Chapter 303 - A True Last Stand When Gary had evolved and chosen the Warrior Class, the main advantage that had been given to him, was the fact that his Energy Pool had tripled. He thought at first that this was best because when unlocking more skills he would be able to use them more. However, recently he hadn’t been able to access as many skills as he had initially thought. Still, it was more so due to all these crazy situations happening so soon and one after another. The idea of using more skills was to allow him to become more versatile when fighting. However, there was one more thing that it had improved. With over 110 Energy left to spare, Gary wouldn’t have to worry about running out during Full Transformation for a while, which was a great thing, seeing as it was his strongest form. Nevertheless, he also couldn’t afford to drag things out, but it would hopefully be enough for him to do what needed to be done. Gary looked at Kirk, who was on the ground, and immediately went to slice down at him with his claws, which were slightly larger in this form. Seeing this, Kirk rolled out of the way and stood up. He used his strong feet to leap back in the air, but one arm was over his ribs. One could tell he had been badly injured from just a single throw and where he was, pieces of the ground itself had been partly destroyed, indicating the power which he had endured. Gary's claws hit the ground. They scratched the surface of the stone pavement, leaving deep claw marks. Looking up towards Kirk and seeing him injured, he decided to continue the chase. ‘Damn it, what is up with that guy? He was already strong, but now he’ll be even stronger. And what happened to his injuries from before? It’s as if I never hit him in the first place.’ Kirk worried. He continued to pounce back, watching the Werewolf run towards him. Those that were on the ground, or close to the fight, made sure to get out of the way. Although many had seen Altered on TV, Gary’s current appearance was terrifying to them all. The second the Werewolf had gotten close enough, though, Kirk jumped back, his two feet pressing on a building’s window. Pushing off them, the glass broke behind him, but it had been enough to propel him forward like a spear. Holding his hands out, that's exactly what he was going for. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞 Kirk's nails managed to pierce deep into Gary’s chest. Nevertheless, the hide proved too thick for the Cheetah Altered to reach his opponent’s organs. Still, when Kirk's feet touched the ground, he dragged his hand as hard as he could, allowing for his nails to rip through the hide, creating a large claw-like mark directly across his chest. [-6 HP] [11/100 HP] ‘In this form my Endurance is even higher, so the attacks might look bad, but they don't do as much damage. Still with this low Health I have to be careful’ Gary thought. The Werewolf went to swipe towards Kirk again, but he had completely missed him. Next Gary tried to kick, instead of swinging wildly he was resorting to the moves he had practised. Kirk had somewhat seen this and lifted the arm by his head, in doing so, his whole body shifted to the side, and he almost fell over. His arm felt like it might break at any second. ‘That power is crazy…even if I can see the attack coming my way…I have to avoid it.’ Kirk thought. Seeing another punch instead of a claw, Kirk realised that the Altered was fighting rather than giving in to his inner beast, but Kirk had experience in how to combat using both. Accepting one's beast side was part of becoming an Altered and combining the two was how one should fight. Using one or the other wasn't going to cut it. Kirk, pounced back, avoiding the hit, and quickly used his powerful legs to come in again. He gave two quick swipes that had hit the Werewolf’s upper arms, scratching them and causing them to bleed. [-1 HP] [-1 HP] [9/100 HP] The damage wasn't great, but Gary wasn’t in the best of condition either. [Skill activated Claw Drain] [-15 Energy] ‘I need to get some of my Health back!’ Gary thought. Pushing off with his muscular legs, Gary boosted himself forward as fast as he could, as long as he hit Kirk, he would get his Health back. However, there was no such luck, as Kirk moved to the side, continuing to evade him. Unfortunately, Claw Drain only lasted two seconds at its current level. Trying desperately to get to Kirk, left Gary open, an opportunity that the Cheetah Altered quickly used to swipe at him another two times. [-1 HP] [-1 HP] [7/100 HP] ‘I… I…I can't catch him…if I can't catch him, I can’t heal…fighting a trained Altered like him seems to be too much for the current me, even fully transformed.’ Gary was starting to panic. He spun around, but the more erratic his movements became, the easier it was for his opponent to see where the attack was being aimed at. Once again, Kirk leapt towards his back, this time wrapping his legs around the Werewolf's waist. Quickly, he dug both his hands into the top of his neck, before leaping off again. [-3 HP] [-3 HP] [1/100 HP] ‘Holy sh*t, this is getting too close! My eyesight is getting blurry… If I get hit again.’ Turning around, Gary could see the two claws near him, leaving him with no other choice. [Skill activated Last Stand] As the two claws scratched his face, one of them went through his eye, but the other slightly missed, hitting his cheek. The pain was really going through Gary’s body. [-4 HP] [1/100 HP] [Last Stand is activated (59 seconds remaining)] He saw the number, but he knew that he would be safe, no matter how much damage he would take for the next minute. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, and you're still standing, I admire your will to keep fighting!” Kirk praised the other, surprised he hadn’t reacted despite losing an eye. Since his technique was working by jumping in and out, he wasn't going to change it. However, Gary’s mind was at a loss. Using Full Transformation had already been a desperate move on his part, yet Kirk had forced him to activate his secret trump card Last Stand as well. That skill didn’t make him invincible, only temporarily unkillable, yet what use was it when he couldn’t hit the other, much less finish him off? The pouncing in and out continued, and Gary continued to swing wildly, but nothing was working. More blood, more wounds appeared on his body, more pain that Gary had to suffer through. “DON'T GIVE UP!” Kai shouted at the top of his lungs. The side of his head was bleeding from his earlier fight, and it was starting to taint his mask red. Yet he still stood as confident as possible while yelling outward. “You need to keep living!” Hearing this, he knew that Kai was right. Although Gary still hadn't figured out what to do, all he could do was try his best. In doing so, Gary looked at Kirk’s body coming towards him, ready for another attack. He twisted his body, and threw his hand out from underneath. It was similar to an uppercut, but instead of going for his head, the teenager was aiming for his stomach. All Gary could hope was his fist would be able to hit in time. He could see that Kirk’s claws were about to reach him, but it looked like Gary would be able to hit him as well, just before he could jump away. He could deal a significant blow. [Last Stand duration has elapsed] ‘No… if I get hit by this… I'll die!’ The two hands from both of them continued, but just then, something wrapped around Kirk's leg, and pulled him back ever so slightly. His body had been moved and slipped down. “ARGHHH!” Gary screamed. His fist smashed into the stomach. Allowing for Gary’s full powered fist to connect to his idol, but it hadn't just hit Kirk. The punch pierced through his stomach, and Gary could see his bestial hand in front of him.