Chapter 106: Chapter106-A glimpse of a fight between two monsters

I glanced around at the chaos outside before turning back to Mickey. "But I need you to stop here, or...?" Mickey raised an eyebrow slightly. "Or?" I continued, "This time, I'm going to make sure you don't get away so easily." He asked, "You sure?" I said, "Yeah, I am sure, I will fuck you harder than last time-" Before I could finish my sentence, Mickey moved so quickly that I couldn't even track him. In an instant, he was right in front of me, his sword already slashing toward my stomach... I knew it... His speed took me by surprise, but my instincts kicked in. I quickly drew my dagger and blocked his blade just in time. The force of his strike was immense, and though I managed to change the direction of his sword, the sheer impact sent a shockwave through my arm, numbing my hand... Mickey didn't give me a second to recover. As soon as his blade was deflected, he twisted his wrist, bringing the sword around in a swift arc aimed at my shoulder. I barely managed to sidestep, feeling the air part as his blade sliced through the space where I had just been. "Not bad," Mickey said coolly, his voice as calm as if we were discussing the weather rather than locked in a deadly fight. "Fuck you!" I shouted. I had anticipated his attack. I was already suspicious because he took too long to answer my questions. Although he usually does that, this time felt different. He kept a close eye on my hands, which made me think he was up to something... So, I decided to test him by intentionally lowering my guard, making it seem like he could easily kill me if he managed to catch me off guard. And guess what? It actually worked. He tried to sneak attack me just like I expected, which means he won't be able to catch me off guard like that again. Despite that, my situation was dire. I gritted my teeth, trying to control my breathing. He was fasttoo fast. Each movement was insanely calculated... He wasn't just attacking blindly; he was testing me, pushing me to see how far I could go. I couldn't afford to stay on the defensive. I needed to counterattack, but Mickey's relentless assault kept me on edge. He lunged again, this time aiming low, targeting my legs to unbalance me. I jumped back, but he was already adjusting, spinning around to deliver a sweeping slash at chest height. My reflexes saved me. I crossed my dagger with my other arm, bracing myself as his sword clashed against my weapon. The impact forced me back several steps, my feet sliding across the floor as I struggled to maintain my balance. Mickey's gaze locked onto mine, a smirk playing on his lips. "You're slower than before," he commented, his tone almost mocking. "Losing your edge, are we?" I clenched my jaw, refusing to let his taunts get to me... Damn... He is purposely doing this... In the fight, it was obvious he wasn't using his full speed, even though he knew what I could do if given more time. Mickey's taunts cut deep. "Hey, you never told me how you'd feel if I'd managed to kill that bitch today?" I reached my breaking point... That's enough... I couldn't quite understand why, but my anger boiled over, growing beyond my control with each passing second... What's going on? Vivid memories of Emily at the park surged into my mind, fueling my fury even more. Now, why are these memories suddenly coming to my mind? Amidst this intense emotion, a system screen appeared before me: **(Rage Skill (Level 1) Activated!)** **(Host, all your attributes have been doubled for two seconds!)** What just occurred? Was it really that simple to activate this skill? I don't even know how I did it... Was it triggered by those memories or his taunts? Which one? But anyway... Regardless, it's the most timely support I could have asked for. My strength surged, my speed quickened, and for a brief moment, I felt an incredible power coursing through me. But two seconds wasn't nearly enough to finish Mickey. Realizing this, I knew I needed to upgrade my skill to extend its duration. Previously, I might have thought twice about doing this, but now that this skill was so important for my survival and could change things in any situation, it had become crucial for me. A new prompt appeared on the screen: **(Would you like to upgrade your Rage skill to Level 3?)** **(Yes/No)** **(You need 1100 Monster Essences to advance to the next level.)** **(Note: Monster Essences used for upgrading your ranks will be deducted from your character profile.)** I quickly clicked "yes" since I was in the middle of a fight. Luckily, within 10 seconds, the upgrade was finished, and new system messages popped up in my mind: (1100 Monster essences have been deducted from your character profile.) (Processing the upgrade...) (10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...0.) (Ding! Congratulations! Your Rage skill is now upgraded to Level 3!) Good, now I just needed to wait a bit longer... Mickey stood there, a smug expression frozen on his face. I couldn't tell what he was planning while he stayed in place, but I wasn't going to waste any more time. I charged at him, covering the few meters between us almost instantly. Without giving him a chance to react, I lunged forward, bringing both daggers into play. My right dagger aimed for his stomach, while the left went straight for his spine. As my daggers cut through, time seemed to slow down, making the moment feel surreal. I watched his face for any sign of fear or desperation, but his expression was unsettlingly blank, like a stone. Huh? What type of face is that? It was strange. How could he remain so calm, even as my daggers approached his vital areas? He didn't attempt to move or defend himself, which only added to my discomfort. Something didn't feel right. When my daggers were mere inches from their targets, I suddenly backed away. Just as I leaped back to safety, a massive explosion erupted where Mickey had been standing. **Boom** Debris and dust flew through the air, scattering in every direction... I was thrown to the side, but luckily, I didn't get injured much... As I hit the ground, I quickly stood up and, looked around, trying to find Mickey, but he had disappeared. "FUCK!" I barely avoided the blast, my heart racing from the close call. Fuck this shit! I... I was nearly killed by that jerk... The explosion confirmed that my instincts had been rightI'd been on the verge of walking into a trap. Where the fuck is he? My heart raced as I scanned the battlefield, hoping to spot him, but all I saw were people staring at me with a mix of shock and confusion on their faces... I paid no attention to them and kept looking for him, but in the end, I couldn't find him... "Damn it, I lost him again," I muttered under my breath. "Slippery