The massive body of Karpeng that I had faced in the past once made me cower.
The beast's roar froze me in place.
The violent wind generated from a single sweep of its arm was enough to tear my skin.
The tough hide that covered its entire body deflected my blade.
Not once had I landed a hit on it. It had always been an insurmountable wall, a height I could never reach.
But now, things were different.
Twenty-seven years later, I faced Karpeng again, but I no longer shrank back.
I met its eyes without turning away.
I overcame the beast's roar.
I deflected Karpeng's strike, letting the wind flow past me.
And then…
I cut it.
My sword was stained with its blood.
I broke its claws.
I could finally hear it wail in agony.
At last.
At long last, I had reached it.
GRAAUUU-!
Karpeng swung at me.
I twisted my body and raised my sword at an angle.
I braced for the heavy blow. I braced to receive the attack of an enemy much larger than myself.
I braced to block Karpeng's attack.
[Flowing Water] was unleashed.
Clang—
Karpeng's halberd slid off my sword.
And then Heinzel swung his blade at Karpeng's wrist. But it didn't land. It didn't hit.
Karpeng moved in an odd way, evading the strike. The halberd sliced through empty air.
Immediately, a writhing bloodlust gathered at Karpeng's claws.
Karpeng's claws came down in a frenzy. That brute wouldn't be able to dodge in time.
I rushed forward, kicking Heinzel aside, and raised my sword.
Hundreds, thousands of slashes battered my sword and my body.
The claws tore through my side. Before the blood could even splatter, they shredded through my shoulder. My flesh exploded.
Pain coursed through every nerve in my body.
I couldn't see.
I activated my senses.
My head throbbed as if it were about to burst.
How does Noah manage this? I clicked my tongue in frustration.
I bit my lip and endured.
I focused on Karpeng.
Finally, I started to make out the outlines of its overwhelming bloodlust. I turned my sword to follow its movements.
Clang—Screeech—
I blocked. I deflected. I parried and countered.
Behind me, Heinzel's halberd sliced through the air.
I leaped back, creating distance. The halberd struck Karpeng's hide.
With a crunch, Karpeng's muscles swelled. The halberd was caught in its muscles.
"You bastard!"
Grrr-!
With a roar, Heinzel unleashed his unique ability. The halberd grew heavier. Its weight increased. The force it exerted grew stronger.
Finally, the halberd tore through Karpeng's tough hide and buried itself into its hardened muscles.
I didn't miss the opportunity. I activated my own unique ability and drove my blade into the gap created in Karpeng's hide.
A spurt of dark red blood shot out, leaving a fresh scar on Karpeng's body.
There was hope.
Our bodies were battered, but Karpeng was in the same state.
That realization lit a fire within me. It fueled my strength.
My heart raced even faster.
I steadied my breath, quickened my pace.
I charged at Karpeng, swinging my sword. I parried, deflected, slashed, and stabbed.
Its tail lashed out at my neck. I stepped on it, leaping high, twisting my body mid-air.
I swung my sword again.
My stance was awkward, and I couldn't put much strength into the attack.
But my unique ability disregarded such limitations.
I didn't need to be close. I didn't need to exert force.
As long as I could see it. As long as I could swing.
It would be cut.
Another scar was etched onto Karpeng's body.
Heinzel followed up immediately.
His halberd, surrounded by swirling winds from his ability, swung fiercely.
At the same time, Karpeng swung its own halberd.
Boom—!
The air exploded. The noise rang violently in my ears.
I twisted in mid-air and landed back on the ground, charging again.
Without even looking, Karpeng blocked my sword with one hand.
Thus, the fierce exchange continued.
I dodged its claws, deflected its bloodlust, and etched new scars into its body.
But I was also bleeding from its bloodlust.
In the air, the blood of both beast and man mixed.
My emotions surged.
I increased my pace even more. I poured everything I had into my ability.
My vision began to turn red. Blood poured from my left eye. It felt as if my eyeball would be ripped from its socket.
The pain was unbearable.
But the louder Karpeng's roars grew, the heavier its breathing became.
The pain…
Turned into exhilaration.
I targeted its joints. I tore out its claws. I slashed its veins.
I broke its bones.
GRRRRAAAAAAAA-!
Karpeng let out a horrifying scream as it shook its body violently.
Heinzel and I both backed away, catching our breath.
