CHAPTER 467: WITH ONE CUT

Henry’s warscythe slashed in a straight vertical line. He enhanced his speed using a small time sphere, so Slayer couldn’t react fast enough.

His weapon’s blade cut straight through the blood-red robe and Slayer’s unarmored body. A moment later he fell over dead, and the vision ended.

With the vision, Slayer expected the vertical attack and its unnatural speed. He didn’t try parrying, blocking or deflecting the attack. Instead, he used the Prince’s unstoppable momentum against him.

The warscythe’s blade arced towards Slayer when he changed positions. He stood sideways, with a straight back, avoiding Henry’s attack by a few centimeters.

A wide grin grew on the madman’s lips as his curved bone blade stabbed forward, planning to impale the Prince’s heart.

The sword’s tip reached Henry’s breastplate when it slowed to a crawl. Unable to evade the blow, Henry opted for a different solution.

Time stopped for a moment, then began moving backwards. It resumed forward movement right when Henry’s warscythe began moving downward vertically.

Slayer’s glowing, blood-red eyes widened as Henry’s movements changed from the previous vision. Instead of a straight, vertical slash, the warscythe moved at a slight angle, catching his sidestep.

The blade cut through his skull, brain, neck, chest, stomach and finally his crotch, until his body laid in two halves. This vision ended soon too, and Slayer smiled again, believing the sudden change was nothing but a fluke.

It wasn’t difficult to dodge Henry’s blade. It was even easier since it moved at an angle. Instead of the left, Slayer stepped to the right.

The warscythe slashed through empty air, while the creepy man stabbed forward, nearly impaling Henry’s chest. However, the bone sword stopped a few centimeters from the Prince’s armor.

Henry took a deep breath as his dark blue eyes glowed behind his helmet. Time stopped yet again, then soon began moving backward, until he reached the exact same moment as before.

He angled the blade to the left this time, so it would catch Slayer’s right-hand side and hopefully kill him. The sudden change surprised the madman again, but he had little time to contemplate the reason.

The Prince’s weapon killed him in a new gruesome way in his vision. Slayer avoided the blade again, this time by dodging to his left with a longer sidestep.

His curved blade moved through the air and stopped right at Henry’s neck. It would’ve beheaded him with ease if Henry hadn’t turned back time, resetting them both.

Their fight’s back-and-forth nature continued for an unknown period of time. It was a strange stalemate, impossible to overcome by regular means.

One fighter witnessed everything that will happen. The other actively changed reality by travelling back in time after suffering another failure. One would think no winner could arise from such a perfect stalemate, but that’s a wrongful assumption.

Their abilities countered each other, but Henry had the edge in the engagement. He had already figured out Slayer’s ability, while the madman still struggled to understand how the Prince kept altering his visions.

The lack of knowledge and building frustration brought Slayer closer to insanity. He wasn’t grinning anymore. Instead, he clenched his teeth so hard that drops of blood fell from his mouth.

A low, annoyed growl reverberated in Slayer’s throat as his visions continued changing.

He was about to step to the left, evade Henry’s warscythe, then stab forward, killing him with one blow. However, that vision crumbled as the Prince’s attacking angle changed, as if he knew where Slayer was about to move.

With his frustration growing, Slayer prepared to double down on the left side, but instead of sidestepping, he wanted to leap away, get some distance between them and reassess the situation.

The movement of Henry’s blade changed once more, turning horizontal. If Slayer would’ve tried jumping away, his body would’ve landed in two pieces.

Slayer’s blood-red eyes glowed stronger as his mind went into overdrive. He checked future after future, trying to find an appropriate solution.

Roll to the left; beheaded... Step back in retreat; stab through his sternum... Block the incoming weapon; broken bone sword, dead...

Stab forward before the warscythe could reach him; dead... Crouch down and cut the legs; dead... Jump high to evade any incoming attack; dead... Parry his blade; dead... Deflect the blade; dead... Do anything; dead...

’Dead... Dead... Dead... DEAD!... Everything leads to fucking DEATH!’

The madman’s blood boiled with rage. He couldn’t figure out what was happening. When he thought about a new scenario, the future changed!

’Can he read my mind? That’s a possibility; the future only changes after I think of a new way to escape or attack... But that means he’s readying my mind right now! If so, go fuck yourself, you asshole! Get out of my mind!’

Slayer shouted a few more colorful insults, but since Henry couldn’t read minds, his provocations went unanswered.

