...uck, why is this thing failing now?

  There, I finally have the damn thing working. It would have been disastrous to lose the log now of all time.

  Well, the situation doesn't look pretty. Well, before describing what I just did, I have to point out that this was certainly not planned. Hells, I don't even remember doing it. Even now, I find myself struggling to put together what I have done and, more importantly, why I have done this.

  I mean, it is pretty obvious what I did. I just can't bring myself to believe that I did it. I usually have stronger control over myself. I have punched Anthony so hard that the man has flown about fifty meters away from where he was standing.

  He is in a stretch of wasteland right next to the river. Even I am surprised that the man flew so far. (I wasn't even channelling that much mana, you know.)

  Well, the man himself looks like he is not going to appreciate this, though. Even now, mana is flowing into his sword as he gets himself into position. Well, the look on his face is positively monstrous.

  I channel my vital mana into my legs even as the man charges at me. The only reason that I am able to keep up with the man is that I have put a significantly larger amount of mana into my legs. I won't be able to do this for long, though.

  I have drawn my sword out as well. Even now, I can feel my sword activate on its own. I can feel my vital mana flow out of me without my will. (I was worried that something like this might happen.)

  Even as I do so, the man catches up to me. I can sense the mana in his sword even as the man swings it. I bring up my sword to block it even as the mana detaches from the sword.

  The projection of his has barely enough mana to put a scratch on me. The problem is that with my sword in hand, I don't have any mana to reinforce myself. It manages to pierce deep into my skin even as my sword blocks the other party's sword.

  "I have shown you all the respect that you deserve, legioner." The man growls. "Yet you dare to assault me in such a manner."

  Even as he says this, the damn bastard retreats. His sword is already beginning to charge up with mana.

  Well, there is no use in trying to reason with the damn idiot now. There is no use in trying to compare firepower with the idiot, either. Instead, I will have to fight him through attrition. For that, I will first need to get my hands on some vital mana of the enemy.

  Well, this is going to hurt quite a bit. Even as I am thinking this, the two of us are circling each other, our swords the only defence against the other.

  Waiting is more advantageous to the man. After all, my wound is bleeding. My sword is devouring the very mana that I am using to keep it under control to heal it. In the long term, this is better, but it does mean that I am going to bleed quite a bit now. It is a pretty strong visual.

  "You legioner, how long are you going to stand there?" The idiot begins. "Kneel down now and present me with that sword of yours. Then I shall think about forgiving you."

  Well, I feel like laughing at the man for a moment. Just what kind of a stupid provocation was that? Well, his stupidity gives me an opportunity.

  "You bastard." I scream at the man charging towards him.

  My sword aims for his throat as the other party brings his sword down on me. He is aiming for my face.

  Even as his sword bites into my face, I realise that the man was trying to disfigure me. Well, he is a fool, I tell you. Even as I record this, I have collapsed on the ground. I have withdrawn all of my vital mana, you see.

  Now I just need to wait for the right time to explode. It feels like I am waiting on a bed of needles as I completely stop all of my movement. Right now, the man must think of me as harmless.

  My thoughts are interrupted as I feel something wet on my face. It takes me a moment to realise that the other party has spat on my face. The only reason that I am able to hold myself back is the sheer suddenness of it.

  I can feel my rage coursing through my veins, tightening my body like a spring. Right now, I am holding myself still through sheer force of will.

  "You half breed of the legion, you dare to hit me." The man shouts as he stabs me with his sword.

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  I barely feel the stab, as anger begins to consume me. It flows over my thoughts like hot lava threatening to consume me. Yet, it fails to do so as I keep myself still. I have to look helpless to the bastard, after all.

  "Why don't you speak, you fool? Kneel in front of me and beg for your life." He speaks as he begins to kick me.

  I barely feel it, though, as his words echo in my ears, more painful than any kick he could have thrown at me. (I think my body has begun to grow numb by now.) Still, I don't let myself move. I will have only one opportunity to turn this over. I can't afford to lose it now.

  Finally, the bastard gets close enough to me. I think he had planned to whisper something. The fool has completely forgotten that I still have my sword with me.

  Even as he bends, my sword stabs towards his throat. My entire body erupts like a cannon as my sword penetrates his chest. The bastard had managed to retreat at the last moment.

  The man jumped back with enough force that I could feel my sword slip out of my hand. I then lose track of the man for a few moments. The world becomes a kaleidoscope of colours as everything takes on new definition.

