Chapter 17: I Am Weak

Blue and red clashed, their very appearances astonishing onlookers. The spectators were shocked, unable to comprehend this level of power, seeing only the sand kicked up as the fighters moved from one location to another.

Elijah, covered in lightning, dodged Nero's energy blade before jumping back. His eyes were focused, lifeless—almost as if he were a different person. Concentrating his lightning, Elijah created distance between them.

In a stance, their figures became clear: Nero was heavily injured, while Elijah seemed fine, even the wound on his stomach had somehow healed. "Calling lightning!" Lightning intensified, consuming him.

Elijah was winning, but victory alone wasn't enough. He needed to demonstrate the power of his surname. "Lightning fist!" His hand, gathering all the lightning he could produce, signaled Nero's defeat as lightning closed the distance.

Nero created many red walls of energy and poured all his mana into forming a dark red sword, "Imperica Sword." Elijah broke through the three walls like they were nothing, and Nero threw the sword, moving at about 3 m/sec.

Elijah rushed forward in an instant and punched out.

BBBBBOOOMMMM

Waves of wind danced around, pushing the sand as lightning roared, and the sword seemed to cut the air itself. Elijah's lifeless eyes showed some excitement, and a huge smile appeared. "Thank you, Nero," he said loudly and clearly.

"It was a fun match." Holding his ground, Elijah used every drop of Chi he had. "Full burst: Lightning Fist." He destroyed the sword as a lightning fist mark traveled at an insane speed, around 7 to 9 m/sec, with the fist being 1 meter long and 2 meters wide.

It was too unexpected. Nero knew that, in basic stats, he and Elijah were mostly equal. Elijah's technique seemed better but not by much. Both were at Element Tier 1, but Elijah's element made him faster.

This allowed him to dodge every attack and his techniques were more refined, giving him an edge in the fight. Nevertheless, Nero didn't expect Elijah's attack to be this strong.

For a moment, he thought it might end in a draw, but the fist coming at him told him otherwise. The power in that single attack was too great, even above his own. He could have slightly dodged it, but his battered body felt tired. Without any mana left, he knew fighting back would be a challenge even if he survived.

"Damn it, another loss," Nero thought before getting hit by the lightning fist, flying off into the distance. He traveled the whole area, going past the young masters and misses on the sidelines as they moved out of his way.

Nero continued, crashing into the closest building and finally stopping with blood coming from his mouth, out of commission.

Every eye landed on the young master of the Dominic family as he walked over, wearing his shirt and taking his sandals. Moving towards Nero's position, everyone thought Elijah was going to kill him, but instead, he gave him a healing pill.

"Next time I'll be stronger, so let's fight again," Elijah said, waving his hand.

Mike and Elena watched from afar as Elijah moved to the motel. He wasn't in the mood for talking or hanging around arrogant people. His only thought was, "I NEED TO GET stronger; I'm still weak."

In the motel, 

Elijah was moping on the ground as Ava and Amy were wearing robes. "I was late for the bath."

The two laughed, and Ava asked, "I heard you got into trouble again. We can't leave you alone for a minute, can we?"

"In my defense, I wanted to fight Mike, but this guy called Nero came and challenged me, so how could I say no?" Elijah stood up and sat on the couch.

"Then who won?" Amy asked.

"Me, of course," Elijah replied.

"What did you learn?" Ava asked.

"That I'm weak. I need to improve my technique, element control, and Chi control, along with my strength. But do you mind if I ask you something?" Elijah answered, taking an apple from the table.

"What is it?" Ava crossed her legs with a seductive smile that could make any man fall for her.

"How can I reach the level of the Miracles?" A simple question that made the two women in the room smile. Elijah rephrased his words, "Sorry, I mean, how can I reach the top of this whole galaxy?" The smiles on their faces only grew.

"Why would you want that?" Amy inquired, staring down from a high place in the motel at the setting sun.

"The strongest is the freest. I want to protect what is mine and never feel weak again," Elijah answered, biting the apple while staring at the ceiling.

"I can feel that you can't wait, so we'll start your training tomorrow. For now, go to your room and sleep. I know you're exhausted," Ava spoke, leaving with Amy.

Elijah sat there. "It wasn't luck that I won, but it was a close call for even me," he sighed, standing up. Putting his hand into his pockets, he looked down and saw the whole resort.

"I want this to be mine." For now, Elijah couldn't even sleep; the side effects of using his element were still visible.

The reason Elijah wanted to improve his Chi control was crucial. Using his element to cover his whole body would also cause damage, so he needed to protect himself with Chi.

The focus required to maintain that state was insane, even more demanding than his training with Amy. Elijah didn't want to rest, but he knew from the painful torture and the lightning damage to his body that he needed it.

After some time, he went to his room and slept.