As we prepared to charge Karpeng again…
The bloodlust that had only been concentrated around its claws suddenly spread across its entire body.
A disturbing sensation wrapped around me.
I had a feeling that if we gave it more time, things would go wrong.
I charged at full speed, activating my senses.
Karpeng's blurry outline appeared in my vision.
This should be enough.
I activated my ability and swung my sword.
I aimed for its eye.
Its right eye—the one that mirrored my own.
A sickening squelch echoed in my ears.
Sticky blood spilled, and the beast's eyeball hit the ground.
But Karpeng didn't seem to care, still gathering bloodlust around its body.
It absorbed it. It condensed it.
Heinzel seemed to notice as well. He let out a furious roar and charged.
His halberd tore open Karpeng's side, spilling its entrails onto the ground.
Yet still…
It continued to condense its bloodlust.
A boundless sense of dread overwhelmed me.
I slashed again, forgetting to breathe. Heinzel tore into it relentlessly.
By the time Karpeng's insides covered the ground, its body had finally stopped moving.
Splat—
The sounds of blood spilling, organs falling, and heavy breathing that had come only from Karpeng…
"This... bastard... grr..."
A voice, filled with pain and agony, spilled from Heinzel's lips.
I turned to look at him as I retrieved my sword.
His halberd, made from a manticore's skull, was shattered.
His powerful, muscle-bound right arm was severed.
The man who had always walked with such confidence.
Was now dragging himself pathetically along the ground.
I replayed the scene in my head.
Even with only one eye, I hadn't closed it.
I had been high on guard, but I hadn't noticed.
Even with my senses active, I hadn't felt it. I hadn't seen it.
There had been no bloodlust. No killing intent.
No movement.
Karpeng had simply stood there, letting its body relax.
And yet.
How had this happened?
I couldn't understand.
I bit my lip and charged again.
I made my senses even sharper.
I wrapped myself in thicker, sharper magical energy.
I wouldn't let up. I regulated my breathing.
I struck.
This would be the sharpest slash I had ever delivered.
But…
I didn't cut it.
I didn't reach it.
My all-out attack was stopped by its bloodlust.
I pulled back my sword and charged again. Again. And again.
Still, I couldn't cut it. I couldn't reach it.
My sword, now worn and cracked, was on the verge of breaking.
I finally stopped and simply watched Karpeng. I watched as the bloodlust gathered around its body.
The bloodlust writhing in the air focused itself on Karpeng's body. It engulfed its entire form, concentrating at its heart.
With every beat of its heart, the bloodlust pulsed.
The bloodlust in the air disappeared, replaced by the resounding thump of Karpeng's heartbeat.
"L-Luchi... What is... going on...?"
Heinzel staggered toward me, having hastily stopped the bleeding with potions.
His face was pale.
But his left hand still gripped the broken pieces of his halberd.
"I don't... know. I didn't see this in the past."
"Is that so... I couldn't sense anything. I didn't see it. It was as if it wasn't moving at all... this is messed up."
I handed him the last potion I had.
"Looks like you used everything trying to stop the bleeding. Drink it."
"Thanks."
Heinzel accepted it without hesitation for the first time ever.
"Your body must be in terrible shape."
"Yeah... not great."
"So, what now?"
After gulping down the potion, Heinzel ground his teeth.
"What do you think? If I don't cut off that bastard's arm, I won't be able to sleep."
"Heh... fair enough. Let's go."
"That bastard... I'm going to take that arm, no matter what."
I steadied my breath and surrounded myself with magic once again.
We charged at Karpeng.
Even though I couldn't cut it, I kept swinging. Even though I couldn't reach it, I kept striking.
We swung without stopping, forgetting to even breathe.
After what seemed like countless slashes...
Karpeng finally moved.
And then.
My body was slammed into the ground.
My left arm was severed. My leg was twisted. My ribs were completely shattered. My organs were crushed. My muscles were torn apart.
My left eye burst.
Blood spurted from every hole in my body—my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my ears.
I dropped my sword.
My vision grew dark.
A cold sensation enveloped me.
As my mind became hazy, and all my senses dulled...
"Heh... I'm still alive... but... what the hell..."
A warm energy wrapped around my entire body.
Scrape—Thud—
I heard the sound of something dragging along the ground.
And then, I heard a weak, but determined voice.
"At least... four people are needed... You stubborn old men... Was it really that hard to buy me jelly...? So stingy..."