He quickly jumped away from me and I let him retreat some distance away from me.
"You know...you have already lost." I said while waving around with his cut off arm that was still in my hand.
"Hehe, I know, I didn't have much chance even before-" He said while maintaining the earth on his shoulder to stop or slow bleeding.
"Then why do yo-" I wanted to ask him something but I was interrupted.
"BUT! What kind of man would I be if I just gave up?! I would never be able to face her ever again!" He shouted while hardening his grip on his shoulder and suddenly the ground shook and his arm was getting restored slowly or more like being replaced by the earth.
"AAGH!" He screamed in pain while the earth was connecting to his shoulder but he maintained a strong crazy smile on his face.
"Heh, struggling till the end, is it? At least I can respect your struggle despite being it futile. And what is the better show of respect other than fighting you with everything I have?" I said with closed eyes and a small smile from seeing his last struggle.
---
'What is he saying? Does it mean that he is even stronger than what he showed to me?!' Gai thought while gritting his teeth, beads of sweat were visible on his neck and they were even pouring down from under his armor.
---
"Let me show you proper respect by showing you our real difference!" I said and struck my sword into the ground in front of me.
[Contempt for the Weak]
[Absolute Dominance - ACTIVATED]
*Bang!*
"This is where you die, Gai of the Elite Seven!" I shouted with narrowed eyes completely devoid of any emotions and the ground around my sword cracked open and tho large parts of the earth were now sticking out of the ground
---
'?!! Why did the air become so heavy?! This guy is something even chief can't defeat all alone. He is simply a monster!' Gai stood dumbfounded while looking at Akashi who was staring down at him with his red glowing eyes and enlarged vertical pupils as if he was about to judge him.
---
"Recover from your shock, I don't want to slay someone who isn't even paying attention." I said while pulling out my sword from the ground.
"?!" He flinched and shook his head before readying himself.
"Good...I recommend you to close your eyes since they will be useless anyway." I said before I disappeared from my place just to appear a few meters forward just in front of him, throwing a punch with my left hand to his abdomen.
"!! GAH!" *Bang* He was unable to even put his arms in front of him to protect himself before he suffered from my punch. He was blown away from the street to one of the wooden houses, completely breaking it.
"I won't wait any longer." I said after 2 seconds after he broke the house.
[Health: 720/770] I let my sword suck my blood.
*Screech* I sent a vertical slash of concentrated crimson energy that came from my own blood.
The ground was easily cut through by the crimson energy as it traveled towards the broken house.
*Bang* Before the slash could cut through the entire house, a figure jumped out of its remains. It was Gai who jumped out of there who kept on rolling for a while before he stopped just to cough out blood. I noticed that his head was no longer shielded by his armor and his armor was now incomplete.
"*Cough!* Kuku, how am I supposed to react to such a speed?" He started laughing while muttering. He was right now on both knees and hands, although the other hand was only made of earth.
"?! Agh!" He groaned.
"I told you that I won't wait for too long, it would only serve as disrespect to you." I said with a calm tone and emotionless eyes while gripping his head and pulling him up in the air.
"I give you that you are much stronger but that doesn't stop me from fighting!" He suddenly formed a crazy smile with his entire mouth covered in blood and shouted at me while intending to drive his knee into my chin.
"Hmph." I snorted and easily dodged his sloppy attack and then I slammed him into the ground with his head first.
*Crack!* The ground under me completely cracked in the area of a few meters around us.
I decided to just stand in front of his head while he was lying on the ground without moving with his face first.
"...Heh." He forced out a pained chuckle and then he caught my leg with his hand however the grip was almost nonexistent.
"To think that you are able to move after such heavy hit into the head without your armor...Your will to live deserves my respect." I said with closed eyes.
"*cough* Thanks, although I would be much happier if it was her saying those words. I still have yet to make her accept me as her boyfriend, I won't die here no matter how many times you slash me or slam me into the ground!" He raised his head and said with a crazy bloody smile and his grip was becoming stronger and stronger.
