Young men and women formed a circle, leaving a 100-meter space for the two combatants at the center. Elijah stared at his opponent, removing his sandals and shirt, revealing a perfectly sculpted physique. Elijah's smile remained as he watched Nero, who stood with his hands casually in his pockets.
"You should be taking this seriously," Elijah said.
"No, I'm good. Don't worry, I'll win anyway," Nero smirked.
"What's your name?" Elijah asked.
"Nero," he replied.
"Let's see if your name is memorable," Elijah spoke, inhaling deeply as his body tensed and then relaxed. He moved into a stance, waiting for the signal to start. Both stared at each other, and Elijah felt a twinge of annoyance at Nero's overconfidence.
Elijah had trained hard, but in the eyes of Nero and Elena, he seemed weak. The word "weak" was a painful label, one he never wanted to bear. Nero's dismissive look made Elijah's blood boil. "I'm not weak," he thought.
Elijah made the first move, dashing forward, only to find Nero already in a stance in front of him. Suddenly, everything went black. The sky turned blood-red, and Elijah felt intense pain. "AGAGAGAGAGAGAGA," he screamed.
He found himself back on the beach, coughing up blood. Nero had merely touched him with his fist. Elijah fell, not understanding what had happened. His body shook. "What was that? How is Nero that fast?" He was losing consciousness.
"Weak," a voice echoed in his head. Elijah's eyes snapped open, and he jumped back, creating distance between them. Huffing, he stared at Nero, who just smirked and appeared in front of him again, holding Elijah's head.
The sky turned red once more, and the pain returned. "AGAGAGAGAGAGAGA," Elijah screamed as his veins bulged and his eyes turned blood-red.
The world returned to normal, and Elijah's vision blurred. He couldn't breathe or control his body. "What is he doing?" he wondered.
On the Sideline
"We should have stopped this," Mike said, seeing Elijah's lifeless eyes and Nero holding his head.
"He chose this himself. Even I would have a hard time fighting Nero, but I would still win," Elena commented.
"Maybe so, but the moment you use your second element, he will be dead," Mike agreed and disagreed.
"I won't even use it," Elena responded.
Not far from them, others were talking. "Man, I never thought someone from the Dominic family would be so weak."
"Yeah, right! HAHAHAHAHAHA! So why do our families always warn us never to mess with them?" another asked.
A female answered, "It's not that he's weak. Nero's element is weird and hard to understand."
"Don't try to defend him," the one who laughed said.
"I am not. I just stated the cold, hard facts. If you think he's so weak, then go and face him." Those words silenced anyone close, and they just watched.
In the Battle
Nero let go of Elijah's head, and his consciousness returned. Elijah jumped back and started running around Nero. "What the fuck is he doing?" Elijah wondered as his senses heightened. Elijah had reached (F+) rank, yet Nero was still faster and dealt heavy damage, confusing him further.
"Okay, let's use our full power, Flash Step," Elijah thought. His figure blurred to everyone except a few as he ran around the beach. The young masters and misses were shocked at his speed.
"He's not teleporting, or I would have felt the space twisting or something." Elijah thought
"You are going to get tired doing that," Nero spoke with a smile.
Elijah appeared behind him with a punch. Nero moved fast enough to block it but was pushed back, his clothes ruined. "I told you to change, didn't I?" Elijah said, stopping and keeping his movement fluid.
Staring into Nero's eyes, Elijah saw him in front of him again. "Wait, those eyes." The world turned, and another round of pain came. "AGAGAGAGAGAGAGA." Everyone was shocked as Elijah stopped and Nero walked toward him. Nero lightly kicked his leg, but Elijah screamed in agony.
"Fuck, my body will give out at this point," Elijah thought as he quickly recovered, closing his eyes and punching at Nero, who dodged. Jumping back,
"So you noticed. That was much quicker than one of the Elite nobles," Nero said.
Huffing, Elijah smiled, still with his eyes closed. "Yeah, interesting eyes you have." He stretched and added, "It was just for a moment, but your eyes are releasing a strange wave aimed at my own eyes, which is influencing my pain receptors abnormally. It also explains why you suddenly appear in front of me. You're basically putting me in an illusion. Am I right?"
"Who knows," Nero replied and added, "How do you expect to fight without your eyes?"
"It's not my first time, so don't worry," Elijah breathed in. "Be ready because this time I'm not holding back."
Lightning cracked before Elijah vanished. "Fuck, seems like I have to use it," Nero thought. But before any action, Elijah appeared before him.
"Seems familiar, right?" A punch to Nero's gut, followed by a lightning bolt, sent him flying into the sky and crashing to the ground. Wiping the blood off his mouth, Elijah shouted, "Elena, I want you to watch closely and tell me how far behind I am." Everyone's eyes landed on Elena.
"Sure," Elena answered.
Nero stood up, feeling disrespected as anger rushed inside him. "That was just my bloodline ability. Don't look down on me," he shouted, a crimson aura blazing out of him.
"Who said I was?" Elijah appeared before him, but this time Nero reacted in time, punching out. Elijah effortlessly dodged, kicking Nero's guts while holding him tightly. "You're weak without that ability."
Elijah started punching, kicking, and deflecting Nero's attacks as Nero's once arrogant expression turned to distress. Everyone now knew that Elijah, even at the same rank of power, was far ahead, spreading the terror of the Dominic family.
If they knew the things Amy and Ava did to gain such respect along with the title of the Strongest Royal family.
Nero was being beaten like a child facing an adult. The whole exchange after this wasn't even fair. Elijah blocked Nero's attacks, dodging with his eyes closed, and smiled before covering his fist with light. "Thunder Clap."
The hand moved so fast that Nero didn't see a thing but just felt pain as his body flew away with a fist mark on his chest, coughing blood. "What do you think?"
Elena's voice sounded, "You're good, Elijah, but we are so far apart that…." Her voice was slow and calm. "If that is your full power, our gap is like this planet and its sun "