Garden Of The Abyss

It was when being set back that Kazuya came back with even greater intensity, trumping his previous speed as this time he used a faint--faking a kick to Noah's temple before falling low to the ground and sweeping the man's knee.

"Gh…!"

Falling to one knee for a moment from the unseen assault, Noah was left vulnerable to the follow up of the delinquent's attack--a swift knee directly to his nose. 

Any amateur knows how to handle a giant like you, Noah. On tall guys like you, your knees are the most vulnerable part of your body, Kazuya thought. 

"Not bad, kid, not bad at all. You've got a good sense for this sort of stuff. I wonder just how many fights you had to go through to achieve this type of intuition?" 

"..." 

Staying silent, Kazuya couldn't even feel surprised as he watched the tattooed-covered man rise back to his feet without a single sign of damage from the combo attack unleashed on him. 

"How about we turn this into a magic battle? Is that alright with you, Sage?" 

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Noah turned to look at the platinum-haired sage that had been spectating the battle with a smile. 

"By all means." 

"Just what I wanted to hear; pay attention, short-stuff. You're about to witness the real way people fight in this world." 

Not taking any sort of special stance, magical energy began flooding out of Noah's pores as he began clad in potent, overwhelming darkness. Clasping his hands together, he smiled as his long, golden locks flowed in the winds generated by his abundant darkness. 

So...this is magic? Kazuya watched. 

"Interesting…"

"Huh? What's interesting?"

Looking at the navy-haired man for an answer to his sudden mutter, Fai questioned him. 

"This matchup; either Beatrice has a sick sense of humor or fate does. Kazuya, the leader of a gang famous throughout Tokyo, facing off against a real criminal--Noah. It's bad manners to dredge up the past, but what was his nickname again…?" 

"The Reaper of Brisbane. I mean, it's right on his back." 

Answering for Donatien's failing memory, Tristan suddenly recalled the old epithet of the blonde-haired, tall man hailing from Australia. 

The silver-haired man wasn't lying; tattooed, large and bold, on the man's back were two scythes with a hooded skull in the center. 

"I get it...so it's Japan's King of Delinquents versus Australia's King of Criminals." 

Once more, Fai smiled like a child witnessing some sort of spectacle. There was no lack of such spectacles in a battle utilizing magic; displaying the words tattooed on the back of his hands, Noah smiled. 

On his left hand, "Death" was written, while on the right, "Destruction" was inscribed in the same, jet-black ink. 

With a seemingly real match being born, all chit-chat fell null as all eyes perceived the match building up before their eyes; while everyone was curious to see the potential waiting behind Kazuya, there was almost as much interest in seeing a serious Noah. 

Noah King, even I knew his name despite being across the world from Australia. He was both the leader and enforcer of an underground band of criminals. From what I remember, he mostly dealt with underground fighting...being the reigning champion there. But when debts were owed, well...that's where the title "Reaper of Brisbane" was earned, I suppose, Donatien thought. 

"I'm not soft like the woman you just fought, short-stuff; you claim to be a gangster, don't you? Then I won't disrespect you by playing nice." 

"Same here."

"Ha! You're fun, I'll give you that." 

Cracking his neck to the side with a readied smile, Noah laughed at the delinquent's response to his words, rolling his shoulders as his relaxed eyes intensified suddenly. 

"I'll give you a taste of some magic, boy. Get ready." 

Pressing his palms together as his joyful smile settled into a battle-hardened, serious expression across his lips, the aura emanating around Noah intensified as the air returned to a biting cold. In the presence of the potent darkness that rose from the Reaper of Brisbane, it felt as if death itself had passed the threshold of the chamber. 

"Dunkel: Black Hail!"

Parting his hands, a swiping motion of his two, large hands manifested the commanded spell--ushering in dark mist that formed at the ceiling of the room, showering down pebbles of condensed shadows. 

"I see...this is the "magic" you're all spouting about." 

