Chapter 89

Thinking about it, more than I ever imagined. It’s about enduring and dodging the frenzied attacks of this murderous madman who tries to kill me with lethal moves while screaming like a lunatic.

Boom!!

“Even this I can’t avoid!!”

Even though the sight of dust-covered dirt flying as the fist aimed at hitting me veered off didn’t seem too difficult, considering I couldn’t hit my target even after properly holding back my strength for one or two strikes, it felt strange how it happened so consecutively.

The man whose attack missed again looked displeased and his expression twisted grotesquely as he muttered discontentedly to himself.

Even though I couldn’t see his face clearly due to the dark mask, the distortion was noticeable enough.

Seeing that mouth-like feature jutting out as if from a rat, I almost chuckled involuntarily, but there was no time for that.

“Kyaah!”

I had to dodge the punch thrown aggressively towards me.

Fortunately, despite the suddenness of the punch, it wasn’t particularly hard to avoid.

Even though objectively speaking, the trajectory of the punch seemed sharp and threatening, it stood out unusually clear as it approached me.

Despite its speed being impossible to follow with the naked eye, it appeared to come at me in a single, blood-red streak.

It was a color that perfectly matched the bloodthirsty murderer’s punches, which kept entering my vision like a brand, making my body react instinctively despite my reluctance.

If I recalled the punches from before that barely managed to miss or hit me when they were aimed at my face by the late Duff, even avoiding them myself seemed surprising.

“Truly! You’re like a rat! Stay still and don’t run away!!”

Just like me, the man who couldn’t harm me with his attacks also seemed frustrated, and a groan that sounded squeezed out came from his mouth.

Unlike a typical madman who enjoys killing people in dark alleys, his reaction was more marked by anger rather than madness.

I thought there might be a way to use his excitement to subdue him, but—

“Aaah!!”

The cry that emerged from the man was indistinct whether it was a battle cry or a scream, and the punch he threw could be avoided but not enough to give me any other choices such as counterattacking or escaping.

There was no hope of escape or evasion; I could only move my body to do what I could.

And it was clear again. The punch, carrying clear malice and aiming for my temple, was so vividly red, it was almost unbearable.

“Dead!!”

As the distorted voice from the rat-like face confirmed the hit, I managed to dodge the blood-red trajectory with the minimum movement necessary.

I thought I had successfully avoided it once more, but—

Ssssh!!

Although I couldn’t tell what had happened, a tearing sound from my cheek indicated that this attempt at evasion was only half successful.

“Tsk!”

Feeling a stinging numbness on my right cheek, I wiped it with my hand and immediately sensed the sticky sensation and the stench of blood.

“Heh… What a waste. How could my attack not work on a ragged street urchin like you.”

The man who seemed exasperated at the failure of his own attack spat out a coarse sigh.

Thinking about it, regardless of who the opponent was, it seemed more appropriate to lament the fact that the attack did not work.

“Even with such weak punches, all you can do is leave a mark on someone’s cheek, isn’t that right?”

With disdain, I mocked him.

“…You miserable wretch, dare to belittle me? It seems you don’t want to live long.”

Although the intensity in his voice had faded, there was an inexplicable chilliness that had grown, and he raised his right arm lightly towards me after finishing his sigh.

The calmness of that motion felt lighter than a feather, but a sense of danger made me hesitate.

“Enough playing around. Not knowing your place, you’re running wild. Let’s see if you can avoid this too!”

The man, instead of shouting aggressively, spoke calmly as he swung his raised right arm like a whip.

I wondered what he was doing as he swung his arm through empty air, but—

Bam!!

The sound of the arm swinging was so intense that it seemed unbelievable, and that thought quickly vanished as the sound echoed in my ears.

I tried to raise my arm to protect myself, but—

Ssssh!!

A sharp sound as if something was cutting through flesh reached my ears, and my body collapsed limply like a marionette whose strings had been cut, landing on the floor.

Although I didn’t understand why my body suddenly lost strength and collapsed, the moment I felt a searing pain all over my body, I realized the cause of my collapse.

My tendons in both legs weren’t completely severed, but the slight injury caused a temporary loss of strength.

Though I didn’t suffer a major impact when I fell, the sudden loss of strength left me feeling faint.

When I turned my head to look at the area around where I had fallen, I saw that my blood continued to flow without stopping, soaking the surroundings.

Thinking that I would bleed to death if this continued, I tried to stop the bleeding or escape, but it didn’t go as planned.

Due to the incomplete severing of my tendons, I lacked the strength to stand up, even though I hadn’t been completely disabled.

“Damn.”

