Infamy's gaze redirected to Nasaki, the anger in his eyes softening just slightly, yet still there. He dropped the glass on the ground, then snorted a laugh. "If you want to fight, I'm super into it, dude." Nasaki kept his grin.
Pablo started hyperventilating and stepped back. "I think you two should get out of here." Nasaki got his guard up for any action Infamy would attempt.
Instead, Infamy just threw Nasaki away by swinging the arm he was holding. Nasaki crashed through the wall and flew out of the room.
Pablo used this moment to grab Kori and leave, but someone blocked the door.
"Now that the beast is distracted." He cracked his knuckles. "Let's see if you're as good as they talk about." A terrifying smile appeared on Otoru's face, cracking the facade of his stoic expression.
Nasaki landed on the main floor and groaned in pain. Not because of the hit, but because he forgot to stretch.
Infamy's men pointed their guns at him again.
"Come on, guys, we've done this already!" Nasaki scoffed. One of them spoke out. "It's just a bluff so we don't look like we're just watching!"
He then decided to ignore them, focusing on where Infamy was. He could sense him.
Infamy jumped down toward the main floor from many stories up, cracking the floor with his landing. "I've been waiting for this for a long time." He started walking towards Nasaki.
"Yep. Just give me a sec'." Nasaki started stretching. "Man, I miss being 17." He groaned.
Infamy began stretching as well. "Damn muscle knot," he said to himself.
This went on for a good 40 seconds, at least.
"Okay, I'm done. Back to killing each other." Nasaki dashed forward and closed the distance almost in an instant. Infamy raised his guard to block his fist, but that wasn't what Nasaki was aiming for.
He tried to sweep Infamy's feet, but he didn't even budge. "Someone didn't skip leg day."
Before Infamy's fist came crashing down, Nasaki stepped back. "Stop holding back!" Infamy yelled and charged forward.
"You're the one holding back! You're still not using your Treasure! But if you insist," Nasaki jumped in the air. The ship's wooden floor turned into a giant fist and punched Infamy away. "Here, happy?"
"Not remotely." The fist was stopped by something no one could see, but could hear. Wind howled around Infamy violently and pushed the fist away. "If you weren't holding back, this would hit me."
"Why don't we define 'holding back'? Because if I used all I have, I could make millions have a fate worse than death." Nasaki watched his movements.
The wind pushed the fist right back to Nasaki, but Nasaki didn't move a muscle. The structure collapsed instantly. "You know that wasn't a projectile, right? It was something I'm actively controlling. That was a stupid move-"
Infamy got in fist-range again and swung a left hook. "I'M FUCKING IMPROVISING!"
Nasaki analysed his surroundings, a bit nervous. "I should avoid casualties. Surely I can stop Infamy without killing him, right?" He pondered.
"You know if I used even a bit more of my power, your men would die! If you don't care about your own life, care about theirs!" Nasaki avoided his fist even though he couldn't see anything.
The words did affect Infamy, and he cursed under his breath. "Alright then." A maniacal grin filled his face. "Everyone off the ship. Go for a swim."
Without hesitation, every crewmate jumped off the ship, leaving Nasaki creeped out. "That's harsh. But also… merciful? Whatever." Nasaki's eyes glowed and he stomped the ground. Giant pillars of stone came out in order.
Infamy didn't stop his pursuit and broke through each just by walking through them.
"You're jacked. How tall are you?" Nasaki chuckled again while elegantly avoiding his fists. "You know-it-all, why ask? Can't you tell?" Infamy's fist began to accelerate.
"...I-I can't…" he said in a deadpan, almost disappointed tone. "Why is everybody forgetting I'm- Never mind!" He grabbed Infamy's fists with his own.
"Come on, use your mana!" Infamy pressed him down with his might. Nasaki's feet dug into the floor. "Would you kill a fly with a shotgun?"
"I ACTUALLY WOULD!" Infamy kicked Nasaki in the stomach.
Nasaki laughed, enjoying the back-and-forth. "It was an analogy!" As the range was increased again, Nasaki bombarded Infamy with countless wooden fists coming out of the ground.
"I never figured out the tricks of Nasaki Ryuko. All I know about him is that he can use mana, that he's blind, and the fact that…" Infamy looked towards Nasaki's blindfold.
