Nick vs King, Part 2

"So you're a Rule Breaker, eh?" King asks.

"Of course I am! I'm the number one Pro Slayer, afterall!" Nick answers. "You?"

"I don't need to tell the likes of you," King smirks. "It's no matter. Gather as much strength as you like, Against my Black Prism, all attempts at killing me are futile." 

Nick doesn't reply to King's taunt. Instead, Nick simply crouches down into a running stance, his entire body crackling with electricity, before taking off. Nick zips towards King, striking him with an electrified spear-hand, piercing King right in the stomach yet again. But before Nick can land another blow, King activates his Black Prism again, healing himself, just as Nick strikes King in the skull with an electrified round-house, but King reverts time, making it so that Nick's attack never even happened. Nick releases a flurry of electrified attacks onto King, but by using his Black Prism, King is able to manipulate space to dodge. Amazingly enough, King is able to use his Black Prism to keep up with Nick's speed, showering Nick with a flurry of Cursed Power reinforced blows, wounds that Nick, unlike his opponent, can't heal.

Amazingly enough, even through all this bloodshed and strife, it looks…

Like those two are having fun going all out.

"Luis…" Mikey asks.

"Yeah?" I reply.

"We're…we're so weak," Mikey softly says.

I'm silent. All I can do is watch Nick's impressive display and nod.

"This isn't even a fight between two Cursed Ability users. It's a duel to the death between monsters."

Nick keeps up his furious assault against King, landing electrified blow after electrified blow on King's body. But the instant that Nick takes too long to attack King, King uses his Black Prism to rewind time on his wounds.

Nick then zips away from King, sticking his hand high into the air, cracking his knuckles again, and I can see gray storm clouds rolling in from the crack in the ceiling.

"Hey, it's that attack form before!" Mikey explains

"My usual fighting style of multiple rapid-fire attacks won't work on you, you can just heal your wounds. Right now…I need to hit you with a final blow, one that can kill you before you have the chance to recover!" Nick shouts over the roar of thunder.

"Oh? An ace in the hole attack?" King smirks.

"THUNDERBOLT FROM THE HEAVENS!" Nick shouts as he swipes his hand downwards. But rather than a giant lightning bolt crashing down upon Nick, instead, King is smited from a thunderbolt straight from the skies above. A flash so bright that yet again, I have to shield my eyes to watch.

King howls in pain as Nick's thunderbolt forces him down to one knee. And then …down to both knees. And pretty soon, King is on the ground on his hands and knees, groveling at the pain.

"Ironic, seeing a King kneeling before me," Nick sneers. Nick then swipes his arm to the side, letting his thunderbolt dissipate. When the bright flash subsides, I can turn and look at King again, seeing that his usually noble stature has been charred completely black, blood pouring from his scorch wounds and tears streaking from his eyes, a frown of agony plastered on King's face.

Nick is terrifying.

"Welp…that's that…" Nick pants as he turns around and slowly begins limping towards Mikey and I. Nick's dress shirt is soaked in sweat and blood. Nick then slowly reaches down, picking up his suit jacket and tie. But that leaves Nick exposed. The watch that I see Nick bend over, I also King slowly aims a charred-black arm at Nick, firing off a Cursed Power Emission his way.

"Nick, look out!" I cry.

But it's too late. King's blackish-purple Emission blasts Nick in the back, causing Nick to crumble to the ground. Nick's "Full Charge" state begins to slowly fizzle out.

"NOOO!!" I cry.

King begins to cackle, which is interrupted by a cough as he spits up blood. Slowly, King begins to stand back up as his Black Prism activates around him, rewinding time on his wounds.

"Shit, he's healing again!" I grunt.

"Not if we can stop him!" Mikey replies. "What do you suppose happens if we break that purple cube of his?"

"Then his healing should be undone!" I answer, my eyes widening with realization.

"Right, then let's go!" Mikey shouts.

"Right!" I reply.

The two of us get into running stances, flames spewing out of Mikey's pistols and wind wrapping around my ankles. Using our respective elements to enhance our speed, Mikey and I charge towards King, full throttle!

"No, stay back!" Nick grunt from his place on the ground. "You're no match for King!"

"YOU THINK WE DON'T KNOW THAT?!" I roar.

"I SAID WE'RE GOING TO PROVE OURSELVES TO YOU!" Mikey roars back.

