章 40: Rounders - Part 2

Blood trickles through the holes pierced into the armour covering Gabriel's forearm, and he grits his teeth to ease the outrageous pain coursing through his mind. He believes that showing such emotion is only for a coward.

Thankfully, when the adrenaline kicks in, all that is left for him to feel is the rush that comes into his brain, forcing him to fight or escape. Though escape is not the best option available to him, nor would fighting with a handicap benefit him much.

While pinning Michael down on the ground, Gabriel has to prepare for any sudden attack that Lucifer could send his way. Especially with a useless hand at the moment, all his boasting and taunts will go to waste.

To counter this, Gabriel whips his left hand toward Lucifer's face, but even at that close range, he misses the shot. Now, Lucifer is on him as the provocation earlier went unnoticed. Clenching his left hand to form a spear-like end, Lucifer thrusts it straight onto Gabriel's right chest.

Fortunately, Gabriel manages to slide the attack away using the palm of his left hand, and the grazing scrapes the gauntlet, revealing the skin under the steel glove. With no choice left, he has to let Michael go and pull himself as far as he can from the two, even using his wings.

Fully latching himself onto Lucifer, both feet up on him while his left hand supports his own body by wrapping around, Gabriel kicks himself away. With the help of his wilting wings, he soars away, powerfully ejecting Lucifer into the wall behind him.

As soon as he lands, Michael decides to greet him with the spear aimed at his heart through the back. Yet, his quick reflexes save him as he bends his body to the front to evade the piercing stab, just barely seeing the shoulder pad fly away after being tipped off.

Holding onto the spear to prevent it from disappearing, Gabriel twists his body around and smacks Michael with his purposeless hand. The damage inflicted by that attack is hardly tangible, but it catches Michael off guard.

For all that has been done, the pain that has existed this entire time quadruples, imposing a more dire sensation. Gabriel had hoped that his hand had healed completely because as explained before, two opposite interactions will result in a positive. So an attack caused by a Demon would quicken the healing effect of the wound on an Angel.

Gabriel tries to exploit this method using the status that has been given to him, but time is not on his side today when all the fighting he has done today interferes with his sense of timing. Mainly when you focus too hard on something, the flow can feel fast or slow depending on how your mind assesses it.

Still, Gabriel will not let this chance go to waste, even when his whole body pleads for him to act according to its feeling of torment. Before Michael can comprehend what just happened to him, a monstrous left hook strikes his right chin, almost knocking him unconscious.

[Twack!]

The power behind the strike pressures Michael to tilt sideways, and once he loses his footing, he tumbles to the ground. Thankfully, his hands are there to protect his face from meeting the floor directly, or he would surely end up blacking out and dead afterwards.

Again, an opportunity arises, and Gabriel closes in on Michael while securing the spear in his hand to prevent him from arming himself. Once he stands above him, Gabriel constrains Michael into submission using his legs.

He does this by squeezing Michael's neck with his calf and thigh from the same leg while securing the ankle with the other leg. On top of that, Gabriel also uses his body weight to drive down the compression, speeding up the time needed for Michael to pass out.

Understanding that he only has one hand to go for a choke, Gabriel has to utilize the two limbs that always allow him to travel. He considers confining one of Michael's hands as well to prevent him from thrashing around, but having a palm close to his body unrestricted could cost him otherwise.

Meanwhile, Michael tries to summon his spear and realizes that it is futile, so he lands as many punches as he can onto the leg that is trying to suffocate him. Nonetheless, his efforts are pointless, as the blows he lays on the armour do not even leave a dent.

He even resorts to using his feet, curling his body and striving to get a hold of either any part of Gabriel's body or even the floor itself, but it fails miserably. Michael can see for himself how Gabriel evades his kicks every time his legs come close to him.

Just now noticing that Gabriel is equipped with the spear, he aligns the sharp edge so that when he stabs, it will pluck Michael's brain out. And because Michael has both his hands free, he desperately uses them to protect his face from this miserable fate, frustrating Gabriel.

With only one hand to hammer the spear, he cannot risk it being stolen by his opponent. So, the bother is working its charm by keeping Michael alive, as once the timer runs out, he will lose all his strength and willpower.

As mentioned, the effect is already taking form when the thrashing done by Michael begins to slow down and lose its power. He can no longer wind his body, and the hands that cover his face start to unveil what is underneath. His body twitches as he succumbs to his demise.

[Plorkk!]

This time, another five holes appear on Gabriel's hand. With a stream of blood flowing down his left elbow, he now finds himself in a situation where both his hands are now ineffective after getting skewered by Lucifer.

Once more, Lucifer arrives just in time to save Michael before he gets driven off from the afterworld. His action makes Gabriel jerk his body when the pain spasm allows Michael to slip his fingers between his neck and thigh, allowing air to flow into his body.

You must have been wondering why Gabriel did not go for the head. Well, he concluded that Gabriel's instinct is too powerful, and whenever a vital area is targeted, he will always either block or evade the strike. The same circumstances have occurred countless times before, so rather than going straight for the final blow, it is better to disable him first.

"Lucifer, you motherfucker!" Gabriel curses as he flicks his head to look at Lucifer, who sneaks up on him.

[Swoosh!]

After all, Lucifer does not want to throw away his luck, so he goes for the head, and as he doubts, Gabriel is still able to evade the certain death. But with his movement partially restricted, his right arm becomes the sacrifice for his blunder.

Astonishingly, Gabriel has 15 holes altogether, oozing out blood with five on his left forearm and ten on his right hand. Five in the forearm and another five on the arm level, as he is too eager to cheat death.

Thinking that Gabriel is defunct, Lucifer tries to pull all his finger claws out of the flesh so he can finish this maniac once and for all. But Gabriel is still going on when he vigorously forces the muscle between his shoulder and arm to drag the claw inwards, sticking it in place.

No matter how strong Lucifer exerts himself to free his claws, they appear to be glued together with the bones, tissues, and the steel plate enforcing them. And what is more amazing is that Gabriel has not given up on choking Michael all this time, and his spear is still secured away from him.

For a while, the fight remains at a standstill with only grunting and death stares to heat the atmosphere. The kick that was sent to Gabriel's back and the attempt to boot him away from the claw were mostly the reasons for the grunts. With no options left for both parties, whoever can come out with one first will determine the victor.

"Malique!" Lucifer and Michael call out together. While Michael can only muster a whisper, they both become aware of Malique's non-existent appearance from the beginning of the duel.

It doesn't matter where he is or what he is doing when they both have been busy throwing their lives on the line, trying to silence the perpetrator. As long as he can heed their call, victory is certain.

"Finish him!"