14 The Haunted House (2)

Leon's body trembled in fear as he gazed up at the tall man with the disheveled face, the blood from his wounds dripping onto Leon's face. Despite the gruesome sight, Leon didn't lose his grip on the moon dagger as it remained firmly lodged in Scar's abdomen.

Suddenly, Scar burst into maniacal laughter, the sound echoing eerily ending with the faint crickets' noises. "A slave?... Trying to defeat me with a little dagger?" he jeered, laughing hysterically between his words.

'Am I...really just worth a slave?'

Although Leon had begun this encounter with pride and confidence, Scar's mocking words shattered his sense of self-assurance. Doubt filled his mind, maybe he wasn't the big guy he thought he was.

Scar yanked Leon up like a cat flea, still clutching the moon dagger with unwavering determination. Suspended in the air by Scar's powerful grip, Leon could feel the weight of impending doom as Scar regarded him with annoyance as if he were an irritating rodent.

'I don't like this feeling,' internal judgments filled Leon's mind.

"You see, I will teach you how to properly stab someone," Scar growled in his deep voice.

Before Leon could react, he watched in horror as Scar's other hand contorted and twisted, morphing into a hideous, blood-soaked claw within a fraction of a second. Leon's heart pounded in his chest, it was at this moment he knew he was fucked up.

'What the fuck is that?!'

With a sudden motion, Scar extended his transformed claw, each finger now razor-sharp. Without giving Leon a chance to think, Scar flung him up into the air, only to catch him again with his deadly, blood-stained claw. The world spun around Leon as he hung there, and he could feel Scar's claws piercing into his chest, causing excruciating pain.

*ding*

[Your Qi level dropped by 50%]

'Ah shit, I'm going down,' Leon gave up.

Leon felt his mouth fill with blood, and he coughed as the immense pain seared across his chest. The agony brought back memories of his illness, a cruel reminder of his mortality.

"Like that, Leon. Learn from the great," Scar snarled, bringing Leon close to him.

"Now, it's been forever since I got to eat a human soul."

"No, no, I taste bad," Leon grunted amidst the pathetic state he was in, but Scar wasn't listening.

Scar's face twisted this time, his mutilated features tearing to reveal a mouth with crooked teeth from all sides.

'What in the fucking hell?'

*ding*

[Activating Inner Wisdom...]

'Huh?'

[Leon, fight back even if it's a losing battle; you'll never know how long your little courage can go.]

Leon winced in pain, a familiar voice resonating in his ears, but he couldn't remember whose it was. Nonetheless, what it said was imprinted in his weak mind like an enchantment etched into a stone tablet.

'I guess so.'

Time was ticking as Scar looked as if to swallow Leon in one go and claim a free coupon card. Leon summoned all of his courage and strength; although it seemed like he was destined to lose, he clung to the hope that there might be a way out of this, a tiny bit of luck.

Swiftly, Leon stabbed Scar's face while holding onto him. This action startled Scar for a moment as he reached for his pierced face, but Leon refused to let his grip go, even though Scar's teeth scratched his hand so badly that it bled.

"What are you doing?" Scar's deep voice resonated, startling Leon, as he spoke even though his entire face had now transformed into a hideous mouth.

"Uh, trying to stay in one piece?" Leon blurted out, his voice shaky as he responded to Scar's unsettling transformation.

*ding*

[You've used your hidden energy]

[Congratulations, Your Moon dagger is now upgraded to a double-edged Moon sword!]

"What?" Leon's eyes widened as a blinding blue light erupted from his dagger, momentarily enlarging it into a sword-like form that blasted Scar's head, blood splashing onto his face.

"HOLY FREAKING SHIT!!" Leon screamed in terror.

Reacting swiftly, although with a tremendous effort, Leon managed to land another stab on Scar's headless body that held him captive. The Moon sword emanated another piercing light, causing a powerful explosion that sent Leon flying backward.

'Oh no, Not again.'

He saw Scar's body disintegrate into a swirling mess of blood and flesh, accompanied by piercing rapid cricket noises. The once terrifying presence of Scar had now been reduced to this strange and unsettling phenomenon.

Leon's mind was reeling, trying to comprehend the extent of the power he had just witnessed. He had not expected such a profound transformation in his moon dagger.

He looked at the flesh and blood now rolling toward each other, forming a close-knit mass that finally turned into a fur ball with a faint red glow.

*ding*

[Congratulations! You've defeated a Veil Walker!]

'I did?' Leon's eyes felt heavy as he struggled to stay awake.

[WARNING: Your Qi is critical]

[WARNING: Your Qi level dropped by 100%]

Leon was slowly slipping into unconsciousness, all the cricket noises faded away in the distance as he heard a faint echo of a man's familiar voice calling out to him.

***

Leon looked around, his vision blurry, and his chest ached immensely. He recalled the encounter with Scar, but he couldn't bring himself to get up.

'Strange,' he thought to himself as he tried to decipher his surroundings through blurred vision. He remembered being outside the haunted house, but now he was staring at a white ceiling.

Goosebumps prickled his skin as he realized he was in his hospital bed, with a blood bag by his side, and he could hear the faint sound of blood dripping.

'What's happening?' he wondered in panic.

'Was it all a dream?' he tried to understand. Leon felt everything around him was surreal; he couldn't tell if what happened was real and this was just a dream.

The beeping noises from the Holter monitor pierced the silence, confirming that he was indeed in the hospital. 'There's no way this is a dream,' he realized.

All the while, he couldn't move his body an inch, and his vision remained unclear. The lines between reality and dreams blurred, leaving Leon in a state of confusion and uncertainty.