Chapter 33: The Honored One (2)

[Third Person's Point of View]

Information about a new spell flashed through his mind as the thunderbolt struck him. 'Is this enlightenment or...' 

But, quickly reminded himself that he was in the middle of an important spar and his opponent was arrogant enough to pause for him. With that in mind, he pushed aside his thoughts and focused on the present with a mental note to think about it again at a later time.

'He will regret underestimating me' 

[Magic Fusion: Raijin Mode]

Power surged through his body as lightning enveloped him in a crackling aura. At that moment, August felt like a real-life version of awakened Thor from Ragnarok.

'Minus the lightning hair' he mused, running his fingers through his hair and feeling a slight tingle from the residual energy.

The power surge was exponential, surpassing the combined strength of the two spells. He felt a level of physical prowess that rivalled his un-suppressed Strong Body form.

He spoke out, soaring upwards towards Satoru until he was face-to-face with him. "Let's go," he said confidently.

--Boom

The two warriors faced off, their fists landing powerful blows on each other in a blur of movement. With each strike, massive shockwaves rippled through the air and the ground, sending dust and debris flying. Their grins seemed to grow wider with each exchange, a look of exhilaration evident on their faces. Arcs of lightning danced across August's body, delivering powerful jolts to Satoru with each punch along with jagged bolts of thunder strike from heaven.

Despite the absence of Infinity, Satoru effortlessly brushed off his attacks and continued sparring with his student, completely unfazed.

'Shit. His magic resistance is too high!'

Both of them danced across the battlefield with graceful and measured exchanges, a testament to both of their high attainment in close combat skills.

'He is definitely a tier above extreme' He noted as he ducked a jab from the white-haired man whose aquamarine eyes were intensely focusing on him.

At first, he didn't understand the newly upgraded skill was previously one of the three cores of his combat style. It seemed pointless and confusing when his weapon mastery was elevated to extreme grade. Apart from his movements getting a bit smoother, he felt no noticeable changes in his overall skill level. But after a few days, he finally understood the true worth of this upgrade and its impact on his abilities.

Thanks to the new upgrade, Weapon Mastery now let him combine all the techniques he learned in previous stages however he liked, essentially creating a personalized form of martial arts.

Weapons were never August's preference. Don't misunderstand him, as a child he loved swords, spears, and bows. They were always on his Fantasy RPG character's equipment list. He would even use a steel ruler as a makeshift sword, fighting imaginary enemies around his house. However, the idea of relying on an external object to win a fight always bothered him.

This gave him the ability to combine his expertise in various close combat weapons, such as gauntlets, knuckles, and short knives, to create a unique technique where his body served as the ultimate weapon.

With the creation of the Extreme Close Combat Fighting Mastery or Extreme Fist for short, his close combat skills were virtually unmatched, save for a select few. One of those few happened to be his current opponent. 

Fists after fists collided as their shockwaves blasted through the surrounding building as August and Satoru battled each other. He alternated between blocks, punches, elbows, and parries, combining them with his unique magical abilities in an attempt to gain an advantage in the fight. Despite August's efforts, Satoru showed no signs of being affected by his attacks.

Gojo Satoru, The Honored One, stood unrivalled at the pinnacle of humanity. More skilful than millennia-old monsters like Sukuna or Kenjaku, he stood as a peerless master in hand-to-hand fights in both the original and the current world.

August was on the receiving end of a sharp jab to his right shoulder, followed by a powerful roundhouse kick to his neck that launched him across the city for kilometres where he was met by a waiting Satoru, who wasted no time in delivering a devastating knee to his stomach, sending him flying through multiple skyscrapers before crashing into the unforgiving concrete below.

"Urghh!" August groaned in pain as he lay at the bottom of the crater, covered in a layer of dust and rubble. A sudden gust of wind swept through, revealing the silver-haired man floating above him.

"Man, that was a good warm-up! I think I've seen enough. What do you want to do? Stop?" He might have believed those words if the tone didn't give it away.

The tone dripped with condescension, arrogance, and sarcasm. He despised when people spoke to him like that. The last person who dared to use that tone with him didn't fare well.

"Just one attack."

"What?"

"I want one final attack before we stop for good."

