Chapter 79 Finally, the end
Rick patiently waited for the thick cloud of dust to dissipate, keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings to ensure there was no imminent danger lurking nearby. Once he felt reasonably confident that the area was secure, he carefully retrieved the shield, pulling it free from the earth.
Shield in hand, Rick cautiously moved in the direction where the old man had been violently dispatched. However, as he took his first step, he couldn\'t help but shudder at the macabre scene that unfolded before him. He found himself standing in a gruesome field of bones..
The battleground that could have been a frenzied clash between Rick and the old man\'s minions had transformed into a surreal graveyard. Although another confrontation had unfolded between Lord Rick and the girl, the details remaining behind closed doors, his exploits, unworthy of mere public boasting.
But what struck Rick the most was the absence of any trace of blood, flesh, or clothing — only pristine, gleaming white bones, an eerie and haunting sight. It was as if their very essence had been stripped away, leaving behind skeletal remains meticulously assembled as if in a science lab. The ground was littered with the remnants of the fallen henchmen, their once-formidable bodies reduced to mere skeletons. And this extraordinary outcome had been brought about by none other than a skinny, 22-year-old boy.
The eerie absence of flesh, blood, and clothing on the remains of the unfortunate men sent a cold shiver down his spine. The sight of the gleaming white bones was enough to make his stomach churn with a nauseating discomfort. He could have never thought the poison he randomly got from the system would be so potent. What if he were to accidentally touch it? And that idea had his butt clenching tighter than a jar of pickles!
For the first time since arriving in this sinister forest, Rick\'s typically unflappable demeanor wavered. An overwhelming sensation of nausea churned deep within him, threatening to overpower his senses. Remembering that earlier fuck me baby session with the girl, surrounded by the spirits who were NOT having it, now seemed like a total nightmare with these chewed-up, leftover bones all over the place. Grotesque doesn\'t even cut it
"You stay here," Rick put up a valiant struggle, determined not to let the girl witness him in this epic face-off with his own gut.
Rick\'s stomach was still doing the twist, but he soldiered on, a man on a mission. He just had to know if that old guy was toast or not, and nothing was gonna stop him, not even his rebellious belly. He pressed on, his conviction unwavering despite the horrors that surrounded him.
And despite Rick saying otherwise, Evelina was right on his tail, keeping her cool like she was strolling through a park. Her composure a stark contrast to Rick\'s. She was the yin to Rick\'s yang in the face of all the freaky stuff they\'d left behind.
As they trudged deeper into the woods, they left behind the gruesome sight of bony graveyard and moved towards the source of the old man\'s agonized groans.
They walked through the shattered boulder, and eventually arrived at the spot where the old man lay, whimpering like a wounded puppy. His once formidable presence reduced to a pitiable, twitching wreck. Rick\'s face twisted up, kind of grossed out by the pitiable sight of the old man\'s half-battered body.
The old guy was a total wreck, his bod all kinds of jacked up. His face took a brutal hit, especially the right side, which looked like it got into a face-off with a meat shredder. It was a straight-up nightmare – skin ripped away, revealing bits of his cracked noggin underneath. That skull was busted up something fierce, with some nasty, sickening goo oozing out of it.
His right peeper was barely hanging in there, just a slim thread of flesh keeping it in place. And if that wasn\'t bad enough, you could see his teeth out in the open, adding an extra layer of horror to the already gruesome sight.
His right arm, a symbol of strength and dominance back in the day, was now a total circus act. It looked like it had taken a wild ride on the distortion roller-coaster, bending at a whacko angle that screamed, \'Something\'s gone seriously wrong in there!\' n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The right leg wasn\'t any more promising. It was all twisted up like it had a bone rebellion going on, saying, \'We\'re gonna bend however we feel like!\' This whole deformity deal was straight-up grotesque.
Under the old guy\'s squirming body, there was this gnarly puddle of blood, slowly turning the ground into a sinister crimson moat. It was like a dark, twisted halo, circling around him like a creepy border. This bloody mess was like a macabre souvenir of all the pain he\'d gone through.
Rick couldn\'t help but shiver, even though it was the old man who\'d started this whole thing. It was a tough scene to stomach, no doubt about it. The old man\'s painful moans were like a total one-eighty from his earlier cocky attitude. Rick looked down at the pathetic dude, and a whirlwind of emotions hit him. Even though the old man had been a real jerk with his sinister plans and big ego, Rick couldn\'t help but feel like he\'d been a bit too rough on the old coot. The old troublemaker had definitely bitten off more than he could chew, by underestimating Rick. Or maybe Rick was surprised as well.
