Unexpectedly, even after cutting its Achilles Tendon, the monster could still move at an incredible speed. Albeit, it managed to reduce the speed significantly. However, the members of the Hunting Party can't still contest its speed because even Fushigiro could barely escape its attacks using Deka Step.
The smile on Dunn's face faded as he saw the monster furiously charged at him with maddened intensity than before. Dunn dodged its blow thanks to his Feathery Body. 'Thankfully, it only uses blunt attacks.'
One of the advantages of humans over Apokalips is the use of tools and weapons. Just like now, the Abomination could only attack them using its fist.
"Captain, help me," Dunn said helplessly as he dodged another punch akin to a fluttering leaf.
"Just keep its attention on you from now." As he said this, Fushigiro looked at Rina, Miles, and Athena. "It's time to use that..."
"Yes, captain!" x3
Just like that, the three surrounded the Apokalip on all sides and dashed towards it simultaneously. Seeing this, Dunn retreated and fell to the ground tiredly. Such high-intensity attacks and the frequent use of his Feathery Body had consumed all his physical energy. Now he was out of the battle, since he would just die if he continued.
"Bastard! How dare you do that to our Vice-Captain!" Athena's spear made a whooping sound as she propelled it towards the side of the monster. "Eat this!"
The pale-skinned monster, however, just hopped to dodge the spear. Its vertical jump reached fifteen meters, causing Miles and Rina to stop their advances.
"Fall back!"
With Fushigiro's command, Miles, and the others ran away out of the place. Then they heard a loud, booming sound. The ground shook momentarily and a rain of sand appeared.
"Not so fast now, huh?" Suddenly, a mocking expression replaced the panic on Miles's face. He readied his sword, then struck the ground thrice in a split second with his foot. Just as he did so, a finger landed in his original position. The ground was impaled, and a hole was created when the Apokalip pulled its finger back.
"Damn, I almost died there." Miles shivered. He stared at the hole in the ground fearfully and wiped the sweat on his forehead. He knew that if he was hit by it, he would certainly die. After all, unlike Fushigiro and Jin, he couldn't use Tesai. If Jin hadn't used Tesai, he wouldn't just be unconscious. He would have already died by now.
In the distance, Caleb was speechless at how brave Miles constantly tried to provoke it. "Did he have a death wish? The Abomination almost made a donut hole out of him. He almost joined the Donut family..."
Clifford, who heard Caleb's muttering, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and thought. 'What is this bastard thinking? Donut Family??'
...
The battle kept going with Miles and Fushigiro, who could use Deka Step to fend it off. Every blow sent by the monster could kill any one of them, so they didn't dare to be careless. Caleb, on the other hand, couldn't find an opportunity to use his streamlined technique due to the monster constantly moving around at a fast speed. Even though he was confident that he could hit it with his precise calculation. Albeit, just the body. What he wanted was to hit its head, which made it ten times harder.
The situation was slowly turning dire as Fushigiro tried his best to land a soft fist, but the monster was just too fast. They tried to trap it multiple times, but it just countered with its high-leaping ability. The hunting party had limited energy. Due to the constant use of the five powers, they became more and more tired and became more prone to error.
"Athena!!!"
A shrill, desperate voice caught his attention. It was Miles's voice. Then what he saw made him freeze. It is the Apokalip that appeared behind Athena in a flash. It shoved its fist at her, covering her body entirely, threatening to turn her into a mush of flesh. Athena had a horrified look while Miles, Dunn, and Fushigiro tried to come to her rescue.
However, it was too late... Athena instinctively used the Feathery Body technique, but an unexpected thing happened. The arm of the pale-white Apokalip turned into the sharp, pale-white blade. The counter to Feathery body technique.
The technique was a perfect dodging technique for blunt attacks, but weak against sharp, penetrating ones. The blade divided Athena's body in half neatly. Just like a sword master who can split a swaying leaf in the air.
'Damn it!' Caleb, someone gripped his heart as he witnessed one of his companions' death. He knew that the chances of dying against such a monster were high, but it still brought him shock at how fast things happened.