132 The Faceless Man
“…”
He stood there, catching his breath as he watched in disgust at the result of his actions, looking at the headless corpse before he sealed away his own guilt as his head suddenly throbbed with an urgent pain.
“Grrrgh–!!!”
It was a headache beyond all measure, feeling as though a dozen tiny pricks were hammering down into his skull.
…Maximizing my senses results in this just after a few seconds? Shit…I have to hurry, he thought.
Utilizing his amplified senses, he scoured the basement unhindered, finding Xiaodan, who was wandering aimlessly in the dark like a lost child–jumping as his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
“Wha-?! Who–!?”
“It’s just me…” He assured Xiaodan weakly, pulling him alone, “–Hurry!”
“R-right,” Xiaodan nodded.
Together, with Xiaodan being led behind him by a hold on his wrist, they ventured to the back of the basement, finding Eunji, who he found through his senses that latched onto her scent and minuscule sounds of muffled breathing.
“How did you…?” Xiaodan asked, realizing he perfectly led them to the girl.
“It’s hard to explain,” he answered with a wry chuckle, “Help me out.”
“–Of course!” Xiaodan nodded.
If anything, Xiaodan was a hard-worker, helping him untie Eunji and free her from the bindings that were set on her by the beheaded man.
“Hhh…Jeong-Hui?…And?” Eunji asked quietly.
“Xiaodan,” the silver-haired, girly-faced young man answered for her with a small smile.
“Sorry…Thank you both…” Eunji said weakly.
It was clear she was still half-conscious from everything that had occurred, but he was just relieved to have found her in the first place.
She’s unhurt…that’s good, he thought.
Releasing his maximized senses, the headache mostly subsided, though he could still feel a slight throbbing alongside a heat inside of his head.
“…I can carry her,” Xiaodan told him with a smile as they reached the stairs.
“Huh? No, it’s…” He tried to shake his head, but Xiaodan didn’t listen.
The verdant-eyed, slightly-tan figure hoisted Eunji onto his back, though they were nearly the same size, so it seemed like more of a hassle.
“Get some rest…is what I’d like to say,” Xiaodan told him, “…I have a feeling we won’t be getting any rest for a good bit now. I can do this, at least.”
“Thanks…” He nodded with a tired smile.
—
[Seventh Floor]
“Ya’ talked a big game, but yer’ still helpless! Hahaha!”
DRUM. DRUM. DRUM.
The taunts from the stand-still, dreadlock-wearing man were accompanied by percussive thuds as he slapped the palms of his metallic gauntlets against the astral instruments.
“…Ya’ talk too much!” Yeong-Un replied through his gritted teeth. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
–Here it comes! He thought.
It was a faint feeling he latched onto, but a small gust, or rather a roar of the attack’s arrival brushed against his body before the main hit came, prompting him to leap up.
The blast of unseen force zoomed past the spot he stood as he managed to evade it–much to the surprise of the muscular, masked man.
“Wha–?!” The man growled out.
He smirked, wiping the sweat from his bruised chin as he landed back on his feet, “…I told ya’. I’m just gettin’ started!”
The man stomped his muddy boots down, flexing his tanned arms as he clicked his tongue, “Don’t get cocky off of a fluke, brat!”
Again, he raised his gauntlets before beginning to slam his palms down against the drums that hovered at his sides in their ghostly form.
DRUM. DRUM. DRUM. DRUM. DRUM. DRUM.
It was more at once than ever before, all coming in quick succession towards the bruised-and-battered adolescent.
…I feel it now! The vibrations beneath my boots…The hum of the air–I’ve got the hang of this crap! He grinned.
Using his animalistic nimbleness, he burst forward, using the walls as footing as he evaded the blasts of unseen force that carved through the hall, leaping swiftly from wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor, as he closed the distance between himself and the enemy.
The burly man began to be pressed, growling and grunting as he picked up the pace–frantically beating the astral drums now as the swift, spiky-haired adolescent grew closer.
…I’ve got it now! Yer’ attacks are easy-peasy once you get it! He thought.
He didn’t rely on his sight at all, instead feeling the vibrations tremor through the air itself, listening to the hum against his ears as he timed his swift hops perfectly with a battle-driven grin faced down at his enemy.
“–I’m bringin’ it to ya’!” He yelled out, leaping directly towards the man as he reared his dual blades back.
“I told ya’: don’t get cocky!”
–Before the man could reach down for another slam of his drums, an unexpected burst of speed came from the young man:
“Leaping Tiger, Lunging Mantis!” He invoked.
It concentrated all of his muscles on his legs, tightening and condensing them as he curled them as if crouching on the air itself before kicking off as if the empty space itself was a foothold, unleashing a shock wave.
The extra burst of speed formed in midair propelled him forth as he spun around–reaching the tall, muscle-bound man as he slashed both of his blades.
CLINK.
At the last moment, the GOETIA System-user managed to raise his large gauntlets like a shield, but it only mitigated the damage from death to near-lethal.
“Tsk,” he clicked his tongue after having his assault guarded against.
Due to the insane boost of the previous skill, he landed far down the hall, several meters away from the darkly-dressed, tattooed man.
For some reason, the burly man was as still as a statue, still holding his arms up before beginning to turn around, mumbling undecipherable words in anger.
“Huh? What’re ya’ yappin’ about?!” He called out.
–Seconds after the attack, he finally saw it: the mask the man wore split in half from the attack, and from his other blade, the man’s chest was lacerated, spewing out fresh crimson that trailed down his bare torso.
“Ngh…! Damn you…!”
What the…? He thought.
His silent reaction came from what he saw beneath the man’s mask: a face, or rather, lack thereof–all of the skin on his face had seemingly been burned away from an old wound, leaving only his wide, inhuman eyes visible with his fleshy features on display.
“Y-ya’ sonuvabitch! Ya’ seen it now…!” The burly man growled, attempting to cover his face with one of his gauntlets, “I’ll kill ya’ dead–!!!”
“Huh?! Who the fuck cares about yer’ face!” He yelled out.