Second Chance: A Dark Tale of Urban India-Chapter 60: Grave Mistake Part-2

Rage flared across Kasim’s face. He tore off his shirt, revealing a sculpted frame, and charged like a storm.

Rohit took a defensive stance, reading Kasim like an open book.

He could tell that his opponent’s only advantage was raw muscle mass, and that could only be tackled through elite combat techniques. He was hesitant to use it because his current new body had no practice yet. Sure, he knew the patterns, but drawing energy and maintaining efficiency were different matters.

One mistake, one misstep, one miscalculation and it would all be over.

His eyes captured the angle of Kasim’s hips and the way he shifted his weight, and he predicted that the man would likely feint to the right before striking left.

Mistaking it would be fatal. He was only two meters away.

He took a deep breath to focus.

Suddenly, he felt his heartbeat rise again, and peace calmed his mind.

It was the same sensation as on the metro line, where time tended to reel slow. Everything slowed down, including him, or maybe it was just imagination, but flashes of images popped up in his brain instead of words to guide his thought process.

Possible sets of combo strikes and retaliations pictured in his mind as if from a seasoned fighter, but he chose the least dragging one on impulse, one that balanced precision and relied on building momentum rather than the use of actual force.

It was a gamble, yes, but he knew what he had to do.

Every strike would need to be targeted at the right tension points, weak joints, nerve flows—and best if he could destroy the solar plexus, that high-nerve area in the diaphragm, to deprive him of oxygen. That could help him achieve a body lock or better, death. Other than that, it would be ineffective against a thick-muscled body.

There was no hesitation in Rohit’s eyes as Kasim positioned himself to hit.

Kasim’s POV

Kasim was beyond enraged with blatant disrespect, but it didn’t mean he was less cautious after seeing his men being dismantled so easily by the blood-soaked, demon-looking kid.

His mind quickly adjusted Rohit on the scale of aggressive delinquent level: a school level thug who knew little about fighting and bloodshed but could be handled easily through his own sheer power and years of rough experience in his field.

’Let’s see how you handle my feint.. one hook shot to the head,’ he thought as he went for a fake right swing, only to drop mid-process and go for a left hook aiming at Rohit’s head.

Ptew*

But to his surprise, the boy threw saliva into his eyes, forcing them to close by instinct.

The jab barely grazed Rohit’s hair before he got punched square on his cheeks. In momentum, he threw another punch half-hazardly, but met with a counter force of an elbow joint. Then suddenly two hands shot out and clapped his ears. He felt dazed, with ears ringing.

’What the fuck?? Take this...’ Kasim couldn’t see, but he knew Rohit was too close, so he lunged forward and able to grab him, pull closer, and tried to break his back with an elbow shot—but instead he got reverse-grabbed and received knee shots to his ribs again and again in the process, forcing him to stagger back.

He could feel blood on his lips and throbbing pain in his hands and chest. He guessed his side rib cage down was cracked, or there shouldn’t be that intense sensation. Still, it was bearable. What enraged him most was getting beaten by a kid who attacked his weak spots with dirty methods.

"AAAARGH! Stop playing dirty! Fight like a man, damn it!"

Rohit wasn’t unscathed yet; he was holding his shoulder, clearly showing the impact he got in the process of dodging. However, his expression remained calm as he refused to show any pain.

’Good. A few more hits and he would be done for,’ Kasim thought, and being reassured, he regained his fighting stance.

As he smeared the blood falling from his lips, he charged again with the same strategy to grab and hit. But instead, he got a sudden roundhouse kick, followed by two upfront kicks and a side kick to his diaphragm..

He didn’t feel much pain, but he couldn’t keep up with the momentum and was pressed back further until he intercepted the next rotating kick by catching one leg—only to get a reverse-spin counter kick on his jaw, dislocating it and losing his balance.

"Damn, it hurts." He fell down. He immediately realized his mistake: it was the taekwondo famous 360 spin-out counter kick he had seen in a movie, but he hadn’t realized he would face an expert here. He tried to get up albeit slowly, but his body felt very heavy in the process. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

(End of POV)

The spin counter kick was Riku’s most favorite shot from his last life, so he instinctively used it, real quick and effective, but he lost a lot of energy in the process and fell altogether.

His form was not complete yet; still, he managed to quickly stand up.

His breathing became a little hard, but he could not miss the chance. It was the perfect time for a decisive blow, so he ran and went straight for a knee-body shot, aimed at his solar plexus, forcing Kasim to be thrown off like a rag doll as he lost balance.

Kasim was in disbelief as he gasped for air. He tried to rise, but his body refused to comply. He could feel his whole body writhing in pain, and he could not move. Worst of all, the demon boy was still looking at him, catching his breath.

The entire clash unfolded so quickly that, within mere minute or two, the fight had escalated into a full-fledged battle and had already reached its conclusion.

