Nevertheless, Lolo Gani’s eyes remained resolute and dauntless. He dashed sideways back into the barrier and then rushed forward to the giant bal-bal which is trying to get up. All of this took time to describe, but these sequences of events happened within just a few seconds.

“This agimat made by Inang Selia is really powerful! I have not broken any bones from that attack.” A flash of excitement can be seen in Lolo Gani’s eyes after he realizes that the agimat he is wearing protects him from suffering major damage from being sent flying by the monster.

Lolo Gani rushed at his top speed towards the giant bal-bal and arrived just as the monster got up to a kneeling position, and without hesitation, the old man rushed forward and went behind the monster and slashed at the leg he previously wounded, albeit this time he targeted its achilles tendon.

The attack was successful and the giant bal-bal who had almost finished healing the giant wound on its leg was now again wounded, and this time, its ability to stand was taken away. The giant bal-bal however, was able to jump back in retreat and was in a kneeling position, looking at the old man that has inflicted it much pain and wounds. Lolo Gani on the other hand is now panting heavily, even with the assistance of the agimat given to him by Inang Selia, the giant bal-bal still proved to be a challenge to kill. With its huge body covered by thick muscles, even a deep cut of his sundang will look like a minor flesh wound.

Large beads of sweat are now trickling down the old man’s face, signs of exhaustion are starting to show, though the soft green glow still appears to be strong, Lolo Gani has no idea how long the boost from the agimat would last. Hence, he was pressured to kill the monstrous bal-bal quickly, but with its regenerative power, unrivalled strength and agility, this creature was quite difficult for an opponent.

“This is no time for me to waver! I must kill this monster or Lumawig’s ritual will be forcefully stopped and both of us might be killed. I need to risk death if I have to kill this monster.” A look of resolution appeared on the old man’s face as he took the initiative to walk towards his opponent.

Seeing the old man walk forward and farther away from the barrier, the giant bal-bal stopped licking its wounded thigh and ankle; then a rare, creepy, and evil smile appeared on its face.

It then emitted a low, guttural sound and started to lean forward until its head was almost touching the ground. By doing this, the bamboo spear was thrust deeper into its chest and into its heart, but the monster did not mind the searing pain it was feeling. Only looking at the walking human. Then in a bizarre turn of events tucked its head between its legs, trying to make itself into a ball. The spikes on its back are now more prominent.

In this position, the giant bal-bal pushed itself off the ground vertically and started to spin in a forward motion. The giant monster looks like a ball attached with a couple of buzz saws – a terrifying mincing machine of death. The moment the giant bal-bal’s body touched the ground, it went forward at a terrifying speed, wanting to mince the human that insolently harmed it.

Lolo Gani saw everything from the distance, and the sudden transformation and change in the monster’s attack pattern covered him in cold sweat. Though he did not become cocky from his earlier clash with the monster, Lolo Gani gained a bit of confidence when he thought that the monster can only wage a war of attrition against him. He never thought that the monster would have this terrifying attack up its sleeve.

Focusing on the incoming attack, all of Lolo Gani’s muscles are stretched taut so he can move accordingly at a moment’s notice. In just a second the giant ball of death arrived in front of Lolo Gani, but the old man was ready, and he quickly jumped out of the way.

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Looking back, Lolo Gani thought that the ball would continue rolling towards the barrier, but to his dismay, it stopped shortly after it missed its target. Then it turned around and started rolling towards Lolo Gani again, this time it went even faster.

“If its target is only me, maybe I can use this to my advantage!” A spark of idea appeared in Lolo Gani’s mind.

A gust of air was heard after Lolo Gani narrowly avoided the second attack, he then started running back to the edge of the barrier. However, he did not run in a straight line for he knew that it would only mean certain death.

The giant bal-bal seemed to have been annoyed for not hitting the human, even when it used such an attack and released an angry roar. It then increased its rotating speed and went after the old man. In just a mere two seconds, the giant ball of death was again upon Lolo Gani, however, having a head start, he was able to reach the barrier just in time when the giant bal-bal arrived.

An ear-piercing screech was heard the moment the giant bal-bal hit the barrier. The usual golden light appeared together with the three ancient Filipino scripts. However, when Lolo Gani looked at the scene expecting that the monster would be repelled back with injuries, he was instead greeted with a scene that caused his face to go pale and his eyes narrow in horror.

The barrier is actually being grinded by the giant bal-bal and although the barrier was able to recover a little from the damage it received earlier, more and more cracks are appearing on it. In just a matter of a few more seconds, the barrier could collapse.

With no time to waste, Lolo Gani acted almost by instinct and jumped out towards the side of the giant ball of death and tried to stab the side of this unstoppable grinding machine. Just as his sundang was about to stab the monster, five black claws suddenly emerged from the side. Caught by surprise, Lolo Gani had no time and could not redirect his attack, so in order to minimize the damage, old man tried to twist his body in mid-air.

“HAAAAAAH!” with a shout full of courage and determination, Lolo Gani was able to avoid four of the sharp black claws, but one of the claws stabbed his left thigh.

However, as he was stabbed, Lolo Gani was also successful in stabbing his sundang into the side of the giant bal-bal. With the sundang’s sharpness doubled, and the rotating speed of the monster, the blade was able to inflict a gigantic wound on the giant bal-bal’s body.

“HHHHRNGG!” Lolo Gani was struggling to hold his weapon while it still embedded on the monsters’ side, the force was so strong that it threatened to snap his arms in two.

A second later the rotating ball of death stopped and both Lolo Gani and the giant bal-bal fell to the ground. On the bal-bal, a horrific wound can be seen, starting from its thigh up towards its head, it looked like a chef carved its meat expertly.

The monster’s innards and some brain matters are also spilling from the open wound on its side, its long tongue was also chopped off and blood gushed out like flood. However, no matter how much of these liquids are poured out, they are stopped by the barrier from entering the area. With such a wound on its body adding to its pierced heart, the giant bal-bal was weakened up to a point that it was almost on its last breath.

Lolo Gani on the other hand was in no better shape, as the wound inflicted by the black claw seemed to have contained venom, the only consolation here is the fact that it was being stopped by the soft green glow of the agimat, for now. The old man looks fully exhausted, and the hand holding his sundang is shaking, obviously damaged from his attack. However, Lolo Gani gritted his teeth and started climbing on top of the giant bal-bal.

The monster this time can only release whimpers and sometimes guttural sounds, in an effort to scare the puny human. It was no use though, as Lolo Gani was not even paying attention to the sounds it was making. When the old man reached the part where the bamboo spear was embedded, he kneeled and sliced open the monster’s chest. In no time, Lolo Gani reached the beating heart of the giant bal-bal, and without hesitation stabbed the heart and sliced it open. At that moment, the giant bal-bal only emitted a sorrowful howl as its death came. The death cries of the giant bal-bal signified the end of the terrible battle Lolo Gani had weathered.