God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

"Almost… done…" Nova muttered through bloodied lips, pivoting, striking a wall to redirect a stone shard. He lunged, knee smashing into the bully's chest, elbow driving into the ribs. The bully gasped but absorbed yet another crystal.

"Ahhh… pathetic…" the bully laughed, hands glowing golden, eyes insane. "This is the end for you!"

Nova pivoted, struck, dodged, and countered, but the bully's speed and creative stone manipulation pushed him back. Blood mixed with sweat slightly dripped into Nova's eye, who rubbed it off instantly.

His muscles begged for him to stop, but he didn't want to falter. He had a mission, and that was to meet the bully in the tournament and fight him fair and square. At least on his part.

The bully raised both hands, summoning a collapsing cage of stone around Nova. Rocks crumbled, while the walls slanted, and spikes poised.

Nova gasped, bloodied, bruised, arms trembling. He struck with everything he had, shattering a wall, but the bully lunged, catching him by the collar. Nova dangled, struggling, consciousness fading, blood dripping from his wounds profusely.

His vision blurred. Sweat and blood stung his eyes, but he refused to falter. One eye caught the glint of stone, another the faint glow of the bully's pulsing golden aura. The crystal energy started to radiate more violently outward, which the bully didn't seem to notice.

The energy seemed to radiate in waves, like eating a hot chip, and feeling all the burning sensation after the initial bite. Each wave pulsed with a taunt, a flicker of the inevitable that the bully was soon going to face.

Nova lunged forward, smashing an elbow into the bully's side. Nova screamed in agony as the bully staggered, but before Nova could capitalize, a wall erupted beneath his feet, shoving him backward. He slammed into the rough stone floor, pain shooting down his spine, and rolled to absorb the impact.

The bully's hand glowed with golden energy more violently again, which alerted Nova that the bully had absorbed yet another crystal.

Nova gritted his teeth, fists tightening, blood dripping from his lips as he spun into a series of precise strikes, palm to jaw, elbow to ribs, knee to gut.

The bully absorbed a few hits, but some of the force carried through. A grin escaped him. Nova could feel the rhythm now, the subtle beats where the bully had to recover from the blows, even if just a fraction of a second.

The arena became a powerful vortex, like a whirlpool. Walls had shattered, spikes had erupted, and were still erupting, rough floors twisted into traps. Dust and fragments filled the air, which didn't allow Nova to breathe easily.

Nova's arms ached, legs burned brighter, and every step became a threat to betray him as his body screamed exhaustion. Yet adrenaline pushed him onward, driving him through the haze of pain and blood.

The bully's laughter echoed through the arena, insane and unhinged. "Do you even know what an honor it is to fight me?" he spat, lunging forward with a spinning uppercut.

Nova blocked, but the force jarred his shoulders and cracked the stone floor beneath them. He swung low, sweeping the bully's legs. The man twisted midair, absorbing the impact, landing on one knee, then exploding upward, summoning a wall of rough stone that rose like a prison cell around them.

Nova leapt over it, rolling into a crouch, smashing the stone behind him with a rapid fist combo. The bully grinned through blood and sweat, absorbing yet another crystal. His wounds closed instantly, his golden aura pulsing violently, every movement sharper, faster, and more unpredictable.

"Foolish," he hissed, his voice low and deadly like a cobra, "you think brute strength is enough to take me down? I'll crush you like the ant you are. Every strike you throw is utterly meaningless."

Nova didn't reply. He simply lunged, smashing a knee into the bully's chest, pivoting and following with an elbow strike to the temple. Blood flew, but the bully twisted, rock erupting from the floor beneath him to deflect the attack.

A second pulse of crystal energy washed over him, and he smirked, eyes glinting with something almost inhuman.

The bully gritted his teeth, swinging a fragment of wall like Barry Bonds. Nova ducked under it, rolling through the debris. He struck with brutal precision, a flurry of blows that would have killed most men.

The bully blocked most, but a few connected. A knee to the ribs, a punch to the shoulder, a twisting elbow to the jaw. Each landed with sickening impact, yet the golden energy pulsed again, stitching him together, still keeping him in the fight.

The arena walls cracked, splintered, then rose again, bending reality with stone. Nova dodged, ducked, and struck, but every time he thought he had the advantage, the bully reshaped the terrain, turning it against him.