Satoru's gaze was fixed on August, waiting eagerly as the man in front of him leisurely rose to his feet and brushed off his clothes, moving his limbs in a gentle stretch.

[Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands]

A titanic wooden statue of Avalokiteśvara towered over the tall skyscrapers of the city with thousands of hands originating from the statue's back arranged in countless concentric rows, while its two main hands were clasped, as if in prayer. 

Satoru's aquamarine eyes widened in recognition at the site of the wooden statue, on which August stood with his eyes closed.

While he was certainly impressed, he couldn't help but anticipate August's next move. They both understood that one statue alone wouldn't be enough to force him to use Limitless.

--Creak

But once again, Satoru was amazed by his new student's innate technique and ingenuity, as he watched him perform a spell that surpassed even his wildest imaginings. The ground beneath them began to creak and the buildings above swayed like flimsy houses in a strong wind. The noise grew louder as skyscrapers were plucked from the ground like carrots being harvested by a farmer

The sight before him was like something out of a science-fiction doomsday, with the entire city suspended above a colossal wooden statue.

Gradually, the magic swirled and moulded the cityscape - from towering skyscrapers to telephone poles and street lights - into a sea of sharp, metallic spears with rotating tips that glowed with an otherworldly light from the series of spells he had enchanted them with.

As per August's calculations, each of the rotating metal spears had a destructive capability equivalent to a few times that of the strongest thermobaric weapon known to mankind.

-foosh

With a drop of his hand, thousands of steel spears charged towards Satoru, while countless more remained suspended overhead. 

He swiftly teleported to avoid being struck by the spears but then found himself facing a barrage of wooden hands that held him back from reaching his student.

-Bang

The sound of loud explosions echoed through the area as Satoru propelled himself forward, destroying the wooden hands and metal spears that were chasing him. August had programmed them to detonate upon contact, causing chaos and destruction in their wake.

-Boom Boom Boom

This explosion triggered a chain reaction, causing numerous metal spears to speed towards his position and detonate, creating a blinding ball of light.

August held his breath, fixated on the blinding white light. Instead of dimming, it only grew brighter, as a multitude of spears continued to gather together in one spot. It was similar to a swarm of locusts descending upon a rice field, consuming everything in their path.

"Sigh!"

[Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue]

For a brief moment, the mirror world flickered and distorted before the intense sphere of scorching plasma, reaching temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius, vanished into thin air.

A small, ominous blue sphere spun in front of the teacher's white head, as cracks began to form in the mirror dimension surrounding it.

Satoru made a slight gesture, causing the blue orb to ascend and emit an immense attractive force in all directions.

Spiderweb-like cracks formed on the walls of reality as [Blue] absorbed all the spears floating around it in mere seconds.

As the last of the levitating spears were consumed by the tiny blue orb, it fizzled out, taking everything it had absorbed with it.

The battlefield lay in ruins, with only the sound of silence echoing through the air. Two sets of eyes met - one a piercing amethyst and the other a shimmering Aquamarine. They both knew that their spar had come to an end.

"You win. Hah!" Satoru exclaimed dramatically, pretending to be upset as he congratulated August on winning their first sparring match. "How will I ever face my students if this gets out?" Despite all of Satoru's exaggeration, the only thing August had to show for it was a few scratches on his Gojo uniform.

'Just one use of his technique was enough to nullify all my attacks.' While Satoru was focused on defending against the onslaught of metal spears, he slyly cast a spell to analyze the mirror dimension. Fortunately, he caught a glimpse of Satoru's technique.

In order to fully understand Technique Lapse: Blue, his spell required more data. However, the information gathered so far revealed that Blue had the unique ability to draw in all forms of matter in its surroundings, even magical spells, and transform it into a different type of energy, effectively neutralizing any potential harm.

[Exit]

Satoru murmured a chant as a hazy feeling appeared and enveloped them. Before they knew it, they were sitting on the plush couch in August's apartment. Both of them relaxed into the cushions, letting out a small sigh of contentment.

"Wanna grab some ramen?"

Satoru asked as he tied his white blindfold around his eyes in a bandage-like style.

"Sure."

August replied, even though he wasn't really hungry. He always enjoyed a good bowl of ramen.

"Let me take a quick break first."

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