71 Lonely Stand
As Korain was launched into the air, flipping around helplessly from the force of the mighty blow, the angel flew upwards, meeting him amidst the winds with a smirk.
“Take a nap for me,” Radueriel told him exclusively, “…When you wake up, all of your companions will be dead!”
With a tremendous kick, the burly man was sent down with a shock wave that broke the sound barrier, causing him to crash down into the asphalt like a fallen meteor, releasing a tremor and a wave of dust that filled the block.
“Korain–!” Yeong-Un yelled out.
Yeong-Un and Eunji were the first ones to move, with himself and Moon quickly following as they rushed to the man’s side, moving as quickly as possible.
The mix-colored-haired man could be seen in the near distance, embedded into the street, fallen unconscious and bleeding from multiple orifices as his “Abandon” seemed to automatically disable with the loss of consciousness.
“Shit–! Korain…!” He called out.
As they all rushed towards him, only meters away from reaching the man–the angelic presence appeared with a speed surpassing their senses many times over, warping in the middle of the group.
Huh–? He thought.
It was thanks to “Sage System” that his perception of time automatically altered with the sense of danger being felt, slowly turning back to see the smiling, tan-skinned angel standing between the four of them.
Despite being one born in the heavens, a look of utter bloodlust inhabited those golden, seraphic eyes of his.
Such primordial thirst for killing sent his blood cold as his hands instinctively moved down towards his sheathed daggers–but it was too late.
In that slowed perception of time, he witnessed Radueriel’s golden eyes shift to him as if moving at normal, uninhibited speed, appearing in front of him with his fist already sunk into his gut.
“–!”
The halted perception of time was a curse at this moment; he could feel the pain birth itself throughout his body, spreading from the center of his stomach and rippling throughout the rest of his body as an unmatched heat bubbled up within him.
I’m going to die. I’m going to die–I’m dying, he thought.
These thoughts spurred from the primal corners of his brain that felt his insides being churned by the sheer force of the swift, untraceable hit.
It wasn’t just him, in that moment between moments, occupying the place between seconds, Radueriel assaulted each of them.
[…0.000000041 seconds…]
In that amount of time, the Destroying Angel blinked between each of them, using a single hit on each of them.
Once he managed to resume his normal perception of time, a propelling force knocked each of them in opposing directions after being hit by the seemingly impervious angel.
[Health Points: -1500. Remaining Health Points: 1600/3100]
“Sage System”, exhibiting the nature of “optimization” made it so he only got prompts for lost health when losing a critical amount–this was one of those times, dreadfully as he knew it was just a simple much.
He slid against the asphalt a dozen meters, not even registering the pain from the friction burns as he focused on trying to regain his breath as his lungs refused to listen to him.
It burns. My stomach burns. My lungs burn. Breathe…Breathe…! He commanded himself.
As he hyperventilated, attempting to regain his breath as he struggled to sit up just a few inches, watching the terrifying angel in his antics.
“Just as I thought…That was the strongest of you, wasn’t it? The rest of you are nothing more than maggots, thriving in the mud!” Radueriel taunted.
While the angel ranted, he kicked Yeong-Un, who was laid out on the street already, causing the wild-haired man to crash through one of the neighboring building walls.
“–!”
He tried to yell out his friend’s name, but couldn’t muster anything more than a strained gasp as there was no oxygen filling his lungs.
All he could do was witness the same thing repeat: the Destroying Angel toyed with the others, kicking them, stomping, and tossing them against walls, seeming not to notice him as he had been initially flung the farthest.
If one attack did roughly half his health, then the others were on the brink of death–that much was clear to him.
…I have to get up! I have to breathe! I won’t let it happen again–! I won’t let everybody fall…! I won’t be the last one standing–never again! He thought.
Reigniting his lungs with this conviction, he managed to calm himself, drawing in breath at last as he pulled himself up to his feet.
It wasn’t pretty; though he stood to his feet, he was hardly balanced as the effects of the previous punch was still embedded in his body.
“…”
He had to focus entirely on breathing as he stood there with his arms limp, coaxing each breath in, and slowly releasing it. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
STOMP.
–It was in an instant: the presence of the angel appeared directly in front of him whilst in the process of exhaling, causing him to hold his breath without realizing.
