No words were spoken between the two. Dio stood emotionless and still as he stared at Jin. The Godfrey family had now entirely antagonized Dio. After what Blue had just pulled, this was expected.
Dio's attempts at unraveling his thoughts weren't always fruitful, but he made progress. Every bit of information contained insight. He had just begun to understand why he felt so strongly and why he felt so responsible. Dio had always taken responsibility for his feelings and thoughts. He could overcome adversities and accept negative feelings no matter how painful they were. Seeing John struggling with these things brought out a sense of empathy in Dio.
'Strange behavior for a narcissist..' He'd think to neutralize how he felt.
"Amplify," Jin uttered under his breath. Blue sparks danced around him as blades of grass began to fly away with the pressure. Even until this moment, there seemed to be no sense of acknowledgment or awareness from Jin regarding the whole situation.
Contrary to Jin's demeanor, Dio stood still and stared down his opponent, his feet planted into the earthy soil, his eyes stuck onto the spectacle that unfolded before him. Red eyes that fooled people into believing he could copy their abilities, an intense gaze that didn't belong to someone his age.
Dio was not a magic swordsman, unlike Blue. After all, it was pretty rare to be well-versed in two complicated fields. It made less sense, considering his father was a well-known swordsman. After discovering his abilities, a young Dio was simply far too invested in magic to consider swordsmanship or any weapon mastery.
This wasn't meant to be taken as a sign of weakness; he was decently versed in closed-combat martial arts, albeit the basics and the foundational stances and moves, however, paired with his intricate and extensive control over the spells he could use, Dio's combat potential could not be underestimated.
"...…." Dio muttered under his breath, something that wasn't too audible for the audience, the next second, a thin blue layer enveloped his entire body. It wasn't a strong shade like Jin's hair, but it was more like the sky on a pleasant day.
He clenched his fists and dashed forward, moving his right hand in a downward motion. Jin's electrifying punch was completely thwarted, and with every deflection, sparks flew off. The blue body cover that Dio donned was conjured using mana, and it seemingly boasted decent lightning resistance.
"Tch," Jin flew back after having all his strikes blocked. Dio, on the other hand, looked at his empty hand and made a grasping motion a few times. If Jin hadn't retreated, he would likely have been caught by now.
"Come here," he shot forward. An invisible force pushed Jin from the back, startling him and leaving him completely defenseless against Dio's strike. "One," he counted as his punch pushed through Jin's core, forcing any air the latter had to escape out. "Two," he opened that same hand, and from his palm, a tiny sphere blasted Jin a few meters behind.
"Kuhaaach…." He spat a little blood out and used his hands and knees to slowly lift his body. His eyes opened wider than usual as his mind began to race for explanations. Disbelief and confusion overwhelmed his body as tremors passed through the ground. Before he could even look up to see what was causing these vibrations, a hand grabbed his man bun and yanked his face up. "Three," Dio smiled and punched him in the face.
Alex bit her lip and grimaced. In truth, she was interested in Jin. Mainly because of his appearance and rather edgy vibe, but Dio was her best friend; there was no way she couldn't understand how he felt. It wasn't a situation where she chose Jin over Dio, rather, it was a stalemate between choosing herself and Dio. At least, that was the thought process in her head.
"Four,"
"Five,"
He was ruthless, so much so that this duel no longer looked like a fight between two magic users. There was too much brawling, mainly from one side. "Do I look stupid?" Dio spoke as he continued to slap Jin's face. "You think I'd fall for the same bullshit again?" another slap.
He was referring to Jin's combat style. Amplify, conduct, and spells as such worked better if the opponent was a magic user as well. Conduct absorbed magicules, in particular, magicules that were used for lightning or fire magic. While amplify allowed for his next spell to grow in strength. Had Dio resorted to casting magic, it would've provided Jin enough time to cast another spell as well.
"Eight"
"Nine"
"Ten,"
Jin's body was in tatters, of course, but Dio made sure not to cause any serious injuries. He wanted to savor this spar, take his time, and slowly teach Jin what his mistake was. After the tenth strike, Dio knelt next to the struggling Jin and whispered something that struck fear in everyone.
"Recover," A warm green light enveloped Jin's body, and the tiny scars slowly began to close. He could finally feel the strength returning to his body as he attempted to stand up again.
"One," Dio drove his hand into Jin's stomach, causing him to curl up on the ground and almost faint. "Surely you didn't think we were done," Dio's palm hovered over Jin as a barrage of mini wind spheres collided with his back.
'What am I doing...'
"Recover…" Dio hesitated a little this time as he noticed Jin's body reaching its limit. The young Godfrey, who now was on both knees, could barely muster any energy. A gust of wind would be enough to push him to the ground. He waited there as his vocal cords failed him, fear leaking from his eyes in the form of tears, his lips quivering while the blood from the cuts all over his face oozed out slowly.
"One-" Dio raised his hand, and Jin instinctively shut his eyes. Instead of a painful strike to his body, the latter felt a few soft slaps on his cheek.
"This is what mercy means, Godfreak," Dio spoke as he turned around, Jin's body unable to process the entire event as he crumbled down.