There was no sudden tension, no immense power-up moment.
Even with the air thick with the scent of blood, with my fists trembling from the relentless damage, and my mind throbbing with intense headaches, my [Determination] was strong enough to overwhelm everything else as I took a single deep breath.
She didn't want to give me any time to possibly recover my energy. She was already on her way to end this fight, and I was no different.
With my immense [Sixth Sense] and [Observation], coupled with experience, I could partially see through where she would hit. It wasn't a complete read, but it was enough. This time, things were different.
I met her kick with a punch of my own. The best defense at this moment was offense.
The moment they clashed, I understood from her expression showing emotions for the first time.
She realized something was terribly wrong.
[Your Talent [Sword] has cut through the target]
She couldn't have expected such a result, and that would be the decisive factor of this fight.
Without pause, I used my other available hand to punch at her with a speed faster than before.
To endure her strikes, I had to use [Turtle Shell] for a long time, affecting my speed. But when I used the [Sky Sword Art], my limits were partially ignored, which meant my overall speed was at its top condition right now, something she did not know yet.
She could still react, but considering the fact I took her by surprise, her overall damage, and a speed she didn't expect, I finally landed a hit—not because she allowed me, but because she couldn't avoid it.
My [Sky Sword Art] had reached its goal to reach the skies just like that.
[Your Talent [Sword] has cut through the target]
I still wasn't satisfied. Even if she tried to force me to stand back by attacking, I completely ignored her attacks and continued my own.
Right now, the absolute advantage was in my hands.
[Your Talent [Sword] has cut through the target]
[Your Talent [Sword] has cut through the target]
[Your Talent [Sword] has cut through the target]
[Your Talent [Sword] has cut through the target]
[Your Talent [Sword] has cut through the target]
.
.
.
I kept throwing punches, all according to and resembling the sword moves I developed as I could feel just how powerful they were.
Although I had no sword in my hand, my blows cut through her skin like butter.
---
Any moment now, I would be spent and lose consciousness, but I didn't care. My eyes were still focused only on her as I could see that, thanks to my blows, she had accumulated so much damage she was covered in a mix of our blood from head to toe.
Yet, her eyes were still completely determined to end me.
I trembled a little, both from my own condition and the knowledge I might truly die if I don't stop now, but I took less than a second to dismiss my body's natural reactions to death. I could see she was about to make the last move.
I was ready to unleash the last, final amount of energy I had left, but before we could go through that, to my extreme surprise, [Observe] and [Sixth Sense] told me something important.
Instead of preparing to attack her, I closed the distance between us as I saw a punch coming my way, but this time, I simply stopped it with my hand.
"...Give up. You cannot fight... anymore."
I had difficulty speaking. My condition was terrible, and my throat felt a strong metallic taste, which was enough to make me feel like vomiting.
For once, I could feel through her gaze, that there was so much she wanted to say, but her body simply was not in the condition to allow that.
Barely a second later, her body gave up, about to fall. Instead of letting her hit the floor, I caught her and called the referee. She needed urgent medical care.
Before I could properly finish my words, cheers erupted around me, signaling the fight had truly ended but I paid them no mind.
[True Swordsman - Quest Complete]
[Congratulations for having perfectly cleared--]
.
.
I will check everything later.
I wanted to properly escort Nightfall to the doctor, but once again [Sixth Sense] made me realize that was wishful thinking.
Yeah, I was in no condition to do so at all.
I vomited some more blood as my body had reached an absolute limit, and not only that. Because I kept using all my skills without rest, my body nutrients had been completely consumed.
It was only thanks to [Determination] that I was even able to move.
If we truly went through that last exchange, then perhaps, even if I won, I would've died on the spot.
If I don't eat something and rest, I will probably die...
That was all my mind could conjure as everything suddenly blacked out, and I lost consciousness.
---
After what felt like a blink, light trickled back in...
No wait, way too much light.
Waking up in a room awash with white, a déjà vu of the space where I first encountered the enigmatic 'God' and received the 'System,' drew a nonchalant sigh from me.
"Did I die or something? Wow..."
Not that I cared too much. I was slated to kick the bucket in about 13 days anyway. However, losing a chance to gather intel would be a bummer.
Lost in contemplation, I was jolted from my thoughts when a sword caught my eye, seemingly embedded in the 'ground' of this peculiar white room.
The whole setup was a visual mind-bender; without a proper horizon or clear boundaries between floor, ceiling, and walls, it was so unsettling I always felt like vomiting.
The sword made it even worse on me.
After the initial weirdness settled, I questioned what this setup meant. The sword stood inert, offering no clues while I wrestled with my nausea.
'Does it want me to pull it out?'
I could hazard a few guesses, but caution was my go-to move. What if yanking the sword out of the 'ground' unleashed some kind cosmic wrath?
No, let's not forget the Class Quest note—it claimed the Sword desired my success.
For some reason, I felt I could put a twinge of trust in that statement.