"Not bad. I didn't expect you to survive this long. But, how long can you maintain that much Ethernano output?" Eris looked at Laxus with an impressed gaze.
Though the boy's character was terrible, his strength was undeniable.
"Fuck off!" Laxus released more electricity from his body as he stopped the vibrations from reaching his body.
'At this rate, I would run out of Ethernano before him. Escaping out of his domain would also be difficult.' Laxus's face grimaced.
He wasn't expecting to die at such a place.
At such a place, when he is so close to S-rank.
"You'd better do something, or we both are dead," Laxus muttered as he rushed towards Eris, who only increased the vibration in Laxus's path to slow him down.
"Are you regretting not running away before? It would have been pointless either way. I had prepared my domain around the time that boy came." Eris shook his head.
"You—" Laxus suddenly paused.
His eyes widened as he felt a large amount of Ethernano behind him.
He was not the only one. Eris's expression turned astonished as he looked behind Laxus.
"What in the world..."
The world stilled as Eris looked at Kazu.
Everything disappeared from the world for him except the boy.
In all his life, Eris had never felt a killing intent so potent.
His face paled, his eyes dilated.
The sound of his heartbeat drowned the sound of his own magic's hum.
'What is this feeling?'
Eris felt a feeling that he didn't think he would feel again in his life.
Fear.
Eris was scared of a boy not even half his age.
He—A S-rank.
His instincts warned him that...whatever that thing was dangerous.
He should make a move before it makes the move.
Seeing his reaction, Laxus for a second thought that the man was trying to trick him. How could such an arrogant man change his tune so quickly?
If not for the crazy pressure coming from behind him, Laxus wouldn't have even bothered to entertain the idea of turning behind.
Laxus, while on guard against any sneak attack, turned his head back.
Then he saw him—Kazu.
His entire body, except the eyes, was hidden by the black Ethernano that was continuously being emitted from him.
His eyes were pure white, as if present there to complement the black.
Tears streamed from his eyes as Kazu stared at them.
A chill crawled up Laxus's spine at a realisation he made.
He was present between Kazu and Eris.
Laxus immediately moved away.
It was then that Laxus realised another thing. Eris was rushing at Kazu. So was his domain.
"Shit!" Laxus cursed.
If Kazu got into Eris's zone, then it was all over. Though the Ethernano surrounding him seemed dense, Laxus didn't believe it would shield him from the vibrations.
Kazu will be at Eris's mercy in that zone.
'Can't let that powerup go to waste. It's the only option out.' With that thought, Laxus rushed at Eris.
"Stay there!" Suddenly, the intensity of the vibrations peaked, immobilising Laxus, who was doing his best not to die.
So, Laxus helplessly watched as the domain inched close to the still Kazu, before—
It engulfed Kazu.
Without wasting any time, Eris directly attacked Kazu with his vibrations.
The air around Kazu rippled as it started vibrating, coming into contact with him.
Then—
Nothing.
Kazu stood in the same spot unharmed.
"Ridiculous!" Eris couldn't believe the sight in front of him.
The Ethernano surrounding Kazu acted as a shield as it neutralised the vibrations in a similar manner to how Laxus's lightning was doing.
"I am sorry."
Eris looked at Kazu.
His ethernano hid his figure, yet Eris could still feel the raw emotion clear as day.
He seemed actually sad.
"Why—"
The world slowed down as Eris felt a fist approaching right for his face.
The air between the fist and his face rippled before forming a wave-like pattern, obstructing the fist.
However, the fist didn't stop.
Just as it was going to make contact, Eris twisted his body with unnatural flexibility, the blow barely grazing his side.
"Stay Still!" Eris clenched his right fist.
The vibrations around Kazu increased in pace, immobilising him completely.
Eris then brought his other hand to his cheek.
Red.
Blood.
Kazu's fist had not even connected. There was an ever-present barrier made of vibrating air around Eris.
Yet, he was still bleeding.
'What if I were one second late?' Eris held back the urge to shiver.
CRACK
Years of Eris's instincts kicked in as he looked up.
