Monster Bound by Rage (Akaza's Perspective)
...Two days later...
I looked around to find the Upper Moons watching intently; even Doma was smiling as he looked at me. I directed my gaze towards Gyokko, who was already ready for battle, before the system screen appeared.
[Time remaining until power restoration: 00:00:12:00]
"Twelve minutes," I couldn't help but murmur. This meant that if I could endure for ten minutes or more, the fight would end. I looked at Gyokko before a wide smile spread across my lips. "Here I come!"
I closed my eyes for a moment, then exploded forward. I leaped upwards, the air beneath my feet tearing from the speed. I spun my body in a half-aerial turn, my right kick launching towards Gyokko's face like a lightning bolt. A sharp kick, relatively weak due to the stats, yet it forced him to raise his arms to block it.
Impact!
The force of the kick pushed him back half a step. I seized the moment. Before my feet touched the ground, I spun my body again, my arms moving with the momentum, to deliver a diagonal punch directly to his chest.
But he dodged with his distorted body, like water.
"Slower than I expected!" he whispered in my ear.
I spun around quickly, my other fist lunging towards his side, but he vanished before it could hit. I suddenly felt his sharp fins pierce my shoulder.
"Damn it...."
I roared in pain, but I grabbed the fin with my injured hand, which was already starting to recover, and pulled his body towards me with insane force, then delivered a direct headbutt to his face.
Impact!
The blow shattered his glass mask, blood splattering from his nose.
"That's how I like you, Akaza!" Gyokko said with a crazy grin.
I didn't let him catch his breath. I jumped back, then surged forward again with tremendous speed, my foot digging into the ground to gain extra momentum. I aimed a double kick at his chest, but Gyokko spun his body to evade it. In mid-air, I twisted myself at an unnatural angle, my knee rising to strike him with one foot from above his head.
This time I hit him, the thud of impact sending his body crashing to the ground like a ragdoll. Before he could get up, I landed beside him, my fist descending like a hammer onto his face, but his body turned to water moments before impact.
Damn it!
I felt fins surrounding me from all directions. I leaped up with blinding speed, then spun in the air to avoid the attack from behind, and as soon as I landed, I unleashed a flurry of continuous punches.
Punch, punch, punch, roundhouse kick, elbow, knee strike... dozens of blows in seconds. Each one aimed to break something in his body. Gyokko was dodging like liquid; even my continuous punches were nothing to him. He seemed to be enjoying the fight.
I ran towards the trunk of a massive tree, then leaped onto it with one foot, using it as a platform to spin in the air, then landed behind him with a punch aimed at his spine.
Impact!
But I only felt emptiness... it was another water clone! Before I could regain my balance, a sharp fin pierced my right leg. The pain was immense, but I used the same fin as a pivot point, leaped over him, spun in the air, then kicked his side with everything I had left.
Before the kick could reach his head, I felt something grab my foot.
"Hehehehe..... Do you think I don't know what happened to you, Akaza?"
I didn't care about his words, as I had already guessed he knew, otherwise, why would he choose to fight me in the first place?
"COME ONNNN!" I roared as I continued my strikes. My fist partially pierced his chest, then my knee slammed into his stomach. But as soon as I felt I could land punches, the solid body slowly dissolved, and I realized it was another clone.
Gyokko looked at me from a distance before unleashing a large barrage of sharp fins.
"Switch!"
The fin was a hair's breadth from my face. I felt its coldness as if it were cutting the air itself. But at the last moment, I ducked quickly before the fin passed swiftly over my head, severing strands of my hair. But the fins didn't stop; they continued to come towards me.
I snapped my head back, my body twisting in the air unnaturally, but the fin didn't stop. It passed by my face, slicing my cheek with a deep wound that almost cut my eye. Pain exploded in my skull, but I didn't stop.
I leaped back to avoid the second, but it pierced my left shoulder violently. I felt the bone partially fracture and blood erupt like a fountain.
The pain... it awakens me more.
Fins whirled around me like serpents. I leaped upwards, dodging three of them, but the fourth pierced my right thigh. It dropped me to the ground like a broken doll. I rose immediately, my body unleashing a wave of blood as it screamed in protest. But I didn't allow myself to fall. My fist rose and I roared:
"GODDAMN IT.... I never thought I'd hurt this much in my life!"
[Ten seconds remaining]
I surged forward madly. My foot dug into the ground with a force that propelled me like a missile. The first thing I reached, I delivered a direct punch to his stomach. But Gyokko moved his watery body to evade it.
This time I was ready. I spun my body in a full 360-degree circle in the air, my back kick struck his arm with force and shattered it in half.
"AAAAAH!" Gyokko shrieked before counter-attacking.
[Five seconds]
Dozens of fins emerged from the water again. I didn't retreat. I leaped between the fins as if dancing on the edge of death.
Backflip to avoid the first fin.
Side spin to avoid the second.
My fist shattered the third.
My kick went upwards and tore the fourth.
[Three seconds remaining]
Every blow cut my skin and increased my wounds, but I felt nothing but rage. I reached him and grabbed his head with both hands. I delivered a direct knee strike to his face. Bones shattered, blood splattered, but he was unaffected, continuing to laugh.
[Two seconds]
But Gyokko was not weak. Suddenly, his entire body transformed into aggressive water masses, his limbs extending in all directions like wild serpents.
One of his fins pierced my right side; I felt my internal organs tearing. Another struck my head with a force that blurred my vision. Before I could regain my balance, a massive water arm slammed into my chest with unnatural force.
IMPACT!!!
I felt my ribs shatter, my body flying through the air like a weightless doll. I crashed into the first tree. Then the second. I no longer felt anything before the red screen appeared before me.
[Repair complete]
[Host power will be restored: Transferring...]
End of Chapter