That strike was both fast and tricky! And it came from Amamiya Rin's blind spot.
Using such despicable means against a disabled person with limited mobility—was there any possibility of missing?
The Vampire thought not, but things in this world rarely go as one wishes.
The perception of the [Gate of Contemplation] far exceeded vision. Amamiya Rin didn't even turn his head completely. Relying solely on the sound of footsteps landing on the ground, the tearing sound of air being sliced by fingernails, and the instinctive chill on his skin regarding danger, he judged the direction of the attack.
Just as the Vampire's sharp claws were about to pierce Amamiya Rin's skin, in that split second, Amamiya Rin exerted force with his feet, his body violently tilting to the right side.
Rip—!
The Vampire's sharp fingernails grazed past Amamiya Rin's left scapula. His patient gown tore in response, leaving three stinging bloody streaks.
The pain was transmitted clearly, but Amamiya Rin's mental state did not fluctuate in the slightest. At the same moment his body was about to fall to the ground, his hands had already gripped the middle and tip of the cane. The moment his body twisted, he thrust the cane out in a posture resembling a billiards shot.
The end of the cane transformed into a scorpion's sting, poking fast and accurately toward the inside of the Vampire's right elbow joint, which was completely exposed due to her arm swing!
"Gah!"
The rubber tip of the cane sank precisely into the Vampire's cubital fossa. Her right arm trembled violently as if electrocuted. The numbness from the compressed ulnar nerve darted through her entire forearm like an electric current. Her five fingers convulsed uncontrollably, and her arm hung limply, yet unable to be fully vertical. Her body also experienced a brief stiffness due to the pain.
Seizing this opportunity, Amamiya Rin exerted force with a single foot, rolling two meters to the front-right side, opening up distance from the Vampire, and raised his cane once more.
The Vampire remained where she was, her face extremely twisted.
Evidently, although she was a Vampire, her anatomy seemed little different from a human's, possessing the same physical weaknesses.
The popliteal fossa of the knee joint is a gathering place for nerves and tendons; a heavy blow there triggers intense pain, forcing leg muscles to spasm and making it impossible to straighten the leg.
The depression on the inner side of the elbow joint is the ulnar nerve groove; an attack there directly compresses the ulnar nerve, causing forearm numbness.
Amamiya Rin's three attacks: one injured the right eye, one injured the right leg, and the last injured the right arm. As a result, the Vampire's upper body leaned unnaturally, her unbalanced body shifting its center of gravity to her left leg.
(A very clear opening, and also my only chance.)
Amamiya Rin gave a low shout, as if staking his last bit of strength. His feet stepped forward in quick succession, approaching the Vampire with small, rapid steps. The cane in his hand turned into a black line, stabbing straight for the Vampire's heart!
This full-momentum strike startled the Vampire. After being injured three times, her apprehension and fear of Amamiya Rin made her nerves highly taut. Her body retreated two steps. Swinging her intact left arm, she used all her strength to grab the cane stabbing toward her.
The Vampire's five fingers were like pincers, accurately grabbing the middle section of the incoming cane.
The expected resistance did not appear. Almost effortlessly, she snatched the cane from Amamiya Rin's hands.
The absolute crushing superiority in strength made her succeed too quickly, too smoothly, so much so that a stunned expression appeared on her ferocious face.
And in that instant when she was distracted by this overly smooth disarming—when the old force was spent and new force had not yet generated—Amamiya Rin followed the momentum of her pull. Using his power-accumulating left leg as an axis, his body spun like a top. Using the footwork known in Kendo as Ten-soku (Turning Foot), he circled into the Vampire's right side like a ghost.
With this spin, it felt to the Vampire as if he had vanished into thin air, because the direction Amamiya Rin dodged was precisely her blind spot. With her right eye heavily injured, the Vampire couldn't see Amamiya Rin's shadow at all.
And in that position, not only was it the Vampire's blind spot, but there also lay a cane!
Amamiya Rin's other cane. The moment he had actively attacked, he had deliberately kicked it to a position the Vampire would hardly notice!
Amamiya Rin's body sank with the momentum of the spin. His left hand reached for the ground, grazing the damp grass and soil, and snatched up the pre-positioned cane. The movement was so fluid it seemed tempered by a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements.
He had almost no time to adjust his posture, relying entirely on instincts honed over thirty-one years of dreams.
In the disadvantageous posture of half-kneeling with an extremely low center of gravity, Amamiya Rin transmitted the remaining power of his whole body through his waist and abdomen to his left shoulder, then poured it into his left arm. He even leaned his body into it, using his entire body weight as the thrust for this final strike.
In an instant, the cane transformed into a thrusting spear. At a tricky upward angle, it chiseled ruthlessly into the root connecting the Vampire's left thigh and torso!
"Ah—!!!"
A heart-rending howl burst from the Vampire's throat. The dense nerves and sensitive tendons in the groin area suffered such a heavy blow, producing intense pain far exceeding other areas.
Her left hand, gripping the other cane, loosened instantly. Her entire person was like a shrimp that had its bone suddenly removed; her body bowed violently, and her legs clamped together uncontrollably.
Amamiya Rin also fell to the ground with this strike. He panted violently. Lying on the cane made his chest ache dully, and the scratch on his left scapula oozed blood due to the large movement. The strength in his whole body seemed to have been drained empty.
However, it was not yet time for it to end. Amamiya Rin struggled to stand up with all his might, barely squeezing out the scant remaining strength from his body. He raised the cane, pointing it at the Vampire. Rapid breaths exhaled white mist from his mouth, and the sweat on his forehead became denser, yet he prepared to launch an attack on the Vampire at any moment.
The Vampire also barely straightened her body, her face unusually ferocious. Her eyes looking at Amamiya Rin were filled with vicious killing intent. She raised her foot, wanting to walk toward Amamiya Rin.
However, as soon as the leg was raised, severe pain spread again. The Vampire's body stiffened, and she swayed to the left due to loss of balance, hurriedly using her left hand to support herself on a tree trunk a few steps away.
Amamiya Rin's condition was very poor, but with four vital areas injured in succession, the Vampire's condition was no better than Amamiya Rin's.
Of her four limbs, only her left arm could move freely. With her legs suffering heavy blows to vital points, even walking a step was difficult.
The two wounded combatants confronted each other like this, neither able to immediately launch an attack on the other.
However, a smug look appeared on the Vampire's ferocious face. Her constitution was far superior to an ordinary person's; it wouldn't take long for her to recover.
In the end, this battle would still be her victory.
"Quick! Over by the trees!"
Suddenly, chaotic human voices and running footsteps came from the distance. Beams from flashlights cut through the dim woodland.
The Vampire's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly looked in the direction the lights were shining from, seeing five or six silhouettes running over from the sidewalk.
"Hey, Vampire. I was waiting for reinforcements. What were you waiting for?"
Amamiya Rin smiled and asked the Vampire.
The Vampire glared viciously at Amamiya Rin. She said nothing, forcing her body to hold up as she stumbled and ran into the depths of the darkness.
____
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