"Oh, so you're attempting to break my Black Prism to prohibit my healing?" King smirks. "NO ONE IN THE WORLD HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO MANAGE THAT BEFORE, BOYS! SO I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!"

"You know what they say, Mikey? About wind strengthening fire?" I ask.

"Yeah, and I know what you're getting at," Mikey replies.

"Wind Control: Wind Blade!" I shout as I slash my Wind Blade towards King once I'm standing before him, but before my attack can connect, a volley of flaming bullets shoot out from behind me, blasting into King, and forcing King to retreat using his Black Pirism before my Wind Blade can connect. "What are you doing, Mikey, I was about to get him!" I snap as I turn and peer over my shoulder to face Mikey.

"HAH!" Mikey spits. "Like an attack from a weakling like you would be enough to hurt King! Just stand back, I'll be the one to aid Nick!"

"You're the one who told me to join you in this fight!" I snap back.

"Yeah, but after seeing your pathetic display, I changed my mind!" Mikey shouts.

"It's always about Nick with you, you don't need the approval of someone as strong as him for everything you do!" I shout back.

King lets out a small chuckle. "Those two boys…are quite similar, aren't they?"

Mine and Mikey's eyes widen as we turn and fix the leering gaze we had on one another on King instead.

"WHAT?!" King cries as his eyes widen as well, as Mikey and I stomp forwards, taking an enraged step towards King.

Mikey chambers his right fist and flips his pistol around, using his flame exhaust to boost his punch. As for me, I bring my katana up and wrap a tornado around my blade. As Mikey and I charge King, Mikey brings his dual pistol up and uses his flame exhaust to strengthen his punch. For a second, there, I swear I can see black flames engulf Mikey's fist.

"I told you…"

 "I'm gonna…"

"BE THE ONE TO HELP NICK!"

With a roar, I swing my Wind Blade down towards King, as Mikey launches his Fire Fist towards King, our attacks slamming into King's Black Prism.

"WIND CONTROL: WIND BLADE!"

"EXPLODING FLAME BULLETS: FIRE FIST!"

"I told you, you can't break my Black Prism!" King cackles. He's still wounded. We still have a chance.

"MIKEY!" I roar.

"RIGHT!" Mikey roars back.

Mikey's flames then begin to spread, engulfing King's entire Black Prism. I do the same with my wind, wrapping an entire tornado around King's Black Prism, which strengthens Mikey's flames, our two attacks merging together, forming a spiraling, flaming tornado around us and King.

"They've barely known each other for that long…but their team work and faith in one another is impeccable…" Nick grunts as he slowly struggles to his feet. Nick then sadly smiles to himself. "Reminds me of Violet, back in the day."

With a roar, the flaming tornado around King intensifies, morphing into a blazing inferno.

"I told you, it won't…work!" King grunts. But now, he's not sounding as certain as before.

And then, our cue happens. A small crack begins forming in King's Black Prism. And then another, and then another. The cracks in King's Black Prism begin to spread, like glass.

"We can…do this!" I roar.

"Not if I have anything to say about that!" King roars back. And then, before Mikey and I can shatter King's Black Prism for good, King teleports out of our inferno. Mikey and I fall to the ground from the sudden loss of King's Black Prism that we were struggling against.

I slowly peer up to face King, whose body is still soaked in blood and sweat. Some of King's wounds have healed, but most of his body is still littered with scorch marks.

"Son of a bitch, that wuss teleported away before we can break his toy!" Mikey wines as he slowly pushes himself off of the ground.

"We stopped King from fully healing, that's what's important," I reply as I slowly push myself off of the ground as well.

"Twenty long years…" King slowly says. "In over twenty years…no one has been able to injure me nor break my Black Prism. Yet in the span of a single hour…that boy has almost managed to succeed in both." King then activates his Cursed Power Burst, and instantly, I can feel bloodlust more intense than even the hungriest, strongest demons that I've slayed, forcing me to the ground on my hands and knees. My entire body begins quivering and sweating, and I can barely breathe, only in rapid sucks of air. I try to activate my own Cursed Power Burst to protect me, but I'm too shocked into submission to even channel my own Cursed Power. The ground and floors around King shatter from the intense pressure.

This must be what Nick meant when he referred to channeling negative minions into your Cursed Power. But this is insane.