I stared in shock, eyes wide. Standing before me was John Chou—tall, clad in a black suit and a red tie, his handsome face always twisted into that mocking, ambiguous smile.
"I'm stronger than you!" I roared, instantly retracting the Phoenix Blade and slashing at John Chou before me. Deep down, I knew this John Chou was merely an illusion, conjured by that girl to confuse us.
"I told you, brother—your strength is just too weak. Why can't you understand that?"
With the same mocking tone as John Chou, I shouted and swung down, crimson flames bursting forth. John Chou gripped Hell's Sentinel in his right hand and seized the Phoenix Blade in my grasp with his left.
Thin wisps of blood-red energy radiated from John Chou's body—I could feel it, the force of Bloodbane. With a sharp crack, the Phoenix Blade in my hand snapped clean through. Suddenly, John Chou flashed before my eyes, his mocking smile fixed on me.
"You..."
Before I could finish, a tremendous force hit my abdomen, twisting my insides with searing agony. With a wet splatter, I spat out a mouthful of blood.
With a thud, I crashed to the ground.
John Chou sat cross-legged in midair, idly twirling Hell's Sentinel in his hand with casual ease.
"Still too weak, brother. You haven't grown at all."