"Haaa…"
Neron pushed harder, pouring everything he had into the fight.
"Haaa… haaa…"
His movements became more desperate, his attacks more vtile.
The ground cracked and splintered under their feet, the mountain itself beginning to crumble under the weight of their battle.
But no matter how much power Neron unleashed, the Martial de God remained calm. He deflected, countered, and evaded with an almost effortless grace, as though the fight were a mere exercise to him.
Finally, Neron staggered back, his chest heaving.
His Mage Mode flickered, his reserves of mana running dangerously low. Despite his best efforts, the Martial de God hadn''t even broken a sweat.
"You''ve got heart, boy," the man said, lowering his de. "But heart alone won''t win this fight."
Neron''s fists trembled at his sides, his anger boiling over.
"You haven''t seen anything…" he growled, his voice hoarse.
The Martial de God smirked, his golden eyes gleaming.
"I''m waiting."
And with that, he sheathed his de and raised his hands, prepared for yet another attack as the swirling dust of the battlefield danced around him.
Neron fell to his knees, his body shaking with exhaustion and frustration.
Serah and Legris rushed to his side, their faces pale with worry.
"Neron… are you okay?" Serah asked, her voice trembling.
He didn''t answer.
His gaze remained fixed on the spot where the Martial de God was standing his mind reying the fight over and over.
He had given everything he had—and it still wasn''t enough.
"I''ll beat him," Neron whispered, his voice barely audible.
"No matter what it takes."
He rose to his feet and squeezed out every bit of Mana he had, and as he did so… all of the energy around him began to gather.
They all became his energy, coalescing towards him like iron would be drawn towards a Ma.
In an instant, his energy reserves skyrocketed.
That allowed him to pull up hisst trump card.
"[Original Magic…"
VWUUUUUUUMMMMM!!!
The air around Neron distorted, vibrating under the sheer magnitude of power emanating from him.
His eyes glowed with a fierce blue hue snd his hair turned sparkling white as he activated his trump card.
"... All The Time In The World]."
He whispered, his voice resonating with unyielding determination.
The world froze.
The swirling dust, the faint flicker of the Martial de God''s serene expression, even the trembling rocks mid-fall—all stopped as though bound by invisible chains.
Neron felt the shift instantly.
Time itself was his tomand, its currents bending and twisting at his will.
His chest rose and fell as he took a moment to steady his breathing, his injuries knitting themselves together in reverse. Blood seeped back into his veins, bruises faded, and exhaustion retreated.
''This is it,'' he thought, clenching his fists as renewed power surged through his body. ''If I''m going to defeat him, it has to be now!''
With a thought, he took Serah and Legris far from the battlefield, ensuring their safety.
He couldn''t afford distractions, not with an opponent like this.
When time resumed, Neron moved.
BOOOOOM!!!
The ground shattered beneath his feet as he shot forward, faster than ever before.
[The Tower] enhanced his movement, warping space to allow him to strike from angles impossible to predict.
His fist, burning with the relentless energy of [The Sun], collided with the Martial de God''s de.
~BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!~
Sparks ignited like fireworks, the shockwave from their sh splitting the earth beneath them.
The Martial de God''s golden eyes widened slightly—a flicker of acknowledgment.
"So you''ve finally decided to fight seriously," he said, deflecting another blow with a fluid swing of his de.
Neron didn''t respond.
He didn''t have time for words.
Each strike he delivered carried the weight of his desperation, amplified by the warped time surrounding him.
He struck vital points with precision, his attacks chaining together in a seamless dance of destruction.
The Martial de God''s de moved to block each one, but for the first time, the younger man''s strikes were connecting.
CRACK!
The Martial de God''s sleeve tore as Neron''s punchnded, drawing blood.
"Not bad," the man said, wiping the blood from his arm.
His calm demeanor remained intact, but there was a glimmer of something new in his eyes—interest.
Neron didn''t let up.
He pushed forward, using [The Hermit] to elerate his movements, increasing the effectiveness of his Original Magic, and [The Sun] to infuse every strike with explosive power.
The mountaintop became a battlefield of chaos, the very air trembling under the weight of their battle.
BOOOOOM! BOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Every collision of their power sent shockwaves rippling outward, uprooting trees and splitting the earth.
The mountains groaned under the strain, their peak crumbling into a cascade of rubble.
"Raaagh!" Neron roared, teleporting above his opponent and delivering a devastating downward strike.
THUUUUMMM!!!
The Martial de God raised his de to meet the attack, the force of the collision sending cracks racing across the ground like spiderwebs.
"You''ve grown stronger," the man admitted, his voice calm despite the chaos.
"And you''re about to lose!"
Neron spat back, pouring more energy into his strikes.
But his body protested. The toll of maintaining [All The Time In The World] was immense, his mana reserves dwindling rapidly despite his ability to absorb energy from the environment.
Each second felt like an eternity, his very essence straining under the weight of his power.
Still, he refused to falter.
VWUUUUUMMMMM!!!
Neron gathered every ounce of mana he could muster, his aura ring like a supernova.
His energy coated the battlefield in a golden hue, illuminating the devastation around them.
"This ends now!" he shouted, raising both hands.
The energy around him coalesced into a massive, radiant sphere—a final attack meant to obliterate everything in its path.
The Martial de God watched, his glowing eyes unblinking as the sphere grewrger, its destructive potential undeniable.
Neron threw the sphere with everything he had, the force of its release shaking the very foundation of the mountain.
KRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!
The radiant sphere hurtled toward the Martial de God, its brilliance rivaling the sun.
The air screamed under its weight, the battlefield consumed by its overwhelming light.
And then…
The Martial de God smiled.
"Enough ying around," he said, his voice cutting through the chaos like a de.
"Let me get a little serious too."