Nova felt as if his body had just been jump-started, suddenly taking in a deep breath and entering a coughing fit.
『Kugh?! Kuhagh!』[Nova]
He coughed a few times before he opened his eyes, revealing the bright empty sky above him.
He quickly rolled over and forced himself to his knees, remembering his prior situation.
Once he had done so, he had found Nezha staring at him, completely frozen.
『...You… You're a monster…!』[Nezha]
He paid Nezha's words no mind.
「I'm lucky to have woke up…! If I hadn't, he would have had his way with me!」[Nova]
The mana in the air still felt dense, and the heat that surrounded Nova when he fell unconscious was still smoldering.
「...My new ability… is…?」[Nova]
He forced himself to his feet, still worn out.
「What is… my new ability?!」[Nova]
Before he knew it, Nezha was already running straight at him.
『To think that a student would be able to hold their own against me for so long!』[Nezha]
Nova quickly formed a blade and began to run away, in an attempt to not be a sitting duck.
「I can't let him catch up to me!」[Nova]
As he ran, Nezha's heat wore off slowly.
「The cooler it gets, the better my movements are getting! I just have to wear him down until I can find a way for me to burn all of this mana away and use my Area!」[Nova]
Nova quickly turned back and aimed his finger at Nezha.
「But… I'm already worn down, myself... I have to use… everything I have against him.」[Nova]
『Etoile!』[Nova]
A streaking trail of white mana shot at Nezha, but was easily dodged by Nezha, who was empty-handed.
『These games are beginning to bore me, ki-』[Nezha]
Nova had already used this opportunity to close the gap between them, and had formed his hand into a flat spear.
『...Impact Form: True Gale!』[Nova]
He jammed the hand into Nezha's stomach, resulting in a white shockwave that shattered Nezha's mana shield, and a white trail exiting the other side of Nezha's body.
Nezha went wide eyed before he suddenly vomited out a small amount of blood.
『...Bl...BLAUGH?!』[Nezha]
Not letting go of the situation, Nova quickly changed his hand into a finger gun and focused as much mana as he could into it.
『..ETOILE!』[Nova]
The resulting attack was a blast that sent Nezha barreling backwards tens of feet.
After a few seconds, he crashed into the floor, creating an entire storm of dust.
Nova stood there, panting.
『Bl...Blessed… Flame… Rebirth..!』[Nova]
He formed a flame that surrounded him and drank away at the mana nearby.
「That attack took… nearly all of my mana...」[Nova]
He restored his mana reserves with his flame by absorbing the dense mana in the air, while analyzing the clouds of dust.
「I think… he might be out for a bit…!」[Nova]
He looked around, considering the thought of running away or staying.
「He might be… not able to fight anymore. If I could take him back with me, the kingdom would be a lot safer...」[Nova]
As he sank into deep thought, a rapid-fire swarm of tiny fireballs emerged from out of the dust and began homing in on Nova.
「What?!」[Nova]
They quickly closed in on Nova, causing him to freeze up.
As they were about to hit him, only a singular thing came to his mind.
『...Stellaris.』[Nova]