NO. 11 - The Sparks of Black

Clang!

"That wasn't very nice. You could have poked an eye out with that." I said as I slid my katana back into its sheath after deflecting a speeding knife.

Standing behind me was Rock Man, his face covered in sweat, and a worried and pained expression settled over his face. That expression quickly changed to surprise when he noticed my sudden appearance in the extended back alley path he was running through. He stood stock still as his gaze shifted from me to his pursuer, Stendhal, who was now staring daggers at me from the other end of the alley.

[+10 SP]

"You dare get in the way of true judgment?" Stendhal said as he reached over to his katana. He unsheathed his dangerously sharp weapon and pointed it toward me in one swift move. "You must be this villain's partner. Very well then, I'll be sure to take you both down."

"Villian? Listen here, Tuxedo Mask." I pointed a finger over at Rock Man. "I don't really care about or know who this guy is."

"Then why get in my way?" Stendhal hissed, his patience running low. I rolled my eyes under the darkness of my hood and then moved my hand to point at him.

"Because of you. You see, there's this thing I'm trying to get. And so far, all the clowns I've fought couldn't give me the push I need to get it. You, on the other hand, have some pretty impressive moves." I drew out my katana and held it in both hands beside my head. "So what I want from you is a good fight."

[+15 SP]

"...enough of this charade. I'll cut you down and then move onto the one behind you!" Stendhal growled out and rushed at me with incredible speed; his katana pulled back and ready to slice me in two.

This is my chance. I have to limit myself to only my pure strength, speed, skills, and CE. No curse techniques. I have to push myself to land a Black Flash.

I dashed forward as well, ready to meet my opponent head-on. The clash of metal echoed through the alley as Stendhal and I engaged in an intense sword fight. Our katanas clashed and sparked as we moved with incredible speed and precision. Each strike was met with a swift parry or a skillful dodge, creating a mesmerizing dance of blades.

This guy's good! If it weren't for both Yuta's swordsmanship skills and Maki's weapons specialist skills, I doubt I'd last this long!

At some point during our fight, Rock Man had decided it was time to get the hell out of dodge and made a break for it, leaving me and Stendhal alone.

Stendhal's formidable skills pushed me to the limit, but I matched his every move with determination and focus. Our intense exchange of blows continued; however, Stendhal was slowly gaining ground on me. His bigger size and strength were giving him the edge. It was only thanks to my CE and my natural strength that I was even able to put up a fight.

"You're skilled. I'll give you that." Stendhal said as he deflected my horizontal strike. "But I'm stronger."

[+25 SP]

Crapbaskets!

In a move that took me by surprise, Stendhal closed the distance between us and kicked my stomach with his foot. I grunted as I slid back on the ground, only to look up at the descending blade of his katana over my head. Moving on instinct, I raised my weapon above my head and deflected his attack away, causing him to lose balance momentarily.

Now's my chance!

I let my katana fall onto the ground as I prepped my CE into my right fist. Stendhal looked down at me and jumped back just as I was about to lad a CE-enhanced punch at his stomach.

Shit!

As he moved away, he threw two knives at me with precision and speed. I raised my right arm and used it to block the knives from stabbing into my torso. With a wince, I ripped them out and threw the knives at the ground.

"How foolish. You've abandoned your weapon in hopes of hitting me with your fist. Perhaps you're not as skilled as I originally thought." Stendhal said as he leaned forward. "Now then, it's time for evil to be cut down!"

[+15 SP]

Stendhal, with his razor-sharp katana, moved right at me with incredible speed, aiming to strike me down while I was unarmed.

I glared at him as I narrowly dodged and weaved away from his nonstop lethal strikes with calculated and graceful movements. It was taking everything I had to not get sliced or skewered with every attack Stendhal executed.

Despite my efforts, Stendhal's formidable skills were quickly pushing me to my limits. I was growing tired, and my speed was beginning to drop.

Stendhal noticed this and capitalized on my drop of speed. He slid his left foot out and stepped on my foot, causing me to trip up. Swiping his sword diagonally, Stendhal finally managed to land a cut on my body.

Seeing my blood, Stendhal smirked under his mask and spun on his hips to cut off my head. His foot was still pressing down on my own, keeping me in place with his greater strength.

Shit! Dodge! Dodge- There's no time or space to dodge!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I watched Stendhal's razor-sharp sword grow closer and closer to my neck. I tightened my hands into fists as I glared at the man in front of me and charged CE into my fists.

I'm not going to lose to you! I refuse to lose!

It was at that moment that I finally felt it.

"Black..."

Just as Stendhal's blade was a millimeter away from my neck, I landed a punch straight into Stendhal's face while applying my cursed energy within 0.000001 seconds. Causing a distortion in space around both Stendhal and me as arcs of red and black sparked to life.

"Flash!"

Stendhal's mask shattered on impact as his body flew back several feet in a violent spin. I winced as a long, shallow, bleeding cut now adorned the side of my neck. Despite the pain, I felt my mind grow clearer than ever before.

[+100 SP]

"I understand now," I muttered as I looked down at my hands. I clenched them tightly and looked over at Stendhal; an aura of CE quickly grew around my body. "It's just like Todo said; all this time, I've just been using CE without truly understanding it, like a novice chef using ingredients without any purpose. But now, it's so clear to me."

"Stand up, Stendhal. Let me show you what 120% of my potential truly looks like." I said as Stendhal finally managed to stand to his feet; his face was profusely bleeding, and his nose was broken.

[+50 SP]

"...your conviction is unshakable," Stendhal muttered as he held his bloody face with his hand. He was swaying where he stood as his knees shook. He then raised his hand to show off a bloodied knife. "But this fight ends here."

I watched in confusion as he raised the knife to his mouth. In an instant, my eyes grew wide in realization. "No way, are you-" A long tongue slipped out his mouth and gave the bloody knife a long lick.

"Geh!" I felt all control of my body leave me as I collapsed on the floor in a heap, causing my hood to fall off my head. I tried to move, but the most my body would do was tremble in exertion. Despite that, I spun my head to glare over the man who would one day be Stain. "Y-you bastard."

What the hell?! What's Stain doing here dressed like that?! Did I miss his backstory or something?!

Stendhal fell to one knee as he looked over at me with a shocked expression before it turned into a wide, bloodthirsty smile. "You have potential, child. That is why I will not extinguish your light today. Our fight has taught me many things... I'm sure we will meet in the future to finish today's battle. Farewell."

[+100 SP]

I watched helplessly as Stendhal turned around and walked away slowly with a wobble until he disappeared into the darkness. I continued to try and move my body but found the task to be impossible.

Flowing Red Scale!

With my technique active, I slowly pulled my hood over my head and began to push my body up. As I moved, it felt like each of my limbs was strapped to 226 Kilogram weights, making the normally easy task of standing a herculean task.

"Damn... now I have to wait for his quirks effect to wear off. Just great."

-

Thank you for the 300 PS, here's your bonus chapter!

Alright, everyone. Here are the results of the romance poll! This should be obvious, but you can't vote more than once. So repeated or spammed votes don't count. You know who I'm talking about.

Harem: 36

Single Route: 50

And so, the single route has won over the Harem route.

Another thing that surprised me was the amount of love people have for Hatsume Mei, the crazy inventor otaku, her name came up 31 times for her to be the main love interest. Making her the winner! In second place with 8 votes was Hado Nejire, while she won't be my focus, I'll give her some attention as well.

However, I do want to preface that the romance aspect of the story will take a back seat. Sorry if that disappoints some of you, but I rather focus on the plot and the fights.

Thanks to everyone who voted!

Until next time!