Victory Over Himself

"Come on, the second round of slaughter begins!"

A low roar squeezed out of his blood-stained throat.

Half-kneeling amid blood-soaked rubble, Benjamin slammed his only remaining right arm against the ground. Ignoring the horrifying hole in his left chest and the searing agony that nearly tore him apart, he struggled to his feet.

His body staggered, yet he did not stop for a single step. Dragging his battered frame behind him, he charged straight at the Time Afterimage trapped within the Elemental Vacuum Domain!

Every step left a footprint on the ground, mixed with blood and dust.

Yet as Benjamin's footsteps pulsed onward, his body changed in tandem.

Around the edges of his wounds, charred, carbonized tissue rapidly peeled away. Pink, vibrant flesh buds surged and spread at a visible pace like the wildest vines!

His bones gave off a fine, dense series of crackles as newly formed bone, gleaming with a faint golden luster, filled the fractures.

Muscle fibers wove together as though they possessed lives of their own, covering the bones. Blood vessels, nerves, and skin rapidly regenerated as well, concealing the writhing flesh beneath.

The Body Tempering Method, driven by the pressure of life and death and his unwavering will, operated with unprecedented efficiency.

The new tissues were born with greater resistance to energy, while the pathways through which energy flowed automatically adjusted themselves to better withstand similar attacks.

By the time he rushed before the Time Afterimage, his formerly stumbling gait had returned to normal. The horrifying injuries that would have incapacitated most Level 4 Wizards in a short time had already regenerated completely!

The skin over his newly grown left chest and arm was still slightly pink, but its structure was whole. It even faintly conveyed a toughness greater than before.

Surging power once again