Preparing for the incoming rain of malicious hail, Kazuya raised his hands wrapped in bandages into a guard. As the first piece of hail, no larger than a grain of sand, hit his skin--an overwhelming pain shot through his body, traveling from the spot of impact and quickly traversing his limbs. 

His eyes widened at this sensation, but a sound didn't escape his taut lips as the harrowing rain pelted his body further. In the advent of such pain, he tried deflecting the incoming bits and pieces of abyssal rain, hitting them with his fist as it only mitigated the inevitable pain. 

By the end of the spell's duration, dozens of small cuts were left over the young man's body as he huffed quietly, wiping a bit of blood from his lip as he looked at Noah. 

"How cruel...this isn't fair."

Charlotte covered her eyes, not wanting to see such a brutal sight. 

"I'd like to believe there is a reason for this, but...I'm at a loss."

Strife slowly shook his head; the idea of pitting someone who didn't understand magic against an elite like an Outlander was jarring to him. 

Cracking his knuckles dyed in stylized ink, Noah looked at his bloodied opponent, "Do you understand the nature of magic now? It's not just about hitting harder than your opponent. For example: "Black Hail" specifically triggers your nerves, amplifying the pain by a large margin." 

Not responding with a single word to this explanation, Kazuya stood there, still standing tall as breath went in and out of his lips. 

"Still, not even a single peep from you? You're the real deal, Kazu. That's why I really want to see what your limit is!" 

Holding a smile bathed in ecstasy, Noah's glee was nothing short of twisted--that much as obvious by his comrades that spectated the seemingly unfair match. 

"Beatrice, I'm beginning to see no point to this…sure, his understanding of his own mana will grow and so will his reinforcement--but he can't just think spells up. He's just going to be battered by someone like Noah."

Confronting the sage on the foundation of this unclear battle, Donatien pointed his sharp words towards her, looking at her with his calculating eyes for an answer. 

However, no answer came from the silent sage who kept her eyes spectating the trial held for Kazuya. 

"Tch...back to secrecy, I see…" 

Clicking his tongue, he pushed his glasses up once more as before settling his eyes back on the clash of the two gangsters. 

You'd be right, Donatien--that is, when speaking of normal cases. However, Kazuya Aibana is anything but the norm. That's why I brought him into this world--he is an anomaly, Beatrice thought. 

"Let's try this again...I'll kick it up a notch this time! Dunkel: Black Hail!" 

Swiping his tattooed hands down once more, Noah called in the same magic, this time at a greater intensity as it rapidly began showering down on the delinquent. Each passing piece of black hail slammed against the steel below, pelting against the durable material like bullets showering down onto the floor. 

Though, there was a stark difference this time--one that Noah noticed quickly. 

Standing strong, not budging an inch, Kazuya didn't so much as raise his arms this time as a shield against the deadly rain--allowing it to pelt against his body relentlessly. It wasn't some sort of lapse in reaction or just a cocky maneuver; there was no visible damage being done to the young delinquent. 

"What a guy...you managed to figure out how to control your reinforcement. Before, your reinforcement was just a passive result of your massive reservoirs of mana...but you figured out how to mend that mana into reinforcement. Ha-ha!" 

Doesn't really matter if it's fist or magic; it's all the same to me. I've been fighting since I could walk--my body has been reinforced by countless fights, Kazuya thought. 

It was then that everyone in the room remembered the very title that Kazuya Aibana held in his possession, one that did not go without truth: 

"INVINCIBLE KAZU" 

"...Sorry, but I'm really not too interested in this spell-flinging bullshit." 

Enduring the entirety of the black hail without an additional scratch etched onto his body, Kazuya spoke calmly as his wild hair flowed in the passing winds formed by the dark magic. 

"What're you waiting for then? Come at me!"

That was the only catalyst needed; in the very next moment following Noah's call, Kazuya was already sprinting towards him before they clashed. 

Immediately, they exchanged fists, throwing their hands at a speed that was troublesome for even the most experienced of the spectators to follow. Despite the disparity in size, Noah found himself on the defensive against the fast, sharp blows thrown by the much younger, smaller fighter. 

"No way...Noah is being pushed back?"