CHAPTER 23: | FALL OF THE EASTERN LORD
---
Scarlet droplets of my own blood exploded from my neck, blooming like sinister flowers as my eyes tracked their slow, dissolving tendrils into the dim, churning water.
"Oh."
A slow smile, sharp and predatory, curved onto my lips.
"Quite the interesting attack you have there."
Its massive hand balled into a fist, then vanished from my sight, a blur of golden light.
Crash!
A searing, explosive pain ignited through my spine, a hot wire from skull to tailbone, as its fist slammed me down into the gritty ocean floor.
The impact vibrated through me, rattling my teeth, and a wide, blossoming crater of disturbed silt formed beneath my aching form.
Before I could recover, it descended, its feet first, an unstoppable torpedo aimed directly at me.
Crash!
My eyes, now burning crimson, tracked its lightning descent.
At the last possible second, I twitched my head, shifting an inch away from its crushing feet.
Simultaneously, my claw, a blur of sharpened intent, lunged forward.
Splash!
A geyser of iridescent golden blood erupted, mingling instantly with the disturbed water and my own, creating a swirling mist of crimson and gold.
My eyes gleamed, with finality eyeing clearly through the sanguine haze.
A low chuckle rumbled in my chest, a sound half-gloat, half-madness.
"It was a good combo."
A genuine smirk bloomed, stretching my lips wide.
"But perhaps you were too weak... too stupid... to anticipate my counter."
'Heavenly Claw of the Mad Demon' was the name of the 'Heaven Tier' Martial Art I wielded.
It was the signature technique of the Mad Demon himself, consisting of seven continuous movements, Virile Snake, Fierce Tiger, Bull Gang, Tripod Barrage, Mantis State, Mad Gate, and finally, Demonic Dragon Claw.
Virile Snake was for grappling and binding the opponent.
Fierce Tiger allowed a swift shift in one's body to unleash Bull Gang, focusing all Qi into a single, devastating point of attack.
Tripod Barrage, as heavy and unyielding as a mountain, barraged the opponent, while Mantis State intercepted all incoming movements or external attacks.
Then, Mad Gate would use smoothness over hardness to repel all outsiders, gathering all the raw force from their attacks to unleash Demonic Dragon Claw, a final, unexpected strike at the precise moment to finish the opponent.
My hand, no, my entire body, flowed with the sinuous grace of a serpent.
Its iridescent golden eyes, gleaming with amusement at my 'state,' charged at me with glee.
Tick!
My form vanished like an eel, a mere ripple in the water.
My hands and feet latched onto its back like a snake coiling, beginning to choke its prey.
Its hands, massive and swift, moved with a bone chilling precision, about to strike my head.
But my body shifted, as agile and cunning as a tiger in the jungle.
I slid beneath its crotch, then burst upward onto its stomach.
My fists joined, channeling power, and then.
Boom!
A sickening squelch echoed through the water as its stomach contorted, it's scales rupturing and tearing.
Golden blood gushed from its mouth, as the raw force of a bull ramming into its gut was unleashed.
It passed out momentarily, and that was all I needed.
I unleashed a furious barrage of attacks, my fists blurring into an interchangeable storm, hammering its stomach.
Scales, each one the size of my nail, could be seen flying with every punch, like glittering shards against the red-tinged water.
Blood gushed from its mouth and nose, from every one of its seven orifices, as the impact of mountains attacking its stomach could be felt, deep and bone-jarring.
The ground where its feet had been anchored now cratered further, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.
Then I saw it, the mountainous peaks of the ocean floor trembling from the sheer impact of my attacks.
The wharks, monstrous, massive in shapes circled us, were shocked, then panicked.
They lunged at me with great fervor, a desperate, frenzied rush to serve their lord, now locked in my relentless barrage.
My gaze flickered, a razor-sharp scanned all of their movements.
My fists blurred, transforming into open palms as I unleashed a barrage of strikes at the incoming Wharks, sending them flying hundreds of meters with little more than light bruising.
They were distractions, nothing more.
As I absorbed their attacks, I felt like a wrathful Buddha with multiple hands, repelling and attacking simultaneously.
I gathered the energies of their desperate lunges into one palm, then transferred it to the other, focusing it all to attack their lord with cruel, surgical precision.
I kept it unable to move, unable to regain its composure, its massive form twitching spasmodically under my assault.
And when I felt that the gathered energy was enough, a resonant sound echoed through the water.
Gong!
The deep, sonorous sound of a gong was the indication.
Demonic Dragon Claw, First Form, was now ready.
I could wait for the second, third, fourth, fifth, or even the legendary sixth form that projected the true image of a dragon with my attack.
But... this was enough for now.
Shook!
My hand turned into a stabbing motion, as the very ground trembled under its feet.
The charging wharks, were caught in the invisible pressure wave of my impending attack, all flew hundreds of meters apart, slammed backward by the sheer force.
Boom!
The tip of my nail touched its skin, as the air in the water itself seemed to incinerate the being before me.
A flash of light erupted for but a split second blinding me for a moment.
Then half of its body, from its stomach to its head, was simply gone, obliterated.
A weak, fading visage of a demonic dragon phased through the water where it had been, then vanished.
Decimating its existence had been shockingly easy.
My hand, however, bled profusely and shook uncontrollably from the strength I'd unleashed.
"Anymore than that would have destroyed my hand."
The blood vessels on my hand, the very arteries inside it, ruptured along with the skin, unable to bear the insurmountable pressure of the Demonic Dragon Claw.
It was too much, perhaps.
But that was better.
I had killed it in one devastating go.
I crouched low, then grabbed its waist, what remained of it.
I opened my maw, wide, then wider, and tore its flesh apart with a sickening, utterly satisfying crunch.
Golden blood, rich and warm, gushed into my mouth.
The metallic taste was delicious, and its flesh, surprisingly sweet in flavor, was quite good.
The wharks, floating in the distance, gazed at my direction with deadpan expressions before scrambling away in a terrified frenzy as my crimson irises glared their way.
"Tch."
I tore at the meat again, munching it with disdain, and muttered low, the words swallowed by the vastness of the ocean.
"Cowards."