"...Are you perhaps talking about Cornelia?" I asked with a calm tone without any intention to kick his hand away.
"?! You! What did you do to her?!" He instantly widened his eyes and his grip tightened around my leg furthermore, I could even slightly feel a bit of pain.
So this is the power of hatred and rage? Quite fascinating. If I wanted to have a good fight, I would tell him that I rap*d her and then killed her but I can't do that to him when he is about to die. Those are his last bits of strength he could muster up.
"Calm down, I haven't done anything to her but why do you sound like you don't know anything about her situation?" I asked with a curious tone.
"? What do you mean?" His grip loosened up a bit when he heard my honestly curious question, he looked at me with a puzzling expression as if we were no longer enemies.
He really loves her, huh? *sigh* Unfortunately, you attacked my girl and we attacked your girl...our animosity is inevitable...
"Your friends must have visited you. That's how I found you, didn't they inform you about her death?" I asked.
"?!! WHAT?! You must be lying! They indeed came here but only 2 of them since they said that they need to recover from the mission!" The tears appeared in the corner of his eyes but he quickly shook his head and shouted at me while tightening his grip once again.
"I see, they probably didn't want to slow down your recovery or cause you any trauma while you would be recovering from your injuries. The truth is, that she died during the mission, the entire tomb collapsed and her body was never found. As for how do I know this information, maybe they told you something about the support that came from the Capital..." I muttered while holding my chin before explaining while taking off my hood and showing him my entire face and hair.
"?!! Are you Akashi?! Poney has told me a few things about you...I can't believe that you are actually an enemy!" He widened his eyes in a shock when he saw my red hair.
"Don't worry, I probably am not enemy. It's all very difficult to explain but my only enemy in your group was you, at least for now. As for the reason...I see no problem to tell you that I am the one who caused you that injury." I explained with a complicated expression.
"?! So you tricked father...Heh, I guess a better pair won the war in the end, haha" He once again stared at me in shock before he rolled on his back while looking at the stars before he laughed while self-mocking himself.
"Still...I can't believe that my own comrades would try to hide that fact from me..." He muttered while he finally let tears pour down.
"I can only pray that you will meet with her in your next life. After all, she looked like my previous-life lover and her personality didn't seem that bad. She is definitely worth it so never forget about her even if your mind had to split up." I said with a smile.
"? What are you talking about? What previous-life?" He asked me with a dumbfounded expression.
---
'I have no idea what he is saying but somehow I believe him. He seems like a normal guy who could even be a good friend, what a pity...I guess this is it for me' Gai thought when he felt that his body was getting heavier.
---
"It's nothing, it is just me mumbling about something. I know what has Empire told to all of you, that you are fighting for the peace of common people. Unfortunately, that isn't entirely the truth but I won't bother you with details, I promise you that I will make what they had told you the reality in the distant future." I said and he listened to everything with closed eyes.
---
'Father told us to never listen or believe to our enemy but why would he be trying to sway my loyalty just before my death? Is what he is saying the truth? Are we just tools for the Empire to reign over its people with terror? Whatever that is no longer my concern...' Gai thought to himself with closed eyes.
---
"Rest in peace, Gai of the Elite Seven!" I shouted and pierced his heart with my sword in a quick motion.
He opened his eyes while coughing out blood for the last time before he slowly closed his eyes for the last time.
...I guess I should at least make a grave for him...
I thought and took him to the center of the village while burning the corpses of others on the streets.
I found some appropriate tools and made a gave for him while placing a relatively big boulder nearby. I carved something on it before quickly leaving before anyone will notice something strange. Although I couldn't sense anyone nearby, I was getting feeling that someone will shortly arrive.
[+150 XP for killing your enemy]
[+10 XP for using techniques related to your class] x15
Class: Blade Master (Lv. 8; +15 Str, +15 Agi, +7 Const) 32/1280 XP
[Hail of Blades: 0/3 -> 0/4]