Final battle

Reyan was in his room, sitting on his bed, lost in thought.

"Hmm... Last time, I almost killed him. His speed is insane—I need to do something about that, along with his reflexes. This time, I have to come up with the best plan. This will be the final battle. No matter what weapon he brings, this time... I'll finish him for good."

He stood up from his bed and walked toward the kitchen. Upon reaching, he scanned the items there.

"A knife... No, a knife alone won't be enough."

Then his eyes landed on the gas cylinder.

"Oh... How did I not think of this? This is the best weapon I could have."

He checked the gas level.

"Perfect... This should be enough."

He walked back to his bed and pushed it diagonally in front of the door.

"If he comes in, he'll have to jump over this..."

Then his gaze shifted toward the bathroom.

"How could I forget?"

He walked inside, and after some time, returned. Tearing apart his blanket, he fashioned a makeshift mask.

A few moments later, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs. It was Faceless. This time, he had brought a bazooka. He reached the room but found the bed blocking the entrance. Looking around, he couldn't spot Reyan anywhere.

Taking two steps back, Faceless leaped over the bed and landed inside the room. His eyes darted around, scanning every corner, but Reyan was nowhere to be seen.

Reyan was hanging above the door. He had stabbed forks into the wall and was using them as support to balance himself. His handmade mask covered his face.

The moment Faceless stepped in, Reyan dropped down from above. Faceless turned just in time, but Reyan's kick landed squarely on his face, making him drop the bazooka.

Reyan quickly grabbed the bazooka and threw it onto the balcony. Then, without wasting a second, he began attacking Faceless, landing punch after punch on his face.

After a while, Faceless retaliated with a powerful kick, sending Reyan flying backward. As Faceless got up, Reyan charged at him and delivered a strong kick to his chest.

Then, Reyan dashed toward the door. Faceless, regaining his balance, sprinted after him.

Reyan jumped over the bed and onto the balcony. Faceless followed. But just as he was about to reach Reyan, Reyan grabbed the bazooka, moved a little farther, and leaped into the air, twisting his body mid-air.

Faceless had also jumped, and now he was directly facing Reyan.

Reyan, still in mid-air, fired the bazooka.

The force of the blast pushed Reyan backward, making him crash onto the ground. The bazooka's shot hit Faceless straight in the face, triggering a massive explosion that set the entire room on fire.

Reyan stood up with a smirk.

"That bastard... Good thing he brought a bazooka. That made my job much easier."

He pulled off his mask and chuckled.

"This round... Maybe I was lucky. No... This round was mine from the start. Even if he hadn't brought the bazooka, I would've won. I had already released all the gas from the cylinder. It was 80% full, meaning the gas was more than enough. Then, I made a Molotov cocktail and left it outside, along with a lighter. The rest of the plan was the same—when he entered the room, I would jump on him, push him away, get outside, light the Molotov, and throw it in... causing an explosion."

He gave a sinister smile.

"And escaping that kind of blast is nearly impossible. By now, he must have burned to ashes."

Reyan let out a deep breath. But then...

A shadow emerged from the flames.

"Huh? He's still... alive? But... but the bazooka shot hit him directly in the face, right? Or did it miss?"

Then, from the blazing fire, Faceless stepped out.

His face was completely burned. His hair had been reduced to ashes. His clothes were in tatters. He looked like a demon straight from hell.

Fear crept into Reyan's voice.

"This... This is bad... Maybe luck isn't on my side after all."

Faceless slowly moved toward him, then suddenly, his speed surged.

Reyan grabbed the bazooka and hurled it with all his might at Faceless. But Faceless jumped, dodging it effortlessly. While still airborne, he clenched his fist and dived toward Reyan with a powerful punch.

Reyan barely managed to dodge, but the sheer force of the punch cracked the floor beneath them.

"Unbelievable..." Reyan muttered in shock.

Faceless launched a relentless barrage of punches, forcing Reyan into constant defense.

"His speed... It has slowed down a bit. I can dodge more easily now..."

Noticing this, Faceless increased the speed of his punches, aiming directly for Reyan's face. But Reyan dodged each one skillfully.

Then, Reyan countered with a solid punch to Faceless's jaw.

Faceless staggered back but quickly regained his stance and lunged forward again. Reyan braced himself.

Their fight intensified, both exchanging fierce punches and kicks. Sometimes Reyan landed a hit, sometimes Faceless.

"It seems like the fight is becoming equal now..."

Suddenly, Reyan grabbed Faceless by the shoulder and threw him off the balcony.

Faceless crashed to the ground below.

Reyan looked down at him.

"I know you still have some fight left in you... But this time, you have no chance. And besides, you can't summon another weapon from your inventory. You only had one... and I already used it against you."

Faceless twitched slightly.

Reyan smirked and calmly climbed down using a pillar.

He walked closer to Faceless.

