[16] "A life or death situation Part 2"

Suddenly, Ares' clone explodes in Fulgencio and the tiger's faces, forming sharp icicles of light that pierce through them.

Fulgencio becomes nervous and can't dodge them, while White growls in pain.

The top 70 and the tiger are covered in deep cuts and holes.

"Damn, where is the real body of Ares?" Jacobo asks desperately, searching for it.

Asier, enraged, shouts, "Noooooo, my tigerrrrrr!"

Avelina is surprised and asks, "A clone?"

Aurelio screams, "React!"

Jacobo commands, "Search for the real body!"

But Ares tells them, "Too late."

Then, a memory of a conversation with Kayden plays in Ares' mind.

"Ares, in a battle, it's crucial to maintain a calm and relaxed mindset. In any situation, you must think clearly because any mistake can cost you your life. If someone has something they fear or worry about..."

Ares snaps back to reality.

'Now is the time,' he thinks. "I can't let him recover from the shock. We have to finish Erick."

Next, six beams of intense light shoot towards the top 67 and 64, splitting along the way.

Aurelio uses his repulsion shield, and Jacobo deploys his gravity shield to defend themselves.

Ares thinks, 'Now or never. If not, my life will be over.'

Then, three clones of Ares appear, running at high speed, each wielding a spear in hand, towards the top 70, 65, and 64.

Erik defends himself with his energy shield, but Ares aims his spear at him, daringly cutting through it and instantly killing him.

Aurelio exclaims, "Damn, how did he appear here?" and uses his repulsion to push the Ares clone away.

Jacobo is surprised by Ares' speed and uses his gravity field to increase the weight of the Ares clone, embedding it into the ground.

"It's not the real one!" Jacobo says, astonished, trying to distance himself.

Suddenly, two large explosions shake the entire battlefield, generating a powerful shockwave.

"Uff... uff..." Jacobo's body was covered in visible cuts.

"Thank God," Aurelio says, examining the minor wounds.

Ares gasped, "Uff... cough... uff... finally, one less. But this isn't going well. I'm too exhausted; I have to finish this with a single attack. Luckily, I haven't revealed what I can do with the lightning hurricane. Soon they will witness my power. HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Arghhhh... how could he hurt me? We're six against one, and he's already killed one of us," Fulgencio groaned as blood gushed from his wounds.

"How did we end up at this point, you cursed clones?" Aurelio said.

"It was supposed to be an easy mission," Avelina added.

"Damn it, we let our guard down," Jacobo muttered.

"Listen to me, everyone," Asier said. "We have to launch a full-scale attack. That's the only way to ensure we kill him."

"But we're still five against one," Avelina pointed out.

"Let's do it now," Fulgencio said.

Ares thought to himself, 'I need to take advantage of the fact that they don't know. I combined illusions with the clones. If I receive all those attacks, I'm sure I'll die. But I have a plan. Those who specialize in close combat must not touch me, so I won't suffer any damage. I'll attack them before they reach me with the clones, making them think I'm the original. Then, the other opponents will have to face their attacks. It's almost suicide, but it's the only way I can survive.'

Fulgencio shouted, "(Total Release)!" and unleashed all the power he had stored in a single attack, emitting a powerful purple aura as he charged towards one of Ares' clones.

Aurelio used "(Planet Crusher)" to create a massive attack that crushed everything in its path.

Avelina tapped into all her awakened power to unleash a supersonic scream, generating a massive explosive wave with incredible force, known as "(Ultimate Scream)".

Jacobo released a powerful green aura that destroyed everything in its path, known as "(Planetary Destruction)".

Asier poured all the awakened power into his animal, causing it to grow to fifteen meters with terrifying destructive power in its gigantic claws. It ran towards another of Ares' clones at high speed, known as "(Unleashed Predator)".

"Directly at me? HAHAHAHAHAHA, do you want to die? I will grant your wish," Fulgencio says with a triumphant smile as he prepares to attack.

The accompanying tiger growls menacingly, and Asier communicates telepathically with White to find out what's happening.

"What's going on, White?" Asier asks.

Meanwhile, Fulgencio approaches the Ares clone with his fists ready to strike.

But at that moment, Asier has a revelation. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, wait, don't attack! We've been caught in an illusion all this time," Asier exclaims, trying to stop his companions from attacking.

"An illusion?" Fulgencio says, surprised to realize he was about to attack a clone.

"Then, where is the real one?" Avelina asks, concerned about the situation.

Asier explains, "We're trapped in an illusion, and it makes each of us see what Ares wants us to see. We're not all attacking the same enemy. Fulgencio and White are facing two different Ares clones, and we're seeing another one."

But while Asier tries to explain the situation, Ares seizes the opportunity to act. "Too late," he says as he electrocutes the opponents through the ground charged with electricity from the lightning storm that took place.

Fulgencio, Aurelio, Avelina, and Jacobo scream in pain as they feel the electric shock, and they all realize they have fallen into a trap.

In a fraction of a second, all the opponents are paralyzed, leaving enough time for Ares to unleash four powerful attacks, known as "(Celestial Punishment)".

Millions of lightning bolts appear in the sky, striking four different areas. All the lightning converges at those points, forming two lightning tornadoes that explode right in front of Fulgencio and White.

All the attacks hit their targets, colliding with each other and creating a destructive shockwave that expands in a radius of 40 meters, leaving only debris and cracks in the ground.

Ares coughed up blood and staggered, "Arghhh... I can barely stand. I don't know how I haven't lost consciousness yet." His body was covered in blood, with deep cuts on his arms, legs, and torso, and two serious wounds.

He looked at a large wound on his chest that exposed his internal organs. Then, he glanced at his stomach, where he saw another cut that penetrated a quarter of his stomach.

His vision began to blur, "No... I have to stay alive. This is what I've always wanted. How could I die here? I need to get out of here quickly. It's not the time to verify if I'm still alive."

With great difficulty, Ares left the scene, leaving behind six motionless figures on the ground, possibly all opponents dead in the battle.

....

[20 minutes later]

In a safe house, where a bloodied person holds a mobile phone and dials a number with trembling fingers.

The weak and tired voice of Ares is heard on the other end of the line. 'I don't know if I can hold on much longer.'

"Hello, who is this?" Kayden's voice sounds tense and cautious. "Not many people have this number, could it be Ares?"

"Master, it's me," Ares said with a weary voice.

"Ares? What happened?" Concern becomes evident in Kayden's voice. 'His voice doesn't sound right, it's different from usual. Has something happened to him?'.

"Mr. Kayden, I'm in the safe house. I'm injured, and I don't know how much longer I can stay conscious. I need you to come and help me. I fell into a trap and fought against several awakened ones," Ares whispered, struggling to keep his voice steady.

Kayden stood up immediately, feeling the urgency to help his protégé. "I'll be right there. Wait for me there, I'll arrive as fast as possible," he promised.

"Yes, Kayden," Ares said before the line went dead.

Kayden clenched his teeth with frustration. "Ares... Ares..." He wondered, 'What could have happened?'

"Damn it, whoever you are, you'll pay if anything happens to Ares," he vowed with a strong, murderous intent in his voice.

….

1342 words.

Next chapter "treatment"