Chapter 64: Bloodbath
What is Pain?
A question with many answers.
If one were to be scientific, they'd explain it as a distressing feeling that can be caused by intense or damaging stimuli.
If one were to be philosophical, they'd explain it as a negative experience to be minimized, opposing pleasure.
Some may even call pain, the essence of life.
Pain...is a word with many descriptions.
Many meanings.
Pain is proof that one is alive.
Pain is proof that one can still grow.
Yet...
It is also the cause of deep anguish and agony.
[You are in critical condition.]
The system's monotonous voice anchored me back to life, reminding me that I wasn't quite dead yet.
"Ugh..."
I groggily rose to my feet, my stance and posture stumbling and my vision wavering. I could barely see anything.
After all, I had just taken a point-blank hit from a Level 12 creature; a blow powerful enough to form sizable craters and produce tremors.
Once again, I had to be grateful to my Resistance skill, it had protected me too many a time.
But in the end, it had its limits.
HAK!
I spat out a couple of blood teeth, and put a hand on my glabella, nearly touching my broken nose.
It hu...rts....so much....
I could barely breathe, just merely managing to take a short inhale and exhale. I tried to buy myself sometime but of course...that was impossible.
ROAR!!!!
My eardrums nearly ruptured from the powerful bellow that emanated from the monster before me. The abominable monster that put me in this pitiful state.
[Level 12. Hulk Fomorian.]
I staggered from the force of its roar before swiftly raising my hands the moment I caught a blur of its expanding figure.
BAM!!
Its large fist crashed into me with indomitable might, sending me plummeting across the ground again.
[You have been wounded.]
Wide cracks appeared on the surface of my vambraces, and blood splurged out from my mouth.
[You are in critical condition.]
A loud ringing resounded in my ears, tearing away my perception of the world. My heart was feeling stifled and it was getting even harder to breath.
ROAR!
CREE! CREE!!
EEE!! EEE!!
I could vaguely hear the sounds of the Fomorian horde approaching, eager to savor my body as a macabre dish but it seemed the Hulk Fomorian hated sharing.
ROAR!!!
Its bellow silenced the rest and halted their approach; it wanted me all to itself.
Hehe...brainless monkeys...
I chuckled inwardly.
After all, the Fomorians never had any semblance of order.
ROAR!
CREE! CREE!!
EEE!! EEE!!
The horde lunged at the Hulk Fomorian.
Infighting broke out but that didn't mean I was spared – the weaker Mad Fomorians took the chance to bite at me while the stronger ones went against the Hulk Fomorian.
ROAR!
CREE! CREE!!
EEE!! EEE!!
The scene devolved into one of harrowing carnage as the dense horde, lunged at me from all sides.
I forced myself to my feet as I struggled to make out their silhouettes through my blurry vision.
"Shit...", I cursed and raised Silver Lining to a combat stance.
[Skill: Battle Arts has been activated – Iaido.]
Fuck my eyes...I don't need to see...I just need to kill...
I engaged in mortal combat, still feeling slightly dazed from the Hulk Fomorian's last hit.
Relying heavily on my battle instincts, I slashed and cut through the horde, my blurry vision filled with nothing but red.
At the other side of the carnage, the Hulk Fomorian was engaged in mortal combat as well, trying fervently to overcome the endless siege of the Mad Fomorians. It's share of the battlefield was bigger and more violent than mine due to the fact that it was engaging with stronger monsters.
Consequentially, I received an unlikely combat partner to share my burden and yet, I didn't feel the least bit lighter. In fact, as the battle dragged on, I began to feel much heavier, my vision completely seized and injuries began to mount.
I began to lose ground against the raging horde, struggling to keep up with their immense vehemence but...that was merely a delusion.
HA...! HA...!
Come on!
Inside my body, in my core, the World Energy had never stopped spinning.
It was spinning wildly, slowly getting bigger and much denser with each revolution.
SWOOOOOSSHH!!!
It continued to spin, building up immense pressure until it finally condensed.
...
On the collarbone flesh of the Breathing Giant, a harrowing war which painted the world red was taking place.
A bloodbath.
Two large hordes of Fomorians were besieging two individuals.
A man and a beast.
At first glance, the beast seemed no different than the other mindless creatures, merely just a larger bulbous mass but on a closer look, one could see that the odious light in its eyes burned more furiously than the rest and its movements were much more brutal and violent.
It ripped to shreds and crushed any Fomorian that crossed its path, before banishing them into the void of its chasmic maws. Scarlet blood dyed its greyish-yellow flesh with a crimson hue, giving him the vibe of a ravenous war beast.
The man, however, could easily be distinguished from the mindless creatures. Though his armor was fractured and his face bloodied, he moved with a calculated ferocity that belied his deteriorating condition. His eyes burned with a flicker of defiance, refusing to be extinguished by the overwhelming odds stacked against him.
CLANG! SLASH!
His blade sang a deadly melody, cleaving through the horde as if driven by sheer willpower alone. Blood splattered in all directions, staining the already blood-soaked battlefield in deeper shades of red. Yet, despite his relentless offense, his body showed signs of fatigue—his movements were becoming sluggish, his breathing more labored.
The Mad Fomorians' assault mounted, growing more and more fervent; with each wave they slowly began to dominate him, landing one powerful blow after another.
Soon, it reached a point where the lonesome figure could no longer contend with the ravenous horde. A Mad Fomorian raised its arm, ready to tear him apart with its claws when suddenly something happened...
BWHOOSH!
A wave of energy suddenly escaped from the lonesome figure, suppressing the Fomorians.
HALT!
The Fomorians froze in their tracks, and stared at him with bewildered eyes.
The lonesome figure's wounds slowly began to heal, a faint glow elicited from his skin and his eyes shone with red light. The bags under his eyes vanished as well as the edge of madness.
He seemed revitalized, invigorated as if he had suddenly been doused with power.
In fact, he had.
The lonesome figure had finally taken a great step, a step into the realm of magic.
He had tapped into the true power of the World Energy.
HA...! HA...!
Puffs of air formed under his mouth as Alex respired the World Energy, taking it in and expelling out the foul air.
SWISH!
Alex swung Silver Lining and placed it over his shoulder, before speaking,
"Alright...let there be carnage..."