wjnovel Chapter 200: Self harm
Chapter 200: Self harm
What exactly happened in those few seconds Kyle was granted after landing a single successful cut on the assailant?
The warning signals coming from the ambusher pushed his senses to their absolute limits.
His mind and body both knew that something dangerous was about to happen.
And his refusal to rely on the system, despite its repeated requests, awakened the dormant potential of God’s Eye in those fleeting moments.
Kyle’s head was leaned, his eyes not even on the man, and yet... he could see him.
No, more than that, he could see himself as well, as though he were viewing the scene from a third-person perspective.
He could see the man tensing on the couch.
He could see the sunlight pouring through the holes in the ceiling.
He could see the fine particles of dust drifting through those golden rays.
He could see everything.
And it all moved at such a slow pace that it felt as though the world had paused around him.
’I... can see you...’
The moment he focused ahead, he saw the man charging at him like a battering ram, shoulder thrust forward and aimed straight at his chest.
Kyle tried to move his legs and dodge.
Or at the very least, parry the attack.
He could almost foresee what would happen if he failed to move.
But his body felt unbearably heavy.
Unresponsive.
Even straining with all his strength, he could barely lift an arm.
It wasn’t enough.
The assailant was already inches away, his shoulder now only an arm’s length from Kyle’s chest.
Dodging was no longer an option.
And with his body moving this sluggishly, he might as well kiss his life goodbye.
As such, he resorted to his trump card.
’Berserk.’
The world snapped back into motion.
Kyle’s muscles swelled as raw power surged through every fiber of his body. Veins bulged beneath his skin. The heaviness vanished as if it had never existed.
The man’s shoulder was already crashing toward him.
Kyle moved.
Neither backed away or trudged forward.
His feet dug into the dirt floor and his body twisted violently to the side. The charging shoulder brushed past his chest by a hair’s breadth.
The assailant’s eyes widened.
Realisation dawned upon him a little too late.
Kyle’s dagger flashed upward.
A line of red appeared across the man’s torso.
Then another.
And another.
The blade became a silver blur.
Kyle stepped through the man’s guard like a storm tearing through rotten wood. Every swing landed before the previous wound had fully opened.
A diagonal slash split across the chest.
A reverse cut carved through the abdomen.
A thrust punched through flesh and ripped free.
Blood erupted into the air.
The man staggered, trying to retreat, but Kyle was already on him.
One step.
Two steps.
Three.
Each accompanied by another flash of steel.
The room echoed with wet impacts.
His dagger should not have been capable of this.
It was too short and small.
Yet with death so close to him, he unlocked something a Nightwalker does after months of training.
Weapon enhancement.
And with the monstrous strength flooding his body, every strike carried enough force to cleave through muscle and bone alike.
The assailant raised an arm to defend himself.
Kyle’s blade tore through it.
The severed limb spun away.
No scream erupted since this all happened in less than a second.
Kyle answered with another strike.
Then another.
The world seemed unable to keep up with him.
Blood painted the floor.
Chunks of flesh scattered through the air.
The man’s desperate attempts to escape collapsed beneath the relentless torrent of attacks.
And then Kyle delivered the final cut.
His body rotated with every ounce of strength Berserk granted him.
The dagger traced a brutal arc.
For a single heartbeat, nothing happened.
The assailant froze.
A thin red line spread across his body.
Then his entire form came apart.
Torso, limbs, and flesh separated along intersecting cuts as though an invisible butcher had carved him apart.
Pieces crashed onto the blood-soaked floor.
Silence followed.
Kyle stood in the center of the carnage, chest heaving violently.
Blood dripped from the dagger in his hand.
Around him lay nothing that could still be called a man. Only scattered remains and crimson-stained earth.
The fight lasted less than two seconds.
"C-Charlie...?" The man seated on the couch slowly rose to his feet, his voice trembling.
Kyle barely suppressed a wince as the effects of Berserk faded almost instantly.
[Host, you have exceeded your physical limits. Multiple muscle fibers have been torn. Several ribs are fractured. Your tendons are unable to properly support your weight. Additional severe injuries have yet to be fully registered.]
[Golden Limb will not be sufficient to recover from this level of damage.]
[Enforcing the Lantern.]
A pale green lantern suddenly emerged from Kyle’s body and floated upward.
Its warm light spilled over him.
A moment later, his legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees.
Despite having two sources of healing, the damage he had inflicted upon himself far exceeded what his body could naturally endure.
When the assailant moved at that terrifying speed, his body had instinctively reinforced itself to withstand the sudden burst of force.
Kyle’s body, however, was neither accustomed to such power nor prepared for such a drastic shift in pace.
As a result, while Berserk had granted him the strength to win, his own body had paid the price.
Every movement had pushed his muscles, tendons, and bones far beyond their limits.
And now, those limits were demanding repayment.
His vision blurred, but he remained conscious, watching the man slowly rise to his feet.
’He’s regaining his confidence... this is bad.’
Kyle knew the outcome of the previous battle must have shaken the assailant. Watching his partner get carved apart in seconds would rattle anyone.
But the one thing Kyle couldn’t afford right now was to appear vulnerable.
And yet, here he was.
On his knees.
Trembling.
His vision swimming.
His body barely holding itself together.
This was bad. He knew it.
The man began advancing toward him, one cautious step at a time.
Kyle quietly clenched his fist.
Even if he couldn’t defeat this man, he could still create an opening to escape.
Aquilla.
He needed to keep it hidden and use it as a surprise.
"You... weren’t supposed to be this strong."
The man’s voice was far more serious than before.
"I wasn’t paid enough for this."
A small knife suddenly slipped into his hand.
The sight made Kyle’s eyes narrow.
"But after losing my man here..." the assailant continued, his grip tightening around the weapon, "...I’m not letting you walk away without paying for it."
A chilling bloodlust rolled off him.
It spread through the room like an invisible fog, pressing down on everything in its path.
The man no longer looked wary.
No longer looked uncertain.
There wasn’t the slightest doubt in his eyes that he could hurt Kyle.
And honestly, who wouldn’t be confident?
Kyle was kneeling in a pool of blood, shaking from head to toe, barely able to keep himself upright.
To anyone watching, he looked like a man standing at the edge of collapse.
The man took a few more steps ahead and clutched Kyle’s hair.
Just when Kyle was about to summon his bow—
"What?!" The assailant suddenly twisted on his feet, facing the wall and his body tense.
Kyle blinked in surprise, but then, he felt it too.
Something was coming.
Something dangerous.
The assailant was far too shaken up by the sudden approach to even focus on Kyle anymore.
He continued to face the wall, anticipating what approached—when suddenly,
*THUMP*
*CRACK*
Someone tore through the ceiling.
The assailant turned and found a certain silver head woman standing between him and the target.
His eyes widened as he recognised the woman standing before him.
’Why the fuck is she here? I ain’t paid enough for this!’
°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading.