Aldrus knelt in the mud beneath the rain, defeated.

Or at least, that was what he wanted Cedric to believe...

The moment the blond boy came within reach, intending to tie him up, Aldrus suddenly spun around and drove a punch right into his stomach, making him double over in pain.

"Gaahh!"

Cedric staggered back a couple of steps before quickly regaining his footing. However, as he tried to stand upright, another punch struck him.

This one was weaker, but far more precise. It didn’t send him flying back; instead, a shockwave tore through his body, just as Aldrus had felt before.

"Y-You! How?!" Cedric gasped through gritted teeth.

Aldrus just stood there in silence, breathing heavily.

"Come on."

Cedric’s eyes narrowed, and with a frustrated grunt, he lunged forward.

They stood face to face once more, just as they had at the beginning.

Cedric used [Motion] to accelerate his movements and strikes as much as he could, but this time, something was wrong.

Aldrus kept avoiding his each and every punch—his each and every kick.

He slipped past some and redirected the rest with quick, precise movements. Almost as if he could see through his very thoughts.

Cedric’s frustration mixed with the increasing mental strain, swiftly turning into a mindless anger.

With his emotions spiraling out of control, using [Motion] properly became more difficult with each passing second. Every now and then, he pushed beyond what was considered safe, forcing bursts of speed into his attacks.

Still, even though it wasn’t enough, he refused to stop.

Not yet.

He knew Aldrus was at his limit as well; he couldn’t just hand him the victory now that he was so close.

With nothing left to lose, Cedric threw a punch so fast it shattered the raindrops in its path, and as a sharp whistle cut through the rain, the air itself seemed to burst apart around it.

Aldrus’s eyes widened.

That’s dangerous!

Without wasting a second, he jerked his head aside and let Cedric’s arm pass cleanly over his shoulder.

Aldrus closed the distance instantly and prepared to strike his stomach again, but Cedric was no fool.

Having already realized where Aldrus liked to aim, the blond boy twisted his body left with the momentum of the punch until his back faced Aldrus. Then, without wasting a moment, he drove a reverse elbow toward Aldrus’s face.

Shit!

Cedric’s movements were now faster than ever. He didn’t have much time left before he ran out of perspective, but Aldrus wasn’t in a much better position.

He blocked Cedric’s elbow strike with his forearms, but the impact was so sharp and concentrated that it felt as though his bones were about to crack. He tried to [Freeze] his forearms’ time, but it was too late. Cedric was just too fast.

"Agghh!!"

Aldrus’s arms hung limply, numb from the impact and throbbing in pain.

He let out a scream and lost his balance for a moment.

That moment was not missed by Cedric, who was already on his back.

Idiot! If you keep using [Motion] like that, you’ll fall first!

Cedric didn’t seem to be in his right mind; his eyes were half-lidded and his breath was unsteady. He didn’t have much time left.

In that case...

Aldrus’s eyes sparkled with conviction.

As a powerful kick hurtled toward his chest, he suddenly closed his eyes and focused.

He wasn’t going to let this chance get away. His opponent had lost the most important weapon of a Holder: control.

Aldrus inhaled deeply and snapped his eyes open.

[Motion], cancel.

[Freeze], [Visione]!

His sight shifted.

...

It hurts. It hurts like hell... He hit me, right on my left liver.

Fuck! ...I’m blacking out!

He struck at full speed from my left side, the impact of his kick made me lose consciousness.

They... they ended up capturing me.

At that moment, everything became silent. The only thing that could be heard was the incessant pouring rain falling over the world.

Nothing seemed to move, everything was just... frozen.

But it was not.

This perceived reality, this exact instant, this mere, mundane, insignificantly small moment in time, was being processed inside the mind of a black-haired boy—processed in consideration of a once certain future, but not anymore.

He exhaled.

So that’s what’ll happen... He grinned.

Good.

Just a few centimeters away from the final blow, Aldrus twisted his body in perfect synchrony with the movement of the leg that threatened to destroy everything on its path.

His movement was so precise and graceful that, were it not for the fact that he was clearly human, most people would have thought they were looking at a kick and its reflection in a mirror.

Avoiding the attack completely, Aldrus used [Motion] to jump a single second into the future, appearing right in front of Cedric.

The blond boy had used it all, and now he was about to pay the price.

I can’t use much more... Three will have to do.

[Motion].

Aldrus’s right fist shot toward Cedric’s exposed stomach.

[Freeze].

The punch’s momentum became unbound from the resistance of gravity, air and energy. It was now an unstoppable force with inalterable speed.

One.

His strike landed cleanly on Cedric’s stomach with enough force to make his body fold around the blow.

However, he wasn’t done.

Before the force of the first strike could send Cedric flying, another punch followed.

[Motion], [Freeze].

His left struck him with the exact same force as the first one, right in his solar plexus.

Two.

But even now he wasn’t done.

[Motion], [Freeze].

Mere milliseconds before his body could finally react to the first two blows, a third punch landed in the exact same spot.

Three.

In the blink of an eye, Cedric’s skin rippled from his stomach to his back. Then, as if reality itself had finally caught up to the force that had struck him, three violent bursts of wind exploded outward. Leaves and rain were hurled aside, and the unconscious blond teenager was launched through the air before crashing to the ground nearly twenty meters away.

Barely able to remain standing, Aldrus stared at Cedric, waiting for any sign of consciousness. But there was none.

He took a glance down at his soaked, trembling fists. A single thought surfaced to his mind.

"Haahh... haaahh... huff..."

"I..."

"...I won."