Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 115: Pin-Man

"Permit me, kid. I’ll take the initiative."

Before he finished speaking, the old man had already moved. Kaiser barely blocked, feeling his elbow twist until it almost snapped.

’Strong.’

He grunted, rolling in the air and landing in a crouch. He calmly reset his dislocated arm, gripping his sword tightly.

"Hm? As expected, your physical prowess is simply unbelievable. You’re actually able to contend against me."

The man said with an excited smile, though he sounded unsurprised.

Kaiser stared at him blankly, unamused.

"That was the first test, no? Go on, let me see your ability."

The old man’s smile widened, "Eeh? Kids these days are so bold. Oh well..."

Kaiser blinked, feeling a sudden change in the atmosphere. Before he could tell what exactly was amiss, the old man attacked again.

Kaiser leaned to the side, dodging the attack. Without stopping, the sword changed trajectory and swung towards his neck.

He did a side-flip, dodging that attack. However, something strange happened.

Even though he dodged, a thin cut still appeared on his neck.

’Huh?’

He touched the blood flowing from the wound, eyes wide in surprise. He had definitely dodged that attack, yet the attack still connected.

"Surprised? Don’t worry, this is just a shabby ability of mine."

Smiling, the man attacked several times rapidly.

Kaiser barely blocked a few and narrowly dodged the rest. With his muscles trembling from the impact of blocking the attacks, thin cuts suddenly bloomed across his body.

Every attack he had dodged was carved into him, ignoring his armor. He grew further puzzled, eyes sharpening with deductions.

’Goodness... this ability is really bizarre.’

He exhaled, raising Virtuous Sorrow defensively. Although he couldn’t understand it at the moment, he was slowly adapting.

The old man’s thin sword stabbed toward his head. Instead of dodging, Kaiser blocked the attack, even at the risk of his wrists almost snapping.

"Oh? This little boy is actually a good thinker. If you hadn’t blocked, you’d have a hole through your head. Hehehe."

Cackling wickedly, the old man gave a minimal praise. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and his playful expression disappeared.

"However, I can’t allow you to adapt anymore." He gently closed one eye. "I’ll kill you."

Kaiser felt the pressure spike instantly, his movements growing heavier. From that point, he knew it’d be a deadly struggle. For the first time since arriving at the Third Isle, he went all out.

Not to massacre or dominate, but to survive.

Bang! 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He crashed onto the concrete ground, coughing up blood like a river. Several of his bones were already broken, but he still forced himself to rise.

"What a terrifying will." The old man commented, impressed.

He leisurely tapped the thin sword on his shoulder, then leaned forward. "Why don’t you just give up already?"

Marked with wounds and covered in blood, Kaiser returned a leisurely stare. He cleaned his ear with his pinky finger, then said flatly.

"That’d be boring."

The man’s brows twitched at Kaiser’s indifference, straining a smile.

"You’re not the least bit concerned about your life, are you?"

Kaiser shrugged even as pain coursed through him. "I’ll survive. I have always did."

Then, he activated the Eyes of Sequence. A white, eight-spoked wheel appeared in each of his pupils, rotating slowly.

Reality became clearer, and Kaiser felt his senses sharpen. The old man noticed the change immediately, growing wary.

He immediately attacked Kaiser, his movements swift and precise. His blade shot straight at the boy’s heart, aiming for the kill.

Kaiser saw the weapon approach him, then did something surprising. He didn’t dodge or block the attack, but instead pushed down the sword slightly.

Puchi!

It stabbed into his ribs, narrowly missing his vital organs by an inch. Blood poured out as the man removed his sword, surprised.

"You actually tanked it. Insane will you’ve got, boy."

Kaiser struggled to stay upright, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"More." Kaiser quietly whispered, the wheels in his eyes rotating faster.

"Alright!"

Grinning wildly, the old man attacked viciously. Several attacks targeted Kaiser’s vital organs, all aimed to kill swiftly.

Kaiser used the same method, slightly deflecting the attacks so it didn’t pierce an important organ.

"Die! Die! Die! Hehahahahaha!"

Laughing maniacally, the old man regained a calm expression. Holding his blood soaked sword, he quietly clenched his jaws.

Kaiser stood haunched, his arms dangling before him. Several holes lined his body, all bleeding. Thankfully, none of the injuries were severe.

"Oh boy... you look like a tortured doll." The old man sighed. "Do you know why I’m called Pin-Man? Because my enemies die from pinlike holes in their bodies."

Kaiser remained unresponsive, allowing him to continue speaking.

"You’re quite smart, turning fatal attacks into minimal damage. However, don’t you think you’d die of blood loss?"

Finally, Kaiser moved. He slowly raised his head to look at the Pin-Man. His bright blue eyes were empty—only carrying faint, almost imperceptible boredom.

The wheels in his pupils had stopped moving. Parting his lips, he said.

"Your ability... is somewhat of a delayed strike isn’t it?"

Pin-Man paused, a surprised look on his face. "You deduced that...?"

"Every visible attack is unreal. The real attacks only occur after I’ve dodged, hence the success."

He slowly straightened himself despite already having a pool of his own blood by his feet. Summoning Unremarkable Sword, he frowned slightly.

’Although I have deduced his ability, it’ll be difficult to kill him.’

The disparity between an Awakened and an Evolved was enormous. In terms of physical prowess, Kaiser was totally outclassed. The essence reserves of an Evolved was also larger, meaning Pin-Man could sustain his ability for a long period of time.

Without having the strength to compete, or the ability to directly counter, Kaiser was left with little options. One was to wait for intervention from a passerby, but that was unreliable. There was no doubt that the bridge itself had become a death zone at the moment, and someone was controlling those who could cross. If not, how could it be that everyone he encountered was a mercenary?

’The only way is to...’