Asterio Blood

--Charlie's Perspective--

What the hell...?

Shike, Belle, and Boo just dropped to the floor in puddles of blood and were completely unconscious. However, Hikari followed right behind them, suffering the same consequences.

Genesis snapped his fingers and Hikari vanished into strands that traveled into his body, and he crossed his arms, peering at Lily, Alex, Asoh, and me. Chi-Chi was still unconscious from the previous battle with Hikari.

"Now that we're done here, I'm going to do what I led all of you here for," Genesis said, walking over to Boo.

I ran over to her with my fists up. Genesis touching Boo would mean she'll get that third stone, or something bad would happen. I would not let that be the case.

"Charlie, you really want this curse? Touching you would mean you're cursed with this fate that we Asterios share. You're absolutely certain you want to stand in my way?" Genesis asked me. I nodded, keeping my mouth shut involuntarily because of my broken jaw.

"So be it... that'll just have to be the case then," Genesis said.

From the bushes to his left-hand side, a knife came out from the leaves. Genesis caught it before it hit his head between his fingers. The trickling blood slid down his arm as he turned his eyes toward the bush.

"No, that's perfectly fine, do as you please, but don't hate me when it backfires," Genesis said, tilting the knife and throwing it directly at me.

The knife pierced my skull, right in the center of my right eye, and set me back to the ground. I wanted to scream out in pain as I felt it tickle the near center of my brain. I grunted, feeling how uncomfortable and ugly the feeling of a sharp object scraping my brain made me quiver and fall to the floor.

"That's a majority of the capable bodies down. Charlie, Shike, Belle, Boo, and that Katachi Girl. All that's left are Lily, Alex, and Asoh. I have to say, most people at this point would've given up, but considering I can't see either of you, I assume you're going to make a surprise attack. Fear not, if it doesn't work, I'll just aim for Charlie's left eye instead," Genesis said with a smirk.

I ripped out the knife from my right eye, feeling the squishy liquid from my busted eyeball fall out of my head, and wielded the knife myself.

I ran at Genesis with a sense of hatred that started to return to me and slammed the knife into his shoulder.

He was trying it again... changing his appearance to resemble Mandi. I didn't care and sunk the blade deeper and deeper until it hit bone and curved off to the side. Genesis was surprised his traumatizing method didn't work on me anymore, and he probably let me hit him to trick me.

This man cannot control my life anymore, and will not stop my full potential.

Genesis grabbed onto my left arm and snapped it right at the elbow, twisting and ripping with inhumane strength. I kept the most composure I could, waiting for Asoh and Lily's plan while suffering immense pain.

I was now on my knees after Genesis's infliction, he smiled, looking at me in the eyes with a childish glorification. I was taking a lot of damage now, with blood seeping through my emptied eye socket, the pulverized bone in my left arm poking through my skin and injuring me even more than I used to be, and all locked behind a broken jaw that kept me completely silent.

From the trees above us, Lily dropped down onto Genesis's shoulders and jammed the other knife she kept behind her belt into Genesis's right eye, just as he had done to me. She pulled upwards as well, ripping into about half of his forehead before he let go of my left arm.

When Genesis reached for Lily, who was sitting on his shoulders, Asoh grabbed onto his arm and snapped it at the same location he did to me, and finally, Alex ran in, jumping over my downed body, and raising his fist toward Genesis.

"You know you can't damage me with just a fist! And especially not you, Alex!" Genesis smiled once more, and Alex followed right behind him.

Hitting Genesis in the chest, right over his heart, in the center of his stomach, and over both shoulders.

"SHANGTACHI!" Alex screamed out.

I could see sparks illuminate by Genesis's brain. I'm not sure what that one did, but his eyes were unfocused from the situation and looked up into the air.

Lily took the opportunity, releasing the knife from his right eye, and plunging it into his left eye. Genesis screamed out in pain... but not like anything before. It was... agonizing.

Genesis was never a person to scream out in shameless pain like that, so it startled everybody and even woke up Belle.

Her frigid hair was hard to detach from the ground, but I helped her up so she could see what was happening in front of her.

"What is that...? It's making me tremble..." Belle said. I thought it had been the cold temperature her body was put under forcing her to shake... but she could see something I couldn't.

Something was odd... my legs were starting to shake now, and even my prosthetic wasn't immune from whatever was happening.

It felt terrible... the pressure on my body made it feel heavier, and everybody started to feel it.

"What the hell is going on?" Lily asked, wincing under the pressure we were both feelings.

Genesis ran away into the forest before we could finish him off.

My body, weakening more and more by the second, couldn't take anymore, and I fell to the ground.

"Charlie! Are you okay?! I'll carry him back, we need to get him to a doctor! Lily, is there anything you can do for him?!" Alex asked, but Lily shook her head, falling to the floor next.

"How can you move?" Asoh asked, following right behind Lily.

My vision was starting to fade now, as Alex desperately shook me to keep me awake. I felt like sleeping right now, but I knew if I closed my eyes, I wouldn't wake up.

Everything hurt in my body. Genesis destroyed my skull and body so badly that I barely felt put together. Any touch would dissolve me into dust...

"Over here! We have some survivors!" I heard in the distance. Pure curiosity kept my eyes open, and I tilted my head in a proper way to see who said that.