I quickly turned around hoping to defend again, but this time I was too late... my body responded too slowly. I could only widen my eyes watching the massive shadow plummeting down from above.
"Go to hell!" His roar echoed in my ears before his heavy foot stomped down on my body, crushing me deep into the ground!
CRASH!
My eyes widened to their limit. A huge clot of blood gushed from my mouth. The sword in my hand nearly flew away. Pain shot throughout my body. Around me, intense red heat began radiating outward. The ground beneath cracked into fragments!
Still not satisfied, he pressed his foot down on my body again before leaping back. I lay motionless in the crater he'd created, suffering unbearable pain, slowly trying to gather my nearly shattered consciousness and struggle to my feet again.
I grabbed the sword that had fallen beside me, gripping it tightly despite my trembling left arm.
"Oh... still not dead yet?" His mocking voice rang out.
"Heh," he sneered like someone holding all the cards.
But as my consciousness began returning, I saw an even more hopeless sight... clones of that illusion-maker surrounded me - more than ten of them! They stood motionless, staring at me with empty eyes, but ready to pounce and tear me apart at any moment.
I knew these water clones weren't as strong as the original, but with this many, they'd definitely be hard to handle. Plus they could create water weapons too...
Speaking of creating weapons, that bastard probably has Crafter-type Soul abilities too. What the hell kind of power does he actually have?! Or is he one of those freaks with multiple Soul Types in one body? Damn it!
I took a deep breath, trying to suppress the pain and fear. I closed my eyes, gathering my focus for what might truly be my last battle.
"Come on then!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, releasing all my pent-up frustration before leaping backward, using the crater wall the burly man had created as a launching point to shoot toward the clone swarm at high speed!
"Heh, doing something stupid," the burly man's voice rang out before his devastating fist shot toward me again! I've decided! I'll risk charging straight in! Here goes!
Slice! Swoosh!
My sword slashed deep into his arm! I felt skin tearing, but with his speed and strength, I could only cut away some skin before he pulled his fist back, avoiding having his hand severed completely!
But in that split second... his remaining fist slammed full force into my face!
Thud! Bang!
My body tumbled across the ground several times. Pain shot across my entire face. Before I could steady myself, dozens of water clones leaped at me from all directions!
Stay focused... stay concentrated! Eliminate all these clones! I have to deal with their main body! But first I need to clear these out!
I wildly swung my short sword around me. The blade cut through four water clones, making them dissolve into puddles. I ducked under a long sword slashing down while stabbing upward into another clone's chin.
Then I spun and slashed at the throat of one sneaking up behind me!
But I missed! One clone's blade grazed my leg and left arm. Though only shallow wounds, they were deep enough to make blood flow freely. The pain began slowing my movements.
Four left! I gritted my teeth, shooting forward to stab one clone in the stomach, then swept my sword left, the tip slicing another nearby clone. Then I spun in a circle, slashing with full force, making all four remaining clones dissolve into water simultaneously!
The clones are done! Now just the original body...
"Huh..." My blurred vision widened again seeing that burly man standing right in front of me with a mocking smile. His fist still radiated that terrifying intense red energy aura. When did he get right in front of me?!
WHAM!
That fist slammed into my face full force again! My body flew helplessly through the air. Not enough... he leaped up after me, punching my stomach again while I was still floating in midair!
Thunk! Boom!
After my body crashed hard into the ground again, he grabbed both my legs and wildly slammed my body left and right against the ground. My short sword flew away somewhere...
My consciousness too... was starting to fade completely... Finally he stopped torturing me. He threw my body up into the sky again while he stood below charging his fist power, waiting for my body to fall down...
"ZERO ABSOLUTE!"
"Too bad you're going to hell earlier than you should, hehe," his mocking laughter cut deep into my ears.
Wham! Thud!
This time he used the same technique but seemed to use much less power, probably because he didn't charge it fully. But it was still enough to knock me unconscious and make me cough up thick black blood clots. My body crashed hard into a tree before falling to the ground powerlessly...
My consciousness was fading completely... The last thing I saw was that bastard loan shark... walking toward me with a mocking smile...
"Rift... how pitiful... you could have just lived your normal life."
"But you chose to go to hell yourself."
"You..." I tried to force words out, but my body now... had no strength left...
"Look at yourself, you worthless piece of trash." After those words, his foot kicked hard into my chin...
...Everything... went dark...
My body that couldn't move... covered in blood... knowing nothing anymore... Is this... really the end of my revenge...?