POV: Aria Akari
My thoughts were jittery as my heart raced frantically from watching Arthur place his life on the line.
Amidst the chaos, Arthur glanced at Everett and I with an ambiguous gaze until he managed a smile, facing towards Wrath and Pride's direction once more as his Aspectual Force began to stabilize.
"It seems your arrogance knows no bounds!" Pride remarked as he activated his Aspect and attempted to rush towards Arthur, but in moment he tried to advance towards Arthur, terror dawned upon him, inspiring cold sweat to envelop his skin as the source of his dread was from none other than Arthur's determined glare, which exuded absolute confidence as there was no doubt that Arthur had already anticipated Pride's every move.
That fact alone was unacceptable to Pride, whose rage was provoked by Arthur's very essence and yet, Pride was unable to find the courage to take a step forward as he eventually deactivated his Aspect and accepted his reality, aware that if he had advanced towards Arthur, his life would have ended today as he chose to watch from afar, gnawing on the bottom of his lip in exasperation at his own weakness.
Arthur…
"Those eyes of yours are burning brighter than ever. It seems that you've resolved yourself for the inevitable, so out of respect for your determination, I'll accept your wish!" Wrath shouted as the two of them dashed towards each other and began exchanging attacks in content while I shifted my focus towards Pride, whose eyes remained on Arthur as I wondered why he chose not to pursue us, despite Wrath giving him an order.
"Aria, Sarah is still breathing!" Everett called out as his voice snapped me out of my daze.
Aria, pull yourself together!
Amidst the intense fight between Arthur and Wrath, I rushed towards Everett and began healing Sarah, who had a fatal head injury on her forehead as the impact of Pride's fist seemed to have cracked her skull, but upon healing her, I felt myself nearing my Exhaust Limit at a much faster rate than usual because of my poor insight into Aspectual Restoration.
I need to at least stop the internal bleeding!
As I desperately healed Sarah to the best of my ability, I glanced towards Arthur to ease my worries, but to my surprise, he was overwhelming Wrath as he even forced him into a defensive position.
"He's strong!" Everett remarked in awe as I noticed his composure was rather stable, despite Wrath's Aspectual Force running amok within the area.
"Are you okay, Everett?" I asked, worried for his mental state as I noticed Everett was still trembling in fear.
"Not really. I'm honestly terrified right now. So terrified that my heart feels as if it's going to explode any minute now, but ever since Arthur's Aspectual Force intensified, it relieved some of the fear, so as of now, I'm able to manage." Everett answered as our eyes followed Arthur, who continued to overwhelm Wrath with adept swordsmanship as every graceful swing was laced with lethality, but despite Arthur having the advantage, his deft footwork had succumbed to fatigue as a sense of enervation washed over his face.
No…
"Aria, he can do this! Arthur can win this!" Everett exclaimed with a nervous grin as Arthur gritted his teeth, persistently pushing through the harsh adversities that stood before him as his desperation was becoming more evident by the second.
I've known of Arthur through word of mouth for years prior to meeting him a couple months ago and despite the frivolous matters or the outright slander I've heard numerous times through many, there was a single fact that everyone had unanimously agreed upon.
Arthur Kojiro is the strongest among all students.
Although I viewed it as a mere opinion since the existence of Avery Masayoshi or Zayn Shometsu proved that statement to be foolish, after witnessing his power along with his mental fortitude first hand, I've come to believe that with the sole exception of Avery, Arthur may be the strongest student, however…
Arthur is someone whose power rivals that of an A-Class hero.
Wrath on the other hand, is at least a Level One Threat, meaning that his power at least rivals that of a high-ranking A-Class hero.
Had Arthur been in his best condition, maybe the outcome would be different.
As I watched Arthur pant heavily from exhaustion, I felt despair slowly creeping up from behind as Everett's grin was quickly replaced with an anxious frown.
There's no way…
There's just no way he can win this!
Arthur has already fought four members of the Cardinal Sins and now he's facing Wrath alone.
Arthur may be strong, but he's still a human nonetheless!
"Everett, I'll carry Sarah, but we have to leave now-"
With a thunderous roar, Arthur remained strong, his will undefiant against all odds as using the creativity of his Aspect along with his unnatural sense for combat, Arthur advanced forward, forcing Wrath on the defensive once again as in what seemed to be Arthur's final stand, he refused to allow Wrath to even process a single thought.
Despite his body crumbling before him, Arthur displayed an unyielding sense of determination as Wrath's Aspect was utterly useless against Arthur, who suddenly began to nullify any technique as well as nullify any physical attack that miraculously struck him, forcing Wrath into prioritizing survival over winning as Arthur's immersion into the fight allowed for him to defy the impossible.
Arthur is experiencing a breakthrough?!
I thought he was only able to delay his own attacks and yet, it's as if he's nullifying everything that Wrath throws at him!
The correct course of action would be to run away as with Sarah on the verge of death and the status of Rai unknown, the chances of our survival was none if I were to stay even a minute longer, but as I watched Arthur sacrifice everything for the sake of winning, an unnecessary thought appeared within my mind.
If I were to overcome my fears, would there be a world where I could save Arthur?
As I healed Sarah, that thought pondered on my mind until I was forced to witness Arthur experience the rebound of the accumulating damage that had far exceeded the limits of his human body, forcing him to spew out blood amidst clutching his chest as he had unfortunately reached the Exhaust Limit.
Enervated, wounded and now stranded without an Aspect, Arthur was ultimately finished as he suffered the consequences of trying to defy the natural laws of our world and graced with the opportunity of finishing Arthur off once and for all was none other than Wrath, who accepted graciously as he sprinted towards the fatigued Arthur that desired nothing more than to win.
As I watched Arthur lose all momentum, I wanted to abandon everything as I knew that once Arthur fell, it was impossible for me to defeat Wrath, let alone Pride as I subconsciously stopped healing Sarah and prepared myself to run away, but amidst my fright, a thought of Rai suddenly crossed my mind as I remembered him placing his life on the line for us despite not even using his Aspect.
Paralleling Rai was Arthur, who despite the odds stacked against him, refused to capitulate to his body's pleading cries as even without his Aspect, he remained firm, barely clinging to life against the overwhelming might of Wrath through an instinctual drive for survival.
Whether their actions were courageous or nonsensical, I didn't have the right to decide.
The fact was that the two of them had placed their lives on the line for us and yet, I can't even imagine myself surviving against the monstrosity that stood before me.