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C222 - Mangled

Leonel felt as though all the bones in his body were shattering. He had never been hit by a truck before, but he assumed that this was about as close as he could get to the real thing.

His body curved grotesquely around Lamorak's spikeless, cylindrical mace almost like a ball deforming around a baseball bat. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was sent flying.

Or rather… he thought that was what would happen. But, reality was cruel.

In the single step Lamorak had taken to send a blow toward Leonel, the ground beneath his feet caved downward before jetting up a large broken piece. Before Leonel could fly very far to the side, he hit this broken piece first, causing his already bent body to crash the other way.

In the end, as though it was all planned out beforehand, Leonel fell right before Lamorak, the glint in his eyes slowly growing dim.

Leonel's world began to spin. He didn't have the presence of mind to maintain his ability any longer. It felt as though everything was fading. The pain was truly too much.

His thoughts were in complete disarray. He only caught onto the faintest inkling of something that made him shocked to the point of speechlessness.

Every step Lamorak had taken before had caused a crack on the ground. Then, during his last attack, his final step managed to kick up a large slab of stone that stopped Leonel from flying away. However, according to Leonel's calculations, that should have been impossible unless… the previous steps drew the outline of the stone slab he eventually kicked up.

If this was true, Leonel could only admit that he was entirely outclassed. His ability was perfectly suited for this kind of planned battle, yet he still lost so resoundingly. Weren't big brutes like Lamorak supposed to be simple minded?

Leonel felt his consciousness fading.

The last time he felt this kind of pain, it was while he was opening his bloodline shackles. But, at least that had some sort of reward at the end. This was just unbridled, unconcealed, and unrestrained pain.

Suddenly, the sound of whistling wind shook Leonel awake. He didn't need to look up to know that it was Lamorak's heavy mace swinging down toward him.

As a man of the battlefield, Lamorak didn't feel the need to say anything after siezing victory. There was no room for trash talk or disdaining the enemy in such a situation. Those who did things like this usually didn't last very long.

It could be said that this was the first time Leonel felt that death was so close. Not that there was just a threat of it, but in just a few more moments, he would experience what it felt like to have his life snatched from him.

In the Mayan Tomb, he almost died at the hands of the sacrifical virgin, but that was a choice he, himself had made. He had found it too difficult to take the life of an innocent teenage girl. Compared to this situation where the choice wasn't in his hands at all, it was completely different.

'This feeling… sucks…'

Leonel hadn't ever felt such a wave of helplessness before.

'I don't like it…'

Leonel tried to move, a strong will pulling his body together as he tumbled to one side, just barely avoiding Lamorak's fatal strike. However, the air pressure alone made him feel as though his body was collapsing.

Shattered bits of dirt and stone were flung on his body, sending him sliding to the side.

Leonel grasped out for his spear, only to realize it was nowhere to be found. It must have flown out of his hand during that last barrage. What a joke, he hadn't even felt it leave his grasp. Had he been a true spearman, he would likely rather die than reliquish his weapon so easily, but it seemed he hadn't reached such a stage yet.

Lamorak raised an eyebrow. He had only missed because according to his own calculative abilities, Leonel should have been too injured to move at all. Something like this was outside his expectations.

However… he wouldn't miss again.

BANG!

Leonel was hit squarely on the head. The ground he was trying to pull himself up from shattered and formed a small crater.

Lamorak had thought that this would be enough, but his brows furrowed once more. He faintly noticed Leonel take out a weird… fish scale? That scale formed a shield that just as quickly collapsed under his might. It was likely this that had saved Leonel's life this time.

Lamorak began to feel a slight discomfort in his chest. With his experience, he knew that if he let things go on like this, one or two coincidences might snowball into three or four. Eventually, the situation would get out of hand and leave his scope of ability to handle.

His aura surged, the billowing red Force around him surging up to another level. This time, he wouldn't swing casually. He really would go all out.

A roar billowed out. Despite the fact it came from his mouth, it felt as though it projected out from his chest. His torso swelled, concentric circles of concentrated wind jetting out from his lips. It was so deafening that it made it difficult to tell whether or not the roar came from a man, or a beast.

BANG!

Leonel scrambled to activate two fish scales as the cylindrical mace descended once more. He still had many remaining since he hadn't ended up needing them for the Force Crystal Core. But, it somehow felt that no matter how many he brought out, it still wouldn't matter. Lamorak had an undeniable will. Even if he had to flatten a mountain or split the oceans, he would do it.

An overwhelming strength came down from above. The two Force Skins Leonel formed barely held up for a split moment before shattering like broken glass.

The mace crashed into his body, causing the small crater to expand a fold in size.

The cracks along the cobble stone streets spread out toward the various shops on the side, causing some of them to collapse on their foundations.

Leonel's chest caved inward, his face becoming badly distorted. When Lamorak lifted his mace once more, there was nothing but a mangled mess.. With how much blood there was, it was difficult to even differentiate the features of a normal human body.

To be continued