  It is so overwhelming that a sense of vertigo overtakes me. Even as I am trying to bring myself back to the fight, I can feel the sword lap up the vital mana like a starved little dog. The blood mana finally flows into my body like a breath of fresh air.

  Finally, the vertigo comes under control as I can finally focus on the battle at hand. As it does so, I realise that I have just been standing there looking blank as the blood mana overwhelmed me. I must have been standing like this for the last few seconds at least.

  Even as I snap to attention, I can feel the pain from everywhere in my body. For a few moments, the pain is like a mist surrounding my body. Finally, I am able to tell where my injuries are.

  As I finally discipline myself, I realise why the idiot had not bothered to strike me during this time. He was charging up his sword with a massive amount of his mana. (I would say that this is roughly equivalent to the mana he used for the false giant.)

  The man has finally finished to charge his sword up as I finally return to attention. Even as I feel the blood mana fixing my various wounds, I study the man.

  The man finally looks like a soldier as he focuses on me and every move that I am making. He won't be making another mistake like the last time. He doesn't need to, though. After all, the mistake that will defeat him, he has already made.

  He plans to finish me with a single strike. A strike strong enough to split me into two. His reasoning is sound. After all, trying to fight me in a battle of attrition would be stupid. A single strong move would mean ending the fight on the spot.

  The only problem with that logic is that I am not a giant, so I won't be able to dodge the man and his attack. If I do so, then I will be in the prime location to strike the man. If I don't, then I will be too dead to care.

  Well, there is no use thinking of failure. It is time to charge at the man. Even as I charge at the man, he swings his sword, the projection leaving it like a cannon.

  If I had retreated or even remained in my position, there would have been no way to dodge this strike. Thankfully, I had charged at the man. Due to this, his projection is a bit too much to my left. I press this advantage as I push my body to the right. The projection passes me by like a cannon shot as it hits my left arm.

  I don't let that distract me. I can't afford it now. The man is standing in front of me, even now in the range of my sword. I press this advantage as my sword stabs towards the man's throat.

  I can see realisation hit him as he sees my sword move. He can't move now, though. After all, he has committed too much of his mana to this strike.

  I feel my sword cut through the air, reaching its target in a few moments. Instead of the familiar sensation of metal hitting flesh, I feel metal hitting metal. The burst of vital mana on my sword is proof enough that my sword has stabbed the other party, but it is not fatal.

  Even as I register this, I find myself flying in the air as I hit the ground. I had flown with a decent amount of speed as well, it looks like. I can feel my bones crack as I hit the ground. The pain of the crash blinds me for a few moments as I finally return to attention.

  Even as I return attention, though, I see what had interrupted my final attack on the man. It is a sword. To be more precise, it was John's sword.

  "We cannot allow you to kill each other." The man declares to both of us. "You should be ashamed. Trying to kill each other like this. The pyres haven't even finished burning."

  "The bastard was trying to kill me, John." I reply, my voice booming in anger. "Where were you then?"

  "We are at a funeral, Antonio." Lauren speaks, even as she holds me back. Her grip is like iron, even as I struggle against it. "You know that you are not supposed to unsheathe your weapons in front of the dead."

  "You do realise that you were the one who started this fight, right?" John speaks as he bends down to study Anthony. "You have brutalised the man."

  As he says so, he points at the body of the man I had just attacked.

  "He has hit me just as much, John," I growl back, as my anger finally begins to leave me. "I would say he has brutalised me just as much."

  "And yet, one man can walk and the other man can't." John speaks. "There are going to be consequences for this, Antonio. Brutal consequences. The guards are not the type to forget an insult like this."

  I don't reply to this, as my actions finally catch up to me. Even as the adrenaline of the fight disappears, I can feel the various injuries on my body. I can also feel a wave of exhaustion as the blood mana struggles to keep my body from blessing out.

  "Do whatever you want with me. I won't be able to fight you anyway." I speak to no one in particular.

  I will be honest, at the moment, I just want to lie down and go to sleep.

  "Well, for your safety and ours, we shall hold you in the formation room.", John declares to everybody. "Lauren, if you would take him there."

  Even as she hears this, Lauren picks me up like a little doll. I guess I could try and resist her, but I know that it is ultimately going to be useless. I have never managed to beat her at pure strength, even at my best.

  I just feel sleepy now.