But this act didn't leave him unscathed. As his leg touched the ground that was in front of the giant, a puddle of blood dropped next to him. The sound of liquid splashing on the ground could be heard; Fell's right arm had completely disappeared during his dive through the sword net.
The serious expression on the giant's face changed as a glint of respect could be now seen of his humongous eyes. If before, he respected Fell as a fellow swordsman. By evading his blow at the cost of an arm, he had gained his respect due to his quick wits and ability to sense danger.
His face was crooked from the pain, but he couldn't care less about it. He was currently inside the virtual realm of Battle Center. If pain was supposed to be an indicator of injury, then the fact that he was in a game made him completely ignore the fatal injury he just received.
If he can proudly stand on his feet with a sword in his hand, then that was enough for him. He gazed at the giant's swordsman's eyes for a single moment. His right shoulder kept producing a massive amount of blood that splattered on the ground. The vivid pain he felt was enough to make him want to scream. Though as long as his will was intact, then even if he had faced this injury in the real world, he couldn't care less.
He had thought that losing his dominant hand would make him fall into a panicked state. But he found himself strangely calm. He even found that the sound that was produced by his blood dripping on the ground was soothing his mind.
A calm breeze went through them, Fell's eyelid closed for a moment. During this odd moment, he lost track of time under the cool windy breeze that softly hit his face. This moment seemed to take an eternity yet also seemed to be instantaneous.
"I must be losing my mind…", he thought as he delved in the strange sensation. Strangely, the giant swordsman didn't use this opportunity to attack. He stood there as if he was part of the environment, he didn't move a single inch and if anyone else was watching the scene. He would see that both opponents seemed to have turned to rocks, their limb seamlessly having taken root on the fighting ring.
Suddenly, after being lost in this long yet short moment Fell finally opened his eyes. He looked at the giant swordsman and smiled. A free unfeathered smile that shouldn't have been on a youth's face was engraved on his face.
"Why didn't you attack me now?" he exclaimed in a calm tone.
"Respect", A single word left the giant's lips. The word was crooked and ushered in a very low pitch but was easily understood by Fell.
Fell laughed as he heard the man's answer, an odd feeling blossomed in his heart. Respect was always a strange principle in the core, the strong were respected while the weak were defiled. Under the giant's wording, the word took a much different sense. Respect not owned by one's strength, but by one's action.
"They lost that in my hometown", He jokingly exclaimed.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" The giant's odd voice spread everywhere through the fighting ring and seemed to continue its advance toward the horizon.
Fell grinned as he saw the giant's response, and before long he was also laughing at his own joke. It took a few moments before their laughs died. Silence prevailed on the fighting ring as the pressure that both opponents were feeling came back in a dozen fold.
Not a word left their lips, no mark was given but both opponents moved at the same time. Fell was standing right in front of the giant, he only needed to extend his hand and he would touch the man's tight.
First, it was Fell's left hand that blinked, then it was his whole body that instantly moved.
"I've sacrificed an arm to get this close to you", he thought as his body moved at a tremendous speed, "I think I deserve at least twice of what I sacrificed!" Before the giant swordsman's hand could even grab the handle of his weapon Fell's leg kicked the ground as he executed "Solary Dive" once again. Two blinding light flashed on his shoulder as two of his arms dropped to the ground with a large thud.