Chapter 18: Kael versus Johnny Part 3
Just like the flames that slowly engulfed the verdant forest in the background, Kael and Johnny's battle intensity grew and grew bigger and bolder as the fight continued.
*Clang!
The crisp and ear-piercing sound of metal hitting against metal echoed throughout the entire forest, screaming and raging, being carried by the gushing wind, to express the intent of the two individuals to anyone who could listen and feel nearby.
*Clang!
Johnny was no longer losing his rationality as the threat of death slowly crept closer and closer to him. He was pulled by all rationality his mind could muster, despite it being fragile, telling him to become serious because one wrong move, and he'd be dead. Although replaced by clarity, the power carried by his every strike didn't decrease, and instead it reached a potential that he never thought he had in him.
*Clang!
On the other hand, Kael set aside his pride and confidence that, whatever happens, he could win this fight. This battle wasn't something that his body was prepared for in the first place. He was forcing it, and he knew well enough that any longer than necessary, he wouldn't be able to handle it, as it would break apart like a shattered glass getting blasted by a hammer. Truth be told, he was only able to compete because he was using a sword, which is a weapon he is skilled and experienced with, while Johnny was merely using a knife, yet he was still able to level the stage, evidently showing exactly why and how he was the boss of a gang.
*Clang!
Both were taking advantage of their adrenaline, pushing their body and mind to the very limit.
*Clang!
Both were no longer underestimating one another.
*Clang!
Nobody showed any signs of giving up, as all their strikes carried with them the weight of their resolve to defeat their opponent.
*Clang!
Their footsteps were heavy like their determination!
*Clang!
Their intent is clear as the brightness of the fire that surrounds them and the sun that shines on their stage of battle!
*Clang
And their sweat was boiling like their goal of winning!
*Clang!
However, everything must come to an end.
No matter how strong Johnny was, a knife would never be able to win against a sword in a context of practicality. Let alone if that sword was carried by a man who fought countless glories, experienced numerous untold battles, won endless wars, and lived a life where he was held supreme, respected, and one of the glorified top players of Avalon.
As Johnny swung his knife to meet Kael's sword strike, the latter did something beyond the former's expectations. Instead of the usual slashing motion going sideways, it suddenly pulled away, and the tip of the sword directly hit the knife's body as if stabbing it.
It didn't just end there. Kael continued to strike Johnny's knife as if he were using a rapier instead of a sword.
"Whatever your goal is, it won't work!" Johnny mocked. To counter whatever Kael was planning on doing, he decided to use his left hand to support his every attack.
Kael chose to remain silent as he continued with his relentless sword attack. Nevertheless, he noticed Johnny's response to his action. But he didn't care because he was determined to achieve his goal, and the latter's action wasn't even effective. It only showed desperation.
Slash! Stab! Parry! Horizontal cut! Vertical cut! Feint! Hack! Chop!
Kael didn't care what it took to defeat Johnny. He pushed his body to the very limit, his arm already feeling the tension and starting to get numb from the intensity of his overexertion.
However, he was determined to win!
Because of such relentless attacks coming from Kael, Johnny was forced to keep on defending and could no longer counterattack. He doesn't even understand just how on earth this young man is so skilled with the sword. Whenever he stabs, the other parries it. When he slices, the other responds with a vertical slash. When he pulls a reverse grip, the other responds with a horizontal slash. Even his quick flick, which is when he makes a quick snap to cut, a technique he used to win a lot of knife combat, would be countered by a mere feint.
Not only that. From Kael's every motion and attack, it followed a rhythm that connected one action to another in a quick motion, wasting no movement and opportunity to launch another attack.
When Kael does a stab, he'll soon make a horizontal cut right away and then a vertical slash to finish before pulling away. Needless to say, he doesn't move in such a predictable order. Sometimes he changed that whenever it was necessary.
"How on earth do you know all of this?!" Johnny was in disbelief.
Kael merely smiled mischievously in response to Johnny's helplessness. There was no need to respond to a dying man's last attempt at conversation. Also, he realized his silence acts like a taunt to Johnny.
Seeing no response from Kael once again, Johnny became more desperate. Because of that, a few of Kael's attacks were able to influct cuts on his body.
*Swoosh!
Kael stabbed with his sword and quickly made a horizontal cut.
In response, Johnny raised his knife close to his cheeks to defend. But it was too late.
*Slit!
A cut mark appeared on Johnny's cheeks as blood started oozing out.
Johnny decided to jump backward and step away momentarily so that he could pull himself together. Unfortunately, Kael doesn't want to allow that. As a result, he was forced to keep on defending with his knife.
"It's time!" Kael pulled his arms to the back and then.
*Stab!
*Bang!
The knife that Johnny wielded finally broke in half.
Johnny stared in disbelief and shock at what was left of his weapon that had fought and protected him in this fight.
What Johnny was mistaken about, during the entire fight, Kael wasn't only attacking with the intent of hitting, slashing, or scratching so that he could win the fight. He was aiming for his weapon. Because Kael knew that as long as he had that weapon in hand, he would continue to fight to the last of his breath.
It was just like what Kael felt earlier. That's why he absolutely couldn't allow the fight to continue any longer, because he knew clearly that Johnny had more stamina, vitality, and raw power than him. After all, the latter was once a soldier in the present. He might have won plenty of fights, but that was from the first life and the future version of himself. His body, mind, and power at the present moment were those of his twenty-year-old self.
Losing all hope and will to continue to fight, Johnny kneeled down on the messy ground, his adrenaline gone, and soon was replaced with the heavy weight of fatigue. It was like when one carried a weight they knew was their limit, then after succeeding, they lost all the strength they just showed, as if someone had sponged all of that away. Basically, he emptied his tank.
"You've done well!" Kael prepared for his final strike.
Without wasting any more words, like asking for any last words from Johnny, Kael brandished his sword, aiming for Johnny's neck.
*Swish!
*Tud!
Johnny's headless body fell to the ground, followed by his head that slowly tumbled and rolled on the dirt before the front of the head came to a halt close to Kael's feet, revealing the former's eyes that showed lifelessness and defeat.
In the next instant, it was finally Kael's turn to have every ounce of his strength and stamina left in his body to be drained. He tried his best to move away. But eventually, after just a ten or so steps, his body could no longer handle it, and he lay down on the ground slightly farther from Johnny's dead body.
"Shit! I can no longer move!" Kael swore while exhaling and inhaling heavy breaths of air.
The timing was just so unfortunate that an ever-growing fire was quickly trying to consume the forest near him.
Having no strength to muster anymore in such a situation was just perfect. That is, if one wanted to die, which he didn't.
Fortunately, heaven still doesn't have the intention of abandoning Kael and leaving him to die right after giving him a new life.
"There he is!"
Hearing the familiar voice of Lawrence, Kael's mind finally drifted to sleep. He closed his eyes, no longer worried if he would survive or not, as he is confident and believes that he is now in safe hands.
Before finally losing consciousness, though, Kael felt someone else's unfamiliar body carrying him on their back while another set of hands that seemed to be from Lawrence supported him behind.
It was only after his body was in a great position on the unknown person's back that they finally decided to move away from the intense fire that seemed so determined to consume the beautiful forest.
As the three figures disappeared far away, Johnny's body was left alone to be eaten by the fire.