Viessa's grin widened, a sinister calm settling over her as she watched Tarot struggle, blood beginning to stain the ground beneath him. Her voice dripped with venom as she spoke, her tone laced with sadistic pleasure.
"You're a joke, Tarot," she mocked, watching him flail weakly. "But I'll give you credit—your act was amusing. Too bad that's all it was."
With a flick of her wrist, the chains responded immediately, slithering like serpents at her command. They hummed with deadly intent as she pulled one back, ready to finish him. Her eyes glinted with cold satisfaction as the chains surged forward with terrifying speed.
Before Tarot could react, one of the chains snaked around his ankle, yanking him violently off his feet. His body slammed to the ground with a sickening thud, the impact rattling his bones and sending a shock of pain through every nerve. He had barely a moment to process it before the second chain struck.
With horrifying precision, it slammed into his stomach, ripping through flesh and muscle, the steel tip sinking deep into his abdomen. The pain was immediate and overwhelming, a brutal explosion of agony that stole his breath. His eyes widened as the chain twisted deeper inside him, tearing apart organs and leaving a trail of blood that spilled from his mouth.
Tarot's scream was guttural, raw, and desperate, but it was drowned out by the sickening sound of the chain grinding into his body, forcing more blood to pour from his mouth. His entire body spasmed with the force of the strike, his limbs twitching involuntarily.
The chain didn't stop. It twisted. It pulled. It burrowed deeper into his flesh, shredding him from the inside. Tarot's vision blurred, his body jolting with every desperate breath he tried to take, each one more difficult than the last as the blood filled his lungs. His fingers grasped at the chain, trying, failing to pull it free, but it was impossible.
With a cruel smirk, Viessa jerked the chain again, forcing it further into his body. Tarot's eyes rolled back in sheer agony, his body wracked with violent convulsions, as the wound split open even more, spilling blood across the dirt. His mouth opened, but only a choked gasp escaped—nothing else but blood.
The ground beneath him was already soaked, the crimson liquid spreading out, and his body was growing weaker by the second, each heartbeat a torture unto itself. His vision flickered, his body trembling uncontrollably, as he was forced to endure the excruciating pain of being gutted by the chain.
Viessa leaned in, savoring every moment, her eyes alight with twisted satisfaction. "I told you," she whispered, her voice a low hiss. "You can't escape fate."
She twisted the chain again, a sickening crack echoing as Tarot's body jerked with the impact. Another spurt of blood splashed across her face, but she didn't flinch. Her eyes remained locked on his suffering, as she continued to twist the chain, savoring his screams as they echoed through the air.
Viessa's triumphant laugh echoed through the air as she yanked the chain from Tarot's clone, expecting to see it coated in blood, but instead, there was only dirt. Her eyes narrowed in confusion, then widened in shock as the truth hit her. The chain had not pierced Tarot, but his clone.
"What—" Her fury surged as she realized she'd been fooled, and before she could even process the mistake, Tarot's laughter rang out in her ears.
"You can't be serious!?" Viessa screamed, her rage flaring as she swung the chain toward the area where Tarot had been moments ago. But the only thing she hit was the smoky remnants of the clone that vanished into a puff of mist.
In that instant, Tarot's form flickered behind her, like a blur in the fog, and before she could react, he swept her legs from under her with a swift kick, sending her crashing to the ground in a painful tumble.
"Gotcha," Tarot murmured under his breath as he appeared behind her, staff raised. He swung it with force, driving the end of it into the back of her skull with a sickening thud. The impact drove her forward, forcing her to stumble as the world spun around her.
In a flash, Tarot leapt backward, spinning his staff in his hand, the motion a clear signal that the jokes were over. He stood there, his expression hard and focused, his eyes narrowed with a new, determined intensity.
"Had enough of jokes..." Tarot said, his voice cold, the playful energy replaced by something more serious, more dangerous. "Time to finish this and get back to the others."
The battlefield around them was quiet for a split second, Viessa struggling to regain her composure, blood dripping from her mouth, her head spinning. She glared at Tarot, now fully realizing the gravity of what she was up against.
And Tarot—no longer the clownish figure who pranced around with peaches and pranks—had transformed. His eyes gleamed with the focus of a true warrior, a man determined to end this fight once and for all.
"I'll make sure you don't get up this time," Tarot growled, shifting into a battle stance, ready to face Viessa head-on.
The wind whistled around them, tousling Tarot's hair, but his serious expression remained unyielding. His eyes, once full of playfulness and jest, now held nothing but focus and determination. There would be no more games, no more distractions—he knew his battle was far from over, and he would not let up until it was finished.
With slow, deliberate movements, Viessa pulled herself back to her feet. Her arms hung heavily beneath her, and her head remained lowered as she turned away from Tarot, the weight of the battle clear on her exhausted body.
"One more second..." she muttered to herself, her voice barely above a growl, as she began to rise. "Just one more second of this, and I swear, I will make you suffer like you've never known."
With a sharp turn, she faced him again, her glare burning with fierce determination. "I won't let you pirates lay a hand on Yipsiv. He saved my life, and in his name, my service is sworn. A foolish monkey like you... won't stand in my way!"
To be continued...