He didn’t want to look up, but was forced to as he had to strain his neck to look directly at the tall, well-built angel who looked down at him with a malicious smile.
“And here I thought I destroyed your organs with that punch. Humans love to subvert your expectations, don’t they?” Radueriel spoke in a twisted way.
There was nothing he could do besides hope for some sort of stray miracle as he focused on building his breath once more, only looking up at the tan-skinned angel without responding.
To his surprise, Radueriel didn’t attack, instead holding his arms out before placing his knuckles against his sides, flexing his body as his toned muscles stiffened.
“…?”
“I like to think I’m a generous guy, you know? For surviving that hit and getting back up to your feet, I’ll give you a reward,” Radueriel smiled wide, though it was devoid of benevolence and only wickedness, “One minute. I’ll give you one minute to give me everything you’ve got!”
…Huh? He thought.
It was a perplexing move taken as he looked around to see if any of his comrades were getting up, but they all were laid out, unconscious by the angel in the desecrated streets of the once luxurious city square.
“Your time starts now!” Radueriel proclaimed, standing in front of him, completely still with his hands against his sides.
Though he was left confused and only operating on sparse strength, he forced himself to act, taking advantage of this one opportunity given to him.
…Sage Period: Activate! He commanded in his mind.
Activating Sage Period shifted his eyes as he used the optimization of his ability to stabilize his breathing, forcing strength to flood through his limbs as he took a taekwondo stance–preparing to unleash everything he had.
While the angel smiled, he began his assault, beginning with a “Leopard Strike”– a blow that was done by holding his fist in an uneven position with the knuckles of his index and middle finger protruding, striking against the divine man’s chest.
He followed up with a “Swift Descent”–a quickly, seamlessly launched ax-kick that exchanged some power for its swiftness, bringing it down against the angel’s shoulder.
Even with those initial two strikes, Radueriel remained completely unmoving with his hands still on his sides, smiling at him with unbreakable arrogance.
He wanted to shatter that arrogance–that drive pushed him further as sweat left his pores in abundance.
“Dark Edge” plus “Twilight Cutter” plus “Breaker Fist”! He thought.
[Spirit: -100. Remaining Spirit: 3100/3200]
The combined skills resulted in not just his fists, but his forearms being amplified by swirling, intertwined energies.
He didn’t stop at just that, not relying solely on raw strength as he maintained his taekwondo stance, pushing forward as he breathed sharply–launching an onslaught of attacks swiftly.
One, two, three, four, five…
After leveling up [Breaker Fist], it heightened the number of times he could strike while using it, allowing him to repeatedly, and quickly, thrust his surging knuckles against the bare chest of the standstill angel with enough force to produce small shock waves.
“Heh…not too bad!” Radueriel called out.
There was hardly a scratch present on the man’s golden-brown chest as steam exuded from the spots of impact.
Not even that…? He thought, taken aback by the futility of his combined attack.
He swallowed his breath, resuming his stance, though this time he flexed both his arms and his legs.
Shatter Star! He thought.
[Spirit: -400. Remaining Spirit: 2700/3200]
The unspoken invocation was unleashed in a combination attack as he kicked himself upwards, spinning around into a midair roundhouse kick directly against the angel’s nose. He didn’t stop, unwavered as he used the momentum to flip into a dropping elbow against the man’s head, resulting in the asphalt beneath Radueriel’s step to be caved in from the downward pressure.
As he landed back down, not batting an eye as sweat dripped from his skin, he finished the combination with an open-palm strike directly against the angel’s abdomen.
–At last, he managed to move the divine being as he slid back a meter, driving his feet through the black material of the street.
Still, Radueriel remained in the same stance with a smile, unphased by the combination attack as only a small mark was left on his nose, with steam from the impact trailing from his stomach.
“…Thirty seconds left…” Radueriel informed him with a confident smirk.
“–!”
The realization of his free time left hastened him as he became desperate, rolling his sleeves up as he summoned the strength from the depths of his body.
In the face of an overwhelming opponent, he did his best to stand strong–unintentionally conjuring the headstrong, wild personality that fit perfectly for such a situation as he held himself strong: “Yeong-Un”.
“Yer’ goin’ down–right here, right now,” he promised, looking up towards the smiling angel.
Raduriel slapped his own chest as the simple movement manifested its own shock wave, “–I’m waiting!”