Despite the awkwardness bubbling inside him, Rick kept his guard up. That old man, even in his sorry state, might still have a few tricks up his sleeve. ~~~~~
The old man\'s world was spinning like a crazy carnival ride as he caught wind of the footsteps closing in. Pain had him in a vice grip, making everything hazy. He pushed himself to twist his battered face toward the noise, his barely-open eyes squinting at the blurry figure drawing near. Each move was like a kick in the gut, and trying to speak felt like scaling a mountain. His breath came in ragged, with agonizing gasps.
The old guy made a valiant effort to talk, but it was like a messy game of dribble and grunts. Every word seemed like a mini-marathon, and each breath a laborious grunt. And his swollen lips were just like leaky faucets, saliva dribbling from the corners.
But even in this sorry state, his eyes locked onto Rick, he shot daggers of pure rage, unfiltered rage. It was clear that all he had left in his arsenal were these angry looks and venomous curses. Rick could practically see it in his eyes – the old guy wanted to drop the whole blame game right on Rick for landing him on the doorsteps of this pitiful mess.
"You... you low-down scoundrel! What the heck have you done to me?" With a hateful glare, the old man mustered what little strength he had left to hurl curses and accusations at Rick. He hissed, his one remaining eye burning with anger.
"You…you bastard," With venom in his voice and a whole load of spite, he growled, "Look at what you\'ve done to me! You are going pay for this, you miserable cuss! You may have wrecked me, but I won\'t go down without dragging you along. Mark my words...you\'ll suffer...just like I have."
His voice wavered, shifting between agony and a stubborn resolve as he kept piling blame on Rick, unable to accept the consequences of his own actions. "This ain\'t the end, not by a mile. I\'ll get back at you."
Each word dripped with poison, a declaration of his festering fury, and a foreboding vow for what lay ahead. But right when the old man was gearing up for another round of curses, Rick\'s patience finally hit its breaking point. With a swift, explosive lurch, Rick\'s stomach decided it had had enough of the gruesome spectacle and launched a revolt against all the grotesque sights and smells in the vicinity.
Rick\'s stomach, in its ultimate rebellion, couldn\'t endure it any longer. It reached the point of no return. In a bizarre and macabre turn of events, he puked directly onto the old man\'s beaten-up face. With a guttural heave, Rick sent forth a tsunami of vomit that landed right in the old dude\'s half-open, battered mouth. Suddenly, that mouth was no longer an exit for spewing curses. The old man, who was already hanging by a thread, now had the unfortunate experience of feeling a warm, disgustingly pungent deluge streaming down his face and slipping into his throat. It was beyond disgusting, and for a moment, he was left speechless, unable to articulate a single word. He even seemed to savor the surreal taste of Rick\'s vomit.
The unholy mixture of half-digested grub and stomach fluids bathed the old man, oozing down his countenance in a revoltingly unholy baptism of filth.
"Huh?" In the midst of his dire situation, a nauseating revelation washed over the old man. He hadn\'t been silenced by some ultimate act of cruelty, but by his opponent\'s gross, repulsive bodily reaction. A bitter and humorless laugh broke free from his battered lips, resonating through the debris of shattered boulders and the somber, hushed forest. ~~~~~
"Ahh... Son of a bitch, that was a relief," Rick muttered, his stomach now devoid of contents but his mood oddly lifted by the crude spectacle, "That really felt good."
"Uh, oops. My bad," Rick stammered as he glanced at the old man, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes conveyed a peculiar blend of disgust, relief, and twisted satisfaction.
"You were saying something." Rick innocently asked the old man to continue.
"Hey there, old timer?" Rick called out once more when met with silence from the old man.
"Hello?" He persisted.
"Come on, don\'t be sore. It was an honest goof," Rick declared, throwing his arms up in disbelief that the old man was acting all temperamental, throwing tantrums.
"Now, don\'t leave me hanging. Say something for God\'s sake!" Rick could not hold it in kicked the old man in his knee.
"I think he is dead." Finally the girl spoke up.
"Dead?" Rick suddenly found it odd. He looked closely at the old man and sure enough, his eyes were rolled back into his socket, and he could not see his chest moving.
"Oh...he\'s definitely kicked the bucket."
"What a bummer. We were finally getting to know each other."
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