Chapter 10: Hero Killer? (3)
Note: Akaguro will be called Stendhal for this chapter, as Stendhal was his vigilante name before he became Hero Killer, Stain.
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- Boom!
I dashed forward with a speed that only left afterimages in my spot. Although it wasn't my full speed as that still wasn't controllable.
But it wasn't something that a normal man could avoid. Yet Stendhal vanished from sight. Like a magician on a streak.
'Where?'
- Clang!
A blade came down from the sky. It wasn't easy to dodge but with the 3 gates unlocked, it was possible. Taking a step back made the short sword clash with the ground.
I looked up at the origins of the blade, only to meet with empty air.
"Here~"
A spooky, cracked voice came from my back.
- Swish!
Instead of freezing up in fear, I moved forward to dodge the attack from the back.
'Huh?'
Only to find myself falling forward.
It was a trap made from banners, underneath my feet that made me lose balance. It really showed the experience that Stendhal had.
From throwing a sword from above to attacking from behind, he made sure that no one noticed the ground, where he laid the actual trap. Like a skilled hunter circling around his prey.
But that wasn't enough to make me fall. Using my hands, I propped myself up and used the momentum to do a frontflip, creating distance between us.
While in midair, a pair of daggers flew right towards the eyes.
I just caught them with my barehands before landing and throwing a backkick at Stendhal, who was hot in pursuit. Stendhal ducked underneath it and raised his short sword upwards.
Perhaps because of the lack of equipment, he picked up the sword from before. With a jolt, I dodged it.
The blade passed by, cutting off some brown hair that flew because of the sudden movement.
"No mercy, huh?"
Without holding back, I pulled back my leg and kicked through the space he was. That kick had enough pressure to blow his head off, even its speed was unmatched.
Yet he jumped over it as if expecting it. Since a middle schooler's arms were quite short, he had the advantage in reach, more so because of his swords. So using kicks were my natural choice to lower the differences in our reach.
'Is that what he thought? Scary~'
Sure, I wasn't going all out as this narrow alley made it hard to control the full force of 3 gates, in conjuction with my lack of experience with all 3 gates open. But it was only in speed, my strength was untamed. He bet his entire life on his experience.
I slightly had some cold sweat dripping on my neck, realizing that he was the 'Hero Killer' for a reason.
As if knowing that I felt fear, Stendhal's eyes gleamed eerily. His short sword swung vertically, creating less accuracy but more strength.
Leaning to the right, I saw a kick heading up towards the chin.
Humans were psychological creatures. They might think they act random but most of us have habits and preferences that act on us instinctively.
Like a right-handed man would always choose to lean more on the right side as it feels more natural. And knowing more about the prey's habits was the job description of a predator.
I blocked the kick by raising my right arm, safeguarding the chin.
The force behind the kick was light. It was only for him to use his other leg to step on my hand, using it as a footing.
He kicked himself to a wall and then jumped again using the wall. His speed wasn't exactly fast or uncatchable but he had a lot of feints mixed in, making me almost lose sight of him.
The enchanced senses were a great help in fighting against feints.
Noticing that he had no chance in tricking me, he decided to change his tactics and threw two daggers at the wall.
'When did he pick them up?'
It was the same daggers that I had caught once. It would have been helpful to destroy them but Strendal's pursuit made me forget all about it.
He jumped off the wall again. A twisted smirk on his lips as he realized my greatest weakness.
Somehow, he disappeared from sight.
'No! Those daggers!'
Those daggers had been tied by a thin strands of thread, creating a stepping in the middle of the air. He noticed that my senses were far ahead of ordinary humans.
My eyes would always react before he could even reach his target. So he created an 'invisible' attack just for me.
As for the threads, he made them by pulling the strands of his shirt, twirling them together to increase their strength.
It was amazing how Stendhal stood on those tiny strands of clothing. Perhaps he just had that advanced control on his body.
"I have always noticed a strange thing about you, brat!"
- Clang!
As he jumped off the small thread, he directly attacked me. His blade crashed with a black metal bracelet.
Just like he did, I used the time he played around to pick up the 'weapons' that were thrown away.
Those bracelets weighed 10 kg each. Even if they looked small and fragile, they had enough mass to support them, courtesy of a certain American blacksmith.
