Underwater Battle

Leo peeked from the corner at the two dullahans heading his way. Their armors were lean and similar to his in build, but red patterns decorated their pauldrons and arms.

Though not as menacing as The Nine Heads' armor's crimson veins, those patterns were proof that these two dullahans were far stronger. They were on a different level from the ones Leo had fought before.

When Leo confirmed their power, Zeke emerged from the shadows and slashed one of the dullahans' bleeding wounds. His surprise attack landed and threw the enemy off balance, sending him rolling on the ground.

The other dullahan sped up and ran toward Leo. As the enemy dashed past him, he stuck out his foot and tripped the dullahan, sending him rolling closer to the riverbank, much to Leo's dismay.

Then, like a loyal dog, Zeke rushed at the fallen dullahan and tackled him, throwing him into the water. He quickly opened his bag and turned to Leo.

He's such a loyal bastard! A good one, at that!

Leo cursed while following their team's plan. He separated his head, which flew into the bag, then his headless body dove in after the drowning dullahan.

Meanwhile, Zeke zipped the bag.

Leo whispered, "Won't I suffocate to death?"

"Do you even have lungs to breathe now?" Zeke retorted while turning around.

"Shit... I don't actually know if I need to breathe!" Leo exclaimed from within the bag as his body sank deeper into the water.

No longer focusing on his head, he closed his eyes and let his second vision take over. It was a strange experience, and he realized he should have practiced it more, but he had too much on his plate.

He understood his oversight when he expanded his vision around himself and saw his headless body from a third-person perspective. He saw everything more clearly, and no bubbles escaped his form as it dropped to the river's bottom.

He also noticed the enemy dullahan, who must have been shocked to see another dullahan underwater. If not for Leo's black suit with a red tie, the man might have thought one of their own had fallen into the water.

Without delay, both of them released their darkness elements. Leo covered himself in an armor without pulsing veins, and so much darkness filled the water that he couldn't see anything but himself and his opponent.

He suddenly felt foreign darkness ripping through his aura like scissors. He tensed, realizing this enemy was more capable than the other dullahans he had faced.

Is that how dullahans fight? Or is he just more capable with darkness than the others I've fought? Something tells me I can't let him devour my darkness. It's such damn common sense that I have to fight back. There's no water resistance for darkness, too!

Raising his hands, Leo spread his palms and gathered darkness around his gloves, which spiraled inward. He yanked the enemy's darkness closer with such force that it halted mid-attack and flew toward him like blunt scissors.

Now that all darkness was on his side, he pushed his palm forward and sent it flooding toward the dullahan. With the enemy trapped in his zone, he activated his Darkness' Grasp.

Leo's darkness swirled around the man's gaping elbow wound and squeezed until his bones snapped, cutting off his forearm. That arm turned into darkness, which poured into Leo's armor, leaving a thick, chilling gray scar on his right chestplate.

Meanwhile, the dullahan roared with more darkness that tore into Leo's. It looked like countless jaws were gnawing at him, forcing him back.

You should have started like this. Now I feel more confident. This is a fight between dullahans, and I'm better with darkness than I am at punching! BUT!

As the enemy's darkness surged, Leo spread his arms wide and commanded his own darkness to collapse on it. This overwhelmed the opponent's power, breaking it into harmless particles before swallowing the dullahan again.

He extended his hand forward, made a claw, and slightly rotated his wrist.Come here!

In an instant, his darkness pulled the dullahan toward him like a ragdoll. As he came in range, Leo punched his chest armor with enough force to shatter it and crush the ribs beneath.

The dullahan was left defenseless, and Leo's darkness wrapped around him like a cocoon. Darkness' Grasp tore him apart, twisting his limbs until only a ruined torso remained, which exploded into raw darkness energy for Leo to absorb.

His new gray scar pattern expanded across his left chest and bordered his shoulder, pulsing with energy and light. He felt slightly dizzy from his third vision, so he swam to the surface.

I would have gone easier on you if you had given up earlier. I'm not used to these bloody sights, but they're not that repulsive either. I'm probably half-human at best now, so I might as well accept it. You were meant to die anyway. I'll keep my humanity through actions, not words. Time to get my head back. This third vision is making me feel dizzy.

Once he resurfaced, he grabbed the riverbank's rails to pull himself out. A female voice called out to him.

"A new dullahan spotted. I'll immobilize and capture him," she said.

On the side, a woman in a white suit pointed a spear at Leo, ready to fight.

And what were my excuses for? Time to prove my humanity by taking on this hot chick and letting her see another day!

He raised his hand and curled four fingers, taunting her. Come at me, hottie.