Fighting an Abyssal (IV)

Vlad's eyes narrowed as he focused on the flaming wounds, and awe appeared the next second as he saw how the fire was cauterizing them, stopping the bleeding.

Arasbus was burning himself to stop the bleeding!

It was a truly crazy and dangerous plan, as it required granular control over one's energy and ability. It would have been very easy for the Abyssal to make a mistake and end up severely wounded and losing the fight. Yet, it worked; all the wounds closed, and while he was still pale, there was no more bleeding.

"Hahaha, it worked. I knew fighting you would make me stronger!" Arasbus burst into laughter as he saw that his idea worked, and now he had gained a skill capable of closing bleeding wounds, making his survival abilities even more powerful.

Vlad, on the other hand, was not happy at all. Those lacerations were the key to his victory, yet they were all gone. Without the blood loss, he had no chance of defeating the Abyssal. To make things worse, not much Force was left inside him, as he had made it burst from the start of the fight, and soon his energy pool would deplete.

"Boom," "Boom," "Boom," "Boom."

As Arasbus struck the ground with his spiked clubs, small blasts echoed across the forest. He was severely wounded and had depleted his energy. However, his body was immensely powerful, and he could still unleash incredible strength, more than enough to overwhelm the young man in front of him.

"Are you ready for the second round, little man?" The Abyssal spoke with a smile. His face was pale due to the previous loss of blood, but it did not diminish the ferocity and brutality that was present in his eyes.

"Ahhhh, it seems I will not achieve victory. Let this be our final clash." Vlad stared at the demon, sighed as he saved the twisted sword, and took a new one. He grabbed the swords with both hands, and there was a light of resolve in his eyes as if the next strike would be the last one.

Arasbus' eyes narrowed as he heard the young man and could see the resolution to end all things in his eyes. He did not look too much into it and just smiled before tightening his grip on the spiked club and raising it to his shoulder. "Good! Let's end this like men. I will crush your skull to pieces and give you a warrior's death!"

"BOOM!"

A small explosion emerged from Vlad's body as he unleashed all the Force left in his body and pushed his rage to the limit. The dark red streams of energy that coursed through his flesh and blood increased in power.

Arasbus had already consumed all his energy, but his Abyssal Racial Heritage gave him an incredibly powerful body, more than capable of fighting without the enhancement of energy, and he adopted a battle stance before every muscle in his body grew tense, ready to unleash everything he had.

"AHHH!"

"AHHH!"

The Depravita and Abyssal roared at each other as they raced forward, ready to strike with all their power. Since this would be a final strike, Arasbus' club aimed at the chest and head, while Vlad aimed at the neck and heart, and their weapons would collide, generating a clash that would end with the death of one of them.

Or at least that was what the demon thought would happen.

Arasbus struck with his spiked club in a raising motion, aiming to shatter Vlad's chest and rip the man's head in the process, but the young man did not clash with him. Vlad instead threw his body to the ground and rolled forward.

Before the demon could even figure out what was happening, a sense of utter pain assaulted him as a sword charged with an immense amount of Force pierced into his right knee and twisted.

"Ahhhrgh!" A new roar, but this one of utter pain, emerged from the Abyssal as the blade practically obliterated his right knee.

However, even in that agony, Arasbus clenched his teeth and launched a devastating kick with his left leg. The kick landed point blank on Vlad's body, sending him hurtling through the ground for more than twenty meters.

Vlad's head was spinning, and he felt how several of his ribs had broken with that kick, but as he regained control over his body and rose from the ground, a bloody smile appeared on his face. He fulfilled his goal and destroyed the right knee of the demon. 

A maniacal rage appeared on the Abyssal demon's face as he took the sword from his knee. There was anger as he saw the crippling wound, but also a sense of crazy fighting spirit as he smiled.

"Hahaha, good, good. Now let's see, human, what else do you have?" Arasbus shouted in rage and delight, ready to carry on with the thrilling fight that pushed him beyond his limit, yet his face froze the next second as he saw the young man who had badly wounded him was running away.

"What the... You bastard, come back here and fight me like a man. Where the hell do you think you're running from!" Arasbus shouted, and for the first time, there was only rage on his face. He did not care about all the plots and schemes that Vlad performed, but seeing the young man running away truly infuriated him.

"Come back here and fight!"

Vlad could hear the shouting and curses from the Abyssal demon but only kept running, using what little energy he had left to activate the Abyssal Grit Rune. Victory had already become unattainable for him, which was why he crippled the demon's knee, so this one could not follow him while he ran away.

Killing the Abyssal would have been great, but Vlad was content enough to kill thousands of demons and slow them down for weeks, giving the Silent Wind Military Base the needed time.