POV: Selene Korisuki
In utter disbelief, I watched two boys who were no older than myself wreak havoc among the evaluation facility as the sheer destruction of their attacks uprooted several trees as well as reformed a few of the hills within it.
What in the world am I witnessing as of now?
Usually, I stroll through the vibrant forest within the evaluation facility and listen to my music alone, sometimes spending hours in isolation as the silence offers a pleasant vibe that pleases my soul.
The Headmaster was kind enough to offer me a keycard as having a place where most students cannot access is comforting to me and as per usual, I assumed that today was going to be no different until I felt Arthur's intense Aspectual Force, encouraging me to find out the reason on why he would be inside here.
Of course, upon finding out, I would have never guessed in a million years that Arthur of all people would be fighting someone of his age as every student within the academy will do anything in their power to avoid challenging him.
The boy Arthur was fighting was a student that I had never seen before and due to my distance, I was unable to get a good glance of what the boy truly looked like, but amidst my curiosity, I felt my insides curl as the air around me began to prick at my skin from the boy activating his Aspect and releasing his Aspectual Force.
Although it was my first time ever seeing blue lightning, what disturbed me even more was his ominous Aspectual Force, which was somewhat unbearable to withstand as the very essence of it seemed to be fueled by an undying hatred.
It's cold.
His Aspectual Force is so cold that if it wasn't for the Headmaster's extraordinary sense to detect any anomaly within the academy, I would have assumed that this boy was a villain.
Although, I would have never expected that there was another student who was on par with Arthur.
"You don't look so good over there, Rai. Do you perhaps need a moment to catch your breath?" Arthur asked sarcastically, attempting to provoke Rai, who remained poised as Arthur's provocation roused a faint smile from Rai.
So his name is Rai?
"You can't fool me, Arthur. I know you're trying to stall for time by conversing, so are you going to keep running that mouth of yours or are we going to fight?" Rai replied as the two of sprinted towards one another and began exchanging hand-to-hand combat, but despite Arthur's efforts, it was useless it the face of Rai's remarkable prowess for combat as Arthur's swing went wide, creating an opportunity for Rai to strike as he landed a brutal spinning back kick into Arthur's abdomen, sending him flying backwards across the facility until he crashed into the waterfall, eventually tumbling down the cliff into the river bed.
While Arthur recuperated, Rai commanded the lightning crackling around his body into his hand amidst sprinting towards Arthur as he leapt from off of the hill that they were previously fighting on, manipulating as bolt of lightning within his hand as with a forceful spin, he hurled it towards Arthur, who was barely able to escape in time from the violent bolt of lightning as it dispersed throughout the entire river, creating a spectacle that seemed to look like an electrical trap of doom.
As Rai descended onto the ground, Arthur sprinted towards him as the two of them exchanged in hand-to-hand combat once more, although in this instance, Arthur used his Aspect in a rather clever manner to make up the difference in their skill as he temporarily nullified the impact of Rai's every attack and used his momentary invulnerability to his advantage, striking Rai cleanly in his jaw with a right hook, causing him to stumble backwards as Arthur wasted no time in following up with a decisive uppercut, but to my utter surprise, Rai didn't budge an inch as he clenched his jaw and glared at Arthur.
Arthur is by no means weak, so how is it that Rai's able to endure such a blow like that?
"This isn't even funny anymore-" Arthur voiced with a nervous laugh until Rai smashed his fist into Arthur's face with a counter, sending him tumbling backwards through the grass as he was forced to endure the impact of attacks he had delayed previously, suffering from the consequences of using his Aspect rashly and yet, despite what seemed like an unfavorable matchup, Arthur seemed to be relishing in a state of exhilaration.
In a state of excitement, Arthur sprung off the ground and sprinted towards Rai with the intention of exchanging hand-to-hand combat once more, but Rai had no plans of following along with Arthur's impulsive idea.
With an ingenious maneuver, he weaved past Arthur's initial strike and smacked the back of his fist across Arthur's face, causing his body to spin within the air before him as Rai followed up his attack by smashing his knee into the side of Arthur's torso next, causing Arthur to reveal an unpleasant grimace as Rai then ended his unique combination with another destructive spinning back kick that nearly pierced through Arthur's abdomen, sending him flying backwards into a nearby wall of a mountainous hill as the impact reverberated throughout the entire facility, burying him beneath the rocky rubble.
This is unbelievable.
Arthur may not be using any swords, but he's practically the strongest student within this academy and yet, he's being beaten senseless right now.
Who in the world is this student?
Breaking the momentary silence was none other than Arthur, who eventually rose from within the rubble as he spat out the excess blood within his mouth onto the side before facing Rai, whose attention was elsewhere as he stared into the palm of his hand with a disappointed, yet dejected gaze.
"Don't tell me you're tired already? I thought we were just getting started!" Arthur shouted with an ecstatic grin, despite his current condition as his aura surged exponentially while a determined light began to bloom within his eyes, although amidst Arthur repositioning himself, Rai remained unfazed as if he was lost in his own world.
What is he doing?
With a deep breath, Rai's lightning began surging around him as his aura fluctuated until his once ferocious lightning had vanished along with his Aspectual Force, leaving only faint traces of his lightning crackling around him as his eyes began to glow even brighter than before.
"Brace yourself, Arthur." Rai warned as his eyes sharpened, arising an unnerving sensation within Arthur, who grinned nervously as a droplet of cold sweat trickled down his crimson-streaked face.
What did he just do?
His Aspect seems to still be active, but his Aspectual Force is gone?
No, it's more than that.
I don't understand why he concealed his Aspectual Force, but if I'm not mistaken, he removed the power of his Aspect completely, meaning that he's unable to utilize his lightning or the techniques that involve the use of his Aspect and if my assumption is correct…
Then Rai is attempting to fight Arthur by solely using the physical enhancement blessed by his Aspect.
Has arrogance consumed him?
"Rai, have you lost your mind-" Arthur tried to ask, but in the midst of his sentence, Rai had vanished from our sight and appeared before Arthur as he landed a destructive one-inch punch into his solar plexus, knocking him unconscious as the impact sent him flying backwards until he crashed into the rugged cliff of the hill that I resided on, urging me to properly hide myself as Rai's stupendous display of speed was nothing less than confounding.
I was completely wrong.
Unless Arthur has a trump card up his sleeve…
I can't imagine a world where he's able to win.