Box

"I'll be happy to kill you, just like I did to your friend!" Enerida's voice echoed through the forest, dripping with malice.

"Friend? He was my partner. A weak partner at that," Brant retorted, his tone cool and collected.

"You can only call him weak if you manage to defeat me!" Enerida shot back, his resolve unwavering.

"Heh," Brant smirked, adjusting his glasses with a flick of his finger. "I'll be happy to defeat you."

"GOOD! Times 50 charge!" Enerida declared, his voice resolute as he tapped into his newfound power.

As he powered up into his Times 50 charge state, time seemed to come to a standstill around him, the world slowing to a crawl.

"I'll end you the same way I ended your partner," Enerida vowed, his gaze fixed on the empty space before him.

But before he could make a move, Brant's voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"You call that speed? Your perception of time isn't viewing stopped time, no, it's you being so fast that you can see the world as if you were a walking beam of light," Brant explained, his presence suddenly behind Enerida.

"How did you get there?" Enerida demanded, his confusion evident.

"I won't try to make my ability look so obvious, and I won't tell you anything about my ability," Brant replied cryptically, his expression unreadable.

"Fine, I'll figure it out myself!" Enerida retorted, determination burning in his eyes.

"All I have to say to that is, have you felt it yet?" Brant's words hung in the air, ominous and foreboding.

Suddenly, Enerida coughed up blood, a sharp pain lancing through his body. And in an instant, he was sent hurtling out of the forest, crashing into the unforgiving surface of a mountain with bone-jarring force, his world descending into darkness as he succumbed to the agony of defeat.

As Brant loomed before him, Enerida's mind raced with insights and calculations, piecing together the puzzle of his opponent's abilities. *That idiot already gave me a massive hint towards his ability,* he mused, his thoughts a whirlwind of analysis.

"How do you manage to keep so much electricity within your body without hurting yourself? I'm curious," Brant inquired casually, taking a seat on the ground as if they were engaged in idle conversation.

"Eh, it won't hurt me to tell you," Enerida replied, his tone guarded yet forthcoming. "As a born member of the Ochigawai clan, I was born with special mana, being able to absorb energy-based attacks and store it within the flow of my body."

With a sense of pride, Enerida continued, detailing the intricacies of his unique abilities. "All absorbed energy bounces around the inside of my body in a coordinated pattern to keep my mana and body stable. I can change the flow of the bounces, not only increasing the power of the energy but also causing me to gain power from it."

He paused, reflecting on the limitless potential of his powers. "My body can hold an unlimited amount of energy and has no limit to what kind of energy it can consume. And once I absorb it, it permanently becomes a part of my body, thus making me forever immune to that type of energy. With electricity, I can unleash any amount of electricity without any problems."

However, Enerida acknowledged the drawbacks of his abilities. "But one of the only downsides to this is that since my mana is working at all times to keep my energy pumping, I get tired easily. And after using certain energy-unleashing techniques, I will fall asleep for between five hours or five weeks."

Brant listened intently, absorbing the information with keen interest. "Any energy you say? Good thing I don't use energy," he remarked, rising to his feet with a sense of purpose.

In an instant, Enerida vanished and reappeared before Brant, his fist flying towards his opponent with lightning speed. But Brant effortlessly evaded the blow, countering with a swift kick to Enerida's neck. The force of the impact sent Enerida staggering backward, blood trickling from his lips as he struggled to maintain his balance against the sheer force of Brant's attack.

As Enerida was pushed away from the mountain, a sense of urgency gripped him. *I can't let him get the upper hand,* he thought, his resolve hardening as he prepared to face Brant head-on once more.

"I might be sleeping for 5 months now," Enerida muttered grimly, a sense of resignation creeping into his voice.

"Don't worry, you'll be put to sleep forever in a tiny bit," Brant retorted, his words laced with a cold determination that sent a shiver down Enerida's spine.

"Not cool!" Enerida protested, steeling himself for the confrontation that lay ahead.

With a swift burst of movement, Enerida dashed towards Brant, unleashing a flurry of kicks and punches in a relentless assault. But Brant proved to be a master of evasion, effortlessly dodging each blow with fluid grace.

In a sudden shift of momentum, Brant countered with a lightning-fast jab to Enerida's forehead, stunning him momentarily. Seizing the opportunity, Brant launched into a brutal barrage of punches, each blow landing with bone-crushing force against Enerida's chest. The assault continued, the blows growing slower and more deliberate, each one leaving Enerida battered and bruised.

As Brant delivered a final, devastating punch to Enerida's jaw, sending him reeling backward, Enerida's mind raced with desperation. *While even in my times 50 form, he's still kicking my ass!!! There has to be a way to beat him,* he thought, his gaze flickering towards the mountain looming nearby.

