An intense sense of danger gripped Kev's heart.
He felt like he would really lose his life this time.
But he didn't let fear paralyze him. Instead, he launched a fierce resistance.
His life wasn't so easy to take!!!
Pivoting on his heel, he swiftly turned around to block.
It wasn't a simple task to dodge a lethal strike launched from one's blind spot.
It required intense concentration and rapid calculation.
You needed to determine the trajectory of the attack, where and when it would land all in a single glance and respond accordingly to your judgment without a shred of hesitation.
And there could be no mistake.
A single miscalculation could result in death or an irreversible injury.
In contrast, if there was no error in your judgment, you would get to keep your life.
It was a technique without a proper name or defined form. But it had made countless appearances throughout history in boxing and similar sports, giving birth to timeless legends.
The ability of top-tier boxers to dodge punches hurled at their faces at Mach-Jesus speed had something to do with it.
If a name had to be given, it would be called Active Perception. It was a technique where the brain had the capacity to be bombarded by countless sensory cues, process them in real-time, and deliver a prediction of what was about to happen next, allowing the body to act before the conscious mind even caught up. It was a technique developed through combat.
It was difficult to master, and even more difficult to put into practice.
Although it sounded easy in theory, nine out of ten people wouldn't be able to put it into practical use, especially when faced with the sudden threat of death.
Yet this was the method Kev clung to in order to survive.
He wasn't absolutely confident, but he had no other choice.
He was too slow to do anything else to preserve his life.
But he had been fighting since he was a child, so there was a trace of certainty within him, a voice that screamed he would be able to pull it off.
Active Perception!
His vision sharpened and focused on a single point, reflecting the entire length of the razor-sharp nails belonging to the nefarious being who had come to reap his life as they came closer and closer to his exposed skin.
In that moment, if one were to look at him closely, they'd realize his eyes resembled those of a hawk swooping down from the sky to snatch its prey.
A thought crossed his mind as his gaze, akin to a predatory beast, won him the greatest prize a man could ever ask for in a life-and-death situation.
"I can see it!"
In an instant, he made multiple crucial judgments.
He determined the trajectory of his enemy's attack.
He measured the distance between the enemy's choice of weapon and its tagret, gauged his enemy's attack speed, and calculated the exact moment those nails sprouting from the claw-like hands of the nefarious being would pierce his chest.
Then, blindly trusting his judgment, he swung his massive broadsword sword with unshakable resolve while letting out a cry, "Be blocked!"
It seemed like a lot of time had passed since the attempt on his life began, but in actuality, only the blink of an eye had passed. He had swung his sword with great precision in time.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
It sounded like metal had clased against metal as razor-sharp nails met a sturdy broadsword and were deflected with a harsh screech.
The Revenant's eyes widened in shock.
It wasn't expecting to be blocked.
No.
It would be more appropriate to say that its sure-kill move had never been blocked before.
Kev was the first to prove that its method of catching prey off-guard wasn't infallible!
"Did it just display an emotion other than insatiable hunger for flesh?" Kev was taken aback.
The Revenant's shocked expression was disturbingly human-like.
But he didn't let the sudden and shocking discovery interfere with his actions. He seized the crucial opportunity to deliver a counterattack while the Revenant was still stunned by its failed attempt on his life, getting a solid hit in.
Bam!
A fierce kick, carrying the maximum strength two grown men could muster, crashed into the Revenant's gut like a bus.
Whiz!
Its dirt-caked, pus filled feet with three large toes covered in tumor lifted off the ground as its body flew back like a cannonball.
Mid air, it smashed its foot down hard, skidding to a halt and steadying itself. Then, it raised its head and stared Kev dead in the eye, its expression warped by crimson fury, as if to say It was no pushover!
"I am no pushover either!" he growled back, meeting the monster's glare without flinching.
He finally got a good look at what he was dealing with.
He knew it was a Revenant, but now he could see exactly what it looked like.
It was massive.
Easily taller than seven feet.
More dreadful than its overwhelming height was its physique.
Its body was covered in bulging muscles as thick and dense as boulders, while sections of its skin had taken on a metallic sheen, as if they had partially metalized. Its jaw, in particular, looked like it was forged from solid iron. Brutal, unyielding, and built to crush.
It had devoured so many beings that it was way past the mutation stage.
It was evolving... into a metal corpse!
"It's a damn corpse, but why is it in such good shape?"
Kev felt a bit envious of its physique.
That envy quickly twisted into hate as it had tried to kill him.
And he used that hate to catch up to it and deliver a barrage of powerful blows.
Ding ding ding!
The semi-evolved Revenant parried his attacks with its nails, but it wasn't without consequence. Its nails. The most lethal aspect of its body were showing signs of wear and tear, with cracks spreading across their surface.
Panic rose.
It didn't want to lose them!
"It's surprisingly fast for its size," Kev thought. "But it won't be able to keep this up for long."
Revenants had a limited supply of energy.
Once their energy supply runs dry, they were as good as dead.
Having already exchanged several blows, Kev knew it wasn't stronger than the mutated Revenant he had dealt with back in the room. In another ten minutes or so, if it kept exerting itself like this, it would run out of energy and drop dead!
If Kev had realized that, how could the Revenant who had clearly shown signs of intelligence, not?
It had to do something to break the deadlock or it would die.
It grabbed his sword, sacrificing injury for the life of its opponent.
Its other hand formed a claw and pushed forward like a landslide crashing down a mountain, bringing with it a cold and suppressive gust of wind.
Getting hit by that strike would surely displace his ribs.
But he couldn't free his sword in time to block it.
Kev did the unthinkable. He let go of his sword and twisted his waist, turning sideways in a fluid motion to dodge the incoming blow.
Then he counterattacked.
A silver arc flashed through the air—his combat knife slicing forward so fast the semi-evolved Revenant couldn't evade.
Although it had started to think and feel after devouring hundreds of living beings, there was hardly any fear in its eyes as it faced a lethal strike to its face.
Injury meant nothing to the dead!
So what if Kev plunged the knife into its face? What would it do? It would do absolutely nothing.
Sure of its conclusion,
It didn't bother dodging.
Instead, it struck out, aiming to bring an end to the battle once and for all. At such close range, it didn't believe Kev would be able to fool death.
In Kev's eyes, it just signed its death certificate!
One corner of Kev's lips curled upward.
It was a mocking smile.
He was ridiculing its decision.
The semi-evolved Revenant quickly realized why as
Kev's combat knife plunged into its face with such brutal force that it tore through skin, crushed flesh, and shattered bone without pause, then burst out the back of the semi evolved Revenant's head.
The tip of the blade wasn't the only thing that emerged.
Alongside it, a hexagonal crystal containing a milky white liquid was forced out.
The Revenant's claws that were just moments away from tearing into Kev's body froze in midair.
Then they fell powerlessly.
"Master Dakun will avenge me."
After it spoke those words, the glint of intelligence in the semi evolved Revenant's eyes flickered once... then vanished into the embrace of darkness forever.
It had died.