"Haaah!" I gasped as my eyes shot open.
"Awake already? I thought you were going to rest a while longer," I heard.
Leon.
Before I could even move—
A hand grabbed my collar in a blur.
BAM!
"Ugh!" I coughed blood.
BAM!
His fist connected again, harder this time.
I was flung into the air, tumbling across the grassy field like a ragdoll.
"I told you I hate deadweights! In just twenty minutes, YOU IDIOT, made me expend energy that should've lasted me DAYS!" he screamed.
"AHHHH!"
I slammed hard into the ground.
Something snapped.
A rib. Definitely.
Swoosh!
Before I could even come to a halt—he was there.
Standing in front of me.
That face.
The first time I'd ever seen such pure, unfiltered irritation on it.
"Do you know how much energy it took me to stop that creature from devouring you just now?!"
BOOOM!
I shot into the sky like a goddamn rocket.
Fuck.
I can't use mana reinforcement in this form.
God-fucking-damnit!
A couple more punches like that, and I'm toast.
Whooom!
I reached the peak of my flight.
Crap!
Then—I began falling.
Fast.
Whooosh!
Before I could think of a plan, a solution, anything—
There he was.
Mid-air.
Staring right into my eyes.
"I hate wildcards. Maybe I should erase such a variable myself…"
BAM!
BOOOOM!
Straight down.
Swift descent.
I didn't even get to think.
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
Pain.
I hate pain.
I fucking HATE IT!
"What?"
Leon's voice.
His eyes widened.
Why?
Because I was already in front of him.
Fist pulled back.
Moving faster than the air could split.
BOOOOOOM!
It connected.
He was sent flying.
The ground beneath him cracked and exploded like a minefield.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
With each bounce, he left behind a crater, but the momentum kept flinging him further and further.
"Haah… haaah… haaah…"
I panted.
White hair fluttered in front of my eyes.
Finally.
Finally, I can beat the shit out of this IMBECILE.
POOOM!
I shot forward in a single blur.
Damn it.
That feeling again.
"Haah… haaah…"
The darkness.
Worse than last time.
The world is going cold.
"HOW DID YOU GAIN SO MUCH POWER IN AN INSTANT?!"
He screamed.
Charging in.
His body glowing.
Mana reinforcement.
Wait—
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Laser.
My body moved before my brain even caught up.
Barely dodged.
That beam would've drilled a hole clean through my skull.
"Bastard!" he shouted.
Swooosh!
Reflexes took over.
I twisted my body in a way no one should be able to in a split second.
My feet planted.
Back arched, body tilting into a horizontal counter-posture—
I watched his flaming spear skim just over my brows.
Then—
My leg moved on its own.
A reverse back-kick from an awkward angle—
BOOM!
It connected.
Not where I wanted it to, but it hit his arm and sent him spiraling.
Teeth clenched.
"I knew I should've killed you from the beginning. This is why I hate variables," he growled.
He warped mid-air.
But I grinned.
A grin so sinister, it felt right.
[Time Drag Activated]
[Time Captured – 0.5 seconds]
I tilted my head.
He was there—mid-warp.
Frozen in time.
Wait—
The other side.
His spear.
Interesting.
[Reality Deleted]
[Time Rewind to 0.0 Seconds]
My body moved fluidly.
I stomped the ground and launched myself skyward.
Whoosh!
I looked down.
Our eyes locked.
The shift in his expression—
Cold calculation… turned to shock… then to fear.
BOOOM!
A vertical kick from above.
It landed squarely on the back of his head, smashing him straight into the ground.
A web of cracks exploded beneath him.
"ARGHHHHH!"
He screamed in sudden rage.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Dozens of fireballs surrounded us.
"Detonate!" he roared.
But I grinned again.
[Time Drag Activated]
[Time Captured – 2 seconds]
"Ugh…" I groaned.
The more time I bend, the more it hurts.
Even in this form, the strain is unreal.
[Reality Deleted]
[Time Rewind to 0.0 Seconds]
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
I was already gone.
Hands in my pockets.
Watching the inferno from a safer distance.
"That's some firepower," I muttered.
But then—
That feeling.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
My eyes darted to the side.
…Fuck.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!