Maliza was utterly stunned, clearly not expecting Yamiru's speed to be this fast. Yamiru used his palm wind to disperse the green poisonous mist, not just attempting to rescue the already poisoned human man, but also to cover his attack with the dispersed mist!
By the time Maliza realized this, Yamiru's fist had already broken through the green mist, charging forward with great momentum, smashing right into his face. A few decayed teeth, which had been dislodged earlier by the "mouth cannon" in his mouth, were knocked out and flew through the air, accompanied by purple demonic blood, creating a slanted arc in the green mist.
Maliza spun and was sent flying backward, tumbling and rolling, leaving a long trench on the ground.
Yamiru's fist was stained with blood as he hovered in the air, his eyes closed and his chest slightly puffed. Before charging in, he had already inhaled a deep breath and held it. The horrific sight of the human man's skin rotting from the poison made Yamiru cautious. Fortunately, for a martial artist of Yamiru's caliber, even with his eyes closed, it didn't have much of an impact. It could be said that even in a completely dark room, Yamiru could move just as freely as anyone else.
However... the green mist that he had just dispersed was now lightly drifting around him, and when it touched his scaly body, it made a sizzling sound. Yamiru's ears twitched—this seemed to be the sound of burning, but there was no pain. It appeared that this concentration of poison wouldn't harm his scales...
Meanwhile, Maliza was rubbing his jaw, which had been slightly displaced by the punch, and quickly got back up. He looked toward the now-thinned mist, only to see the human man on the ground struggling, but the dragon-shaped demon who had struck him earlier was nowhere to be seen.
"Ran away?!" Maliza roared in anger, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a faint gray shadow approaching. "—Here!"
He shouted, swinging a punch at the air beside him!
Bang!
Yamiru, moving at high speed, suddenly appeared, and the fine scales on his chest were shattered by the punch. However, it seemed he had anticipated this, or perhaps prepared to be seen and caught. Just before the punch landed, Yamiru twisted his body slightly, reducing the force of the blow. Even so, Maliza's enraged punch still sent a surge of blood to Yamiru's throat.
"I got you, bastard," Maliza sneered. "Closing your eyes? Afraid of being poisoned blind?"
Yamiru couldn't hold back and spat out fresh blood. The crimson blood sprayed in the air, blocking Maliza's increasingly bewildered expression and Yamiru, who was slowly opening his eyes. To win against a stronger opponent, one must create an opening where the enemy thinks they have the upper hand and seize the opportunity.
Maliza quickly turned his head to dodge, not wanting his vision blocked by the blood. At the same time, he heard Yamiru's voice: "...See, my blood is red, I didn't lie to you, right?" Immediately, Maliza felt his punch lighten. Realizing something was wrong, he tried to retreat, but Yamiru seized his arm and immediately delivered a brutal strike to his throat!
Any species that needs to breathe would be rendered completely incapacitated by such a powerful blow to the trachea.
Even though Maliza's combat power exceeded Yamiru's at this moment, being constantly suppressed by Yamiru's tactics and then struck in a vital area, he felt a wave of darkness and agony.
Yamiru's chest injury was just as painful, but clearly, his resolve was unwavering. Through his journey, he had developed a bravery that would never falter even in the most dire situations.
Maliza clutched his neck, gasping painfully, his face twisted in agony. Yamiru knew that this kick alone wouldn't be enough to end the demon's life. If Maliza recovered, he would certainly launch a more vicious counterattack.
Without hesitation, Yamiru was prepared to deliver a fatal blow, his five fingers spreading like claws, their tips glowing faintly with light. However, Yamiru had still underestimated the demon's vitality. Maliza, humiliated by being so easily outclassed by a lower-class demon in his eyes, felt his anger flare. His throat was nearly crushed, and the pain was excruciating, but it only fueled his rage. With a furious roar, Maliza's bloodshot eyes locked on Yamiru, and he headbutted him with all his might!
In that instant, golden eyes reflected in Maliza's pupils, bringing a wave of despair and fear that seemed to penetrate his heart. Though it was brief, and Maliza's mindset was not easily shaken, this momentary lapse allowed Yamiru to avoid having his skull smashed by the headbutt.
Without hesitation, Yamiru's fingers, sharp as a spear, pierced into Maliza's eye!
"Ahh!!" Maliza screamed in agony.
Yamiru's other hand pressed down on the struggling Maliza's neck, forcing him toward himself, while his sharp fingers dug deep into Maliza's eye socket, creating a chilling sound of grinding and twisting.