With a surge of determination, Enerida flipped behind Brant, unleashing a powerful beam of electricity in a desperate bid to gain the upper hand. But Brant's reflexes were unmatched, and he effortlessly sidestepped the attack, the beam drilling a hole into the solid rock of the mountain.

Seizing the opportunity, Enerida dashed into the mountain with lightning speed, his mind racing with a daring plan.

"If you're trying to lose me, it's not gonna work!" Brant called after him, his voice echoing through the cavernous depths of the cave.

Undeterred, Enerida focused his energy, channeling a small beam of electricity from his fingertips to shoot at the entrance of the cave. With a deafening roar, rocks tumbled down, sealing the entrance and trapping them both in the dark confines of the cave.

As the dust settled, Enerida braced himself for the inevitable showdown that awaited them in the depths of the mountain.

"This is a dark cave. Even though you can't see me, I can see you! And I will happily abuse this moment," Enerida declared, his voice echoing off the cavern walls.

"How so?" Brant inquired, his tone calm and composed.

"This cave is so small that it could possibly only fit 5 adults in it. Anyway, time for you to get fried!" Enerida announced, unleashing a powerful burst of energy that illuminated the entire cave.

"That should have hurt you," Enerida remarked confidently.

But before he could comprehend what had happened, Enerida was suddenly punched out of the cave, his body recoiling from the force of the blow.

"How did you-" Enerida began, only to be interrupted as Brant emerged from the cave unscathed.

"You're not even hurt?" Enerida exclaimed, disbelief coloring his voice.

"Yep," Brant confirmed with a casual shrug.

"How did you survive that?" Enerida pressed, his frustration mounting.

"I'm not spilling," Brant replied cryptically, his expression unreadable.

"You're making this not fun. I kind of want to sleep now," Enerida grumbled, his exhaustion evident.

"I'll just kill you in your sleep," Brant retorted, his words sending a chill down Enerida's spine.

"Ok, creep," Enerida muttered under his breath, his unease growing.

"I'm not here to be your friend," Brant stated bluntly.

"And I'm not trying to be your friend. By the way, does your ability have anything to do with a box?" Enerida questioned, his mind racing with possibilities.

"Stop trying to be my- wait, how do you..." Brant trailed off, his surprise evident.

"It was just a guess, but... I guess I'll share my theory with you. You have the ability to enter a plain of existence that freezes time while also creating a large box for you to freely walk around in," Enerida explained, his words tinged with uncertainty.

"You... you correctly guessed my ability, how!?" Brant exclaimed, his shock palpable.

"I don't know, it just kind of made some sort of sense to me," Enerida admitted, his gaze fixed on his opponent.

"Well... I'll just continue to destroy you," Brant declared, determination flashing in his eyes.

With a swift movement, Brant disappeared and reappeared behind Enerida, launching into a relentless assault. But Enerida was ready, his mind racing with strategies and counterattacks.

"All right, time to go all out. Storm Magic: Nimbus Ride!" Enerida called out, summoning a cloud beneath his feet and soaring past Brant with renewed determination.

Enerida: *~Alright if I do this right, he should-~*

Brant appeared behind Enerida, and threw a punch, but Enerida swiftly bicycle kicked Brant in the face, knocking Brant into the air above him, and also breaking his glasses

As Brant materialized behind him, Enerida's mind raced with calculations and strategies. With lightning reflexes, he executed a swift bicycle kick, connecting with Brant's face and sending him hurtling into the air, his glasses shattering upon impact.

*His box has a range of 10 miles and a time limit of 20 seconds. This math is so easy to do,* Enerida thought, his mind sharp as he leaped off his nimbus.

"Storm Magic: Pain Cloud!" Enerida commanded, summoning multiple clouds that surrounded Brant. In a sudden burst of electricity, bolts of lightning shot out from the clouds, electrocuting Brant with relentless force.

"Bastard..." Brant muttered, his voice tinged with pain, before disappearing from sight.

"I have this in the ba-" Enerida began, only to be cut off as Brant reappeared in front of him, launching into a relentless barrage of punches that battered Enerida's body without mercy.

*The shit...* Enerida grimaced, his thoughts racing as he struggled to keep up with Brant's relentless assault. With each blow, his resolve wavered, the odds stacking against him with each passing moment.

But even as Brant's fists rained down upon him, Enerida refused to yield. With a surge of determination, he seized upon a desperate plan, his mind racing with the potential consequences.

"Don't you get it, boy? You're outclassed," Brant taunted, his voice dripping with superiority as he unleashed another punishing blow.

