"This is a world where the strong are predators, and the weak inevitably become prey," Terror muttered. His voice was cold and metallic as his gaze locked on Code.

  "Ugh... ugh." Finn gasped for breath, veins bulging. His lungs had been shattered, ribs crushed, blood spurting from his mouth.

  'I-I'm really gonna die, huh?' he thought, turning his head until his eyes met Code's.

  "F-Finn," Code whispered. His chest thudded, breath aching. He slowly raised his hand to his face and scratched it downward.

  "I-I-I... ah... ah..." He exhaled. The right words would not come.

  "It isn't your fault," Terror spoke. "It's his fault for not being strong enough to protect himself. No one fights for anyone. We all fight for ourselves."

  'Haha,' Finn chuckled internally, lips curling slightly. 'Maybe he's right,' he thought, his hands twitching.

  'It's not like I deserved to live. I've always survived not because of my own strength, but by depending on others.

  Born into a family of eight, I was the last born.

  All my elder brothers were strong and muscular, except me.

  I couldn't fight. I was the weakest.

  My own brothers and parents treated me as scum, every day was a living hell.

  I was always beaten, scorned, and stoned, even by the villagers.' His breath grew shallow. 'But even after all that treatment, I still believed they cared for me. They were strong to protect the weak like me, so they would protect me no matter what.

  But one day, I was proven wrong.

  The day demons attacked the village.

  I thought my brothers were strong enough to protect me, until I watched every single one of them get eaten alive.

  My mother kept screaming and cursing as the demons devoured her body.

  My father kept shouting for help. He kept calling my name while the demons tore his body apart.

  But there I sat in the corner of the room, fear-stricken, motionless, and sobbing.

  I heard it all. Their wails, their screams, but what could I do?

  I was even too weak to stand. My legs failed me.

  I knew I couldn't protect myself. Then how could I protect those who mattered to me?'

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Finn snapped back to reality.

  'Code,' he whispered in his mind, blood clouding his vision. 'It's not your fault. Life has no plans for the weak.'

  'This is my karma.'

  Finn's eyes blurred, and he let out one last spurt of blood before dying.

  Blood pooled beneath his body and flowed toward Code.

  Code slowly rose to his feet, head bowed, hair covering his face.

  "Finally realized the truth?" Terror asked coldly.

  "-you!" Code whispered, but his voice was not audible enough for Terror to hear.

  "What was that?" Terror said.

  "I'll kill you!" Code muttered, jaw clenching as Finn's blood soaked his feet.

  "I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you..." Code kept muttering.

  "Ah? Have you gone mad?" Terror replied, tilting his head.

  Code's muscles tensed, gaze hardened, veins bulged.

  His teeth gritted so hard that blood began to trickle from his gums.

  "Arrgh arrgh..." He exhaled. His gaze slowly rose until he locked a death stare on Terror.

  His mouth opened, and he screamed.

  "TERROR!!!"

  In less than a second, Code was no longer where he stood. Only ripples of air remained.

  He instantly materialized in front of Terror, fists clenched.

  "He's fast." Terror's eyes widened.

  "Pulverize!!" Code shouted, then threw a punch forward, point-blank at Terror's face.

  Terror instinctively spun, dodging the attack by inches. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, blasting the floor to dust.

  "What power," Terror muttered, spinning back.

  "AHH!!" Code let out a ear shattering cry as he swung his left fist from the side, aiming to crush Terror's chin.

  The memories flashed: Ran's death, Kael's wails as he was eaten alive, Hina's smile after using vox Nihilia. They flooded his mind. He couldn't protect them.

  "However," Terror started, calmly raising a palm.

  "Ahhh!" Code's blow neared.

  "Your punches have no effect."

  The fist connected in a loud, resounding KRAKOOM.

  The dust quickly cleared, leaving Code gasping for breath. His eyes shifted upward, and he froze in a shocked "Huh?"

  Terror had caught his punch with a single finger again.

  "Despicable," Terror hissed, not sparing Code a glance. He raised his other fingers and grabbed Code's fist.

  "Allowing rage to blind you..." Terror said, twisting the arm.

  "What?" Code blurted, realizing he was already mid-air, hanging from Terror's grip.

  "...is totally despicable!"

  As he said that, Terror swung downward, slamming Code's body into the earth, and cratering it in webbed spirals.

  "BLUAH!!" Blood burst from every opening on Code's face: his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

  "Allowing rage to control you," Terror continued. "Is the same as deliberately walking into a trap."

  He pointed his left palm at Code's face, then spoke.

  "PUSH."

  The force burst from his hand, firing downward at blistering speed.

  "Damn!" Code hissed, watching the force descend. 'Well, I deserve it,' he deadpanned. 'I couldn't protect anyone... again...'

  But just as it was about to connect with Code's body...

  "Arrgh," she exhaled, gripping her sword tightly as dark tenzen cloaked it.

  Then came the whisper. "Sword Art: Sky Render."

  A thin metallic sound rent the air before a dark horizontal vacuum shot forward. It reached the push attack in less than a blink and neutralized it in a flash of sparks.

  "Huh?" Terror reacted, immediately jumping backward until he drifted to a stop.

  His eyes rolled to his left arm. His palm was no longer there; all that remained was a stump from which blood fountained.

  "Hmm, that blacksmith guy knows his stuff," Hina said, sheathing her sword.

  She walked toward Code, eyes filled with boredom and indifference. She didn't seem bothered by Terror's presence.

  "H-Hina," Code whispered, raising his head.

  "Yo, how's my timing?" Hina greeted, flashing a peace sign.

  "Arrgh," Code sighed in relief, dropping his head.

  "Man, you look done," Hina teased. "What would've happened if I had come one second later."

  "You'd be smoothened meat by now," she chuckled.

  "Anyway, where's Finn?" She asked, eyes darting about. "Don't tell me he also got—" She froze mid-sentence as she locked on Finn.