God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

Everyone shifted, stirring clear of the brawl ahead. They sensed the tension; even the guards didn't dare to intervene, since they knew who the brat of a kid was. Who his father was. And what his father was capable of doing. The leader cracked his knuckles, smirking. Think it was an easy fight. But it wasn't a fight, but a declaration. And both of them knew it.

The brawl began. The crying woman who had gone to the bathroom came back, confused and bedazzled. She went towards the rest of the receptionists, a paper towel in her hand, which was wet from the tears. She was in her late twenties, young even by human standards, and mesmerized by Nova. She blushed looking at him, thinking he was the knight in the shining armor.

The fight began, with the leader rushing in, not showing off his awakened abilities, yet, just giving Nova a taste of his own medicine. He threw a punch at him, which Nova evaded with precision, and gave a counter, which the leader dodged, just barely.

The leader backed up, acknowledging that the fight wasn't going to be easy. His smirk grew into a devilish grin, which gnawed at Nova's eyes. It only made Nova irate. He was feeling this great anger inside him that he had never, truly, felt in the Inner Heaven, handling all of Apollo's bullshit. This anger, he felt, was disturbing, scratching him from the inside. And the book he was reading did mention that you could be awakened by a traumatic event, or by feeling a great amount of emotion. Usually, of the negative kind.

Nova rushed towards him. The leader was impressed by his speed, but still thought of him as a pest, ready to be crushed into a million pieces. The leader dodged Nova's one-two combo, followed with a straight jab, and a right hook. He thought that Nova could only perform boxing moves, but he was so wrong.

Nova then took the opportunity to do a swift low sweep, catching the leader off guard and knocking him slightly off balance. Without missing a beat, Nova pivoted on his heel, spun behind him, and delivered a sharp elbow to the ribs. The crowd gasped. Noticing how the leader had gone down on one knee, grabbing his ribs, as the pain was crushing him.

Nova lunged back in his normal stance. He didn't smirk, or grin, or even dare to have a slight smile, as he knew that when he did, he would lose focus, become overconfident, and lose his balance. He was in his defensive position, waiting for the leader to get up. He still wanted to show honor, as honor without a fight was worthless.

"You fucking asshole," the leader said, getting to his legs, furious, looking at him, trying to instill fear, but it didn't work. "I'm gonna end you, once and for all."

The leader's hand glowed with his Circle of Pillars, the ground quaking beneath him, as Nova realized that the leader had the power to control the Earth. Small chunks of rocks turned into spikes that the leader launched at Nova from all directions.

Nova tried to use his enhanced reflexes that he had been training relentlessly for the past two weeks to dodge all the spikes, but there were just too many, and he wasn't as fast as he thought. He evaded a couple of them, but nearly four struck him all over his body.

The leader was like a madman, not caring about ending Nova's life. Nova finally grinned, feeling the blood coming out of his cheeks, feeling that pain, like a large needle penetrating his skin. He was finally enjoying himself. He, too, almost turned into a madman, but he didn't. He controlled his thrust for pain and blood. And focused on the battle, as he couldn't die before his journey even began. Though he could just reincarnate again, he didn't want to. He wanted to live his life in hardcore mode.

More spikes were created, Nova evaded nearly all, but a couple struck him, almost on his vital spots. He couldn't let that happen, so he lunged towards the leader, who was laughing like a maniac, and just before Nova would punch him, dead in the center of his ugly face, a stone wall rose just before him, neutralizing his punch, and instead dealing even more damage to his body, as his knuckles started to bleed profusely.

Nova staggered back, the pain disrupting his vision, as he was losing too much blood, and he realized one of the spikes had dealt a miniature hole in his stomach, which wasn't a great feeling. Nova put his hand on his stomach, his hand quickly turning red and unable to stop the bleeding. He gritted his teeth, knowing that he couldn't lose and just needed the perfect timing. That one opportunity, to take that ugly boy down, for good.

The boy despawned his spikes, a grave mistake, and walked towards Nova, as if he had won. His walk was sassy, as if insulting Nova and his skills.

"You dropped like a fly after all," the leader spoke, just an inch away from Nova. "Now die, like the rest of the vermin."

Just before the boy could summon a large rock to finish Nova off, Nova surged forward, summoning his one last ounce of strength, grabbing the leader by the collar, and pulling him down with him. In the same motion, he drove his knee into the boy's stomach while twisting his body, slamming them both to the ground.

Then a voice echoed through the guild, heavy with power, and loud enough to silence every whisper, every breath, as if the air itself dared not move against it: "The match is a tie. Anything further will result in an immediate and permanent removal from the guild."

Nova gulped as he saw where the voice came from and felt this obnoxious presence in front of him, which he dared not speak against.