God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

Nova scanned the chaos that had unfolded around him, his fists still clenched, and every muscle screamed for a vacation on the couch. But he had no time; he couldn't just rest. Not while the bully was still somewhat active.

How is this guy still able to crawl? He thought as the bully reluctantly crawled somewhat far away from Nova, which made him think that the bully was fearful of him, but it was just the opposite.

Nova's breaths were shallow, his body trembling from the relentless pace of the fight, but he couldn't stop. The bully's eyes shone with intensity, with aggression. An unnatural energy radiated from him.

Suddenly, a faint, very faint, golden glow, which seemed to outline his physique, appeared, covering his entire body, with a small yellow crystal in the bully's mouth that was covered in unearthly light.

The bully sank the crystal into his body, absorbing it like candy. His wounds began to knit together, and his exhaustion became a myth.

Nova realized immediately what the yellow crystal was. The crystal had seemed to replenish both mana and vitality, giving its user a second chance. A chance to begin anew.

Fuck! Nova exclaimed. He just absorbed a yellow mana crystal. Even though it's the worst among the mana crystals, it's still very dangerous. His energy, mana, and health have just been replenished. What a load of shit.

The walls shook violently as the bully surged upwards, cracking the floor beneath him, stone rising in rough shards around him.

"You thought you had me, huh?" he sneered, voice low and manic, laughter echoing throughout the mini-arena. "You may be faster, stronger, and smarter. But, one thing that strength can't overcome is..." he leaned closer, eyes manic, whispering, dragging the sentence out: "...insanity."

Nova rolled back, narrowly avoiding a spiked column that erupted from the floor, dust and fragments smeared around him.

After he had heard that dialogue from the guy, he felt true fear. As if he knew there was an extremely real chance of him dropping dead on the ground by the end of the fight.

The bully moved creatively now, summoning walls that twisted into labyrinths, forcing Nova to pivot, leap, and strike with surgical precision. Each strike from Nova's fists shattered stone and dust, but the bully adapted, forming barriers mid-flight and redirecting fragments like a deadly game of billiards.

"Come on!" the bully shouted. His pupils glowed slightly from the crystal's energy coursing through him. His expression resembled that of a mental patient from the deepest ward of a mental asylum. "You're too fucking slow! Pathetic! It's my turn now!"

The bully sounded childish, as if the more he went insane, the more of his inner child came out.

The bully slammed his fists into the ground, launching a flurry of boulders that exploded outward in a circular wave. Nova spun backward, blocking with his arms, feet sliding across the debris. One boulder collided with his shoulder severely, jolting pain down his arm, and even his spinal cord.

He felt a sharp irritation in his shoulders, which led to his spinal cord, which made him lose focus. Then his back tensed up, and he felt pressure compressing on the nearby nerves when the boulder severely collided with his shoulder.

Nova, despite all the warnings from his body to give up the fight, ignored all the signals. Thinking that his high pain tolerance can subside all the pain. Which wasn't the case.

Nova lunged through a collapsing wall, striking the bully's side with a precise elbow strike. Blood streaked both of them, sweat mixed with dust just adding to the flavor. The bully laughed, the sound almost unhinged.

"You think a few bruises can stop me? I've got crystals! Mana, health... everything!" He took about another crystal from his pocket, absorbing it in an instant. His body radiated with the same golden and bright light.

All his wounds were stitched up again. All the cuts fading away, his mana replenishing, his health going back to normal. He was totally and utterly invincible.

Nova's muscles singed, but he pressed forward, as his fists kept on losing skin. He smashed through a wall and caught the bully with a brutal knee to the midsection. The bully doubled over, but a sudden stone wall erupted behind him, slamming into Nova as he recovered, forcing him back.

Each attack became more unpredictable, the bully exploiting the arena's jagged walls, constantly moving, cornering, and baiting.

"You're gonna lose!" the bully exclaimed between breaths, eyes glowing dangerously. "You're nothing! Weak! You're just a fast, stupid kid playing in the dirt!"

Nova gritted his teeth, pivoting on a shard of rock, spinning to land a backfist to the bully's jaw. Blood splattered, but they laughed. He kept on laughing like a maniacal meth head.

The bully took about three more crystals from his pocket, chucking them down like an old, retired golfer eating his medicines.

Instantly, he regained his posture, his wounds disappearing, and his aura flared like a violent storm.

The arena had become a tornado of stone and blood. Rocks and spikes flew in every direction, and walls collapsed only to rise moments later at unpredictable angles. Nova's legs were sore from dogging, elbows were cracked from smashing stone, but he pressed forward.

He struck the bully's ribs with a precise hammer fist, sending him stumbling backward, only for a wall to rise between them, forcing Nova to vault over it.

At this rate, I'm going to lose. I need a way to disrupt him. I need something, anything. Before he could glance at his surroundings with an enhanced lens, the bully was already preparing his next move.

The bully twisted, spinning a chunk of stone into a spear mid-air. "You think you can touch me? You insolent brat! You're so fucking pathetic!" He hurled the spear like a javelin. Nova ducked, sliding under it, countering with a brutal knee to the gut.

The bully staggered, but the golden light of another yellow crystal pulsed from his side, healing and energizing him as he screamed in rage.