'30 seconds, I can handle at least that much without mana!' Gael's eyes blazed with determination.
His breathing was already uneven.
⠀
Mana churned beneath his skin, restrained by sheer will.
One mistake, one instinctive release, and the basement would collapse with the boy still inside it.
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Gael forced the power down.
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Raw flesh and bone would have to be enough.
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The chimera charged at Gael, attacking mindlessly while Gael kept dodging heavy hits. Each step was a gamble.
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The chimera's punches shattered the stone where Gael had just been less than a moment ago.
Wind pressure alone rattled his organs, his vision blurring with every near miss.
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He could not counter. He could not commit.
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All he could do was survive.
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'If one of those hits me while I am not enhancing my body with mana, it will destroy my bones,' Gael thought as he used his mana in his feet to become faster and lighter.
⠀
The air vibrated with each thud of the creature's feet.
Dust and splinters rained down as it lunged.
Every instinct screamed that a single misstep would crush him.
⠀
Gael's heart hammered, not from fear, but from the sheer calculation of survival. He could feel the chimera's gaze locking onto him like a predator sizing up prey.
⠀
The chimera adapted.
⠀
Its muscles bulged grotesquely as it accelerated, matching Gael's speed with terrifying ease.
Claws dug into the ceiling supports.
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Wood screamed.
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The creature tore a pillar free and swung it like a siege hammer.
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Gael's pupils shrank.
⠀
It was too wide to dodge.
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He twisted mid step, mana flooding into his arms as he raised his longsword sideways.
The impact hit like a battering ram.
⠀
Steel shrieked.
Pain detonated through Gael's chest. For a moment, Gael could not breathe.
⠀
The echo of the impact reverberated through the basement. Wood splintered like paper, dust coating Gael's mouth and nostrils.
He tasted copper and grit. Even after he recovered, the heat of the impact lingered, burning through muscle and bone.
⠀
His vision dimmed, white sparks bursting behind his eyes.
Something cracked, a rib or armor, he did not know.
⠀
He hit the wall hard enough to crater stone.
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If not for the sword braced across his chest, he would have folded in half.
⠀
Gael dragged himself from the rubble, coughing blood.
⠀
His left arm hung at an unnatural angle. Rage burned behind his eyes.
⠀
Gael surged forward, his blade carving down in a brutal arc.
⠀
The impact rang like steel on steel. The chimera did not even flinch.
⠀
Gael tightened his grip.
⠀
Blood dripped onto the shattered floor.
⠀
Leo, who was watching the fight unfold, was counting how much time was left for the transformation to end.
⠀
'Twenty seconds.'
⠀
Leo's nails dug into his palms.
This was not a knight fighting anymore, this was a man being ground down by something inhuman.
⠀
If Gael fell, no one would reach him in time.
⠀
Leo's mind raced.
He imagined the chaos above, the knights clashing with the remaining gang members.
Every second dragged, every heartbeat a drum of terror. He bit down hard, trying to block the panic rising in him.
⠀
If Gael went down now, everything would fall apart.
⠀
The thought made Leo's chest tighten.
⠀
Gael, whose blade was blocked, used the momentum of the charge and jumped from the chimera's body to the ceiling. He launched from the ceiling and, while falling, Gael drove the blade down.
⠀
Steel pierced flesh.
⠀
The sword sank deep into the chimera's eye socket.
⠀
The chimera howled.
⠀
It thrashed wildly, one massive arm smashing into Gael and sending him flying.
His grip tore free.
The sword remained buried.
Gael froze.
⠀
That sword was not just a weapon. It was every technique he had mastered, every instinct carved into muscle memory.
⠀
Without it, he was vulnerable.
⠀
The chimera turned.
Blood streamed from its ruined eye.
⠀
Gael felt something colder than fear settle in his gut.
⠀
'15 seconds! Could he really do it? Fighting a raging chimera all alone by himself!' Leo thought excitedly.
⠀
Gael, who had lost his sole weapon, was in a dilemma at how to proceed. He could not use most of his power because all his skills relied on a sword and were destructive. If he used them, Leo would most likely die from the shockwaves.
⠀
He could not concentrate all his mana on his feet because he had to defend his body from the chimera. Just as he was thinking this, the chimera, who was roaring in pain, ripped out the sword. It burst forward and used its tails, wrapping them tightly against Gael's body. It began a flurry of tens of punches, hitting him with grave accuracy.
Each hit gave him excruciating pain.
⠀
Gael's vision swam.
Teeth cracked together.
Blood sprayed from his mouth with every impact.
⠀
He could not raise his arms.
He could not breathe properly.
⠀
His body screamed for mana.
⠀
He refused to release it.
⠀
Gael, who was caught while not focused, tried to free himself but the constant punches and the pressure of the tail left him unable to defend himself. He was getting destroyed as blood flew from his face.
⠀
'Damn! There is no way he lasts until the last 10 seconds end. What do I do!?' Leo could not let the man who came to save him die, so he kept struggling against the ropes. The constant friction made his wrists bleed, but he did not stop.
⠀
The mages behind Gael immediately fired the spell of wind and fire magic arrow they were conjuring together. If it had enough time, it would have pierced through the chimera's head with a precise amount of force to not hurt Leo, but they used it early to free Gael.
⠀
The azure flame arrow made from wind hit the chimera's back, piercing it, but it did not let go of Gael. Instead, it grabbed Gael's sword next to it and threw it towards the mage on the left.
⠀
The sword flew at an imperceptible speed, striking the mage directly in his heart and leaving him impaled to the ground.
⠀
Gael, who saw his loyal subordinate die, immediately used his entire strength, concentrating his mana on his arms.
He pulled the tails towards him and slammed his forehead into the chimera's nose, blood spattering across the floor.
⠀
Gael got on top of the chimera's body and reinforced his fists with mana and punched over and over.
⠀
His eyes filled with hatred and sadness.
⠀
The sheer force of his mana reinforced fists shattered the chimera's face and skull, leaving it a bloody pulp.
⠀
Tears streamed down his face.
⠀
The chimera's body suddenly started pulsating with mana. Its body was becoming bloated. Gael's expression became grim as he realized immediately what was happening. He rushed towards Leo, trying to shield him.