With a final burst of energy, Brant sent Enerida crashing far into the forest, his body tumbling through the air before coming to a stop amidst the burning grass.

"You're finished!!!" Brant's voice echoed through the charred landscape as he disappeared from sight, confident in his victory.

But Enerida was not ready to concede defeat just yet. With a defiant grin, he tapped into a wellspring of power beyond anything he had ever known.

"Times 1000 charge," he declared, his body erupting with a blinding burst of energy that engulfed the entire area, erasing all traces of the forest and turning it into a smoldering field.

As the smoke cleared, Enerida's body glowed with newfound power, his resolve unbroken despite the odds stacked against him. With one last burst of energy, he prepared to face Brant once more, ready to emerge victorious no matter the cost.

"My heart," Brant muttered, his voice barely a whisper amidst the chaos.

As Enerida's body ceased its glowing, a transformation swept over him. A scarf of crackling electricity materialized, shrouding the lower half of his face and stretching down to his ankles. His eyes blazed with an otherworldly purple light, and his once-tattered shirt was now torn to shreds, revealing a physique pulsating with raw power. Even his hair shimmered with an ethereal purple hue, crackling with latent energy.

*I have never used this much charge before...* Enerida thought, his mind reeling from the sheer magnitude of his newfound power.

With a fierce determination, Enerida launched into a relentless barrage of punches, his movements leaving behind afterimages that filled the air with a flurry of motion. Each blow landed with precision and force, but before he could press his advantage, Brant vanished from sight.

Within the confines of Brant's Box, time stood still, enveloping the two combatants in a surreal silence. Enerida found himself frozen in place, surrounded by multiple afterimages of his hand poised for attack.

"Time is stopped... How does he still have the afterimages?" Brant pondered, his mind racing with questions. "The more important question is... HOW DID HE SWITCH POSITIONS SO QUICKLY? He was just punching me, and now he's defending... I'll worry about that later, but which hands are his real hands?"

With a sudden burst of movement, Brant launched a punch at Enerida's face. In that frozen moment, Enerida reacted with lightning reflexes, blocking the blow and seizing Brant's fist in a vice-like grip. With a surge of power, he propelled Brant skyward with breathtaking force, splitting the clouds above him with the sheer intensity of his attack.

Then, as quickly as he had appeared, Enerida vanished from sight. In an instant, Brant found himself caught in a dizzying whirlwind of teleportation, ping-ponging through the air as bolts of purple lightning crackled with untamed energy around him.

As the torrent of battle raged on, Brant found himself caught in a relentless onslaught of blows, his thoughts swirling with realization and disbelief.

*The boy, he's...*

Before Brant could complete his thought, a bolt of purple lightning streaked through the air, crackling with unstoppable power. With each strike, Brant was propelled back and forth through the air, his body buffeted by the relentless assault.

Then, with a sudden burst of energy, Enerida materialized above him, unleashing a colossal beam of purple electricity that consumed Brant in its searing embrace. Before the beam could reach the ground, Enerida absorbed it into his fist, redirecting its immense power with surgical precision.

With a thunderous impact, Enerida drove Brant through the flaming grass and back into the small cave within the mountain. With unyielding determination, Enerida followed closely behind, raining down a flurry of blows that reverberated through the cave with each bone-crushing impact.

On the other side of the mountain, beams of electricity surged forth, each corresponding with the ferocity of Enerida's assault on Brant. With a swift uppercut, Enerida propelled Brant to the pinnacle of the mountain, his body dragged across the ground with brutal force.

Standing triumphantly atop Brant's prone form, Enerida delivered three final punches, each strike sending shockwaves rippling through the earth as if the very ground itself trembled in response.

As the blue clouds above coalesced into a giant electric dragon, Enerida seized upon its power, channeling its raw energy into his arm.

"God-Clip," he declared, his voice resonating with power as he unleashed a devastating blow.

In an instant, the entire area erupted with a colossal column of electricity, its form twisting and writhing like a mighty dragon unleashed. When the column dissipated, it revealed a scene of destruction, with burning grass and Brant's limbless, burned torso as the only remnants of the battle.

With his strength waning and his mana depleted, Enerida reverted to his base form, his body weary from the exertion of battle. Yet, despite his fatigue, he knew that he could not rest.

"Shit... I don't have mana... And I don't have any stamina to continue... But I won't just sit here. I need to get back to the kingdom," he muttered, his resolve unbroken even in the face of adversity.

As rain began to fall, quenching the flames that had consumed the battlefield, Enerida slowly made his way from the battleground, his steps heavy with exhaustion but his spirit undaunted. With each step, he moved closer to his goal, determined to return triumphant despite the trials that lay ahead.