I Refused To Be Reincarnated

"No!"

Arun, observing the scene with Asha from the safety of the carriage, reacted first, his mournful scream cutting through the evening sky.

He couldn't believe Julius would die. Over the past three days, he had already imagined how they would study at the college and develop their magical and alchemical knowledge, relying on each other to improve and maybe surpass his father. In his heart, he already considered Julius a brother and rival.

So, how did the situation veer for the worse so quickly?

As despair clutched his heart, Asha tightened her grip around his hand, trying to relieve his grief and show him moral support. Despite not being as close to Julius as Arun was, she still came to like his company, especially after he cooked that unconventional dish for them the day before.

Meanwhile, Louise and the other fighters knew their time was counted, too. After the beast devoured Julius, they would be the next. And without their strongest fighter, their chance of victory was slim. No, it was non-existent. Everyone would die, and the thought terrified them, causing their armors to clang as a shudder sent their bodies trembling.

Faced with the terrible realisation, everyone's mind raced at maximum speed to find a solution and hopefully survive. Unfortunately, they all reached the same conclusion after a few moments of pondering. Defeat.

They would suffer a crushing defeat. The serpent's scales were too hard. Only Julius could bend them with his mysterious spell. Escaping was an option, but how much ground could they cover before the beast caught up with them? Even if it didn't, how long before a new one attacked?

It wasn't a viable solution. They could only pray while glaring at the billowing mist's particle, sparkling a purple hue under the sun.

********

In the meantime, the serpent glared at Julius with its enormous vertical pupils, piercing through the deadly mist. It was the first time such a small creature wounded its glorious body, causing its cold blood to seethe in anger. Its eyes flashed red as it wanted nothing but to shred the ant who dared to harm its scales.

Hissing menacingly, it lunged forward, its maws wide open and fangs glistening, ready to swallow the insolent human whole.

Simultaneously, the boy's head spun, and his muscles twitched disharmoniously. Yet, feeling a large portion of wind part before him, he threw himself to the side, avoiding the beast's attack by a hair's breadth and rolling for a meter.

Then, scrambling to his feet, he shredded his sleeve to observe what had caused his dizziness. Swollen veins turning to a darker shade of blue with each second crawling by greeted his constricting pupils and filled him with dread. He also felt something wet coming out of his nose, realising it was blood after touching it.

'Poison!'

His confidant expression crumbled, replaced by a distorted grimace reflecting his anxiousness and panic as the serpent loomed closer.

He initially considered escaping the mist's range. But realised it would be impossible as the mist flew out of the serpent's scales in a constant stream. Without creating enough distance with it, which would prove impossible since the snake would give chase, he would remain inside its ability. After all, its eyes were screaming vengeance.

An icy shiver ran down his spine as he scanned his surroundings to find something usable, hope alight in his heart. Yet, besides him and the beast, he saw nothing.

'No choice. I need to kill it before the poison leaves me defenceless.'

After this brief analysis, he gritted his teeth, gathering his Qi to deliver his most devastating blow. Instead of focusing his energy on his right hand like two days ago, he focused it on his right leg this time.

The reason was another lesson from his brother, who once told him that legs were more powerful than arms and could deliver much deadlier strikes.

Alas, would the beast give him enough time to ready his attack?

The serpent lunged at him once more, bridging the distance like an arrow piercing through the mist. However, it changed tactics. A vast shadow engulfed Julius' vision as the snake tried to crush him under its weight instead of biting its slippery enemy.

Feeling the wind press on him, and as if a mountain descended, he jumped to the side once more as he felt the poison's debilitating effect. His muscles trembled more and more with each passing moment, making him gasp in despair.

However, he couldn't die yet. His brother was still in a coma. His mother was still missing.

'I won't give up!'

Pure determination fueling his moments, he endured the pain and bent his knees. A surge of Qi travelled through his body, making his tights double in volume as he propelled himself like a bullet toward the serpent's body.

With a spin, he added rotation to his movement, intensifying the strength of the blow by harnessing centrifugal force. Like a lethal Chakram, he cut the mist and brought his right leg down in a wide arc.

Strangely, instead of the expected sound of a massive collision, the surroundings fell eerily silent, as if nature itself wanted to witness the strike's effects.

HISS

After a second, a loud, agonising hiss broke the silence. A rain of blood burst around as the serpent's body separated, cleaved in two halves, sliding down to the ground.

Completely drained and suffering from heavy poisoning, Julius panted like an old man. Yet, his lips stretched into a victorious smile.

'Huff. I did it!' He thought, his raging heart's pulse calming as the inconceivable feat he just achieved settled in his mind.

Despite his lower rank, he had defeated a tier-two magical beast in a duel. No one could believe him if he recounted the battle. Well, maybe someone would.

He smiled, thinking about how he would brag about it when his big brother woke up, thinking he had beaten him.

Little did he know that Adam had fought and killed the light guardian, a tier-two boss, while only in the early stage of the first tier. Unfortunately, he fell into a coma before he could boast about it. Anyway, he also defeated Gaston even if he paid a terrible price -ending in a coma- to attain this victory...

Putting those thoughts aside, Julius focused on his internal state. Despite the snake's death, danger still threatened his life as poison flew into his organism. He had to expel it before suffering from long-lasting damage to his nervous system.

Sweat glistened on his forehead as he gathered every ounce of strength left in his body to sit cross-legged. Despite his tiredness and drooping eyelids, he controlled his internal energy to course through his body and shove the poison out of his veins.

'I can't fall asleep!'

His roars echoed in his mind, and his unbending will ignited his heart with a determined fire. He would survive. He knew it.