My Borderline Supervillain-Slash-Hero System-Chapter 165 The Big Gap

Fisher Gulou had expected a simple execution.

A showdown that would last seconds.

Squashing an ant beneath his heel.

But the moment the fight began… everything went wrong.

He lunged, struck, vanished, reappeared—his movements sharper and faster than gusting wind. Each blow carried enough force to tear through steel.

Yet the youth in front of him—

Zane.

He dodged everything.

Not with flashy footwork. Not with complex technique.

He simply moved—calmly, precisely—always just out of reach.

Fisher's brows tightened.

He picked up speed.

Again.

Again.

Each time he accelerated, Zane answered in kind.

Soon, Fisher realized something horrifying:

He wasn't fighting a One-Star Mana Core youth.

He was fighting someone who moved far beyond his realm.

A rollercoaster of emotions churned inside him—confusion, disbelief, irritation, growing fear.

He attacked relentlessly, fists slicing the air, aura crackling with lethal density.

But no matter how much force he poured into his blows…

No matter how many times he altered his rhythm…

No matter how many assassination techniques he unleashed—

Zane slipped past every strike.

Silent.

Effortless.

Untouchable.

And then the chilling truth hit Fisher like a hammer.

He couldn't land a single hit.

Not one.

The realization constricted his chest.

A 5-Star Mana Core Expert—

Being toyed with by a boy ranked One-Star only days ago?

This wasn't a battle.

This was a humiliation.

This was a warning.

This was fear.

And it was only going to get worse.

Fisher halted his assault—breathing hard.

Zane stopped as well, watching him calmly.

Zane tilted his head, voice sharp as a blade.

"A Five-Star Mana Core expert…? Is this all you've got?"

Fisher's expression twisted. "Don't get cocky, brat."

"So what should I call it then? A Five-Star expert who can't land a single hit on a One-Star youth?"

Zane shrugged casually.

"And if I'm not wrong… you're an assassin. Assassination is your profession.

Failing this hard must be brutal on your ego."

"Shut up!" Fisher snapped, fury boiling in his eyes.

"Since you're so cocky—let's see if you can handle this!"

He began chanting, fingers weaving a blinding series of hand seals.

Too fast.

Far faster than any assassin Zane had encountered so far.

Mana surged out of Fisher in violent waves, distorting the air around him.

Zane's pupils tightened.

That aura… deadly.

If that technique landed, his body would be obliterated on impact.

He immediately began weaving his own hand seals, chanting under his breath, preparing the spell he had been saving only for life-and-death moments.

Fisher's power peaked.

He roared—

"DIVINE JUDGING PALM!"

The ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched forward like a thunderbolt, right palm raised, engulfed in black electric arcs.

The very air trembled around it.

If that strike landed, Zane wouldn't just be injured—

he would be burned into nothingness.

"Divine Radiance!" Zane roared.

His palm erupted with a brilliant white light, dazzling and pure.

He thrust it forward—

And the two forces collided.

BOOOOOM!

A crackling explosion shook the grove.

The shockwave tore through bamboo, splitting stalks and ripping leaves into the air like a violent storm.

Fisher staggered a step—just one—but it was enough to show he hadn't expected resistance.

Zane didn't give him a moment.

They clashed again.

Palm against palm.

Light against darkness.

Electric arcs snapping against radiant beams.

Every collision detonated like thunder.

BOOM!

CRACK!

KRRRAAASH!

The once-serene bamboo grove transformed into a battlefield of ruptured earth and flying debris.

The two figures blurred, weaving between shattered stalks, exchanging lethal blows at point-blank range, their spells igniting the night in bursts of light and shadow.

The explosion of each strike echoed across the grove, tearing apart the calmness that had once filled the air.

And neither fighter was backing down.

But that was only how it looked.

In reality, every exchange hammered Zane's body like a mountain collapsing onto him.

Each clash sent tremors through his bones, each blocked strike rattled his core.

He was parrying Fisher's attacks only by drawing on every scrap of experience, every instinct honed in Solaris City, and every ounce of physical ability he possessed.

But the truth was brutal:

There was a massive difference between a One-Star and a Five-Star Mana Core Expert.

No matter how skilled, trained, or experienced he was—

no matter how monstrous his growth had been—

there was no universe where he could completely erase that gap head-on.

Fisher unleashed a barrage of jabs—fast, vicious, precise.

Zane blocked each one, barely keeping up.

But then Fisher's knee twisted sharply—

a feint—

Followed by a sudden high kick, lightning quick.

Zane moved—

but not fast enough.

WHAM!

The kick connected partially with his abdomen.

Pain exploded through him.

His body lifted off the ground—

air blasting out of his lungs—

And Zane was sent flying backwards, crashing through a thicket of bamboo with a thunderous crack.

Pain tore through his ribs, but he gritted his teeth.

He couldn't groan.

He couldn't slow down.

Fisher was a veteran assassin—he would never allow a target time to breathe.

And Zane was right.

Fisher was already there.

A shadow fell over him—

the man's boot descending toward Zane's skull like a guillotine.

"Luminous Step!" Zane muttered.

Mana—both dark and light—flooded his legs.

His body flickered.

Fisher's boot slammed into the ground instead, sending dirt and splinters flying.

The assassin's satisfied grin warped into a frown.

"Slippery bastard," he growled. Then he laughed. "Until now, I've only been using two percent of my strength."

His eyes glinted with cruelty.

"Let's see if you can handle five percent."

He dismissed the spell swirling around his hand.

Then slowly, ominously, raised his right palm into the air.

The world responded.

A crushing aura exploded from him—

a tidal wave of power that expanded fifty yards in every direction.

Trees bowed. Bamboo cracked.

The very ground trembled beneath the pressure.

Zane was caught inside the radius.

Instantly, every inch of his body screamed.

It felt as though thousands of razor-toothed insects bit into his flesh, burrowing deep.

His muscles seized.

His bones groaned.

His vision blurred.

The pain was unbearable.

The weight felt like a mountain was slowly lowering onto him.

But he didn't have the luxury to scream.

He didn't have the luxury to collapse.

If he hesitated—

if he made a single wrong move—

Fisher's next attack would end him.