Spikes rose like fingers from the floor, walls slanted and pivoted, and stone chunks floated midair to act as swinging pendulums.

"You think you can corner me?" the bully shouted, voice echoing like a storm. "I am the storm!" He slammed both fists into the floor, sending jagged stone shards spinning outward. Nova rolled, narrowly avoiding a fatal spike that would have impaled him. He countered with a spinning backfist, smashing a stone wall into pieces. The bully laughed, a sound that cut like metal, golden light pulsing across his hands.

Nova's chest heaved. His arms shook, knuckles split open, ribs aching from every hit. He pushed forward, smashing the bully's defenses with a relentless combo: knee to gut, elbow to temple, fist to jaw. The bully staggered but absorbed yet another crystal. Golden energy spread across him like liquid fire, healing, recharging, amplifying him.

"You're… pathetic…" the bully snarled, spinning a jagged wall into a spear, hurling it at Nova.

He barely dodged, rolling across shards, smashing his palm into the floor to spring into a counterattack. He struck, kicked, smashed, but the bully's speed, fueled by the crystals, allowed him to adapt, dodge, and retaliate in insane, unpredictable ways.

Nova gasped, a deep rasp, muscles trembling violently. Every movement demanded focus, every strike drained him further. But he refused to falter. Blood ran down his face, his vision blurred, yet adrenaline and rage carried him onward.

"You'll die," the bully hissed, voice low and unhinged, golden aura pulsing. "I will break you. I will finish this. You are mine!"

Nova pivoted, striking through a collapsing wall, landing a brutal knee to the bully's chest. The bully staggered, then laughed, golden energy rippling through him, and with a flick of his wrist, raised jagged columns of stone in a deadly cage. Nova struck, smashing through the walls, breaking spikes midair, each hit delivering only a fraction of damage.

The arena became a storm of stone, blood, dust, and sweat. Nova lunged, rolling, dodging, and struck, but the bully absorbed yet another crystal, his wounds vanishing, energy restored, rage and insanity amplifying every movement.

"You think brute force is enough?" the bully shouted, spinning stone into pendulums, walls pivoting, spikes erupting. "I am chaos! I am perfection! I am insane! And you… You are nothing!"

Nova ducked, rolled under a spinning wall fragment, smashed another spike into pieces, blood dripping from every strike. The arena trembled with every punch, kick, elbow, and knee. Both men were covered in blood, sweat, and dust, muscles screaming, limbs trembling.

The bully lunged, golden energy pulsing violently, striking with insane speed. Nova barely blocked, rolling backward, smashing a jagged fragment of wall into the bully's ribs. The man grunted, staggered, but absorbed another crystal. His aura flared golden, his wounds vanished, his insane grin wider than ever.

Nova's chest rose, vision swimming, but he forced himself forward. He struck, smashed, kicked, and elbowed, his blood and sweat coating the battlefield. The bully blocked, countered, and twisted, each move creative, deadly, and unpredictable.

"You'll die!" the bully screamed, slamming a fist into the floor, sending jagged rocks flying like missiles.

Nova rolled, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike, countering with a spinning knee into the bully's ribs. The man staggered but absorbed yet another crystal. Golden energy glowed across him, healing, empowering, amplifying.

Nova gasped, chest rising, arms trembling. His body screamed, every nerve screaming in protest, but he refused to stop. He lunged, striking through walls, smashing stone, elbowing, kneeing, punching, and kicking. The bully blocked some, staggered from others, golden aura pulsing with every second.

The battlefield had become chaos incarnate. Dust, blood, stone, sweat. Nova pressed forward, fists bloody, chest heaving, knees shaking. He lunged, drove a punch into the bully's ribs, another to the temple, and a spinning kick to the chest. The bully staggered, absorbing yet another crystal, golden light enveloping him, insanity burning in his wide grin.

Nova pivoted, dodged a jagged spike, and smashed a wall fragment into the bully's side. The man grunted, staggered back, then lunged with insane speed, slamming Nova into a wall. Pain exploded across Nova's back and chest. He gritted his teeth, smashed a fist into the wall, rebounded, elbowing the bully's jaw. The bully twisted, spinning stone into spikes, walls closing in.