The world stretched and waved before Revian's eyes, his focus detached and limbs unfeeling.
There was a sharp ringing in his ears, concealing the sounds of others' roars but not quite keeping them known by him.
"Uh..." He groaned, trying to raise his arm to rub his head but quivering in pain and relaxing in numb.
"He... really nailed me there..."
His head fell to the side as his vision blurred, sleep's cold embrace attempting to steal life from his limbs.
"I need to get back up..."
Elsewhere, the other students were fending off Garron, their sights set on making contact against him.
"You guys only have a couple minutes left, what will you do!" Garron yelled, slamming his shin into two students who tried to tackle him directly.
Their mutual gasps of air fueled his rampage, the concurring injuries proof of his strength--at least, in his eyes.
"I mean, let alone this university, you guys suck too much to succeed anywhere! What value could you possibly bring to society with attacks as weak as these?"
His arms emboldened with vigor and new desire to conquer, he stomped forward with the intention of crushing all who dared to face him head-on.
'I'm over here...'
Whipping his shoulders around and swinging his arms to nail the face of the person who stood next to him, he looked down at his hand in confusion once he'd noticed that there was no blood--no signs of resistance.
'I'm here,' 'no, I'm over here,' 'wrong, I'm right here!'
Garron's hands fwipped through the air as he repeatedly swatted at the voices, surmising that whoever was doing this must've been invisible.
"Oren, thank you. Pella, you're up!" A green haired girl shouted, her hands outreaching as if the voices were being produced by her.
Suddenly, a slate of white passed over Garron's vision, flagging in place of wherever he turned his head. The paper churned inward to mimic the shape of his face, cutting his sight completely.
"What is this..."
His fists uncoiled for a split second, real fear running through his eyes. Defeat crossed his mind, his senses thrown amok at the students' plans.
But he didn't need his senses.
Closing his eyes, he felt for all the vibrations in the air, the reverberations of the floor, slowly blocking out the random voices emanating all around him.
Slam!
Without even a moment to waste, he spun around--unaided by magic--to slam his heel into another, their hand stopping just a few inches short of his back.
His body flung dozens of feet in the opposite direction, the movement in their limbs gone.
"H-How..." A purple-haired student muttered, their body solid with fear.
Crrrk!
The pursuit of the paper was stalled for just a moment, granting Garron the opportunity to tear it from his face and rip it in half.
"Smart--no, exceptionally smart. Combining the uselessness of your abilities into one, cohesive plot to contact me. It's clear that you guys used the fight between Revian and myself as a chance to talk amongst yourselves. It probably would've worked... if it hadn't been me." He gripped his fists even tighter, his knuckles almost tearing through skin. "But it was dirty. Don't get me wrong, I fight dirty too, but I don't appreciate when peons believe that they can pit their brains together to defeat a stronger, more intelligent foe. Like the convening of ants in the belief they can repel the blows of a giant."
His smile was devilish, his aura fiery-hot with indignation crisping his skin. It was clear that he'd found little game in their ploy.
"Do not retreat--it was working! We just need to recollect, allow ourselves a moment to breathe--"
The boy in goggles yelled at the top of his lungs, the students turning back to stare at him and his words. However, they immediately lost their weight with Garron's own retort.
"So, you're the mastermind?" He said, standing a couple feet from him.
"Wha--"
Thwam, Shrrrttt!
Shards sprayed in the air as a result of Garron unleashing two kicks: the first to choke the air from the boy's lungs, the second to shatter his glass goggles.
Either had enough force to dispatch the boy, his body violently rag dolling across the floor while his limbs flew free of control.
"You--you're the one who blocked my vision, aren't you?" He asked, standing before a tall purple-haired girl.
Her mouth hung open, the tips of her fingers only having enough time to twitch as Garron backhanded her face, her body kneading in the air in ways unsuited for the human anatomy.
"Bastard!" A boy with green hair roared, sprinting at Garron.
"Idiot." The black-haired teen standing next to him muttered, shaking his head yet slowly accelerating to meet his pursuit.
"Yes, come at me with everything like true warriors!"