Nasaki's fists were covered with gauntlets made out of granite.
"...His Treasure allows him to control the earth! It's not an earth-like elemental; his ability is directly linked to Sub-Terra, which comes with weaknesses." Infamy created a wind tunnel to pull an iron rod from the ship right towards his hands. "Iron isn't from this world, which means he can't control it!" He threw it towards Nasaki like a spear.
But the rod… stopped midair, shocking Infamy.
Nasaki grinned.
"Nice idea. If you fought me when I was still a kid, this would've worked. I can't sense Iron, so I can't dodge it, and I can't control it, so I can't stop it." Nasaki aimed the rod right towards Infamy. "Yet I can still do this. Because,"
The rod flew towards Infamy.
"My Treasure also allows me to control Sub-Terra's magnetic fields. But still, I can't sense Iron. So to compensate, at all times without a break, I cover myself with this magnetic field. Young me is stronger, but what can I say?"
The same maniacal smile filled Nasaki's face too.
"I age like fine wine!" He closed the distance while the rod was flying.
"I turned my weakness into an immunity! The thing I'm most vulnerable to ended up being the thing I'm most protected against!" Infamy punched the rod away, but Nasaki was already there. The granite fists empowered by Nasaki's Aura Link came crashing down on his muscles.
Nasaki was way shorter than Infamy (170cm/5'5" vs. 195cm/6'4"), which gave him clean access to his torso.
Infamy couldn't defend against the punches; Nasaki somehow found a way to evade Infamy's guard. His fists moved like a snake, hitting where it hurts the most.
"Come on! You got me fired up, don't tell me you're quitting!" Nasaki yelled. "You damn psychopath…" Infamy cackled. He pushed Nasaki away with powerful wind, then manifested two giant arms made purely of wind-flow.
"Oh, you're asking for it!" Nasaki matched his size by creating two granite arms of his own.
"Hey John, tell me. Isn't it funny that we're still holding back a lot?!" Their fists clashed repeatedly in midair, both perfectly matching each other's momentum. "I'm holding back more than you!" Infamy yelled.
"Bullshit. I'm going easy on you, old man! We're not in the same league!" Their smiles didn't falter; they were clearly enjoying this more than they needed to.
"I have control over the wind as well… but young me never practiced air-control because he thought it was lame, so I suck at it! There comes an age where you can't learn anything properly! I can still do it, but Infamy's control is much more powerful than mine." Nasaki's granite fists crumbled but repaired themselves in no time.
The wind arms held the granite arms tightly, and Infamy rushed again. "Dumbass." Nasaki created another fist and it slammed Infamy right in the face.
"Hey, what did Tsuyoi do anyway?" Nasaki cracked his fingers. "Steal your shit?"
"He tried to steal my Treasure." Infamy stood tall, walking off Nasaki's attack. "That's stupid. How does one steal a Treasure? They are soul-bonded; Treasures don't work like normal artifacts. Only the user can use it."
"There is someone that can turn our Treasures into his own. I don't remember his name… but I learned Tsuyoi was doing business with him. But I predicted it and misdirected him! I gave him the wrong thing!" He boasted.
"Someone that can steal treasures from others, huh?" Nasaki caught his breath. "Sounds creepy. But I'm sure Tsuyoi had his reasons; he's not the type to betray others purely on a whim."
"I don't give a shit. He tried to steal my Treasure!" Infamy yelled. "If I see him, he's dead!"
"You know there is only one thing that can make us stop fighting, Nasaki. I know I'm not as strong as you. Either one of us dies here, or you show me what you got!" Infamy crossed his arms, his muscles almost as big as Nasaki's head.
"Show me your sorcery!" He let out a war cry.
"You're stubborn." Nasaki sighed. His hands went to his blindfold. "If you insist. But don't say I didn't warn you…"
He took off his blindfold, revealing his eyes.
Unlike before, they are crimson. Like bathed in blood, it was scary to look at. Even just looking into his eyes… reminds you of a future that is awaiting you.
Death.
"...There's a reason I'm wearing this blindfold."
For just a split second, for just a tiny unimportant second, Infamy's hand shook.
"Then I'm going all out too!" The cape tied to his waist started glowing.
"Too?" Within just a single blink, Nasaki appeared in front of Infamy. "Who said I was going to go all out?"