Chapter 493: Crescent Moon, Severed Hand

Crescent Moon, Severed Hand

He stared toward the hole in the wall.

He didn’t lower his guard.

Not even for a moment.

That kick had been powerful.

Powerful enough to send Fean through the wall.

But Victor knew better than to assume the battle was over.

Someone who had endured everything Fean had endured would not fall from one attack.

Sure enough—

The darkness beyond the ruined wall moved.

A figure emerged.

Fean.

He looked almost unchanged.

A few fresh wounds marked his face, and several bruises had appeared across his body, but his movements remained as terrifying as before.

Victor’s smile disappeared.

His golden eyes sharpened.

Fean suddenly charged.

Just like at the beginning.

There was no warning.

No hesitation.

His body shot toward Victor with frightening speed.

Victor immediately adjusted his stance.

He was ready.

He had already seen this kind of charge countless times during the battle.

He would parry the incoming attack, redirect its force, and counter.

Simple.

Efficient.

Predictable.

But Fean wasn’t predictable.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Fean had been using his hands and legs throughout the entire battle.

Now, without warning, he opened his mouth.

His teeth flashed.

Victor’s instincts screamed.

"What—?"

He couldn’t react in time.

Fean’s teeth sank directly into Victor’s shoulder.

CRUNCH!

Pain exploded through Victor’s body.

Victor’s expression twisted.

Blood immediately poured from the wound.

"Fuck!"

He grabbed Fean and tried to pull him away.

But Fean didn’t release him.

Instead, his arms wrapped tightly around Victor’s body.

His grip became like iron.

Then his teeth sank deeper.

Blood burst from Victor’s shoulder like a fountain.

For an instant, even Victor’s breathing stopped.

The pain was sharp enough to travel straight through his nerves.

Yet Victor’s mind remained clear.

He could easily push Fean away with a spell.

That was the simplest solution.

But Victor refused.

Since the beginning of this battle, aside from the single wind spell he had used to cushion his body when Fean sent him flying into the cave wall, he had relied only on physical enhancement.

He had already regretted using that wind spell.

This was supposed to be a battle of martial prowess.

A contest between bodies.

If he began throwing other spells into the fight simply because things had become difficult, then what was the meaning of everything he had gained from this battle?

Victor clenched his teeth.

No.

He wouldn’t.

Instead, he lifted his head.

Then—

Bang!

His forehead smashed into Fean’s face.

Fean didn’t let go.

Victor headbutted him again.

Bang!

And again.

Bang!

Again.

Bang!

Each impact produced a dull, brutal sound that echoed through the cave.

Blood began flowing from Victor’s forehead.

His vision shook.

But he continued.

One headbutt.

Two.

Three.

Four.

He didn’t care about the pain.

He only cared about forcing Fean to release him.

Finally—

Fean’s grip loosened.

Victor immediately seized the opportunity.

He tore himself away and created distance between them.

His shoulder was bleeding heavily.

A chunk of flesh had been bitten away.

Blood ran down his arm and dripped onto the ground.

Victor barely looked at the wound.

His eyes were already fixed on Fean.

He stepped forward.

His fist struck Fean directly in the chest.

BOOM!

Fean was pushed several feet backward.

Victor remained standing.

His head was bleeding from the repeated headbutts, and blood ran down his face, passing along his sharp features before falling from his chin.

The difference between them was obvious.

Victor’s shoulder had been savagely bitten.

His forehead was bleeding.

His body was covered in cuts and bruises.

Fean, meanwhile, had only minor wounds across his face and several bruises on his chest.

The exchange was overwhelmingly unfavorable to Victor.

Victor looked at him for several seconds.

Then he sighed.

It wasn’t a sigh of surrender.

It was the sigh of someone who had finally reached the point where he could no longer continue the fight in the same way.

Fean once again moved into offense.

Victor stepped backward.

This time, he retreated.

One step.

Then another.

Evelyne watched him carefully.

She could see the blood running down Victor’s body.

She could also see the strange calmness in his golden eyes.

Victor wasn’t running away.

He was preparing something.

"Evelyne hand me your sword!"

Hearing his master’s voice, Evelyne reacted almost unconsciously.

Her body moved before her thoughts had even caught up.

She reached for one of the swords at her side and threw it toward Victor.

The weapon spun through the air.

Victor extended his hand.

His fingers closed around the hilt.

The instant the sword entered his grasp, something about him changed.

He stopped retreating.

The noisy battlefield suddenly felt quieter.

Victor lowered the sword.

The blade remained inside its sheath.

His feet shifted.

One planted firmly behind the other.

His body lowered into a deep stance.

His bleeding shoulder hung slightly lower than the other, yet his grip remained steady.

Fean stared at him.

Then he charged.

Full speed.

The ground cracked beneath his feet.

Victor didn’t move.

His golden eyes followed Fean’s approach.

His breathing gradually slowed.

One breath.

In.

One breath.

Out.

The pain in his shoulder faded into the background.

The blood running down his forehead no longer mattered.

The entire world seemed to narrow into a single line between himself and the approaching enemy.

Victor’s fingers tightened around the sword hilt.

Then he whispered.

"[Moon Edge style- Cresent moon]"

Fean reached him.

And missed.

His body shot past Victor.

For a brief moment, nothing happened.

Fean was already turning around.

His right arm lifted.

He was about to swipe at Victor.

Then his expression changed.

He couldn’t feel his right hand.

Blood started spurting from Fean’s right shoulder.

Evelyne’s eyes widened.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Fean’s severed right hand fell heavily onto the floor.

No one had seen Victor draw his sword.

Not Evelyne.

Not the others.

Not even Dian a.

The entire attack had happened in a single instant.

Diana was unable to follow it either.