God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

Nova's finger touched the softness of the flag, the nylon texture cold, yet warm on Nova's skin. He gripped the flag tightly, as if thinking that he was finished. Thinking that the second stage was finally over. Just as he lifted the flag, the ground under him started to rumble; it was sharp and deceptive, almost as if it were a trap.

Before he could react, do anything for that matter, stone walls from thin air erupted from the ground surrounding him, towering over him like a solitary cell, cutting off every escape route. Dust filled the air as the rocks scraped against each other. At the center of it all stood Nova's previous acquaintance. The bully from when he was at the guild.

The guy's arms were raised, standing in the dead center, smirking like a demon who had been waiting eagerly his whole life for this very moment.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. You greedy fuck." The bully's voice echoed across the enclosed space. It bounced off the stone walls, like gravitational waves from two colliding black holes. "Grabbing the flag so eagerly. Though you could just waltz in and take it, huh?"

Nova's eyes narrowed. He didn't utter a word. He had no intention of letting a single smug, rich brat dictate his fate here. The bully slammed his fists into the ground, and the arena trembled again as jagged spikes shot up from the floor in rapid ascension, forcing Nova to leap back, kicking a column of stone as he rolled, landing in a crouch, fists up.

The bully was faster than he expected. Every movement he made sent tremors through the planet, raising stone shards from the floor and hammering the walls surrounding them. Nova ducked low, rolling forward, his right fist smashed a spike before it could fully form. A second spike lunged past his shoulder, grazing his skin slightly, but leaving a shallow, fiery cut.

He is faster than before, he thought, touching the cut across his face. He must have either trained like hell or used materials from the dungeon, or maybe even artificially boosted his pillar.

Blood gushed across his forearm, mingling with the sweat already dripping down his temple. He smirked, then quickly removed it, getting serious.

Nova lunged forward, aiming a punch directly at the bully's jaw, so that he would shut the fuck up, but the floor beneath him cracked, and an entire section rose upwards, slamming into him mid-strike. His knuckles bled again, already raw from his two previous fights, but he didn't stop. Didn't slow. And most of all, didn't hesitate.

The bully chuckled darkly. "You've got a lot of guts; I'll give you that. But guts alone won't stop me." He stomped the ground, and the walls closed in slightly, shrinking the space, making Nova's movements more rigid.

Chunks of stone broke away from the floor and floated in midair, suspended like pointy ornaments of death. The bully's eyes glinted with anticipation, calculating all the possible ways to crush Nova into a pile of flesh.

Nova's stance shifted. He moves laterally, ducking low, feinting the incoming spikes, his boots crunching against the cracked rocks beneath him. Each step he took had to be precise; otherwise, one wrong move and he would be impaled or smashed.

He launched a straight jab, driving the fist forward like a battering ram, but the bully caught it, gripping Nova's wrist with an iron-like hold, twisting sharply and throwing him backwards. Nova slammed into the wall, sending a shower of stone dust into the air.

The bully advanced, each step leaving cracks in the floor, forcing Nova to hop back constantly. His fists moved automatically now, landing a strike to the ribs as he pivoted to avoid another spike. Bone cracked, but the bully barely flinched. He retaliated with a backhanded strike, catching Nova on the temple.

Stars burst across Nova's vision, but he shook his head violently, shaking off the disorientation. He lunged, elbow first, smashing into the bully's shoulder. The stone beneath them cracked, but the bully laughed through the pain.

"You'll need more than fists," the bully taunted, eyes glinting dangerously. He slammed his palms into the ground. Massive stone spikes erupted around Nova, forcing him to leap, twist, and kick several out of the way midair. He was like a Kungfu master. Or at least that's what he felt like.

One spike grazed his leg, ripping a deep cut and staining his pants with blood. Pain exploded across his leg, singeing through his muscle, but he didn't flinch. He didn't bother. He didn't pause to worry about such a little obstacle.

He landed, fist smashing down on a spike as it tried to rise again. The impact shattered the stone into fragments that cut his knuckles even further. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the intense pain.

Now that hurts, he thought, his face barely able to hide his pain. Damn it!

Nova feinted left, then sprinted right, ducking low as a wall of stone slammed down where he had been. His shoulder was grazed, leaving a row, bloody scrape. He slid under, rolling forward, coming up behind the bully, swinging a hard, bone-crushing right hook to the side of his head. The bully barely ducked, and Nova's fist slammed into the wall behind him instead, splintering it.

The bully spun, his hand glowing faintly as he summoned more rock spikes, this time in a chaotic, spiraling arc. Nova caught them mid-air with precise strikes, smashing and pulverizing the stone into dust before it could strike him. Sweat leaped to his eyes, stinging them, mixing with blood, but he stayed focused. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain, but he couldn't afford or bother to care.

My body is aching so much, but I can't stop here. He clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing, his face showing his intense concentration. I can't back down now. I have to foresee everything more clearly. I need to calculate everything more precisely. Damn this guy. He had a sharp snarl pressed up against his lips. He was forcing himself to continue, which, of course, wasn't ideal for his body, but he had to push through if he wanted to be alive.