’Think... Think... Think... If he can read my mind, I can’t use my ability to find a solution. Also, I can’t imagine my actions, since he can also see that... I needed to act without thought! That’s it!’

He immediately implemented this tactic. Without thinking, he rotated from the waist, leaned away from the approaching warscythe and stabbed forward with the bone sword.

However, the weapon’s direction changed abruptly again, aiming straight at Slayer’s neck. Soon the madman’s head rolled on the ground, and the vision ended.

The future sight didn’t just show visions when Slayer desired them. Every time some deadly danger approaches, the vision activates, providing Slayer with a straightforward way of escape.

This meant that while he turned off the ability and acted without thought, it still showed his imminent death, saving his life.

’DEAD AGAIN?! It’s not mind reading then! He reacted to my attack and evasion, even when I hadn’t thought about it!... But then how the FUCK does he predict my movements! Can he see into the future too?... I don’t understand what’s happening!’

Slayer couldn’t figure a solution. While his blood boiled in rage about his own incompetence, a new feeling began festering deep in his heart... A cold feeling, which sent shivers down his spine... fear and despair...

’I... I... I can’t stop him... I can’t do anything...’

He glimpsed into the future again. And again.. And again... And again...

’Dead... Dead... Dead... Dead... I’m going to die... This is impossible...’

His raging blood began cooling down as fear spread across his limbs, freezing him to the spot. The glow in his blood-red eyes turned into a light shimmer as the white warscythe approached him rapidly.

More visions moved past his eyes. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, but nothing worked. He couldn’t stop, evade or push through the approaching weapon’s inevitable blade.

Moments stretched to eternity as Slayer watched the blade move closer to his head. After each vision, there were micro-changes in its direction, which meant all his attempts would end in failure.

The situation’s inevitability weighed heavy on Slayer’s shoulder. The only thing he truly feared in life was its end.

Just as the warscythe’s tip neared his face, a small chuckle escaped the terrified madman’s lips.

’How ironic. My biggest fear is what I’ve done to millions of humans... Well, I never expected a happy ending or a sad one. But I expected more screaming...’

Slayer closed his eyes and listened to the surrounding sounds. However, he couldn’t even hear the thunder anymore, as if even reality hated him.

’Silence, eh?... No hatred, no sadness, no joy or love... Silence is all I deserve, I suppose...’

Suddenly, a sharp pain assaulted Slayer’s face, and he couldn’t help opening his eyes. The warscythe stopped millimeters from his face, only drawing a few drops of blood.

For a moment, Slayer thought the mysterious stranger had spared his life, but his hopes were soon crushed. He took a step back and fell to his knees, as slowly all energy and power left his body.

"As I said, I only need a single cut to defeat you... No we’re even!"

Henry’s words echoed through the silent hilltop, reverberating inside Slayer’s head. His head moved up, while a small breeze pushed back his blood-red hood.

For the first time, Henry saw the madman’s face without any obstruction.

Scars covered its entirety. He didn’t have ears, just a pair of holes in their place, while his crooked nose angled to the left. His lips stretched wider than normal. He didn’t have any hair, and multiple different flaps of skin covered his head.

However, the most disturbing part of Slayer was its blood-red pair of eyes, which stared at the Prince with curiosity.

"H-how... How did you defeat my visions?"

The Prince stared at Slayer with pity. His body and face gradually became more wrinkled, as if his entire body went through rapid aging. Since the battle had already ended, sharing this information wouldn’t cause any problems.

"I can travel back in time. After each loss, I travelled back a few moments, and tried a different approach... If it makes you happier, you defeated me hundreds of times, while I only once."

Slayer chuckled hearing that, then glanced up at Henry once more.

"Tell me... Why did you want to kill me? I mean... I deserved to die, but still... What’s your reason?"

This time Henry laughed, since his reason is pretty stupid for most people.

"You killed the person I cherish the most in a past timeline. Even though I rewrote that and she’s alive now, my hatred continued festering towards you... I needed you dead, otherwise I would’ve never let go of the past..."

This time, Slayer stayed silent. He wanted to laugh, but his body barely had any energy left.

The madman fell on his back and stared at the bright stars above. He felt the wind gently caressing his face. His eyes soon turned glassy as his body withered into dust, yet before he fully disappeared, he left a few words echoing over the hilltop...

"I wonder... How my life was... Before I met that Mad Scientist..."