"Done? Out of breath already? You were so eager to kill me... and you've already collapsed? Get up."

Reyan reached down to grab him, but—

Faceless suddenly slashed at him.

Reyan backed away in shock.

"Huh?"

Looking down, he saw that his lower pants were cut—like something sharp had sliced through them.

"He has a knife?"

Faceless wobbled to his feet. Then, his fingernails started to extend...

"Huh? Claws...? No... Those are his nails?! What the hell!"

Faceless' hands now had razor-sharp nails, like deadly knives.

Reyan took a step back, removed his shirt, and wrapped it around his arm as a makeshift shield.

"Alright, monster... Come at me."

Faceless charged.

As he swung his claws, Reyan blocked with his wrapped arm.

Faceless attacked with his other hand, but Reyan deflected it, making it slam into a wall, breaking two of his nails.

Seizing the moment, Reyan shoved him back and reached for the broken nails.

But Faceless lunged again. Reyan blocked one strike with his shielded arm, but the other attack landed directly on his thigh.

Ignoring the pain, Reyan grabbed the two broken nails and stabbed them into Faceless' face.

Faceless recoiled, backing away.

Reyan looked down. Faceless' other hand, which had three remaining nails, was now completely bare—those nails were stuck in Reyan's thigh.

His other hand still had four nails, but one had broken off against Reyan's shield.

"Ah... So his body is weaker because of the burns..."

Faceless stood at a distance, his burnt face showing no expression, but his body trembling from exhaustion. His head was slightly bowed.

Reyan yanked the three nails from his thigh. Now, he had six in total. He held them between his fingers like claws, ready for the final move.

"This will be our last fight... And maybe... my last loop."

"If I die this time... I won't come back."

Then, Reyan took a deep breath and shouted—

"HEY! LISTEN UP!"

Faceless snapped to attention, looking at him.

"I'll miss you... Not because you killed me 20 times... But because you changed me completely."

Then, he roared—

"THANK YOUUUU!"

And charged straight at Faceless.

Faceless lifted his clawed hand—the last attack.

Both warriors put everything into their final strike.

And he moves straight toward Faceless.

Faceless extends his hand toward Reyan—the same hand that had four nails embedded in it. He takes a fighting stance, channeling all his remaining power into that single hand. Pulling his arm back, he charges up for a final punch.

Reyan, running at full speed toward him, shows no hesitation. Faceless, ready for his last move, waits for the perfect moment. As Reyan closes in, Faceless throws his final punch. But Reyan takes the full impact on his left arm, causing all four nails to pierce deep into his flesh.

However, in that same instant, Reyan's charged punch lands directly on Faceless' burned face. The force drives all three nails on Reyan's fist straight through Faceless' charred skin, piercing through.

Faceless goes completely still. His body no longer moves.

Reyan pulls his hand away from the claws buried in Faceless' face. Then, gripping Faceless' arm, he begins to remove the nails that had embedded themselves in his own hand.

Just then, Faceless twitches. With a sudden burst of defiance, he rips out the nails stuck in his face and drives them straight into Reyan's stomach.

Reyan staggers back slightly, his breathing ragged. He glares at Faceless, eyes burning with fury. Without hesitation, he grips one of the four nails embedded in his own flesh, yanks it out, and drives it straight through Faceless' chest.

Faceless collapses to the ground, and Reyan lands on top of him.

Without stopping, Reyan pulls out the second nail and thrusts it deep into Faceless' chest. Then, the third nail—this one piercing his throat. Finally, with the last nail in hand, Reyan repeatedly strikes Faceless' face, over and over, his vision starting to blur with every hit.

As his own strength begins to fade, Reyan mumbles to himself while falling, his voice barely above a whisper:

"Did I… win? Yeah… I won. I defeated him. He died before me… And now I'm going to die too…"

Reyan chuckles "Do you know how much effort it took to kill this thing? And how many painful deaths I had to endure…?

Twenty times… Dying twenty times isn't a small thing. I felt every kind of pain in just a single day.

But still… it was fun. And terrifying too.

Yeah, the worst death was being burned alive. That one hurt the most… My vocal cords even gave out from screaming. But somehow, in some way, I made it to the end. I learned how to fight.

I'm glad… I had no one to help me here.

If someone had been there to save me… maybe I would have lost myself. Maybe I wouldn't have learned to fight for myself.

Thank you, God… Thank you for this day… for this loop… for testing me.

And I passed your test… Yeah… This victory… it's mine… only mine… Now… finally, I can go home… I can see my parents again…"

And with that, he collapses onto the ground. Blood pools from his stomach wound, yet a faint smile lingers on his face.

Under the moonlight, Reyan's red blood and Faceless's black blood began to merge, mixing like two opposing forces meeting their end together.

Faceless's body slowly started turning to ashes, scattering into the air, as if nature itself was celebrating Reyan's victory.

And with that…

His vision fades into complete darkness.