Kryhiss’s rhinoceros form rampages for five brutal minutes, reducing the grand hall to a shattered wreck. The floor is a mess of craters, the ceiling gapes open to the floor above, and two of the four walls are rubble. Only the entrance wall and one lined with weapons still stand, barely holding. Dust and the stench of blood choke the air.
His bloodshot eyes lock onto me, his massive bulk trembling with rage. “You just dodge like a coward, you filthy bounty hunter!”
I shrug, grabbing a decorative longsword from the weapon wall—more for show than combat, but it’ll do. “Fine, no more dodging,” I say, smirking. “But you? Got anything besides that tired old charge?”
His bovine gaze flashes with cruelty, mimicking my tone. “You want more? I’ll crush you with my strongest move!”
“Bring it,” I reply, inspecting the blade with a glance. “Not great, but it’ll work.”
Kryhiss snorts, his laugh a guttural roar. “That toy sword? Bullets barely dent my hide! Even your special rounds only scratched me. A blade? You’re out of options, giving up!”
I grin, beckoning with a finger. “Big talk. Hit me with that ‘strongest move.’”
“As you wish!” Kryhiss bellows, hooves gouging the stone. He launches himself airborne, his six-meter-tall, ten-meter-long rhinoceros body a living missile. “Foolish brat, thinking a sword can touch my Rhino-Rhino Fruit power? I’ll rip you apart!”
“Mad Rhino Hammer!”
I crouch, one hand on the scabbard, the other gripping the hilt in reverse. As he charges, I rush forward, meeting him head-on. We collide midair, and a sharp shing! cuts through the hall as my blade flashes.
We land, back-to-back, the moment frozen. Two seconds. Three. I slide the sword into its scabbard with a slow click, then toss it aside, scoffing. “Need to find a proper blade one day.”
A wet splat echoes behind me. Kryhiss’s steel-piercing horn snaps in two, clattering to the ground. A gaping, meter-long gash splits his belly, his thick rhino hide torn like cloth. Blood gushes, pooling beneath him, his guts threatening to spill. The hall reeks of iron and carnage.
My swordsmanship, taught by Master Koushirou, lets me sense the “breath” of things. A true swordsman can cleave steel or spare paper at will. I’ve grazed the edge of a swordmaster’s realm, enough to slice Kryhiss’s hide and horn with a single stroke, even with a junk blade.
Thud!
Kryhiss’s massive form crashes down, shaking the floor. His body shrinks, the Rhino-Rhino Fruit’s power fading, leaving him a bloodied, human wreck, gasping in his own blood.
I stroll over, smirking. “How’s that feel, Kryhiss? Still think swords are useless?”
His eyes burn with defiance, blood streaming from his wounds as he struggles to rise. I don’t let him. My boot slams into his gut, right on the gash. Crack! He screams, blood spraying like a fountain as he’s flung into the last standing wall. The stone splinters into a web of cracks, and he slumps, coughing up crimson.
I’m on him in an instant, Whisper—my trusty short gun—pressed against his eye. “Two choices,” I say, voice ice-cold. “Surrender and live, or keep fighting and eat a bullet. Choose.”
Kryhiss freezes, fear flickering in his vulnerable eyes. His rhino hide can’t protect them, and a shot to the brain would end him. The man who once thrived on danger has gone soft. He slumps, choosing life.
The hall’s doors burst open, and Bonney’s voice booms. “Yo, John, I mopped up the goons outside! Need your captain’s help?” She struts in, but her words falter as she sees the devastation. The hall is a warzone—crumbled walls, pitted floors, blood and rubble everywhere. Her eyes hit Kryhiss, broken and bleeding, with my gun at his face.
She swallows hard. “Damn… you really took him out?” She’d seen Kryhiss’s monstrous power, and this scene shakes her.
I roll my eyes. “Who else? You?”
“Heh… just didn’t think you were this tough,” she says, grinning awkwardly. Her gaze lingers on Kryhiss’s mangled form. “A sword wound? You’re a swordsman too?”
“Bounty hunters gotta have tricks,” I say, shrugging. “Kryhiss is finished. His crew’s probably falling apart in the chaos outside. We’re done here—time to go.”
********