"Cough... Cough...! Cough cough cough!"
Shinno opened his mouth and vomited a large amount of fresh blood again.
The searing pain from his chest almost made Shinno faint. His consciousness and thoughts were shattered by the intense pain.
His previous backward leap saved his life.
Just as Aoto's blade was about to strike, Shinno reflexively stopped his body from lunging forward and quickly jumped back.
Although Aoto's sword still managed to cut him... the distance gained meant that Aoto's slash wasn't solid, with only the tip of the blade grazing his body.
Because of this, he was not killed on the spot and still had a breath of life left.
However... even though he wasn't killed instantly, Shinno was still hanging by a thread.
Aoto's "descending from the heavens" strike had slashed from his left shoulder all the way down to his right abdomen.
The massive wound almost split his entire upper body, and the sheer loss of blood could be described as horrifying.
