Unlimited Power 03: The Sinful Ruler

The sudden explosion, which made Vare flinch, and Jake used that opening. He jumped toward the enemy and swung his sword at Vare's head. At the last moment, he twitched his head, but the strike still cut the left side of his forehead and his eyebrow. That was a part of the body that could easily bleed a lot, so quickly, a lot of blood fell on his left eye. Jake didn't obtain the result that he wanted, but he obtained something that would help him and it was better than nothing.

When Jake landed behind him, he was welcomed by his Fury Shield, but not in the way he wanted. Vare threw toward him with all his might, so dodging wasn't an option. He blocked the attack with his sword, and the teeth of the shield grinded against his sword while it was spinning. Eventually, Jake recovered the shield, but his sword and the shield suffered a lot of damage. He couldn't let that happen again, or he will lose both them of them, and then things would get really nasty since Vare was that much annoying.

"It felt like I was trying to block a rock from smashing me… Even wounded like that, he still has a lot of strength," Jake thought. "This guy will definitely kill me if I take the wrong step just once... if he had a weapon...

Vare was trying to get rid of the blood on his face, but covering his field of vision with his arm to press the wound and stop the blood from flowing would be insane in the middle of a battle. So, he decided to fight with a single eye while he waited for the wound to close by itself… That resilience was as commendable as it was annoying. Jake knew that he shouldn't have expected anything less from a being like Vare, but even so…

"It is time to end this… I feel like I am cornering myself by taking my time here," Jake thought.

Jake still had some potions left, so that feeling was unsettling since he couldn't understand it completely. Also, those doubts in his mind will only make Pride Incarnate become a problem, so he has to deal with that before it happens.

In the end, Jake put away his shield and his Flamberge. He summoned his greatsword because skills worked better when they were used with the weapons that they came from. Vare knew that, but he couldn't understand how that weapon would help Jake.

Despite his wounds, Vare raised his arms and prepared his claws to fight. The wound in his leg was almost healed, so he still could count on them. Still, he had a feeling that instead of doing that, he should do everything that he could to keep Jake away from him. That would hurt his pride because Jake was clearly weaker than him. Besides, death wasn't the end for him now that he became a dungeon boss… With that in mind, Vare decided to accept the head-on clash.

Jake realized that Vare had made up his mind, but he didn't think that he would do something as foolish as just waiting for him… he was supposed to be smarter than that. Jake could only frown while looking at that… Vare clearly was a prideful warrior, not a fool who would let his pride get in the way. So, Jake felt a bit annoyed.

"Well, whatever… it was his choice," Jake said and furrowed his eyebrows.

Jake used that anger and frustration and enchanted his sword not with the usual fire but the Flames of Wrath. The flames were completely under his control, so they weren't damaging the weapon even when he moved it around. Regardless, that was just the first step. Jake used all the buffs that increased his strength and then dashed toward the enemy before jumping with all his might. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Vare, and he swung his left claw to attack Jake, but he only attacked the sword that was swung downward like lightning.

The sword and the claws collided, but the flames of wrath and the effect of Full Swing made Vare's claws crack. Still, that hadn't been enough to defeat him. Vare prepared to kick Jake and kill him with the claws of his legs, but before he could do that, Jake used Explosive Touch to raise his sword after causing some damage. Soon after, he swung his sword downward again. Jake had completely disregarded defense, and thanks to it, he attacked faster than expected.

Vare hesitated in trying to defend himself or attack. He didn't know what it was the best option in that situation. He had forgotten for a moment that Jake was weaker than him, and that moment of hesitation was what Jake needed…

Vare decided to block the attack, but it had been the wrong choice. His claws were too damaged, and he lost the duel of brute strength by using only one arm. His claws began to crack even more, but then he used the remaining claw to attack Jake. However, he did the same thing as before. He used Explosive Touch to make his weapon suddenly backward and then swung it down.

At that point in time, Vare could only think that Jake had lost his mind. Even if he kills Vare somehow, he still will die… nothing would stop Vare from finishing his attack. In the end, Vare decided to take his chances as well, but he never expected that Jake would be waiting for that… in the last moment, Jake turned the direction of his attack and then targeted Vare's right arm. Vare watched in shock, unable to do anything else, when the dark flames began to move at high speeds like a chainsaw around the blade while it was swinging down toward his arm.

In the end, Vare could only bewildered by his elbow being cut cleanly by a single strike…