Red staggered half a step back as the pain settled deeper into his body. But this time it didn't fade the way it always had.
The familiar sensation of his flesh knitting itself back together came slower and weaker, as if something inside him had lost its rhythm.
His grin, which had never left his face until now, gradually faltered as the corners of his lips lowered and the wild excitement in his eyes dimmed. Revealing far more grounded expressions beneath the surface. Which was a worry.
His breathing grew heavier as his gaze dropped briefly toward the wounds carved into his body. He finally truly registered them as they were.
They remained open, raw, and stubborn, refusing to close at the speed he had expected like earlier. The delay was small but in a fight like this it was enough to be dangerous and disrupt the absolute confidence he had carried until now.
"Why…?"
The thought cut through his mind sharply as his expression tightened and his focus turned inward.