Hordes of students flung in the air in response to Garron's kicks and punches, each one bellowing a sharp thud as their body laid motionless.
There was no magic flying in the air--no thought behind their actions. Only instinctual desire to overcome the juggernaut standing before them.
Revian clasped his chest, feeling for the shattered ends of his ribcage that would've surely been causing the flames he felt surrounding his organs and forcing him to burp blood.
"I-I have to get up..." He struggled, the pain he felt in the moment far too tactile to grit through. "Otherwise, my mother will have died for nothing..."
There was another pain, not related to his punctured insides. No, it was flashes of flame, mercenaries, and betrayal.
'Revian, live on... for me...' the voice echoed, her dying whimpers accommodating the warm embrace she'd given to his small, young body. 'Become something... bigger than this... bigger than us...'
Revian clenched his teeth, his joints screaming at him to settle back down, his mind gripping onto his spirit to give up and resign to their fate.
But he didn't listen.
"Ah, you're still conscious!" Garron yelled, turning his head to look past the myriads of bodies strung in blood and eyes filled with white.
Revian didn't have the time nor energy to respond, each movement in his body another second removed before it collapsed from pure motor failure.
There was no thought behind his movements--no, his mind wouldn't allow it. Not now. Instead, a pure, unadulterated drive for revenge struck his limbs, emboldening him to move forward despite the innumerable pains enveloping his figure.
Coupled with this was the slow lift-off of his feet from the earth, his ascent marking an expression of confusion on Garron's face.
"Are you good?" He asked, stepping back as if even a passing breeze would cause Revian to tumble forward onto the ground. "You don't look too hot there... I wouldn't want to kill you."
Revian's eyebrows furrowed in rage, unwilling to listen to Garron's pity calls.
Fwish!
Revian propelled himself forward towards Garron, his fist behind him.
What he's doing is suicide. He hasn't the strength nor technique to hit me, and when he's floating, he's too easily moved. If I attack him full force here, he might actually die--
Garron's mind stopped short of its own words just as he thought on the emotions welling in his chest, its red burning away any pity he might've felt.
What the hell am I doing? This is his final call, the full strength of a downed warrior. What type of man would I be to deny him that based off of my own personal feelings?
Garron tipped onto his heel, eliciting his magic to generate a rapid spin. He didn't bother worrying about Revian, his mind set on winning out against Revian's ensuing assault.
Whirring through the air, the centrifugal force lifted him off the ground, granting him just the right amount of height to meet Revian.
The air surrounding his limbs turned hot, dipped with red as the sheer velocity formed a mini-sonic boom.
"This is everything I've got! Come at me with everything you've got, Revian, and leaving nothing behind!"
Revian didn't need to acknowledge his words, didn't even need to hear them, mutual understanding flashing in his face.
He was smiling.
Just a couple of feet from Garron, he pulled his hand even further, Garron's knee folding in the air with the intent of smacking Revian's head.
Time stood still for Garron, his Lion's Eye in full throttle to anticipate the best method of attack.
Judging by the direction of his movement, minor downward tilt in his shoulders, and upward adjustment in his eyes, he's going to roll his arm past my leg--dislodging it from its path--and gun for my head. I won't let it happen no matter--
Garron's eyes flung open, the sight of Revian micro-posturing himself completely throwing off his eye.
Beyond that, though, was the impossibly bright shift in the power exuding from limbs.
There was a low hum resonating from him, space contorting inches from his skin to obfuscate the black behind him.
A viscous red shot out from Revian's body, streaks stretching all the way across his arms and legs to flag the air with red.
What... a straightforward side kick to the face, I have to do it now!
Kablam!
The sheer force of the two's impact almost completely shattered the surrounding black, the air blasting all across the room to conceal the aftermath.
Slowly, the wind settled, revealing Revian laid out on the ground, bloodied and unmoving.
"You were a great foe, worthy of my fist." Garron said, hovering above him with a light smile tinting his face.
Thud!
Suddenly, his body slammed against the floor, his eyes rolling back into his head.
There was a large imprint on his face, the same shape as Revian's fist.