Zaen's trusty dagger snapped in half the moment it came in contact with the Ghoul's shield. But he had more things to worry about than his broken Dagger, like his broken body. The collision between the Ghoul's shield and his dagger resulted in his defeat.
Zaen shot through the air like an arrow. Colliding against yet another wall. This time ven the sturdy wall couldn't handle the ruthless strength of the Ghoul and crumbled over Zaen a moment after the collision.
One blow. All it took was one blow to shatter Zaen's left arm along with 6 of his ribs. He was hurting as he had never before. Even breathing had turned into a painful task. But he was alive, for now.
[35 seconds remaining until the Depraved Ghoul's Primal skill: Silent Kill Zone deactivates. The Zone has contracted by 15%.]
He couldn't run away from the ghoul nor could he fight against it. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get away from the ghoul. And now he didn't even have enough energy left to think straight.
His mind was slowly turning foggy while his vision got darker. He was tired. He just wanted to sleep without any care for the world around him. At the moment, the rubble he was buried underneath felt like the most comfortable place to sleep on.
'Gotta... keep... my... focus...'
But worse than his injuries, he was struggling to stay awake and not lose consciousness. He knew if he blacked out, everything would be over right then and there. He had to stay awake, no matter what.
Thump... thump... thump...
Zaen could hear the Ghoul's heavy footsteps slowly approaching him. The footsteps managed to snap him out of his dream like state, but he was still nowhere close to taking another blow from the Depraved ghoul. Unlike Zaen, the ghoul was in its prime condition and effortlessly managed to throw away the heavy rubble off of Zaen, as if it was a pile of feathers and not concrete.
The following moment, Zaen saw the ghostly looking hand of the ghoul grab his legs and yank him out of the pile before smashing again on the ground. Blood spat out of Zaen's mouth. The created subspace got filled with the noise of his breaking bones.
Zaen was in unbearable pain. He wanted to scream his pain out, but he did not even have the strength to open his mouth now. The ghoul still had his hands wrapped around Zaen's leg and began smashing him on the ground again and again.
[20 seconds remaining until the Depraved Ghoul's Primal skill: Silent Kill Zone deactivates. The Zone has contracted by 65%.]
Zaen's health kept plummeting down with every blow. After a while, when Zaen was on the brink of blacking out, the ghoul left him alone. Giving Zaen time to recuperate before the next round of beating. By this time it was clear as day that the ghoul had no interest in devouring him. The ghoul just wanted to play around with Zaen like a kids' action figure. However, the beating reminded Zaen about something else.
'It's the same... same as the military school...'
***
Three years ago...
'I'm lucky to have my bones intact.' Zaen thooguht to himself while his opponent boasted about his strength, 'But what do I do now...'
It was supposed to a sparring session that turned into a war, all because Zaen refused to lie to the instructors to back up a senior's claim. And now, the senior known as Hawk, was out for his blood.
Hawk was caught assaulting a junior and wanted Zaen to be his false witness. Zaen agreed to do so and when the instructors called him in to ask him about what happened, Zaen fearlessly told the truth about what happened.
This ended up in Hawk getting punished for a month in some sort of solitary confinement. And when he came back, he made it his mission to make Zaen's life miserable.
At first glance, Hawk looked no different than a highschool bully. In fact he looked like on of the Idols girls would usually fawn over. When in reality, he was far worse than any of the bullies Zaen had ever met. He had an incredibly buff body for his age and his body was the only thing Hawk loved more than bullying the juniors.
His emerald green eyes had no compassion for anyone, nor did his smile had any warmth in them. He was raised by his father that way. To take anything he wanted and do not care about what it would do to the rest. And anyone who went against his wishes stood right where Zaen was: bruised and broken. However, as brutal as it was, it was still a 'friendly' match between a senior trainee and a junior trainee.
The instructors won't step in until either one of them admitted his lost or was injured. Hawk knew it very well, and hence he planned on making Zaen beg for forgiveness for not backing him up in front of the instructors.
"Not thinking about giving up, are we?" Hawk smirked before spitting on Zaen.
***
Back to present...
It was the same situation. Zaen had been weak back then and he was weak now. The only difference was than Hawk had been replaced by the ghoul.
'I bet I look as beat up as I did in those early days of training...' Zaen took a sharp breath to check on the insides of his body. But he didn't move as the ghoul still had him claws wrapped around his leg, 'I used to spar with guys two heads taller and over twice my weight. This situation is no different after all. If running is all I have to do, then so be it.'
Zaen's mind was spinning, but even then he could hear the Drill Sergeant's words loud and clear, "Quitting is not an option, SOLDIER! Just suck it up and keep fighting!"
"Got to... keep.... fighting..." Zaen reminded himself and tightly grasped the Bloodthirsty Dagger in his hands.
[10 seconds remaining until the Depraved Ghoul's Primal skill: Silent Kill Zone deactivates. The Zone has contracted by 85%.]
This was going to be his last move. He had to make it count, no matter what.