God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

"You're insane!" Nova exclaimed.

He slammed both fists into the floor to thrust himself towards the bully, breaking through the wall and landing a series of elbow and knee strikes that would have shattered a normal man.

The bully blocked a few strikes with stone, but the sheer force of Nova's brutality sent him stumbling backward.

Yet, with every crystal absorbed, the bully seemed almost untouchable. He began using the arena's walls more creatively: raising barriers to redirect Nova, forming spinning stone pillars, as if they were in a video game, and even creating collapsing cloors to destabilize him.

Each move forced Nova to react faster than he thought possible.

He's too powerful, Nova thought, even though he dealt significant amounts of damage; the bully always regenerated with his stash of mana crystals. I also can't get to the crystals, since he's super cautious. Damn it, if I don't do something, I am going to lose.

"You're fast, I'll give you that," the bully growled like a kangal, dodging a spinning backfist. "But I'm stronger. Smarter. And more fucking insane, and you'll ever be!"

He slammed the ground, creating spikes that erupted in concentric circles. Nova rolled, smashed a spike mid-flight, elbowing another, barely keeping pace.

The battle escalated into a deadly dance. Nova ducked, weaved, and pivoted, striking with precision, and sacrificing every fiber of his being in those moves.

But the bully's second-gear energy kept him alive through every strike. Each crystal made him more dangerous, more erratic, and more unpredictable.

Nova gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his temple, fists split and bleeding. He leapt through a collapsing wall, driving a brutal knee strike into the bully's chest, which started to appear red. In fact, parts of his body, all opposite to each other, seemed to appear red, or started to appear red.

The guy gasped, but absorbed another crystal, twisting midair and slamming Nova into a wall. Pain exploded across Nova's back, chest, and arms, but he scambled to his feet, eyes brightly singeing with determination.

"This ends now!" the bully snarled, voice thick with rage and venom. He slammed his fists into the ground, causing the walls to rise rapidly, gathering Nova into a shrinking chamber. Rocks and shards spun around, creating a deadly cage.

Nova's vision blurred, blood dripping into his eye, muscles screaming in pain. He struck, kicked, and elbowed, all the following, smashing through stone, but the bully adapted, countering with deadly precision.

Each hit from Nova was met with a wall, a spike, or a redirected boulder. The battlefield had become a nightmare of stone and blood, Nova pushing through his limits, as the bully tested his limits.

"You're going to die here!" the bully shouted like a T. rex, veins bulging, almost mutating, appearing different colors, which wasn't natural, eyes glowing golden from absorbed crystal. "Everyone who touches me dies!"

Is he trying to win a cringe context? Give me a break, geez. Nova thought, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

Nova's heart pounded, body screamed, but he refused to yield. He lunged forward, fists raining down in a flurry, but the bully twisted, summoning a wall behind him that pinned Nova's back.

Nova smashed through it, but another wall rose instantly. The bully's creativity in using the arena was becoming more terrifying, unpredictable, and insane.

Nova ducked a spike, rolling and swinging a backfist that cracked the bully's ribs. The man staggered, laughing maniacally.

"Pathetic! Weak! I regenerate faster than you can kill me! I'm invincible, you fucking mortal." He absorbed yet another crystal, golden light flowing into him, and lunged at Nova with a stone fist.

Nova slightly smirked at the bully's dialogue, realizing that the bully didn't know what Nova really was. And what terrifying things he was capable of.

Nova barely dodged, spinning and delivering an elbow strike to the temple. The bully's head snapped sideways, blood spilling from his ear. But he staggered, recovering instantly, hands glowing with golden mana.

"You'll die! Everyone dies!" the bully screamed, throwing a flurry of jagged rocks like a storm.

Nova rolled, smashed a boulder mid-air, striking another with a knee. Dust, blood, and stone swirled around them.

The bully's laughter echoed through the chamber, unhinged. "You're faster than most… but insane wins! Mana wins! Health wins! I am the storm!"

He slammed the floor violently, sending spikes in every direction. Nova twisted, barely avoiding one, smashing it into fragments with his elbow.

He pivoted, kicked, and landed a punch to the bully's side. The bully grunted, absorbed another crystal, golden light washing over him. His wounds vanished, energy restored, and he smiled with pure insanity.

"You think you're going to win?" the bully roared, spinning stone into spinning barriers around Nova. "I am chaos! I am perfection! I am the one who destroys!"

Nova ducked, rolled, and landed a brutal elbow, knee, and punch combination. The bully staggered but grinned, hands glowing golden again. Another crystal absorbed, energy flowing into him, body nearly flawless despite the carnage.

"Pathetic," the bully taunted, swinging a wall fragment. "You can't keep up. You'll fall, you'll break, and you're mine!" He slammed a boulder mid-air, Nova barely dodging, countering with a strike to the ribs that cracked bone. The bully staggered, blood dripping, but recovered instantly from the mana crystal.

The arena became a blur of motion: stone, blood, dust, flying debris. Both combatants were bruised, battered, and bleeding. Nova's knuckles torn, ribs aching, muscles trembling. The bully's insane laughter echoed, walls shifting, spikes erupting, rocks spinning, golden energy pulsing with each absorbed crystal.

Nova lunged, elbows and knees raining down, smashing through stone and barriers. The bully blocked, countered, creating walls and spikes faster than Nova could strike. Each strike from Nova was met with an instantaneous defense or redirection.

"You'll die!" the bully screamed, slamming fists into the ground, raising jagged columns that nearly impaled Nova.

Nova ducked, rolled, punched, kicked, smashed spikes, but the bully absorbed another crystal, golden energy flooding him. Nova staggered back, bruised, bloodied, his vision blurred.