10 The Unknown Hero (1)

'That was close.' Zaen thought while using another bandage. The fight wasn't going all the way he had wanted, but it was more or less in his favour till now.

[Remaining HP: 1786/2250]

[16 bandages remaining]

Just moments ago, the ghoul almost got him for good. Zaen had rushed in head first, as usual, to take advantage of his agility. But this time the ghoul was prepared for him. After all, the same move won't work against the ghoul since it had evolved into its final phase. As a result, Zaen had almost gotten his head crushed between the ghoul's legs. Thankfully, Zaen backed away at the last moment, only getting a scratch on his shoulder.

Zaen had had quite a bit of power-up since their last fight. But he wasn't the only one. The Frenzied Ghoul had shed off its excess weight which kept slowing it down. Moreover, the ghoul was now covered in a thick yet light layer of an exoskeleton, increasing its armour. And, it was more intelligent than before. But Zaen outmatched the ghoul in everything except armour.

Zane's armour had suffered a lot. The durability of each item of Hooligan's set dropped down to 75 points just from ghoul's one hit. Thankfully, his mask was still holding up.

'Even with the increased damage, I'm not doing much. Still, I'm doing better than before.' He thought before raising his dagger, deflecting the ghoul's claws.

[Damage dealt: 250. The Ghoul's armour is tougher than before. Damage reduced by 90 points.]

[Total damage dealt: 140]

[Frenzied Ghoul (Phase 3 of 3) HP: 803/1083]

The ghoul snarled, but since Zaen had already sliced its tongue off, it couldn't express its desire to kill the human in front. But its eyes were filled with rage and hatred.

Since its claws were being deflected repeatedly, the ghoul changed its tactics. Flapping its bony wings, the ghoul started hovering above Zaen. However, unlike the rest of its body, the wings weren't strong enough to make The ghoul fly too high. Still, Zaen wouldn't have been able to attack it using a melee weapon like a dagger. It was the end for him.

The ghoul looked down to witness the despair on its enemy's face, instead, the ghoul was greeted by Zaen's jubilant smirk.

"Your wings are going to save you from me? You sure about that?" Zaen asked the ghoul before clenching the dagger between his jaws, 'You forgot about your protracted tail, didn't you?'

Zaen pounced over the bone-like tail that was dangling in front of him. He wrapped both of his arms around the tail and with all his might, began pulling the ghoul back to the ground. At first, the ghoul wanted to laugh at Zaen's foolish and desperate attempt. But it soon realised Zaen wasn't the fool. It was, as Zaen actually began pulling him down. Gradually the ghoul was forced to flap the wings rapidly.

Zaen had already noticed how flimsy and fragile the ghoul's wings were. It was just a hunch, but he thought if he could somehow increase the pressure on them, the wings should snap sooner or later. And that's what he was doing by forcing the ghoul to use the wings to a greater extent. He made the ghoul believe he had enough strength to pull him back to the ground, but even that thought was absurd.

There was no way, Zaen would be been able to pull something so massive all by himself. Even in this world, it wasn't humanly possible. All he did, was to make the ghoul believe otherwise. The results of Zaen's plan soon became evident as the wings gave up and the ghoul came crashing down on the ground.

[Total damage dealt: 100]

[Frenzied Ghoul (Phase 3 of 3) HP: 703/1083]

Zaen didn't waste any time. He had to act fast before the ghoul gathered itself. But first, he stepped on its tail and ripped it off of the creature with his bare hands.

[Total damage dealt: 120]

[Frenzied Ghoul (Phase 3 of 3) HP: 583/1083]

The broken tail squirmed and floundered on the ground leaving the ghoul howling in pain. But the pain the ghoul felt was nothing in comparison to what it was going to feel next.

The ghoul had fallen on the ground head first. Its back was left wide open for Zaen to attack it. Zaen pulled the dagger out of his mouth and hopped onto the ghoul's back. Then, he lifted the dagger over his head as if it was a paintbrush and the ghoul's back was his canvas, before painting the ghoul's back red with its blood.

[Total damage dealt: 120]

[Total damage dealt: 120]

[Total damage dealt: 120]

[Total damage dealt: 120]

[Frenzied Ghoul (Phase 3 of 3) HP: 103/1083]

The ghoul got up screeching in pain. Trying its best to shake Zaen off. But Zaen had latched onto the ghoul like a leech. It didn't matter how vigorously the ghoul struggled, it couldn't do a thing. If only its tail was still there, Zaen wouldn't have been able to deliver blow after blow to it. That's the reason why Zaen took the tail out first.

"You want to know what true despair feels like?" Zaen whispered in the ghoul's ear, "Losing the only family you have and not knowing what happened to them. You keep hoping that one day, they'll come back. But deep down you know they won't. And it's all because of you and your stupid mist. Thousands of people have suffered because of you. No more. IT ENDS NOW-"

Just when Zaen was about to finish the ghoul off, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down as blood gushed out of his mouth to see the ghoul's tail, which he had ripped off moments ago, had pierced through his chest. His blood dripping down through the spear-like tip of the tail.

The ghoul was a boss monster, in its final form. Being in its final form, the ghoul was granted a special property or skill. One skill it didn't have before. A skill that allowed the severed body parts of its body to remain alive on their own for up to half an hour. Thanks to this skill, the tail had remained alive and crawled its way up to where Zaen and the ghoul were fighting unnoticed. Then when the moment was right, like a snake, the tail sprung off the ground and pierced through Zaen's almost broken armour to take him down.

[You have received a grievous wound. Damage received: 1750]

[Remaining HP: 36/2250]

Zaen couldn't feel anything. He felt his mind slowly fading away. He could almost feel the reaper coming for his soul. But he wasn't done...

'Not yet...' Zaen thought as darkness swallowed his vision, 'I'm taking you with me, even if it's the last thing I do!'

In a last-ditch effort, he pushed his dagger into the ghoul's head with every ounce of strength he could muster.

[Total damage dealt:120]

[Frenzied Ghoul (Phase 3 of 3) HP: 0/1083]

[Congratulations! You've killed the field boss: Frenzied Ghoul. Exp +1500]

[You've levelled up! Current level: 11]

[HP has increased by 100 points. Current HP: 2350]

[Your HP has been fully restored. Your wounds have been healed.]

[Total Exp: 10/1200]

As the notifications began appearing, the ghoul's body, including its tail, disintegrated into nothingness. Leaving Zaen alone in the deserted park.

Zaen tried to get up and move. He had to get to Aeron, but couldn't. He was too tired, especially after all the blood loss he had suffered. He wanted to rest. He wanted to sleep. Even his eyelids felt too heavy to open.

"Aeron wouldn't mind... if I closed my eyes for bit... would he?" Zaen mumbled as his consciousness was snatched away from him.