'I ended up using Minor Flip one time more than my intended limit, but since it got me this weapon, I have no complaints…'
Rey was laughing aloud, but his mind was actually as calm as still water.
Everything was clear to him.
His attitude, his fierceness, and everything about his current demeanor… they were all a performance. Although he had invested his emotions into this battle, and he had gone into it prepared to lose a limb, he wasn't a crazed maniac.
Of course, he felt the pain.
Even now, he felt faint—at the brink of exhaustion.
But he couldn't let anyone think that way, especially not his final opponent.
If he showed weakness now, his next opponent would go for a battle of attrition, and with his leftover stamina, he wouldn't last very long. The Ether he had left in his reserves was also really low, which meant he couldn't use more than one Flipped Axis or two Minor Flips in the next round.
'My next opponent isn't as frightening as this one, and if I don't secure victory here, how would I even be able to face him?' By thinking this way, Rey justified his actions and recognized it as the most optimal choice.
Right now, he held all the cards.
"YOU BASTARD! I'LL SKIN YOU ALIVE!!!"
"Try." Rey smiled, sending an invisible slash towards his adversary.
The trajectory was a little off, since he couldn't see the invisible slash, so it only ended up grazing the ground and not touching Blood Shark.
"Hmm…"
His brows immediately creased.
Blood Shark had used this weapon so effortlessly that he expected it to be relatively easy to handle, but it was actually the opposite. The targeting function of the invisible blades was rather unintuitive to use.
It was a great wonder how Blood Shark was so accurate with his strikes.
Even when he lost an eye, he didn't have too terrible an aim. When Rey considered all of these things, his impression of the enemy rose by a level.
"Hahaha! Ignorant fool!" Blood Shark laughed in bitter mockery. "Don't even think about using my weapon. I spent several years mastering those invisible slashes. A nobody like you can never learn it right away!"
'Is that so…?' Rey cast his gaze on the dagger once more.
"Just give up! Although I can't see you, my heightened senses still allow me to narrow down your exact position. I'm much stronger and faster than you. I also have far more stamina. You're already at your limit, aren't you? I can hear your bated breath from afar. So don't pretend—"
WHOOSH!
All of a sudden, an invisible force swept through the air, and something sliced Blood Shark's cheek while he was still speaking.
"H-huh…?"
He felt confused at first, touching his cheek to feel his blood dripping from a shallow wound.
'Was that a fluke? There's no way he actually—'
Another strike came, and this time, it sliced off one of the fingers on his cheek.
"Gah!"
'N-no way!' Blood Demon's confusion began to rise as sweat formed on his face. 'It can't be! He couldn't have learned it so quickly!'
How could someone who had just started using the dagger strike him so accurately?
Especially at such a faraway distance!
It was impossible… right?
Right?!
But Blood Shark could clearly sense that Rey hadn't moved from his location, and that he had actually made slicing movements through the air.
His perception wasn't accurate, and he certainly couldn't accurately detect the invisible slashes, but he knew Rey had been the one to enact them. So, how did they land on his face and fingers without a single error?
'This wasn't what I was told!' Blood Shark began to tremble. 'This wasn't what he told me about this kid! He said he wasn't a big deal…!'
"What's wrong?" Rey's voice suddenly echoed in the air.
He seemed to be enjoying himself.
"What happened to your confidence from earlier? Come on! Keep talking shit!"
"Y-you—!" Blood Shark felt the pressure on him increasing. "How did you learn it so easily?"
"Oh, this?" Rey casually swung the blade and shrugged. "It's not that hard once you get a general feel of it."
The invisible strike slashed through the same cut on Blood Shark's cheek, causing even more thick blood to gush out.
"W-what?" He was dazed—no, utterly confounded.
How could Rey make such a casual statement?
Wasn't he just an ordinary slave?
'I was told I would be more than enough to kill him. That's why I took his job and came to this place. I knew my life wouldn't be in danger. But what is this? He's not an ordinary slave at all!'
But it was too late to turn back now.
Blood Shark knew… There was no escape for him.
'I already signed the contract, and it's impossible for me to break the Curse Art.'
He felt like cursing his client aloud, but Blood Shark couldn't even speak of the details of their agreement, including what he knew to be the man's alias.
'Damnit!' He gritted his teeth. 'You Sunlit Order bastards! Did you trick me!'
Before he could even conclude his thoughts, slashes began to rain on him, targeting specific joints and ligaments on his body. At first, the injuries were shallow, but Rey kept targeting the same locations, causing the wounds to deepen as time passed.
Blood Shark, of course, did his best to catch Rey.
But it was no use.
Without his sight, he could only get a general idea of Rey's position, and Rey was too nimble to be caught by him. This dance lasted for an excruciating period, and by the time Blood Shark finally began to slow down, his blood had already filled the entire arena.
He had lost so much blood that his muscular body began to revert to its more emaciated state.
In fact, he grew even leaner than before.
His body soon became as thin as a skeleton, and he became too weak to even stand.
Collapsing to his knees, he began to gasp for air.
Then, he started begging for his life.
"P-please… I can… I can still fight… Please…!"
Rey didn't even pay him any mind.
He simply kept slashing and slicing, not stopping until the enemy in front of him was nothing but mincemeat. It was only when he was certain of the man's death that he spoke.
"What a disappointing guy. I thought you would show me so much more, but it turns out you were all talk in the end…" Then, he cast his icy gaze on what remained of the Blood Shark.
"Tch." He spat on the butchered corpse in disdain. "Made me waste my emotions for nothing."