bastard." As I was cursing him, I suddenly noticed something that made me realize I was in new trouble... The five Abominations that had been fighting earlier were now locked onto me. Ugh, another problem... This is why I always stayed back and watched the fights instead of getting involved... I sighed. Huhhh... Now, what should I do? They had stopped and were now all staring at me with a predatory look. It was like they had all decided at the same time that I was their next target. My breath caught in my throat... I have no choice but to fight. Even if I tried to run, they'd catch me easily, especially since I'm still just a silver ranker, a rank lower than them... I tightened my grip on my daggers, feeling the sweat on my palms as I realized just how bad my situation was. Still... let's see if I can come up with an escape plan with the little time I have. My mind raced, trying to come up with a plan, but before I could think further, another explosion shook the airthis one much bigger than the last. **Boom!** The ground shook hard as a massive shockwave swept across the battlefield. Winds howled, and debris flew through the air, swirling around like a deadly storm. I barely had time to shield my face from the flying metal and stone. The explosion's force knocked me back again, but this time I managed to stay on my feet. As the dust began to clear, I slowly lowered my arms and looked around. The battlefield had turned into a warzone, with fires raging uncontrollably and the ground ripped apart by the blast. My ears were ringing from the noise, but through the haze, I noticed something alarmingthe Abominations were still there, but now they were on high alert, their twisted bodies tense and ready to attack... Their focus had shifted from me to something else in the distance. I turned my head to see what had caught their attention. What was that? Through the smoke, I saw a figure standing in the middle of the destruction. Is that? At first, I couldn't tell who it was, but then I realized... The first person was Marcus, and the second one was Drek. They stood there, outlined by the flames... Marcus had a blank expression, while Drek's face was as cold as ice. Seeing Drek's bloody face gave me a chill down my spine. Both were in rough shapeMarcus was missing an arm, and Drek had lost an ear. I couldn't figure out how they were still conscious with those injuries. A regular hunter would have fainted by now, but here they are, facing each other and ignoring everything else around them... Monsters... Only monsters could keep going like this. Oh right, I almost forgotthey are monsters. Their bleeding had slowed, but it was still dripping slowly. How long had they been fighting for it to come to this? Still, I have to admit, I was pretty satisfied with the look on Drek's face. Only one person could make him bleed, and that was Marcus, who was right in front of him. Two monsters fighting each other... Oh, what a fight this will be! Their stance gave me major hero vs. villain vibes, and I was really excited to see them face off. Honestly, I wanted to find out who would winDrek or Marcus. This is what you call a legendary battle... And within a few minutes, the fight started up again. The start of the fight wasn't... As impressive as I expected. Marcus, his left arm now completely free of any weapon, used his remaining strength to wield his sword with fierce precision.... Hmm? Shouldn't they be moving faster? How come I can see them so clearly? Maybe they're saving their energy for the final push. I'm sure that must be the case... He stepped forward with a heavy stomp, grounding himself for another powerful swing. His blade arced down with a shuddering force aimed directly at Drek's shoulder. Drek, anticipating the attack, rolled to his right, his movements fluid despite his injuries. As he landed on his feet, he quickly pivoted on his right heel, spinning around to face Marcus. He countered with a low swipe, targeting Marcus's legs, but Marcus leaped over the strike, his boots barely clearing the deadly sweep. Marcus landed on his feet, thrusting his sword forward in a quick, stabbing motion. Drek ducked under the blade, his left foot shifting back to maintain balance as he slashed upward with his sword. The fight seemed to be going at a steady pace until suddenly, both of them vanished out of thin air. Huh? What the fuck just happened? I scanned the area frantically, but all I saw were faces filled with confusion and concern, their attention split between the the two leaders fight and, monsters beside them... I really wanted to know the outcome, but looks like I would have to wait for that... I needed to focus on what I was doing. Without hesitating, I sprinted towards a specific part of the battlefield, where no one was paying attention since they were all caught up in their own fights. My boots thudded heavily on the scorched ground as I raced toward my target. As I got closer to the masked rebela silver ranker who was much less skilled than the high-ranking fighters aroundhe was open of the rebels who was standing silently watching the battle just like me... He had his back mostly turned, so he didn't notice me coming. He only had a split second to react when he felt something was off. He turned his head towards me, looking surprised and suspicious. Before he could say more than, "What are", I took quick action. I threw both of my daggers at him with precision. The daggers sliced through the air, aimed straight at his exposed torso and limbs. Before the daggers even hit their target, I quickly pulled out my gun. The cold metal felt solid in my hand as I fired, sending three bullets flying toward him. The daggers struck first, slamming into his shoulders and abdomen with sharp, metallic thuds. "Ahhhhhh!" He grimaced in pain and staggered from the force. The bullets followed right after, hitting his legs and making him stumble even more. Even though my gun wasn't very effective against the high-ranking fighters, it was still useful against lower-ranked enemies like him. The combination of my daggers and bullets took him down to one knee, clutching his wounds. His eyes were wide with shock and pain, and he struggled to stay upright. I took advantage of his weakened state and moved in closer. His eyes were wide with shock and pain. "How... How?" I moved in closer as he struggled to stay upright. "I'm not here for answers. Just... don't try to get up." He gasped, trying to catch his breath. "You... you're just a silver ranker" His voice faltered as he winced from the pain, his strength fading. "Please... spare me... I didn't want this..." I looked down at him, indifferent. "It's too late for that." He let out a pained cough, his body slumping further. "I... Please..."