After muttering a light curse, I struggled to get away.

If I couldn’t run on my feet, I’d try crawling away with my arms, but—

“Where do you think you’re going, you miserable wretch?”

The man, who had somehow moved in front of me and sneered, stepped forward with his feet.

“Ugh!”

With a powerful grip on my waist, all my movements stopped as I let out a scream of agony.

Every day since I set foot in this alley felt like a life-or-death struggle, but never had I felt my life hanging by a thread as much as now.

But even in this situation, where my life hung by a thread, what could I say?

“You’ve been teasing this old man like a rat and running around, but that’s all over now.”

This crazy man, treating me like caught fish and speaking with a sour tone, displayed overwhelming power.

Normally, under such fear, I would have tried to please him to survive, but—

“Don’t you even look in a mirror? Even with your face covered, you look like a rat, yet you hate being called that. What kind of mindset is that?”

I found myself rebutting his every word, my lips trembling, as a peculiar excitement took hold of me, overshadowing my fear.

With this excitement taking over, something strange happened.

The burning pain from the slightly injured tendon vanished, and even the pain from the man stepping on my waist disappeared as I taunted him.

Was this because, in my extreme excitement, I had forgotten the pain, or was it because the ridiculousness of his double standards amused me so much that it erased the pain?

I couldn’t be sure, but—

Crack!!

“Gwaaah!”

“Huh… Looks like you’re tougher than I thought. Even with my full force, you’re still standing.”

Despite the reflexive words that came out involuntarily, my body felt more exhilaration than pain, even in the midst of the man’s violence.

“Hmm… To think there’s such talent in this poor neighborhood. It’s a shame to kill you, but what should I do?”

While I felt exhilarated, the man, who saw me unharmed, looked thoughtful, still keeping his foot on my waist.

I expected relief as he hesitated, thinking my life might be spared, but—

Wooong!!

A strange energy surged within me as soon as the man’s foot pressed down on my waist.

At first, it started with a surge of energy from my heart, and then, this force, which I couldn’t describe with a single word, filled my entire body, giving me strength.

The dizziness from the blood loss was gone, and my legs, which had barely moved before, were now back to normal, capable of repeating their previous movements.

Finally, as this energy filled my eyes—

“…It’s a pity, but there’s no choice. Even with talent, taking in an unawakened one is impossible in the current situation.”

The man’s calm voice revealed his intention to dispose of me.

Swish!!

His right hand, now glowing vividly with blood-red energy, looked calmer than before, but it carried a dangerous aura.

“Die!”

With those words, his right hand flew towards my heart lying on the ground.

The speed of that hand, reminiscent of lightning, made me feel closer to death than any moment in my life, but—

“Gwaaah!!”

The exhilaration that filled my body made me move on its own in the face of this imminent death.

Starting with my arms and upper body, I pushed off the ground forcefully with my arms, flipping my body sideways.

This movement allowed me to evade the danger of the hand piercing my heart from behind.

“…What?!”

The man who had seen me dodge even the unavoidable trajectory of the attack let out a startled voice, but—

“…I’m starting to like this. It’s a shame to end it like this!”

The man quickly regained his composure and swung his right arm like a whip towards the spot where I had rolled.

The invisible energy shot from his right arm was faster than the whip, appearing as a vividly red wave.

The moment I instinctively realized that inevitable death was coming towards me, the red wave of hostility seemed to slow down, as if time had stopped.

Despite the impending threat of death, my body moved at its usual speed.

Just when I saw hope in being able to avoid death and live—

“You held on well. Thank you.”

A gentle voice echoed from behind me, in the same flow of time.

Crack!!

With a clear sound, a blue lightning storm engulfed the rat-like man who had been attacking me, pouring down from the cloudless night sky.

The blinding light enveloped both the man and me.

“Gwaaah!!”

The man, despite his screams of agony, was engulfed in blue lightning, yet I felt no pain, only comfort.

Thump

As the tension instantly released, I collapsed onto the ground, my knee touching the floor first.

Drowsiness washed over me. If the aftermath of life-and-death struggles ended with fatigue, it would be a relief.

As I closed my eyes, the last thing I saw was the protagonist who had caused this lightning storm.

Judging from the voice, it was the noble young master who had brought me to this state, and I intended to say something before falling asleep, but—

“…Thank goodness.”

The sight of him approaching and checking my condition with relief washed away any anger I had, overwhelmed by drowsiness.

The black hair of the young master, fitting the night sky, changed to long, green hair, and his black eyes transformed into soothing green ones.

As my exhausted consciousness sank, it felt like it was settling at the bottom of a lake.