Yamiru's arm, tense with muscle, trembled violently as he poured all his strength into the strike. Maliza, of course, wasn't going to let himself be defeated so easily. The intense pain in his eye drove him to madness, and he raised his knee, slamming it into Yamiru's abdomen.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yamiru took the hits, spitting out more blood, but his grip on Maliza's neck remained unyielding, like a vice, and there was no way he would let go.
One of his hands had nearly sunk halfway into Maliza's eye socket.
At that moment, from the ruptured spots where several venomous snakes had previously exploded on Maliza's body, a new snake suddenly sprouted with a hiss. The new snake bared its fangs and lunged at Yamiru's golden eyeball.
The shadow of the approaching snake enlarged in his pupils, but Yamiru remained unmoved. As his fingers dug into Maliza's eye socket, five masses of makeshift Dodon Ray energy gathered at the tips of his fingers. The moment the energy stabilized, he fired without hesitation. There was a loud roar, followed by a series of muffled bangs from Maliza's skull. Then, from the back of his head, several bursts of white light shot out, almost merging into a single beam.
Maliza's struggling power slowly faded away.
"Hiss…" The newly sprouted snake had already lunged right in front of Yamiru's golden eye, nearly sinking its fangs into his eyeball. But it no longer had the strength to advance, its body went limp and fell down.
With a thud, the body of Maliza, whose skull was nearly shattered, collapsed to the ground. The venomous snake hissed, wriggled, and to everyone's surprise, it spoke with human words, as if it was the last vestige of Maliza's consciousness using the snake's mouth to speak: "Hiss… you… you're dead too..."
After that, the snake fell silent, motionless.
Yamiru, exhausted, had taken several heavy blows to his torso and felt like he was about to crumble. He slumped next to the corpse, breathing heavily. After hearing the snake's final words, his gaze became unfocused. He finally lifted the hand he had pulled from Maliza's skull… The hand was covered in strange, toxic liquid that was dripping steadily onto the ground. Each drop that touched the earth caused a faint mist to rise.
"Ugh…"
Yamiru immediately felt dizzy, and his vision darkened. Looking back at Maliza's headless corpse, an eerie bubbling sound seemed to come from the hollow inside, as though there was a devil stirring a cauldron of poison… He must have been poisoned. Yamiru lowered his hand and fell lifelessly to the ground.
Staring at the dim sky, his blood-soaked chest rose and fell rapidly with shallow breaths.
Or perhaps… he was poisoned from the moment he bit this guy's arm...
Underneath his scale-like skin, the poison visibly spread across his body, slowly creeping up toward his eyes, like veins of blood seeping into his slowly dimming golden pupils.
Soon, Yamiru could barely see, as the poison had invaded his optic nerves. His motor neurons were also damaged, and lying there, it was difficult for him to move, even to twitch a finger. The rise and fall of his chest seemed to slow down…
In the pitch-black world, even the sound of his breathing seemed to be fading away… Naked, Yamiru floated up, his golden eyes wide open. His calm gaze never wavered.
It wasn't time to give up yet.
He thought.
Outside, Yamiru's body floated.
Maliza's poison could immobilize his body, but it couldn't affect his Ki.
Yamiru's floating body swayed gently.
"No, my consciousness is starting to fade..."
Yamiru could almost smell death in the air.
"I can't lose consciousness... I can't..."
He muttered to himself.
Though his vision was gone, Yamiru's floating body turned and flew straight toward a faintly breathing human man lying nearby, dropping beside him with a thud.
Through his senses, Yamiru could tell that the man was already on the brink of death.
Yamiru gathered his last bit of strength and shakily raised his hand.
"A little more time, just a little more..."
Yamiru, unable to see, placed his palm precisely on the face of the deeply poisoned human man.
In the next moment, images from the man's memories surged into Yamiru's mind.
Yamiru's consciousness, once flickering like a candle in the wind, now felt as if it was being supported, continuing to burn, weak but unwavering...
---
Time passed, though how long, Yamiru couldn't say.
Boom, the sky rumbled with distant thunder.
At this moment, in a desolate corner of the land, two and a half corpses lay by the roadside—oh, now it was two and a half, with half of a person desperately trying to save themselves.
Or perhaps… it was already three corpses.
Yamiru, in the form of a dragon, covered in wounds, lay motionless next to the now dead human man. His slightly opened golden eyes had already dimmed to their limit.
In the silence, a not particularly tall, somewhat hunched figure suddenly appeared.
"Knocking on my door endlessly, making my old head hurt! Let me see who this little brat is…"
The old man grumbled, stroking his beard, then looked down at the dragon-like Yamiru, and a glint passed over his glasses.
"Oh? Poisoned to this extent, and still holding onto a breath?"