At the end, Kasim’s body lay on road, defeated.

It was so unbelievable that even the taller guy and Ragini, who had been watching the scene, stood frozen with their jaws hanging open

Rohit’s rage, on the other hand, was not over yet. He approached him clenching his fist.

The audacity of these men, their plan.. their words.. ignited a madness in him.

Kasim groaned, trying to move away, but his body refused. "I’m sorry," he begged, half crying. "Please... forgive me. It won’t happen again."

Rohit spat on him again, before sitting on his chest, and rained punches down on his face without pause.

His own knuckles split and bled, but he wanted to beat the shit out of him. Kasim’s eyes had already rolled white, yet Rohit’s rage only deepened as he couldn’t stop, or wouldn’t stop.

The tall guy screamed from across the street, "Stop! Stop! if you dont want me harm her! stop you fucking Monster!"

Rohit turned. The man was bellowing while choking Ragini, her face twisted in horror.

From the start Rohit knew this coward wasn’t a real threat, but those words paired with Ragini’s terror made him change course.

Still, he didn’t want to leave Kasim behind. His mind had already registered him as a threat that needed to be eradicated for good, but that could wait.

He searched his pocket, took out his phone, and slid it under his own body. Then he shoved Kasim’s unconscious form aside and advanced toward the taller man.

Rohit’s said menacingly, "I recognize your voice. You’re that YouTuber boy who got slapped, right?"

Sohail’s eyes widened, his breath catching. "What? No—no, you’re mistaking me for someone else."

Rohit smirked as he moved forward with deliberate slow steps. "You think you can escape by harming her? Go on, try. Put a single scratch on her, and I swear.. I’ll find you.. from the deepest hole you crawl into.. and death will be my last mercy."

The conviction in his tone broke Sohail. His hands shook, but he clung to Ragini all the same. "Please don’t come near! I didn’t want to be part of this.. they forced me! Just... don’t come near."

Meanwhile, the bald man stirred.

Still half-dazed from Rohit’s earlier kick, he cracked his neck with a ugly expression and spotted the knife nearby.

Seeing Rohit’s focus locked on Sohail, he picked the weapon and stalked forward like a predator.

Neither Rohit nor Sohail noticed him approaching.

Rohit, instead, deliberatly slowed his advance to conserve his energy.

For a fleeting moment, relief touched him as his intimidation was working. He said coldly, "Good. Then leave her, and I may grant you mercy."

But Ragini’s eyes suddenly widened. Gagged, she could only scream muffled sounds. Even Sohail looked startled.

Rohit spun just in time to see the bald man lunging with the dagger. It was too close to dodge. He blocked with his left arm, hissing as the blade tore across his flesh making a deep gash.

Blood spilled out, but there was no time to falter.

The sight of blood, emboldened the bald man as he slashed wildly, forcing Rohit back step by step.

Then he stabbed forward, but Rohit caught the knife hand with his bleeding arm, wincing as steel scraped past his palm in process.

Snarling, Rohit drove a brutal elbow into the man’s jaw and that sure gave a cracking sound.

The bald man staggered back. Rohit didn’t hesitate. He head-butted him with savage force, making him dazed.

Then he grasped his neck and with a roar and slammed his skull into the floor, just like people use to break a coconut. The man’s eyes rolled back, his body went limp.

Sohail’s legs shook violently as panic overtook him. He shoved Ragini aside. "Fuck... I’m out of this!" he screamed before bolting for his life.

Ragini stumbled, but Rohit caught her. He pulled her close and loosened the gag from mouth and hands.

She was trembling, her cheeks streaked with tears. The violence she’d witnessed terrified her, but deep down, she knew he had done it all for her. Without him, only God would know what nightmare awaited her.

Then she saw his arm. Blood soaked it completely, the wound seeping fast. "Blood... blood?" she cried, her voice breaking.

Rohit gave a faint smile, hugging her close. "It’s just a scratch. Don’t worry," he lied, sitting down as he fumbled for his handkerchief and tried to tie a knot. His strength was fading fast, and the effort failed. Pain and blood loss weighed down his body like lead.

Ragini, deeply concerned, crouched beside him and grabbed his wounded hand.

Tears streamed down her face as she tied the cloth around his arm. Her hands were trembling as she struggled to stop the bleeding. From her purse she pulled out another handkerchief, knotting it over the gash on his palm while sobbing through her efforts.

Exhausted, Rohit leaned back and let her tend to him, a weak smile crossing his lips. He was glad she hadn’t broken down in the face of violence as he had once feared.

Just then, the Uber they had booked appeared at a distance. But the driver, seeing bodies on the ground, slowed to turn away. Ragini leapt up, shouting, "Hey! Stop..Help! Help!"

The car finally stopped.

Rohit felt dizziness wash over him and his vision getting blur. By the time Ragini and the driver returned to his side, he had already collapsed into unconsciousness.