Yet as Vilhelm landed a light jab on the side of Nero’s rib, an opening that was created due to Nero attempting to attack Vilhelm’s face, Vilhelm felt a change. He felt, in his body, as if that light jab had not been as light as he thought, and that Nero was about to pull back.
In fact, he was not the only one. The observing crowds gasped as the hit landed, feeling like the momentum was shifting from Nero to Vilhelm.
Vilhelm got ready to chase Nero, and maintain the pressure, when Nero did something unexpected. Betraying his own body language, and even the feeling of retreat that his body gave off for a moment, Nero punched at full speed and with full strength.
The sudden, unexpected shift caught Vilhelm completely by surprise as he had been fooled completely, and only barely managed to block the punch using his right arm.
Even so, the force of the punch threw him backwards, while the pain from his arm hadn’t even registered yet. Vilhelm knew he was close to the edge, and that if he didn’t control himself he’d be knocked out, so he allowed his body to fall down as he used his left arm to hold himself up at such an angle that he could use his bodyweight to twirl. Only through clever use of his technique, which looked more like a dance than an actual fighting skill, was Vilhelm able to keep himself from being knocked out.
Yet since his focus was on not being pushed out, he couldn’t focus on Nero. The brief moment was all Nero needed. By the time Vilhelm had saved himself, Nero was right back on him.
He held nothing back, aiming towards his face as he kicked. With almost no time, all Vilhelm could do was roll sideways to barely dodge the attack. Yet before he could pick himself up, Nero had stepped over his body and punched downwards.
Nero’s legs blocked both sides, preventing Vilhelm from rolling away, so all could do was protect his vitals as he tried to push himself away with his legs. But, in such a position, Vilhelm had no choice but to take a few of Nero’s hits straight on, and from the very first hit Vilhelm knew he was screwed.
In desperation, Vilhelm used everything he had to bring his leg and slam it in the back of Nero’s knee, causing him to lose balance. But...
Almost as if Nero had anticipated it, he strengthened his stance so that when Vilhelm hit, Nero’s didn’t even flinch let alone buckle.
Another punch landed, and Vilhelm was pretty sure he felt something snap. Out of pure instinct, he almost used his innate ability, but managed to control himself at the last moment. Instead, he pushed himself back, using his feet pressed against the ground to gain leverage, but it wasn’t enough.
Another punch landed, and Vilhelm felt the urge to cough up blood.
Vilhelm placed both his feet on Nero’s right leg and pushed himself back while causing Nero to stumble just a bit .
Ignoring the pain, Vilhelm rolled backwards and landed on his feet, quickly getting up. Lesson learned: never allow Nero to pin him to the ground!
Yet he was in pain, and not in the best condition to fight. Both his hands had been used to protect his head and neck, meaning both of them had taken the brunt of Nero’s punches. He was pretty sure one of them was broken, with the other likely suffering from hairline fractures.
In spite of that, there was no grimace on his face. Instead, he only grinned as he watched Nero rush towards him. Vilhelm’s arms were messed up, but his legs were relatively fine, which is why he was able to dodge the attacks, though he suddenly lacked the finesse he had at the start of the fight.
The observers were in shock. Although the fight had not ended, it was now pretty obvious how it was going to go. This was going to be Vilhelm’s first loss in almost two months!
Vilhelm wasn’t in shock though. Surprisingly, he was reminiscing. The last time he was so injured in a fight was in Lumina, and Helena had saved his life... sort of. This time, it seemed, he had encountered his fated rival.
While he had lost fights before, he had never been this seriously injured by another cadet before.
It was at that thought that Vilhelm consciously took a step back to dodge Nero’s punches, exiting the arena, and ending the match. It couldn’t be helped - while dodging, Vilhelm started to feel like even his ribs might be injured, and he didn’t want to risk making such an injury worse over a small spar.
"How interesting. You’re able to somehow affect my emotions through aether," Vilhelm said once he stepped off, the grin never leaving his face, though his arms remained fixed in a cross position in front of his chest. He couldn’t move them properly even if he wanted to.
"Are you worried I used an ability or card?" Nero asked, standing in the arena, looking at Vilhelm. "I assure you, I did not."
Vilhelm laughed.
"Not at all. Aetheric Halo - I’ve studied it before. In fact, the reason I find it so interesting is because the main character in the book I’m reading has a similar ability. What are the odds?"
Vilhelm shook his head, fully aware that no one other than himself would understand why he found such a thing amusing.
"This was a good fight, Nero Grant. But I recall you need to defeat me twice, no? In that case, allow me to challenge you in advance for tomorrow. Allow me the chance to get even," he said, ignoring the murmuring and shocked crowd all around them.
"I accept," Nero responded, to no one’s surprise. "But I recommend you take a couple of days to heal up. There’s no need to push yourself to show up tomorrow."
Vilhelm only laughed at Nero’s concern.
"No, no, fret not. Tomorrow will be fine. I’m looking forward to our match - how can you expect me to wait so much?"