I turned my gaze every which way, trying to find out where Andras went, to no avail. Until I looked up.
He had his signature smile on his face, despite the strained look he was desperately trying to keep back.
I barely had enough time to roll out of his path, the ground I was standing on just a moment ago crushed into a crater.
Through the dust, I went around to the back of his silhouette, taking advantage of the time he needed to recover from the failed strike.
I lunged toward his back, aiming for the same spot I cut through earlier. I extended my right hand, in a way similar to one of Andras' lunges, and struck the back of his neck.
My claws easily pierced through exactly where I was aiming. Too easily.
"Hahahahaha! You really are as dumb as you look, Donny!"
As the dust cleared, I saw that the silhouette was completely fake. It wasn't Andras. It was a pile of Beastman heads in the shape of Andras. And I had cut right through them.
I turned around, seeing Andras sneering once again at me, unable to hold back his laughter at the sight of me defiling the bodies of my own people; smoke escaping the sides of his mouth and framing his slate-like face.
Rage once again filled my body, but this time was different. This time, a strange feeling of power also filled my body, increasing with every panting breath I took.
I jumped towards Andras, no longer focusing on where I would attack, just attacking. My claws connected quickly to the center of his torso, my arms swinging all around as I kept putting injuries on his crimson scales, the flesh underneath releasing a light purple liquid.
Andras finally was able to push me away, and that small break was enough for me to come to my senses, allowing me to see what I had done.
The entire front of his body was completely covered in his blood, his face being no exception. The usual mocking grin that was perpetually plastered on his prosaic, pitch black profile, was now replaced with a grimace of shock and pain that neither of us were used to.
"You-"
Not allowing him the chance to speak, nor myself the chance to rest, I dashed forward once again, now focusing on the more damaged areas and forcing my claws into the cuts.
Slowly but surely I was making progress towards killing this monster–towards winning this battle.
As I kept doing damage to his body, I was no longer slicing away at his tough scales, but instead ripping away chunks of flesh that were now becoming exposed.
As he became accustomed to my attacks, he would try to block them, only to have his weapons knocked away first, and his arms severely injured in the process.
What was starting to worry me, however, was the creeping exhaustion starting to plague my limbs, as well as the Demon Healing Factor that was slowly undoing the damage to Andras' body.
I had to finish this fight quickly.
I switched my point of attack from his torso to his neck and face, pushing every last drop of strength I had into what would be my final attacks.
The smaller, more compactly organized scales on his face and neck were tougher to get through, but the flesh underneath was equally easy to claw away.
Once I had dealt a blow to Andras' neck that turned his body into a limp and bloody mess on the floor, I knew I had defeated him. Captain Andras was no more.
I let my fatigue overcome me, allowing my body to fall on the floor opposite Andras. And that was when I noticed the gaping hole in my chest.