A large beam of lightning was descending from above, as if from heaven itself.
Goose bumps rose on his skin due to the static property of the lightning.
Eris had no time to react as his vision went white.
"Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic: Raging Bolt."
Laxus's sound was heard way after the lightning made contact with Eris.
Laxus didn't bother checking if Eris was dead or not. Multiple beams of lightning appeared around him before rushing to the place where the beam had descended.
However, even before they could reach the position, they all got neutralised mid-way.
"Do you have no pride?" Eris glared at Laxus.
"Dunno what you are talking about. If I were you, I would jump towards the left."
Eris didn't believe him and jumped right along with twisting back.
In front of his eyes, a few inches away, was a fist.
He released several blasts in front of his face to barely dodge the fist.
"Why don't you stay still!?" Eris clenched his fist again. Large pressure covered Kazu from all directions, immobilising him.
Several lightning bolts got neutralised moments before they could touch Eris.
'This is troublesome. It's taking almost all my focus to just keep that monster boy immobilised. If that lightning scum used another big move, I might get sneak attack.' Eris frowned.
In his domain, he was not omnipotent. Though he could sense all the things around him using vibrations, there was a limit to the number of things he could actively focus on.
Most of the stuff he blocks in is done instinctively, but immobilising strong people like Kazu or Laxus requires conscious effort proportional to the resistance they put on.
'Those two shouldn't be able to last long with Ethernano. I just need to hold on.'
"Can you please die?"
Eris ducked as Kazu swung a haymaker right where his head was.
"How are you..." Eris didn't understand how Kazu had been able to break free.
It was only when he noticed the Ethernano around Kazu did he realised what had happened.
"Your Ethernano... It's getting denser. How big is your reserve?" Eris didn't understand how Kazu had so much Ethernano. If he had so much, why did he not use it from the beginning?
Eris swatted Kazu's kick as he used his magic to increase his speed.
"Wait...Is your Ethernano increasing continuously?"
Suddenly, a popular theory regarding emotions came to Eris's mind. When somebody experiences intense emotions, their magic power increases proportionally to that. So, theoretically, if one could sustain a high emotional state for a long time, their Ethernano won't be decreasing, but rather increasing with time, given that the consumption rate is not exceeding the generation rate.
"What...Nevermind. Let's end this." Eris realised that he would be the loser in a long-drawn battle. So, he stopped preserving any Ethernano and went all out.
'I am going to be out in the next few minutes. Each second counts.'
BOOM
Eris's speed increased exponentially as he dodged Kazu's punch and punched at the latter's head.
'He has lost reasoning, so it shouldn't be that hard to beat him. The problem is his endless magic power.'
CRACK
Lightning crackled as a halberd made of lightning closed on Eris. This was one of the most powerful attacks of Laxus.
Eris didn't even blink an eye as he waved his hand, causing the halberd to disappear into nothingness.
This was the difference between Eris playing safe versus going all out with his Ethernano consumption.
Just as Eris's punch was going to land on Kazu, the latter took a step back, dodging the punch by an inch.
Kazu kicked at Eris's stomach.
BOOM
The latter used air bursts to jump in the air, not only dodging his attack, but also doing an axe kick on the latter.
Kazu again dodged just barely, as he did a follow-up.
Dodge
Attack
The ground cracked like glass.
Dodge—he blinked, too slow
Both of them went in a rhythm.
It was only then that Eris realised something.
He had miscalculated.
"Are you...sane?"
Eris couldn't believe that not only could Kazu keep up with him in direct combat, but also had an upper hand.
It was as if he were a robot always choosing the best move.
"You should just die. The world is a better place without you."
Suddenly, Kazu's Ethernano increased again, along with his speed.
Eris's eyes widened as he felt multiple beams of lightning coming from above, blocking all his retreat paths.
'At this rate, won't that attack that boy too? Is that guy serious?'
***
A/n - Kazu looks like Mob from Mob psycho when he goes over 100 per cent. Yes, the idea was inspired by him.
***
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