Chapter 231: Relentless
Myles moved through the chaos with sharpened focus. His eyes locked entirely onto Red as the rest of the battlefield faded into distant noise that no longer held any meaning for him.
Every step he took grounded by instinct and sharpened by experience. However, the pressure in front of him refused to ease even slightly.
Red still stood there with his body wounded and bleeding, but the strength radiating from his body had not disappeared.
It pressed forward like a crushing force, forcing Myles to acknowledge that even now, even in this weakened state, Red remained a threat that couldn't be underestimated.
He could see the difference clearly if he paid attention. Red was weaker than before. The signs showed themselves in small but critical ways.
His movements no longer carried the same overwhelming dominance from earlier and slight delays appeared between his actions where there had once been none.
His reactions lacked the perfect timing they had before, and the wounds on his body no longer closed as quickly as they should have.
Myles didn't know exactly what had caused that change, but the memory of Michael's last stand surfaced briefly in his mind, forcing a quiet realization into place.
"Something he did was work on Red's body and weaken him somehow."
However, even with that understanding, Myles didn't allow himself to relax because the difference wasn't enough to shift the fight completely in his favor.
Red was still far stronger than anyone else on the battlefield. Any mistake would still cost him everything.
That awareness pushed Myles to act without hesitation as he stepped forward again. His hand ignited with fires that surged into existence with violent intensity before launching forward in rapid succession.
Fireballs shot through the air one after another, striking Red's face and upper body, erupting with heat and force that distorted the space around them.
Myles closed the distance again and pushed through the fading flames as his Fangblade sword cut forward while his other hand drove the Noctiryx dagger from a tighter angle aimed at Red's exposed side.
His attacks flowed without pause, one movement connecting seamlessly into the next as he pressed forward relentlessly, forcing Red to respond again and again without giving him time to recover. He attempted to overwhelm him through constant pressure.
But even as he maintained that assault, something else began to creep into his mind.
The memory surfaced suddenly, dragging his focus away for a time. The image of the black mutated human returned with disturbing clarity, along with the suffocating pressure that had once overwhelmed him.
Then came the memory he tried hardest to suppress.
Nadine's death replayed in his mind, cutting through his concentration and sending a cold tremor through his chest that disrupted the rhythm he had built.
His body reacted instinctively. But the hesitation still formed, subtle yet real, as his grip tightened slightly around his weapons.
"No… not now…"
The thought came too late to completely stop it. The memory lingered long enough to create a crack in his focus, and in a fight like this, even the smallest crack was dangerous.
Red noticed immediately.
"HAHAHA!"
Loud and jagged laughter burst from him as he met Myles's next attack head-on.
His sword collided with Fangblade in a violent clash that sent sparks and Ether scattering outward. The force behind it pushed Myles back a step as the pressure shifted for an instant.
"What's wrong?" Red mocked, his voice filled with cruel amusement as he pressed forward without hesitation. His blade cutting through the air in another heavy swing aimed to break through Myles's guard. "You're slowing down! What happened to that confidence before?!"
Myles blocked again, but the movement lacked the same sharpness as before.
His hesitation hadn't disappeared completely. Red seized on it immediately, his grin widening as he continued to attack.
"You scared?!" Red continued, his laughter echoing again as he drove another strike forward with even greater force. "Or are you just losing your mind?!"
His attacks came faster and heavier, fueled by the brief falter he had sensed and the pressure he exerted began to rise once more.
At the same time, the aura surrounding him grew thicker, spreading outward in violent waves that distorted the air and pressed against Myles from every direction.
The hot blood-like energy churned around his body, became dense and suffocating, as if it carried a life of its own.
But within that swirling aura, something else mixed in.
Something Red didn't notice.
It was his own blood.
Not just the aura formed from his power, but his own blood drifting into the air as it escaped from the wounds carved into his body.
The cuts Michael and Myles had inflicted earlier remained open, and with every movement more blood flowed out carried into the same swirling current that surrounded him.
It blended seamlessly with the energy, masking the truth of what was happening.
Red didn't react.
No pain showed in his expression, and no hesitation appeared in his movements as he continued to laugh and attack as if nothing had changed. Because he didn't feel anything at the moment.
The moment his rhythm broke, Myles felt the shift immediately. The precision in his movements dulled and that made the pressure turn against him.
Red seized that opening without hesitation. The next clash came harder and heavier. It forced Myles's arms to strain as he tried to hold the impact. His footing slipped, and that single loss of balance became the opening Red needed.
Red's blade cut through his defense with brutal force. The edge tore across Myles's left shoulder and drew blood as he sharply felt pain through his body.
The heat from Red's aura pressed in at the same time, suffocating and relentless, making it harder for him to think and harder to move cleanly.
Myles grit his teeth as his body reacted. The wound burned while his muscles tightened under the strain.
"Fuck! Focus, damnit! don't lose it now!"
The thought forced its way through the fear still lingering in his mind. He couldn't afford another mistake here.
Red stepped in again, ready to press the advantage and end it.
But Myles moved first.
The ground beneath Red squirmed and shadows started to gather unnaturally fast there, stretching and twisting as they rose from beneath his feet.
In the next moment they surged upward and wrapped tightly around his legs, torso, and hands, binding his movement in place.
Myles used Shadow Bind.
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