The 17th of Saun 718
Continued from here
Determination aside, things weren’t looking good for him. Yes, anger gave him the strength to get back up and fight back, however, his body was battered and bruised, Nabero was deflecting all he threw at him, and Oberan had taken quite a bit of damage. He couldn’t keep up. Not like this. Nabero was right, he’d gotten soft. His arcs spent as a family man had taken their toll. He’d neglected his training, his fitness.
He’d gone from being a warrior to a father, as Master Roaneb would have wanted, finding happiness and peace. Yet when it was brusquely taken away from him, Oberan found himself unable to retaliate. He felt powerless. Helpless. A leaf in a storm.
There was no choice. As the successor to the late Roaneb, master of the Emina style school of Wai Fu, he had to stop Nabero’s rampant terror and misdeeds. It brought him no joy to be burdened by this duty, and he’d chosen to ignore it before. He’d paid dearly for it. Now he was here anyway, a poorer man than before.
“Still standing? Most impressive,” Nabero spoke, calmly pacing through the throne room, approaching leisurely. “Your sheer tenacity is admirable. However, we both know you stand no chance against me. You’re no more than a shade of your old self. Your current strength his laughable in comparison.” There was no sign of exhaustion on his face. His breathing was rhythmic and steady, and there wasn’t a bead of sweat on his brow. By contrast, Oberan was a mess.
He wouldn’t win this fight. Not like this. Nabero was still toying with him, humoring him for the sake of old times, no doubt. Oberan was quite aware that if he wanted to, he could crush him in an instant. The only reason he hadn’t yet was because he’d survived the initial hit, proving himself still capable.
Nabero stalked closer and closer, not looking worried in the slightest. With each step however, Oberan grew more and more tense. The pressure his opponent exuded was phenomenal, able to crush the willpower and fighting spirit of anyone standing before him, able to make those with weak enough minds pass out from fear. Oberan had seen him use it to scare off wild dogs back in the day, and despite being quite used to it, he still froze for a moment. The gap between their skill was simply too great.
He had no other choice. The longer they fought, the more aware he would become of his powerlessness. The longer they fought, the more it would eat away at his resolve. He needed to settle this quickly.
Oberan closed his eyes and centered himself. The time had come, just as master Roaneb had predicted. Perhaps it simply had been a lucky guess. A bad feeling he had hoped would never come true. Perhaps it was destiny.
It mattered very little.
One moment Oberan was about to get struck by Nabero’s attack, the next moment he’d vanished. His fist buried itself into Nabero’s side, just below his ribs. It sent him sprawling, yet the man steadied himself midair, and landed on his feet, skidding a little over the stone floor. He looked confused.
“What in the--”
Oberan was suddenly right in front of him, palms striking his chest with devastating force. He felt bone crack beneath his touch, and Nabero was thrown backwards, slamming backwards into a stone pillar supporting the ceiling.
He wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth, eyes flicking up and down Oberan’s body as he got back up. “You wouldn’t—Impossible! You hypocrite! How dare you call me out for using forbidden techniques!”
“I developed these under Master Roaneb’s guidance, in case something like this would come to pass.”
“I see. Amplification techniques, huh? So your defense against my Kirigaya Suguha was one as well?”
Oberan really shouldn’t be surprised. Nabero had always been pretty good at figuring things out, his genius when it came to Wai Fu was second to none. He was just as sharp as ever. Oberan just prayed he didn’t find out the weakness of the techniques before he was defeated.
“Indeed. My Perfect Defense: Mariya Shidou. Even you cannot break through.”
“Hoh-oh? And what about your power and speed amplification technique? Do you think that’s enough to beat me?”
“Load Galax?” Oberan frowned. “To be honest, my current state has reduced its effectiveness quite a bit, but it should be enough to defeat you.” He assumed a combat stance, focus etched onto his face. Once more, he vanished.
“How naïve,” Nabero scoffed, raising his arm to block an incoming kick to his face. Oberan’s eyes widened with shock, but he continued his onslaught of consecutive blows. None of them hit their target, all blocked so swiftly by Nabero’s flawless defense that it seemed as if he had ten arms.
Nabero moved quickly then, and Oberan quickly changed to his defensive technique Mariya Shidou before the attack broke through his barrage and hit him squarely in the nose. He skidded backwards despite not taking any damage, his expression showcasing how unnerved he was. Nabero, by contrast, looked as smug as he ever had.
“Is this your best?” he taunted, unable to wipe the grin off his face.
Oberan only panted in response. Even this was not good enough to overpower Nabero? Load Galax was supposed to elevate his abilities far beyond what was considered attainable, yet it was only good enough to bring him to Nabero’s level? Was this his limit? Oberan clenched his fists in frustration, flinching as the technique already took its toll on his body. He wouldn’t last very long, but he didn’t need a long time. Increasing his output even more was too dangerous, but there were few other options left.
Again, Oberan vanished, appearing behind his opponent, ready to strike him in the crook of the neck, but Nabero was prepared for it. He quickly brought his hands up to block, while lashing out with his leg to counter. He only struck air though, as Oberan disappeared again, appearing in front of the man, ready to strike.
“Emina school of Wai Fu Ultimate technique,” he rasped, fire blazing behind his pupils. Nabero’s smirk froze on his face, eyes going wide instead. “ Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus!”
He struck Nabero from multiple directions simultaneously, hitting the weak spots of the body with each blow, then sending the man flying backwards, rolling limply over the floor. He didn’t get up.
Oberan managed a weak smile, then felt his legs give way, all strength flowing out of his body. He collapsed, breathing heavily, feeling a burning pain consume his senses. The damage done to his body was probably irreparable. He didn’t mind, he didn’t need his body anymore. He’d see his family soon.
“Don’t think you’ve won just yet!” Nabero’s voice was trembling with rage. From the corner of his eye, Oberan saw his opponent slowly rise to his feet, stumbling a couple times as he bade his limbs to do what he wanted them to. “I was right to bring you here. You’ve brought me the thrill I so craved after a decade of weaklings who’d die with just a flick of my fingers. However, you’ve served your purpose. It’s time for you to join Roaneb and your family.” His fingers closed around Oberan’s neck, pulling him up higher and higher, until his feet dangled above the ground and he was face to face with his former master’s second disciple.
“As a courtesy, I’ll make it quick.”
Oberan muttered something, barely understandable through his pinched-shut windpipe.
“What’s that?”
The pressure lessened a little, allowing for the motionless warrior to breathe and speak.
“Emina school of Wai Fu forbidden ultimate technique…” Oberan groaned, a gleam of victory in his eyes. Nabero visibly flinched, trying to throw Oberan as far away from him as possible, but he found himself unable to release the grip on his neck.
“… Alphonso!”
His whole body vibrated at a high frequency, which in turn caused Nabero’s to do the same. It made his muscles contract and difficult to control, and since his hand was in direct contact with Oberan’s neck, he couldn’t even move it. Nabero screamed and roared, trying to pull away. He punched and kicked, though without effect. He began unloading his forbidden techniques on Oberan instead, hitting him with another Kirigaya Suguha, with an Isumi Sagiri, a Kousaka Kirino, and even a Riko and Ako Suminoe combination attack.
Yet he didn’t manage to separate the two of them.
Nabero tried to cut of his own arm, but his chop was stopped midway by one last effort of Oberan, who grabbed his wrist. Nabero cursed loudly, fighting and trashing even as his blood began to clot inside his veins, until his cells received no more oxygen, until a heart attack robbed him of the life he had left.
