At that critical second, Black activated his Level 2 boots. The single-use thruster feature embedded within the soles blasted all of his remaining energy, desperate to save him from the deathly shredding of the two-and-a-half-meter-tall monster.
Cshiuuup!
BOOM!
Exactly one second before Gopis's axe blade could cleave his skin, Black's body propelled forward like a bullet, escaping the blast zone. Debris and ancient dust erupted massively into the air. The nocturnal birds nesting in the giant tree branches above scattered in panic, sensing a vibration far more terrifying than anything before.
Black spun through the air like a tiger, preparing to land on his shoulder before immediately transitioning into a standing position. However, the thrust from the boots was too brutal for his knees, which were already trembling from the relentless barrage of prior attacks. Black's legs gave out, and he crashed hard onto the ground once more.
CRACK!
The iron mask that had been cracking all this time finally shattered and fell from his face. Fresh blood instantly gushed from his forehead, cutting through the dust on his face, which now looked pale white from extreme exhaustion.
Amidst the heavy dizziness, his hunter's instinct shrieked hysterically, screaming at him not to lie on the ground any longer as an easy target. With both arms trembling violently under his own weight, Black pushed his body with all his might, forcing his legs to stand to sprint with whatever steps he had left.
Black's footsteps slammed against the cracked surface of the ancient asphalt in a frantic rhythm. Behind him, the sound of tearing wind from the Shadow's giant axe swings echoed incredibly close, severing hanging roots as thick as a man's thigh as if they were mere threads. Black did not dare to look back. His eyes were locked tight on the sea of neon lights at the end of the alleyway, drawing closer and closer.
Just a little more... a few more meters!
In the darkness of the night, Gopis stood firm, wielding a colossal axe with a blade the size of a door. Its long handle, crafted from jet-black wood, gleamed mystically. Gopis grinned widely. His pitch-black skin blended perfectly into the darkness, leaving only a terrifying flash from his pearly white front teeth.
"You're nimbler than a gutter rat, Black! Brace yourself!" Gopis roared hoarsely.
Gopis suddenly spun his muscular torso with extreme speed like a giant spinning top, creating a vortex of storm wind that whipped up the dust and ancient leaves around them. With a single sharp thrust of his feet, he charged forward, carrying that storm of death with him.
"TORNADO SLASH!"
Gopis's thundering roar automatically forced Black to glance back. At that exact microsecond, Black's pupils dilated and trembled violently as he witnessed the vortex of sharp wind ready to shred his body to pieces.
The gale of pure force sliced through the air, carrying the rotating giant axe blade horizontally, splitting the night. Black knew that in his current condition, dodging in a straight line was suicide. The radius of Gopis's swing was too wide.
"Damn it!" Black cursed.
The moment before the colossal blade could sever his waist, Black dropped his entire body weight to the ground, sliding on his back across the cracked ancient asphalt. Void Slide! The emergency military escape technique of PETERUMMAN successfully saved him through raw instinct, but the shockwave from Gopis's Tornado Slash still hit his body dead-on.
BLAM!
The walls of the old building on their right shattered into splinters from the impact of Gopis's gale. Black's body was thrown several meters forward, tumbling brutally across the ground before finally colliding with the city boundary fence with a loud crash.
CRASH!
Now, without his iron mask to protect him, Black's pale face was covered in streaks of blood that had begun to dry and mix with dust. His chest felt suffocated; his ribs felt fractured. Yet, amidst his blurring vision, he realized something.
He was no longer in the darkness of the forest.
An extreme neon glow of red and purple instantly pierced his eyes, right in front of him. The raucous roar of the crowd from The Silent Stage suddenly echoed clearly in his ears.
Gopis strode forward, shouldering his massive axe. The grin on his face grew even wider as he stared at the crowd of humans at the edge of the sanctuary city. "The iron law, huh? Let's see how sturdy this dumpster's law holds against my axe," he hissed gleefully.
Back in the spectator stands, Kacuk's steps abruptly halted. His attention was completely seized, no longer by the fierce battle between Han and Gepo, but by a violent tremor rippling subtly from underground. The massive shockwave caused by Gopis's giant axe outside had traveled so far that it even made the two gladiators in the center of the arena halt their movements a split second before their weapons clashed.
"Why did you stop?" Mira turned, staring in confusion at Kacuk, who had suddenly frozen.
"It seems... there will be a much larger bloodshed out there!" Kacuk said, narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses, trying to read the situation.
A moment later, the atmospheric pressure inside The Silent Stage shifted drastically. A heavy wind pressure and a constant, subtle vibration began to draw the attention of the fighters and humans with sharp instincts. Something monstrous was approaching the city center.
BOOM!
A massive silhouette plummeted rapidly from the open ceiling, crashing violently into the concrete floor of the arena, shattering it into pieces. Before the dust could even settle, two more human silhouettes were brutally hurled down a second later.
Thud! Thud!
Han and Gepo reacted with lightning speed, leaping backward to escape the radius of the unexpected impact.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING?! IT SEEMS WE HAVE INTRUDERS BOLD ENOUGH TO DISRUPT THIS SACRED DUEL!" the commentator shouted hysterically through the loudspeakers. Instantly, thousands of spectators in the stands stood up in unison, creating a roaring wave of panic.
In the midst of the arena's swirling dust, two city guards lay dead in a gruesome state. Between them, Black fought hard to push himself up. Thick, fresh blood dripped heavily from the corner of his mouth, staining the remaining shards of his shattered iron mask. His signature black dagger was now riddled with a thousand fractures, trembling violently within his blood-soaked grip. He gasped for air, struggling to straighten his nearly broken body.
Seeing the brutal chaos, Han and Gepo no longer held their stances to fight each other. Their gladiator instincts screamed the same thing: they had to fight to save their own lives.
Right at the end of the dark tunnel—the place where fighters usually emerged—a colossal silhouette walked casually with an aura of death so thick and suffocating. The presence of the mysterious figure carrying the massive axe radiated a crushing air pressure, as if it could halt the breath of the entire stadium in a single blink of an eye.