Free Web NovelChapter 17: Lands of Horror [6]
I was sent flying and hit the trunk of the tree with my back, releasing sharp pain upon contact.
"Ooh! My back!" I groaned as I touched it. Luckily I had covered my body with a layer of mana so I didn’t break anything, but it was still painful.
I didn’t really have the time to complain about the pain when a black fist came towards me, threatening to squash my head against the tree like a squashed tomato.
I ducked and rolled to the side, dodging the fist and then—
Bam!
The trunk of the tree caved in as the fist of the Fire Monkey leader landed on it, shaking the leaves and making some of the monkeys on top almost fall.
In no time the beast was already upon me, its eyes reflecting its hunger for combat. It clasped its hands and slammed them down on me with devastating force. Infusing mana into my arms and katana, I raised my katana horizontally to block the attack.
However, just as the attack was about to land on the katana, I slightly tilted it to the side so that I wouldn’t get my arms broken. The attack landed hard as a rock, pain shot through my limbs, but before it could spread further, I tilted the katana and pushed it to the left with as much strength as I could.
It worked, and the slamming fists landed hard on my left, cracking the ground and sending dust into the air.
My arms were numb as hell but I didn’t stop my retaliation. I punched the Fire Monkey’s face, snapping its head to the left. Then I kicked it in the chest, sending it stumbling a couple of steps back.
It charged back at me again and so did I. We clashed at high speed, moving through the forest, between the trees, attacking and dodging each other’s attacks.
The Fire Monkey leader moved like a speeding bull, throwing attacks with the force of a rock, its fists making the wind howl in their wake. Despite being a beast, it didn’t fight like a mindless one at all.
It fought like an animal that had survived many battles with other creatures in the forest. Its attacks were mainly aimed at my head and throat, both vital points that could kill its prey in an instant.
Even though I was getting overwhelmed, I was no less impressive than the beast.
I always kept a safe distance to avoid being grabbed by its long arms. Controlling the distance was key if I wanted to win.
My katana, wrapped in darkness energy, hummed as I wielded it left to right, up and down with stunning precision for someone who had learned to wield it only two weeks ago. I could see that my training, albeit short, was a huge help. Each slash, each thrust was aimed to incapacitate the beast or even kill it, but its skin was so tough that I only left small cuts.
But I wasn’t disappointed or worried because my efforts would pay off soon.
My body moved like a snake, dodging and slipping through attacks with high agility and sharp reflexes. Testament to that were the few cuts and non-lethal wounds on my body.
When I couldn’t afford to block one of its heavy attacks, I made sure to redirect them towards a tree, buying me enough time to strike the beast’s vulnerable spots as much as I could. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
The fight kept going and going but the beast never grew tired, while I — the exhaustion was plain to see in how heavily I breathed, even though it was controlled.
My speed had dropped a lot compared to the start of the fight, and I could no longer move the way I wanted to. My body wouldn’t obey. So I fell to the barrage of attacks from the Fire Monkey leader.
My flesh alongside my clothes was torn apart by its sharp nails, my beautiful and handsome face scratched on its porcelain skin. How cruel!
The smaller wounds turned into bigger ones and my body was now swollen. I ached from arms to legs. It was so painful that at some point, instead of crying or screaming, I smiled.
A bloody smile formed on my bloodied face as I fought the beast, making it suddenly hesitate mid-attack, confused as to why I was smiling.
Yet, it kept attacking.
I had been fighting for an hour with no rest and despite the agony, the pain, my vision getting blurry from sweat and blood, and the mana exhaustion...
I smiled like a lunatic.
I smiled like a child who had just received his first toy.
Because, when was the last time I had smiled this genuinely? When was the last time I felt this much thrill and excitement running through my veins?
Not even holding my first crush’s hand in seventh grade made me feel this happy.
That was just how amazing all this was.
So I kept pushing. I kept throwing attacks, kept dodging them.
Chasing that high, because despite wishing to die for my whole life, for once I wanted to live.
My hands were shaking and trembling?
Keep going.
My legs refused to move to avoid a life-threatening attack?
I stabbed them with my blade, ordering them to move.
’Yves—’
I heard Ezio’s concerned voice in my head, but I shut him out. I knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to step in, but... how dare he?!
How dare he try to steal this feeling away from me?
How dare he try to stop me from having the very thing that made me feel alive?
Such nonsense!
Even if death came, I wouldn’t mind it taking me, because the idea of dying was thrilling.
Death was what I yearned for.
Therefore, I set my heart ablaze.
[The Main Story ’He Who Yearned For Death’ is stirring from its slumber.]
