passing second while using my Aspect was a constant reminder of the sins I've committed.
With my potential restrained by a mere thought of an event, my will began to waver from doubt as I quickly tried to space myself away from Wrath, who began to align with my distorted perception of reality as instead of running away from Wrath, I found myself trying to escape from Iris, who was in her final moments as I found myself hyperventilating despite the imminent threat of death standing before me.
With my superior speed, escaping should have been effortless, but with the fear of guilt as well as Wrath's Aspect, my mobility was suppressed as Wrath dashed towards me with the natural force of gravity at his very command, amassing a tremendous pressure around his fist amidst his approach.
"Rai."
"ARE YOU JUST LIKE THE REST OF THEM?!" Wrath bellowed with his jaw clenched in exasperation as he tried to pierce through my chest with his fist, but through what felt like a miracle, I was able to barely block his attack with my guard, leaving an irritable numbness coursing through my forearms as I skidded across the forest with my brain in a state of overdrive in order to find a sliver of a chance at victory.
"Why are you holding back?"
"ARE YOU JUST ANOTHER COWARD?!" Wrath questioned, enraged with my reluctance as I tried to recover my footing, but Wrath refused to give me the luxury of doing so as he rushed towards me and began trashing his fist into my guard, forcing me on the defensive as each strike pushed me backwards until I eventually ended up against the base of an unnaturally large spruce tree.
"You know you have the power to win and yet, you refuse to move on."
"If so, then perish." Wrath added, discontented as his anger vanquished with a frown before breaking through my guard with a decisive strike, destroying my balance as his hand hovered over my vulnerable chest.
"Let go of the past, Rai."
"Distortion." Wrath uttered as he blasted a destructive force of gravity through my chest, sending me tumbling through the tree as well as a thicket of trees until I found myself lying on my back within a remote area of the forest, where the deafening silence was louder than the excruciating pain resounding within every crevice of my body as a ray of sunlight shined upon me, breaking through the cloudy skies as I bathed in the morning dew of the cool earthy ground while my consciousness slipped away from my grasp.
I'm sorry, Iris.
You lost your life because of my own weakness and for that, I will never be able to forgive myself.
I was nothing but horrible to you and yet, you did everything in your power to make me who I am today.
After your death, I couldn't bring myself to ever use my Aspect again and as time passed, deep down, I thought that maybe it would be enough to atone for the misery I caused for you, but I soon came to a cruel realization that I struggled to accept.
You will never be able to come back.
I despised myself for being unable to save you and after your death, I wanted nothing more than to distance myself away from everyone for their own sake, but everything was bound to change once I enrolled into a hero academy, where my fate aligned with interesting characters as well as your very own sister, Aria.
I knew that my bond with them would gradually deepen and that's what terrified me as if something were to happen to them or even your sister, I don't know what I would do.
I've already lost you, Iris and I didn't want to lose anyone else, therefore, I chose not to use my own Aspect anymore as I thought I could atone for my sins and hide within the shadows without having the burden of their lives riding on my shoulders, but in the end, I was just being a selfish coward who avoided responsibility.
I understand now that as long as I continue to allow my trauma to reign control over my life, I will never be able to protect those who I cherish as well as achieve my ambition.
I may have failed you Iris, but I won't fail them.
On the day you died before me, I swore to myself that I will never make the same mistake again and though I forgot it amongst the passing of time, I solemnly swear to you now…
As long as I live, I won't allow a tragedy such as your own to ever happen again.