The Path Of A True King.-Chapter 25: Taking Over (5)
Chapter 65: The Breaking Point
Elijah’s body crashed through the wall like a cannonball, rubble exploding around him as he plummeted through the air.
His back slammed onto the hard concrete below, pain bursting through his ribs like fire.
He coughed, a thick glob of blood splattering onto the ground.
He barely had time to breathe before heavy footsteps shook the floor.
The gang boss emerged from the wreckage above, his massive frame framed by the gaping hole in the wall.
His grin stretched wide, his chest rising and falling in deep, ragged breaths.
"You’re still alive?" he scoffed, wiping blood from his split lip.
His Peak Intermediate Knight aura flared again, pressing down like an iron weight. "Good. I want to break you properly."
Elijah forced himself up, swaying on his feet.
His vision blurred for a moment, but he clenched his fists.
His muscles screamed, his Ki nearly gone, but his resolve didn’t waver.
This wasn’t a battle of skill anymore.
It was a battle of endurance.
The boss cracked his knuckles and lunged, covering the distance in an instant.
Elijah barely raised his arms before a wrecking ball of a fist slammed into his guard.
The force sent him skidding backward, his feet digging trenches in the cracked floor.
His forearms throbbed from the impact.
But before he could recover, the boss was already there.
Another punch—Elijah twisted at the last second, but the fist grazed his ribs, sending a spike of pain through his body.
He countered with a sharp elbow to the temple.
The boss grunted, but it barely slowed him down.
A brutal knee slammed into Elijah’s stomach, stealing his breath.
He gasped, doubling over, but his instincts screamed at him—move!
Ignoring the agony, Elijah drove his head forward, smashing his forehead into the boss’s nose.
Cartilage cracked.
Blood spurted.
The boss stumbled back with a snarl, his eyes burning with fury.
"That all you got, kid?" he growled.
Elijah didn’t answer.
He lunged forward, fists flying.
The boss blocked the first punch, the second, but the third caught him across the jaw.
Elijah followed up—an uppercut, a spinning backfist, a rising knee.
Each strike was raw, desperate, but they landed.
The boss staggered, his stance breaking for the first time.
Elijah pressed forward—only for a heavy fist to bury itself into his gut.
His breath vanished.
His vision flashed white.
The next thing he knew, he was airborne, his body smashing through another section of the building.
Dust and debris rained down as he groaned, struggling to rise.
His arms shook, his chest burned. The fight had gone beyond exhaustion.
It was survival.
The boss didn’t let up.
He charged through the dust, his body a blur of power.
Elijah ducked the first swing, rolled to the side to dodge a stomp, then lashed out with a kick to the knee.
The boss grunted, his leg buckling.
Elijah capitalized, landing a savage right hook to the ribs.
Crunch.
The boss let out a wheezing snarl, but instead of retreating, he grabbed Elijah by the collar.
"Not bad," he muttered. Then he threw him.
Elijah’s body slammed through another wall.
Pain flared through every nerve.
He gasped, coughing up more blood.
His limbs felt like dead weights.
The sound of footsteps. Slow, deliberate.
"You’re tough," the boss admitted.
His face was bloodied, bruises forming along his jaw and ribs. "But you’re done."
Elijah pushed himself up, his breaths ragged.
His Ki was drained, his body on the verge of collapse.
But when he looked at the boss, he saw it—his arms were trembling slightly.
His movements weren’t as fast as before. His chest rose and fell in sharp gasps.
He was exhausted, too.
They were both at their limit.
The air between them grew heavy.
Neither spoke.
Then, they moved at the same time.
The final exchange began.
Fists met flesh.
Bones cracked.
Blood sprayed.
Elijah dodged a hook but took a knee to the ribs.
He retaliated with a crushing left straight to the jaw.
The boss spun from the impact, only to whip his leg around in a roundhouse kick that sent Elijah crashing into a pile of broken bricks.
Elijah roared, pushing off the ground with a wild haymaker that slammed into the boss’s cheek.
The man staggered, spit flying from his mouth, but he twisted and drove his elbow into Elijah’s sternum.
BAM.
Elijah’s feet left the ground.
He crashed onto his back, gasping.
He tried to move.
His body screamed in protest.
The boss loomed over him, panting heavily.
His own legs shook, his face swollen and bloodied.
"Stay down," he rasped.
Elijah clenched his teeth.
His vision blurred, the edges darkening.
His body was shutting down.
But then... he saw it.
The boss’s guard was down.
Just for a second.
His legs, trembling.
His arms, sluggish.
This was it.
His only chance.
With a final surge of will, Elijah forced himself up.
His feet felt like lead.
His entire body begged him to stop.
But he didn’t.
He couldn’t.
The boss’s eyes widened in shock. "You—"
Elijah moved.
His body blurred as he activated [Flash Step], his last shred of Ki fueling him forward.
The boss swung instinctively, but Elijah ducked.
He twisted his body and drove his fist forward—straight into the boss’s chest.
A deafening crack echoed through the ruins.
The boss’s breath hitched.
His body stiffened.
Elijah didn’t stop.
He gripped the boss’s collar, pulled him in, and slammed his knee into his gut with every last ounce of strength he had left.
The boss’s eyes widened further.
His lips parted, but no words came.
Only a weak, choking gasp.
Then, his legs gave out.
His massive body collapsed.
Silence.
Elijah stood over him, swaying.
His breath came in ragged gulps, his vision swimming.
His knuckles were split, his body drenched in sweat and blood.
[Zenith Deactivated]
A chill ran through him as he looked at the unmoving form of the gang boss.
His first kill.
The weight of it pressed down on his shoulders.
His stomach twisted.
Footsteps.
Kai and Dean arrived, their eyes scanning the wreckage.
Kai’s gaze landed on Elijah.
He exhaled, his expression unreadable. "You did it."
Elijah didn’t respond.
His knees wobbled.
His vision blurred further.
Then, his body finally gave out.
Darkness took him.
