Chương 161: Born Free, Die Free

Abrafo clenched his teeth and stared at Elion lying on the ground.

"Defeated? You're the one lying on the ground, not me. I'm the winner". Elion tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond.

"Shit…he's not entirely wrong. Looking at it this way, it really does seem like he won". He tried to get back up, but his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground again. His vision was growing increasingly blurred as his energy left him. Then, suddenly, a memory. Shigeru turning toward him.

"Every human being is born free and must die free. You, Elion, have won your freedom because you are strong. You are the strongest person I have ever known". Elion clenched his teeth and fists. With a desperate effort, he forced himself back onto his feet. His legs trembled and the world spun around him, but he managed to remain standing. He raised his saber and pointed it at Abrafo.

"Well?" he said, his voice strained but firm.

"What do you say now, big guy? Who's the real winner?" Silence fell for a moment. Then the crowd erupted into applause and exclamations.

"Incredible…who would have ever picked her to win?"

"Good thing we didn't bet!" Abrafo lowered his gaze.

"What a humiliation". Felicity approached Elion.

"That was truly impressive".

"I told you…I'm extremely fast", Elion replied in a faint voice.

"Do you need help?"

"Yes…I'd appreciate it if you could help me stay on my feet". Felicity nodded and supported him. Then she turned toward Abrafo with a cold gaze.

"Take us to your damn boss". Agnes, Makena, and Sven joined them as well. Makena drew her bow and aimed it at Abrafo without hesitation. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"No tricks, or I'll put an arrow through your skull". Abrafo glared at her with contempt.

"What do you take me for? I'm a man of honor, and I keep my word. Besides, you'll all die against Ravetrisk anyway. Why would I stop you? In fact, by telling you where the hideout is, I'll be sending you straight to your deaths". He turned around and began walking, leading them toward the hideout. Meanwhile, Ravetrisk and Ethan were still fighting inside the hideout. Ravetrisk continued to block every attack, while Ethan rapidly exhausted his energy.

His strikes were filled with rage and desperation; he put all his strength into every attack, causing his body to tire faster and faster. Ravetrisk noticed. Ethan was becoming progressively slower, and his attacks were losing their power. So he continued blocking or dodging, allowing Ethan to exhaust himself further. Finally, with a sidestep, he found an opening. Ethan's guard was down. Ravetrisk delivered a precise, clean slash. Ethan's left arm was severed cleanly and fell to the ground with a dull thud.

An enormous amount of blood burst from the wound. Ethan merely clenched his teeth. He didn't even scream. The adrenaline and rage coursing through him were so intense that he could barely feel the pain. He glared at Ravetrisk and picked up his sword from the ground with his remaining arm, while blood continued to pour from the other.

"How…how is this possible?!" Ravetrisk exclaimed, stunned. Ethan charged forward again, attacking with only one arm. Ravetrisk blocked the strike with both hands.

"You're not human…you damn bastard".

"I won't stop…" Ethan growled, his eyes bloodshot.

"I won't stop until I defeat you…" Meanwhile, Felicity and the others followed Abrafo. As they walked, Felicity supported Elion while he explained his technique to her: the ability to divide a single second into a sequence of instants. Felicity's eyes widened.

"That's an incredible technique".

"Yes, but it consumes an absurd amount of energy, and it's difficult to control". Felicity thought for a moment.

"Then why didn't you aim for his throat or eyes right away?" Elion slowly shook his head.

"Like I said, it's difficult to control. Sometimes, even when I think I've hit a specific area, I end up hitting somewhere else. It requires perfect control, and no swordsman is capable of that. But when I managed to sever his axillary nerves on my final attempt…I was amazed at myself".

"Perfect control is impossible, but you can still come close to perfection. If I were you, I'd train to become stronger. By perfecting your technique, you could become an extremely dangerous swordsman". Abrafo stopped in front of the wall of an old church. The building was abandoned and covered in sand. That wall was the only part of the structure that had remained intact.

"Why did you stop?" Sven asked.

"The hideout is here". Abrafo pointed at the wall.

"Push it". Sven approached and pushed against the wall. It rotated on itself, revealing a hidden passage.

"It's true…" he murmured.

"There's an entrance". Makena smiled, then looked at Abrafo.

"Good. Lead the way. Take us to your boss". Abrafo grinned.

"Oh no. You'll have to find him yourselves".

"By ourselves?"

"Yes. By yourselves. I would have loved to see him kill you…see you in hell, bastards". Without warning, he bit down hard on his tongue. Blood immediately filled his mouth. Abrafo collapsed to the ground and began coughing up blood, choking as the others stared at him in confusion.

"Damn you…" Makena hissed. They didn't have time to help him. After a few seconds, Abrafo stopped breathing. Agnes was shocked. Felicity, however, stared impassively at the corpse.

"It doesn't matter". Then she turned toward the passage.

"We'll find him ourselves. Let's go". And so they entered through the wall, heading straight toward Ravetrisk.