456 Why is he here?
Onicuss clenched his fist and attacked Kyle's heart, a spot he had been avoiding so the human wouldn't die too early. But now, the human was getting on his nerves to the point where it bothered him in an unpleasant manner.
Kyle's eyes narrowed into slits as his ears picked up the faint rustling of the wind. In that moment, his eyes started glowing and he managed to fix his gaze on the fist rapidly closing in on him.
'Damn it!'
He strained his muscles and used his agility to its fullest to move away on the ground as Onicuss' fist landed an inch away from him. In an instant, the land blasted into many pieces as the shadow general shifted his gaze to locate the human who had once again vanished into thin air.
Kyle coughed up more blood as the last remnants of mana in his body dissipated, just like his divine energy after another usage of instant teleportation. His body crashed to the ground just meters away from Onicuss, who stepped towards him with a raised eyebrow.
"Ugh..."
Kyle grabbed his knees and managed to stand on his feet, but then he saw another attack heading towards him. He stumbled backward, attempting to block the attack, yet he couldn't do it in time. However, just as Onicuss' hand was an inch away from his heart, under the watchful eyes of many, a blue shield zoomed out from his chest and stopped the shadow general's attack.
Immediately, a loud sound echoed through the air as Onicuss' narrowed his eyes and his hand collided with the shield, which shimmered in the darkness.
Kyle also glanced at the familiar shield. It had been a while since he had seen it, as it hadn't been very useful to him after he found it in the ancient realm. Then he raised his eyes to fix his gaze on the man opposite him.
"Ha... That was close..."
Onicuss let out a snort and attacked once again, this time with a little more strength. Kyle's breath hitched as the blue shield shattered into countless fragments right before his eyes, and the impact sent his body flying several meters back.
His body rolled in mid-air, and his feet skidded on the ground as he desperately tried to maintain balance with gritted teeth. However, his vision started to blur as blood rushed to his head, causing him to drop to his knees.
He raised his head and glanced at the figure clad in grey. Onicuss let out a smile and gazed down at him.
"So, do you want to die yet, human?"
Kyle's fingers twitched as he reached out for his sword, which trembled in the distance, far from his body. He had been gathering his essence since the beginning of the fight. It was very hard to focus on multiple things at once, but he somehow managed to gather a few particles. He just hoped the essence would at least injure the man standing across from him.
Kyle knew the secret of his bloodline would be revealed once he used the particles, but right now he didn't give a damn. His life was what mattered most, and he couldn't let the person who is trying to kill him walk away unscathed.
His eyes turned blank as he contemplated the worst outcome. If he were to die today, what would be the point of having such a strong bloodline? It would be meaningless.
He needed to use it to kill or injure the one who made him so miserable, just to reassure himself...
Onicuss watched as Kyle's fingers beckoned the sword in the distance. The shadow general couldn't help but laugh at the human's final struggle.
Nevertheless, he found amusement in the fact that he had never met someone so incredibly stubborn in his entire life. The human knew that he would die, yet he refused to submit like all the others Onicuss had encountered thus far.
"Do you still think you can fight back?"
"How pathetic. Can't you see you are already at death's door? Your breath is leaving your body, human."
Kyle's eyes crinkled, even though his whole body was screaming with pain. His clothes were torn and countless massive injuries covered every inch of his body.
"I don't think... I can let you live..."
He whispered with a barely audible voice, but due to the silence, everyone floating in the air heard his words loud and clear.
Onicuss's lips curved upward into a smile, and he deliberately let out a gasp.
"I'm so scared. What are you going to do? Punch me or stab me with the sword you are secretly reaching for?"
"Oho, you picked the blade?"
Kyle grabbed the sword and watched as Onicuss stepped back. In the next second, the elven man coated his fist with a layer of energy that had a pure white color. The shadow general's eyes showed that he thoroughly enjoyed Kyle's struggle.
"Human, tell me your name. I'm giving you a chance to be remembered by me because you made my day today."
Kyle's eyes narrowed as he pushed his body up to stand on his feet. Immediately, he wobbled as blood trickled down his body and almost lost his balance again. But he managed to stabilize himself by stabbing the sword in his hand into the ground. He glanced at the shadow general.
"You want to remember me? Alright, it's Kyle... my name. Don't you ever forget this name because I will be the one to kill you."
He meant what he said, even if he would have to die under the countless people around him after injuring the shadow general. He wouldn't regret it.
Onicuss's expression hardened when he saw the confidence and hint of arrogance in the human's eyes, which seemed to shine even brighter, almost as if they were burning.
"Kyle? A good name, I must say. But has no one ever told you that you are very annoying and have a knack for getting on others' nerves?"
He watched as the human clenched one of his fists and let out a strained chuckle.
"Maybe... my mind is too hazy to recall such little details."
Kyle quickly grabbed the sword he had stabbed into the ground. However, he caught Onicuss off guard by hurling the sword in a different direction. Then he leaped towards the shadow general. As he clenched his fist, a surge of excruciating pain shot through his spine. But he focused on the few blue particles he had gathered inside his body and controlled them, so they would move towards his fist.
'Now... everything depends on the essence in my body...'
Onicuss chuckled and swayed his neck from side to side as he locked his eyes on Kyle. He knew better than to underestimate his enemies, especially the human coming at him, who had continuously surprised him. He was aware that the human must have something up his sleeve, which explained his confident lunge.
That's why he used a significant portion of his strength as he raised his fist envelope in white energy to match Kyle's attack. The power he used was enough to severely injure a divine-ranked individual, let alone a badly wounded pseudo-divine human.
However, what happened next surprised Onicuss once again.
He watched as Kyle approached him, but then suddenly, the human's face displayed an expression that he had not seen since their first encounter. The expression of dread and utter disbelief.
Onicuss wondered what happened in just a split second for the human to change his expression, but yet again, he was surprised when Kyle's fist collided with his. He felt a faint tickle on his knuckles and watched as the human was flung backward. Kyle's body skidded on the ground for a minute before his back crashed into a boulder with a resounding boom.
The shadow general looked at his fist in utter confusion. So, the human's last attack didn't mean anything?
Onicuss couldn't believe his prediction about how Kyle would use a powerful attack or secret artifact against him was completely wrong.
"....?"
But after a few seconds of silence, he burst into laughter so loud that the air around him quivered. Seeing the shadow general laughing, everyone floating in the air also started to laugh at the human.
Amidst the countless noises, all of a sudden, the mana and all type of energies on the planet started to dissipate.
Onicuss's smile vanished when the black five-petal flower engraved at the back of his hand started to emit intense heat.
He snapped his head up toward the dark sky, which began to brighten up with a deep red and purple hue, enveloping the entire planet in its embrace.
All of a sudden, everyone floating in the air started gasping for air, and Onicuss let out a shocked cry. His forehead turned sweaty, and his hands started trembling as he lowered his head, not even daring to gaze at the sky that started to tear up with countless cracks.
"No... why is master here!? Why!? No one had seen him for so many years..."