Chapter 20: A Tragic Battle

Jacob’s forehead was covered in sweat. His front torso was covered in a thin layer of blood. Scars of all sizes covered his chest. The two big wounds slowly bled with each big step he took. But the Boss of Four Deaths didn’t give him time to rest.

He stepped back when it tried to pierce his other kidney. When it attempted to pierce his heart, and he tried to parry. It even tried to gouge out his eyes. Each attack was lethal, aimed at the vital points. Jacob’s body was nearly emptied of strength. His muscles ached, the aftereffects of the rage potion left him empty.

‘Only one minute till their effects disappear.’

His heart felt dread for the first time. While his body tried to match the monster in front of him, his mind was elsewhere. He had little hope of defeating the monster right now. The chances of him turning into a corpse were higher than his teammates awakening and coming back to save him.

As he thought about the fact that this time he may face death and be unable to return, he felt regret. He was not sad that he didn’t become the strongest hunter with his system nor that he let down his teammates. He had tried his best. Jacob knew that.

But the regret came in waves as he thought about his father. The tough man that cared about him, although his career as a hunter was crippled. He knew that in the accident back then, Peter had an option to escape. His enhanced body made him capable.

But he didn’t do it. He saved the weakest family member. Then he was the first to reach Jacob’s fainted body as uncontrolled mana ravaged it. He went to his wife the last. Peter carried her fainted body along with his two children as blood left his thigh since his leg was severed.

Jacob felt regret at being unable to prove that he was no longer a weakling. He wanted to scream that he had hope to wake up his mother by becoming an A-Rank hunter. A feeling of emptiness assaulted his body. His speed slowed as pain flooded his nervous system.

The gargoyle opposite to him didn’t miss the chance. It knew that slight cuts it made were having limited effects on its opponent’s body. So it quickly punched Jacob beside his open chest wound. It cracked his ribs, and they punctured his lungs. It compressed his heart as he flew back outside the door under the bright sun.

“Aa..”

Jacob’s mouth opened as he tried to breathe in. But it appeared like his lungs had vanished. His body went in shock as he had lost too much blood. His ribs compressed his heart and his heart stopped beating for a moment.

His life flashed by his eyes as the gargoyle exited the door. It looked at his body, then went right towards the side door to its throne room. Jacob’s body was completely spent. He tried summoning some strength to breathe, to move, to stand up. He knew others couldn’t take a blow from the monster.

‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!’

His eyes turned red as their arteries expanded with his immense effort. Nothing seemed to respond to him. But as he was about to give up, he felt a different power. It was not something that seemed to exist in the physical realm. In fact, he felt it was not something that he ever felt on earth.

Jacob tried to feel it and noticed it flow across his blood vessels and enter his brain. He tried to influence that energy. His will that was the highest it had ever been summoned that energy residing in his body. To his surprise, it responded.

He directed it towards his heart, and a second later, it began beating slowly. He directed it towards his lungs, and two seconds later, he began breathing. Jacob felt his concentration loosening. But he shook his head to remain awake and focused on the energy.

‘Its less, as if healing me consumed this energy.’

He focused his will. The energy traveled his blood vessels towards his exposed wounds. His focus was then on the skin. A few seconds later, his open wounds closed. Apart from his bloody body, nothing seemed wrong. As Jacob stood up once again, he touched the newly repaired skin and realized it felt hollow.

‘Looks like it repaired my skin like I wanted. I’ll wait for the inside to recover after going out of this hellhole.’

Jacob saw that the Boss of Four Deaths was about to step into the throne room a few seconds later. He looked into his body and realized less than 50% of that energy was remaining.

‘Go to my right hand.’

After some practice, he had gotten better at controlling the energy. It obeyed his command and entered his hand. As it passed through each muscle fiber, a feeling of strength welled up inside him.

Jacob held his sword and willed that energy to enter it. He used the strength of his entire body and accurately threw his sword towards the gargoyle as if it were a spear. The giant sword shone in a light blue shade and pierced through the gargoyle body like butter.

Before Jacob could understand how his sword got so strong, the surrounding air surged towards him.

Jacob began feeling confused why he was attracting all the wind. His eyes widened as a special power seeped into him every instant the wind blew against his body. But he could no longer continue thinking. Immense heaviness assaulted his mind. He only thought of one word before falling flat on his face.

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‘Mana?’

***

“I think the rapier will work.”

Crack!

Sumei’s eyes widened in shock as Bob struck with the rapier towards an obsidian gem.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The life and death struggle suddenly seemed like a joke. Sumei’s heart began beating with such great joy she couldn’t help but jump at Bob and hug him tight.

Bob froze in his place. He seemed so confident and courageous in front of deadly monsters despite being a newbie. But the joyful hug of a young girl reaching just above his waist looked as if someone had petrified him.

Sumei woke up from her joy and looked at Bob’s frozen face. Her ears and cheek turned as red as a ripe apple.

“L-lets go back and see if it worked!” She stuttered, then ran down the staircase that lead towards the throne.

Boom!

The sound woke up Bob from his frozen state and he looked at the entrance. Sumei froze in her tracks as the gargoyle standing in front of the entrance turned to look towards them. But as it turned, they saw Bob’s sword poking out of its chest.

Its limbs stopped moving as it fell forward. Before it touched the ground, it made a great effort and fell on its back, facing the sky.

The duo saw it remained still and didn’t vanish. They knew it was still alive. Sumei’s face contorted in rage as she remembered how much physical and mental torture this monster gave them. She put her hand towards Bob and shook it. Bob remained still, confused.

“The spear!” she growled.

Her current image differed greatly from a moment ago, and even Bob flinched at the vibes she gave off. He knew she was not strong enough to defeat him. But the danger she gave off was not physical. It directly affected his mind.

He quickly approached her and handed her the Boss of Four Death’s spear. Sumei’s hand instantly sunk, and she had to use her other hand to barely carry the giant spear. Her rage grew as she had nearly made a fool out of herself. She directly it all towards the boss and approached it.

As the footsteps of its killer approached, the boss spoke.

“Human. You ants have miraculously defeated me. But your kind will still perish. Your world will still fall. You have no idea what you are up against. You will fa-”

Putch!

“Shut up!” Sumei screamed as the spearhead pierced the monster’s mouth. She lifted the spear up once again and looked into the calm eyes of the monster. “Why did you come over? You’re not even the boss? Why the heck do you want to kill us? Do you know how difficult it was for me to-”

Sumei choked while shouting. She held back her tears as her fury raged. Bob’s heart was heavy as he approached her and saw her destroy the gargoyle’s face in another blow.

“Do you know how difficult it was for me to come this far? With no financial help, with parents that do not understand me, with a younger sibling who idolizes me. Do you know?”

She sobbed as she knelt. Bob stood beside her and learnt more about her. As he was thinking of the words to use to console her, she fell to the side and went silent.

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