His short blade was stuck in the bracelet, unable to penetrate it. But I didn't have space to run either, with something cold against my back.
"Tch!"
Trying to kick my face, he missed his footing as I tilted it towards the right. A subtle feeling of paranoia and deja vu rose up in my heart, even though I dodged the attack.
- Bang!
It was the bracelets. Since his blade was already stuck to it, he used them as a hold to stay midair, indirectly using my strong core, which had been strengthened by 'Hachimon Tonkou'.
"I have seen you train everyday for the past 14 days."
His kick aimed at my face was a feint. He actually stopped midair and kicked the side of my head, causing immense pain to my ears. It was like a stab, precisely aimed for the eardrums.
I faltered a bit as the sense of balance started to fail me. The bracelets fell out of my hand and Stendhal pulled his blade back.
Our ears are one of the most important parts of the body. They are directly related to maintaining the balance of the body.
An attack that can shake your eardrums will shake your entire body. And punches were the easiest way to shake eardrums. After all, force can do many miracles.
Backed into the corner, I saw his daggers aiming at me again.
"Push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, runs, weight-lifting, you do it all. Physically."
I ducked underneath them, only to fall on my hand. My senses hadn't returned yet.
"Damn!"
- Thud!
To create some distance between us, I ran sideways. Being unable to control the speed, I crashed into the wall. The wall almost broke down by the force of my tackle.
I slapped myself, gaining a bit of balance and glanced back to see not a single shadow of the killer vigilante.
Even with his sound, it was hard to find him as it reverberated in the entire alley.
"But you never trained in skill.... Like a brute, who keeps rushing forward."
"Say that to Almight!"
Finally back on my feet, I took a step forward..... On the wall, propelling myself upwards.
The clear sky provided a better view of the missing vigilante.
Apparently, he was crouching on the roof, waiting for me to jump up.
'Damn, is this how heroes will feel if he doesn't stop!?'
Taking that chance, he leaped towards me.
- Swish!
I twisted my body backwards to dodge the blade and kicked at him, all while being midair. That was another benefit of releasing the gates. Almost impossible tasks were made possible.
- Crack!
It was blocked by a dagger, which broke and he was sent hurtling back. That was clearly the full force of my current limit.
'At 4-5 bones should have been broken by that.'
Landing on the ground, feeling pain in my legs, I jumped up again to see no signs of Stendhal on the roof. He vanished. I had dimmed my senses, fearing that Stendhal would use the same attack again. But it wasn't the time to think about defense so I raised my hearing and smell.
Stendhal wasn't far. Waiting on the side of the roof in such way that made my eyes miss it, his weak breathing was now as loud as a drum to me.
"There!"
I kicked off the wall in the fall and climbed up fast, reaching the spot in under a second.
There was someone there. But it wasn't him.
- Ruff!
That guy stuck a nearby street dog to the side of the roof. Where did he even find it? And when did he set it up?
Not even 10 seconds had passed after I kicked him. Was it all a trap? Did he already know that he was bound to get hurt so he set a trap? Or did he get hurt to fulfill this trap?
- Swish!
A dagger was aimed at my feet, flying past it as I raised my legs.
- Tak! Tak! Tak!
A man dashed from the roof and kicked me. Midair, there was only so many movements I could pull off, even with the 3 gates of 'Hachimon Tonkou'.
- Thud!
Being kicked harshly, I crashed on the ground while he jumped on the walls to glide down.
Unfortunately for Stendhal, not a drop of blood spilled from the body, which was reinforced by 3 gates.
'I'm running out of time.'
The duration of 'Hachimon Tonkou' was short, especially since I wasn't proficient in the 3rd gate, [Gate of Life], which was opened recently.
"Let's end this."
We both ran at each other, aiming for one final attack.
His short blade swung wide. It was feint as he would never attack, leaving an opening. Yet I pushed forward.
As was expected of him, a dagger shot out at the opening that he showed. Punching the dagger, I crushed it with overwhelming force.
- Crack!
Though I bled for the first time during the fight, it was already over since Stendhal was in my reach, unable to dodge or block at this range.
- Swish!
Sadly, it was my delusion.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone