“It’s up to you now, Gorou!!!!”

Jude screams to me as his body was sent flying away. It was such a heavy burden to carry but I don’t mind it. It’s this kind of pressure that makes a person grows. Taking a quick glance around, only Fifi and I had energy left to fight. The others had either passed out or didn’t have enough energy to move.

“I’ll support you, Gorou.”

“Thanks, Fifi. I’ll be counting on you.”

Even with Fifi’s help, I’m not sure we could beat this lizardman. Even after all of the damage, it still had the energy left to leisurely give me time to recover. It twisted its wrist and punched with it to test if it was fine. With just that small action, I could tell that this lizardman knows how to fight with his hands. Unlike those other lizardmen who half-hazardly depended on their claws to attack, this one had a certain technique to its punches. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

“Damn, it really is using Qi.”

An orange glow appears around the lizardman as the bleeding from his wounds stop. Gareth and Ken’s plan to explode the bullets embedded in the lizardman’s body was mitigated. There’s no doubt about it, that orange glow is definitely Qi. Being able to close his wounds shows that he has a strong control of Qi, maybe even better than mine, but it’s definitely weaker than my old man who is able to destroy mountains and neutralize missiles.

I breathe out as I control the flow of Qi in my body. A rush of energy fills my body as my senses are heightened. As the Qi wraps around me, I notice that the red-scaled lizardman was shocked at me using Qi. I wonder when the last time I had used Qi to fight one on one with someone, was it when I fought Lisa, or was it when I fought Mako?

Those two are monsters for being able to keep up with me even when I used Qi but this time I’m fighting a literal monster who knows how to use Qi. The last time I fought another Qi user was against Ji-Soo Yung in the regional tournament. I’m worried that I might be rusty but I’m also extremely excited. How much farther can I go against this monster!

“Gul’sa Quan.”

I couldn’t understand the language he was speaking but I can tell his intentions through his gestures. He was introducing himself and it seems like he is going to go all out in this fight.

“Gorou Gorildo, son of Gin Gorildo and a student of the Black Bird Technique.”

I reciprocate his introduction with my own and we both get ready to fight. He slowly approaches us as he was wary of the black Qi floating around my body, but Fifi and I were the same. Even with the Qi closing his wounds, I can tell that the injuries are taking a toll on his body. He walked with a limp, his right hand wasn’t as flexible as the other, and he was being careful not to strain the injuries on his chest with any strenuous movements. But this wasn’t an excuse to look down on Gul’sa Quan.

“Your enemies are the strongest when they’re backed into a corner. Knowing that the only options in front of them are either life or death, there’s no reason for them to hold back.”

I remember my old man’s words as I charge towards Gul’sa Quan with the black Qi wrapped around my fists.

“How do I beat them then?”

“Hahahaha, just kill them. Don’t even give them a chance to retaliate.”

Likewise, Gul’sa Quan charges towards me with his claws ready to attack. But this wasn’t a one on one fight, it was a two versus one fight. Fifi grabs his legs with earth magic but he escaped by smashing it with his tail. Chunks of rocks flew towards me and Fifi, but I was able to shatter each and every one of them. It was too slow.

“Lighting!!!”

A thunderbolt falls from the sky and strikes Gul’sa Quan but it dealt little damage. His Qi aura created a very strong defense that was able to deal with Fifi’s magic.

“Strong! Let’s see how you deal with this. Black Bird Technique number 28, Piercing Beak!”

I still find it ridiculous that I have to scream out the technique in order for it to work but I’ve already gotten used to it by this point. All that training with the old man has already desensitized me. The Qi gathers around my fist and transforms into the shape of a beak as I aim for Gul’sa Quan’s injured leg.

My hand pierces through his tough skin as I aimed to tear out his tendon, but his Qi defense was strong. Seeing that I wasn’t able to go any further, I try to hit his injured chest with my elbow but it was blocked by his hand. I continue the barrage but his defense was incredibly tough.

I dodge backward as his tail nearly swipes me away but I take this opportunity to grab a hold of his tail. I clench my muscles as I squeezed with all my might. The Qi defense was hard but even Gul’sa Quan’s Qi had a limit it could handle. The defense begins to break as I could hear his scales cracking under the pressure.

“Fifi, send us flying!!!”

It was tough dodging his attacks when I couldn’t use my arms but in the air, it was harder for him to attack with his hands. His tail was furiously trying to throw me off but I had a good grip on it. Fifi heals my body and as per instruction, she wraps both of us inside of a tornado. Both of us are rapidly spun around and around as we’re cut by the sharp blades made from wind.

“Improvised Technique. 10,000 feet Drop!”

I throw Gul’sa Quan towards the ground and at the speed we were spinning, he quickly slams into the ground. I feel a little nauseous but I know the battle wasn’t over yet. Fifi sends me flying down as she uses earth magic to bind Gul’sa Quan’s body onto the ground. His body was severely injured but he was still breathing.

“Technique number 18, Black Bird’s Descent.”

With both arms stretched out and my hands shaped like claws, I descend down towards Gul’sa Quan like a drill. The dust is blown away and my attack made contact. His defenses were already broken so my arms easily pierced through his stomach and a hole was permanently left there. Blood spewed out and Gul’sa Quan coughed out blood as his body went limp.

“Watch out!!”

“Rrrraahhhh!!!!”

Gul’sa Quan suddenly screams in rage as he attacks me with his right hand. I was shocked as his right hand was wrapped in Qi. The entire time he only used Qi in defense so I assumed he couldn’t use Qi to attack but I was wrong. It’s not that he couldn’t use Qi to attack, it was that he didn’t know how to use Qi to attack.

What’s even worse was that this attack was an imitation of Piercing Beak. I wrap the Qi to defend myself but I was never proficient in defense so his attack went straight through my body.

“Gorou, I’m all out of mana!”

Fifi’s healing suddenly stops and I jump back as I hold my injury. Maybe it was because his right hand was injured or he was still dizzy from the fall, but his attack wasn’t fatal. Only a chunk of the side of my stomach was ripped out. I began healing but I was also running out of mana, I have to finish this battle right now. I use Qi to slow down the bleeding but just like mana, there was also a limit to how much Qi my body could use before I start using my life force.

“Hahaha, what a monster!!!”

Gul’sa Quan stood up despite his injuries. The scales on his body were broken and battered to the point that blood was seeping out of them. His right leg had completely stopped functioning and he was only able to stand up with the support of his tail that had bones coming out of it. His organs were slipping through the hole in his stomach but his eyes were roaring to fight.

“Let’s finish this!!!”

Gul’sa Quan couldn’t even use Qi to close his injuries nor did he try to use that fire attack from early. He charged at me with his remaining leg and swung his fist at me. Although I had fewer injuries, I couldn’t afford to underestimate Gul’sa Quan, my mana was almost gone and I only had enough Qi to keep on going for 5 minutes or so.

I dodge his punch as I yank his limp leg. I was going to straddle him as he fell onto the ground but that wasn’t what happened. He used his tail to support himself as he used his other leg to kick me out of the crater that was made from his impact with the ground.

I land on the ground and my arms were shaky from his kick, his strength was still there even with all of his injuries. Gul’sa Quan comes flying from the air as his feet try to stomp me but Fifi was supporting me by telling me his actions. I roll to the side as his feet stomp into the ground leaving a hefty footprint.

“Technique number 19, Sweeping Passage.”

I press my hands on the ground a spin my body before sweeping Gul’sa Quan’s working leg with Qi infused in my legs. Bones crack in his leg and he tries to support himself up with his tail again, but I won’t let him. I continue to spin my body as I also kick his tail and he finally falls to the ground.

Without any hesitation, I straddle him and began pounding his injured body with my fists. At this point, I couldn’t control the Qi flow in my body so I was relying on pure physical strength. He tries to attack me with his claws but I was able to pin one underneath my leg and another under my arm. Even I can tell that Gul’sa Quan was running out of strength. If it was earlier before all the injuries, I wouldn’t even be able to hold him down.

With no other choice, Gul’sa Quan tries to attack me with his mouth but I use his left arm as a shield, and he bites himself. It was a mistake to let his arm go as he used his claw and pierced it into my shoulder. I scream in pain but I wasn’t going to give up. Just a little bit more and Gul’sa Quan would be dead and I can get everyone to safety.

I was going to continue attacking with his claw in my shoulder but Gul’sa Quan’s arm went limp. His eyes were cloudy and losing focus, but he was laughing.

“Kakakakaka!!!!”

With barely any life in his body left, Gul’sa Quan points towards his greatsword which was stuck in the wall. He then points his finger towards me as I jump back thinking that he was going to attack. He laughs even harder as I felt embarrassed for some reason.

“Go-roow.”

“You, are you giving me your sword?”

“Kakakakakakaka!!!!”

Gul’sa Quan nodded his head as he continued to laugh. He laughed and laughed until he couldn’t laugh anymore. His eyes were blank and any signs of life were gone from him, but there was a smile on his face.

“You were a great warrior, Gul’sa Quan.”

I bow towards Gul’sa Quan as a sign of respect. It was a tough battle where are lives were at stake but just like me, Gul’sa Quan had enjoyed it. I was relieved that I had won this battle. If Gul’sa Quan hadn’t been as injured as he was or had he been using his greatsword, I don’t think I would have been able to win. I was barely able to win because I had Fifi supporting me and my control of Qi was better than his.