Chapter 121 – A Pyrrhic victory

Ramiel went to the place where the last cultist could be. In a wide room with empty door space built like an office. Ramiel didn’t go in blazing first. He took cover next to the wall, planted his ears to listen to the cultist inside. He deduced that the cultist is already trying to escape.

He noticed the whiff of wind. The aroma of a river was with it so he thought that there might be a tunnel next to this cultist’s office. The room was filled with magic materials the cultist is putting things into a rucksack. He is hauling them and seeing that the cultist might be busy.

Ramiel lit up one of his Molotov’s, held it on his left hand as he entered the office, shot the cultist in the back three times only for the bolts to be deflected. Noticing Ramiel, the cultist drop his rucksack and fired a quick spell at Ramiel. Dodging, Ramiel threw the Molotov at the rucksack, burning it. The cultist tried to extinguish the flames but Ramiel didn’t let him as he lit another Molotov and threw it right at the cultist again. The cultist managed to block Ramiel. His eyes narrowed, as he put his hand up front, and blasted Ramiel into a wall.

Ramiel coughed blood as he feels his body smash on the wall. He felt his head dizzy, his vision spinning but he didn’t stop as he throws another Molotov and then used his repeater to attack again. The cultist sneered at Ramiel’s condition, he threw a spell but this time Ramiel conjured a barrier like shield and defended himself. Seeing the barrier the cultist casted another spell, Ramiel replied by firing another Molotov and casting holy chains which bounded on the arms of the cultists.

The cultist tried to break free but Ramiel closed in with his left hand surrounded with a barrier formed like a barrell. Using his left hand, Ramiel gathered his incompatible energy and blasted the cultist away, destroying his protection aura and barrier.

The cultist’s legs shake as he stood up. Gazing with fierce eyes at Ramiel, the cultist tried another spell only for Ramiel to shot the cultist in the stomach. The cultist shouted in pain as the bolt hits his organs. But the cultist didn’t give up he protected himself and threw a wind blast at Ramiel.

Ramiel got blasted to a wall again. He tried to evade but the cultist did another wind blast, pummeling Ramiel to the wall twice. Ramiel felt like he would faint if not for the pain. So using the pain as stimulus, Ramiel laughed madly as he rolls out of the range of the cultist and casted a barrier in a form of a suit of armor around him. Doing so made Ramiel overcast but he ignored his bulging veins as he rushes at the cultist, threw a right hook, followed by a haymaker!

The barrier protected the cultist and as the cultist was about to counter, he saw the same improvise blast magic Ramiel has and it explodes in front of him, breaking his protection aura.

The Cultist tried to stand up but Ramiel pounced at him. Lifting his fist up and using his barrier protected arms, he punched the cultist continuously in the face. The cultist was in agony but he was resilient enough to activate the cursed ring on him, allowing him to lose all reason, and blasting Ramiel away again.

Ramiel smiled madly as he got blasted away.

His face twisted, his smile reaching up to his ears as his abyss like eyes stared widely at the cultist. Ramiel rushed at the cultist and punched out, this time Ramiel formed a sphere at his elbow and using this, he made use of the recoil to punch straight through the barrier of the berserk cultist.

Ramiel felt his arm broke but with his adrenaline pumping high. Ramiel didn’t mind the pain, twisted his body as he did four body blows towards the cultist. Each blow was strong, but it was not enough to kill the heavily bleeding cultist.

They fought tooth to tooth. The cultist has the advantage, but Ramiel made use of everything he has to fight the cultist. From the shortsword to the elemental bracer, and to his repeater crossbow, it took time for Ramiel to actually knock the cultist on the ground.

And as the cultist was on the ground, Ramiel did him a favor and did continuous punches on his face. He wasn’t great in fighting, so Ramiel made use of what he thought that would hurt the enemy and punched the enemy in the throat, the eyes; slap his ears and finally when the cultist’s arms wouldn’t move. Ramiel draws his hidden blade and punches it to the cultist’s throat.

Along with that, Ramiel drew the short sword that he drops on the ground and use it to stab the cultist in the chest repeatedly.

Ramiel didn’t stop stabbing the cultist. Despite the cultist dead, Ramiel kept on stabbing madly to the point that the chest of the cultist started opening up. Ramie lost it already, he wasn’t thinking straight and if someone would look at his face, they would find smiling madly as he rips and stab the chest of the cultist.

Blood spurted out to the point that Ramiel’s face and torso were covered in blood.

The sound of meat being stab echoed on the walls of the den. There were footsteps and as these footsteps arrive on the place where the stabbing sounds are, the local guards, Raul, Abby and Peronell saw Ramiel stab his last at the cultist as he faints.

Three broken ribs, a dislocated fractured arm, two stab wounds on the arms didn’t make Ramiel feel so good. His victory was rather pyrrhic and when he was done, he felt like life was eventually leaving him. He felt like he was drowning in a dark sea, he couldn’t hear and his vision was starting to feel blur.

He was lacking any strength to breathe, and he didn’t feel like gasping for breath.

But...

Ramiel saw the panic expression Peronell have. Looking at her, Ramiel questioned where her usual smugness is. She seems like she was going to cry, and seeing that Ramiel could not help but grasp for breath. Somehow, looking at Peronell, he didn’t want to die.

He wondered why.