Chapter 25- Death Paths (Part 4)
These holographic copies of Akio moved at the same time, one of them took the left side while the other went from the right. As for the last one, it dashed directly toward the monster without trying to circle around. Because everything was happening in his brain and the brain's imagination worked faster than reality usually, the speed at which things moved was way faster than what applied to reality. So, what should've taken seconds to happen in the real world was shown inside Akio's mind in less than a split second.
Akio watched carefully as they quickly closed the distance between them and the Holem creature. It was at that moment that something else happened, another three holographic images that looked strikingly similar to the monster exited its body and went to meet Akio's copies mid-way.
It didn't take long before the three Akios clashed with the three monsters. The sight was weird yet also impressive. Three faceless humans face three faceless lizard-human monsters.
The first thing that Akio noticed in this imaginary fight is that his copies were actually way more skilled than he was in fights. Their movements, their posture, and even the way they faced the monsters showed a level of experience that Akio had never had before. It was as if these Akios had fought and trained for years and years while the real one didn't even know how to swing a proper punch.
'Is it because this is a simulation that my clones gained experience?' He thought to himself confusedly.
However, as many questions, as he had, he left them back in the corner of his mind and focused on what was actually happening.
The monsters used their tongues to attack the Akios just as the original one did. However, the outcome of each and every clone was different.
The first one side-stepped the tongue attack and then quickly extended his arm and grabbed the tongue tightly. The moment he did that, the monster panicked and tried to pull the tongue away. But, what happened instead was a completely different outcome.
Using both of his hands, the clone Akio twisted the tongue violently making the lizardman wriggle in pain and try to panickly pull away. But, the more it pulled, the more pain it inflicted on itself. Was it not for the fact that these holographic images were completely silent, the screeches of the creature would've reached far and wide inside the Serenity Abyss.
A few seconds passed with that tormenting pain until the clone Akio finally did it. Pulling hard enough, the tongue was cut off from the monster's mouth. Holographic blood splurted everywhere from the monster's throat and lips and the Holem creature fell down, dead. The moment that happened, the two holographic images vanished as if they never existed in the first place.
Akio had many thoughts about what happened but for the time being, he focused on the two left images.
The second one had a slightly different approach to the fight, when the monster extended its tongue, Akio did grab it just like the first Akio clone. However, this time, he didn't twist or try to cut it off, instead, he used all of his momentum and power to pull the tongue in one sudden, quick motion.
Because the tongue was quite fragile, the move quickly pulled the creature down along with it. The instant that happened, Akio's clone quickly released the tongue and dashed toward the monster.
*Splurt*
Jumping in the air, he landed with his feet on the monster's head. The hit destroyed the monster's skull like a balloon. Gross brain matter and other fleshy parts exploded and dyed the ground in its colors. Then, the two images vanished too.
Then, Akio's eyes moved to the last clone. In his head, he was quickly starting to understand how this stigma worked and his shock and amazement were only growing by the second. The last clone's turn was also a different approach to the kill.
Instead of trying to grab the monster by the tongue, the clone instead side-stepped and continued dashing toward the monster. The creature sensed the danger and pulled its tongue before firing it again toward the clone. However, the latter's skillful moves and flexible body were able to easily evade the hit with almost perfect moves and impeccable technique.
Quickly, the distance between the two became zero and Akio's clone quickly threw a punch at the monster's stomach. The speed of the punch wasn't fast or intimidating, for the clueless eye that is.
However, if one looked closely, the technique of the punch that the clone used was the most perfect Akio had ever seen. The swing, the momentum, the fist itself, the footwork, and even how he used all of his body to increase its strength were done to such an extent that it was near flawless.
*Bang*
The punch connected with the monster's chest successfully, bending its back from its sheer strength.
The monster's mouth opened wide as air was knocked out of its body. However, the clone wasn't over with it. Using the other free hand, he punched again at the same spot. Then, he jumped back 2 feet and swung his right leg toward the monster's right side.
*Bang*
The creature was thrown to the side by the hit, falling on the ground like a ragdoll. Its body spasmed from the pain as it tried to recuperate quickly. However, there was basically no time to take a breather for the poor creature.
Closing the distance between them again, the clone lifted his leg and then without any hesitation, stomped on the monster's chest. Because the two first punches broke its ribs, the third hit, and arguably the strongest one completely shattered the inside of his chest and ruptured the lizard monster's lungs.
The twitching of the creature instantly intensified for a second before quickly calming down and eventually stopping completely, announcing its death. Then, the two completely vanished.
That was when the red hue that surrounded Akio's irises vanished too and reality was back moving at its normal speed.
When that happened, the young boy's eyes went straight toward the actual Holem monster in front of him. The latter also had already pulled its tongue and was ready to fire another.
*Swish*
The tongue flew toward Akio this time aiming for his heart, his most vital part. For the lizardman the first attack didn't connect but it was close enough so the second one should easily kill its human target. However, what happened was completely different. Akio had quickly dashed forward, ignoring the pain on his side, approaching the monster quickly.
The boy jumped to the side as quickly as he could. Luckily, the tongue missed completely this time, then, Akio used that opportunity to grab the monster's tongue. His eyes widened for a second when he realized that this was exactly what happened in his imagination.
'Focus…' He quickly blew those thoughts and childish excitement away.
With all of his strength, he twisted the tongue as much as he could until it was rolled a few folds over. The torch had already been thrown to the side where it could still illuminate the place but won't occupy one of Akio's arms.
Instantly, the screech of the monster echoed in the whole place, shaking the darkness and tranquility of the Serenity Abyss.
The loud painful cry poked Akio's ear and made him squint but he still didn't stop. His arms kept moving as they folded the tongue and pulled. The monster's body shook violently as it pulled back the tongue.
The force of the pull was bigger than Akio expected as it started dragging him back. However, clenching his teeth, he forced his legs to dig deep into the ground beneath him before he arced his back to create more force.
The wails of the lizard monster increased a notch as it felt its tongue being torn from its mouth slowly.
Seconds of intensity passed like long hours, sweat broke down from Akio's head as the veins on his arm bulged from the sheer pressure. The skin on his hand was also getting damaged slowly by the sharp edges of the tongue. The pain was great and almost unsufferable but Akio ignored it and kept on going as he knew that if he stopped now, he was as good as dead.
*Pop*
Finally, after a horrible struggle, one twist was able to finally pop the tongue out. Instantly, Akio's back was thrown on the ground because of the accumulated momentum from pulling.
*Splurt*
The monster's mouth immediately exploded with blood as it fell down, wailing horribly. Then, it eventually stopped the struggle and succumbed to its ruthless fate.
"Hah… hah… hah…" Looking at the dead monster, Akio breathed heavily as he felt his heart beating in his throat, the sweat and the feeling of excitement took over him as he felt his mind clear up. He still couldn't believe that it actually worked.
He just killed a monster… with his own hands.
[You have killed a level 3 Lizardman.]
[You have gained +4 stamina.]
[You have leveled up to level 2.]
[You have gained +2 points to allocate freely.]
A series of notifications flashed in front of his eyes one after the other.
(A//N: Thank you everyone for supporting the book with power stones, golden tickets, and comments. I'm deeply grateful. Let's all keep it up :) )