Ronin kept his main focus on the butler, but he didn't take his eyes off the fight between Shizuku and Spence.
Spence's Nen was clearly a blend of Conjuration and Transmutation. By adding conditions and vows, he had twisted his power to operate on a strict set of rules.
Whenever his racket struck anything flying across the court—or anything he threw himself—the object transformed into a tennis ball right before impact.
Once it crossed the net, the projectile reverted to its original, deadly form.
It was a massive headache of an ability. Judging by the floating numbers above Shizuku's head, the technique had hidden rules. It kept score exactly like a tennis match, though Ronin had no idea what happened to the loser.
That made the high chair even more suspicious. If he climbed up and claimed the role of "umpire," could he seize the advantage?
Probably, but playing along just meant getting tangled in Spence's web. It was better to attack him directly from outside the court and smash his rules to pieces!
With that in mind, Ronin lunged toward Spence.
Right on cue, the butler threw a punch.
Instantly, a bizarre figure materialized out of thin air right behind Ronin. It looked like one of those inflatable tube men you'd see dancing outside a used car dealership. Except this tube man was bringing a massive fist down on Ronin's head.
An Emitter, huh?
Ronin hadn't forgotten about the butler for a second. His lunge had been bait all along.
As the inflatable fist crashed down, Ronin met it with his own.
Boom!
The sheer force of the tube man's strike caught Ronin slightly off guard. But what surprised him more was what happened on impact—the creature's arm detonated!
It was packed with condensed Nen. When it blew, aura spiked outward like shrapnel from a cactus, blasting point-blank at Ronin.
Susanoo flared to life instantly. The ribcage encased Ronin, shrugging off the needle-like blasts of aura. Without missing a beat, a skeletal hand tore through the air, grabbing for the butler.
The construct's massive frame smashed right through the hallway ceiling, raining drywall and debris.
What the hell is that?
The thought flashed through the butler's mind as he backpedaled furiously.
But for a fraction of a second, his eyes locked with Ronin's within the glowing avatar. That simple glance was enough. The butler felt reality warp around him.
The hallway melted away, replaced by the deafening caw of crows as ominous black feathers drifted from the sky.
He looked up. The roof was gone, replaced by a swirling murder of crows.
The illusion didn't last long. Reality shattered a second later as a violent spray of blood erupted from the butler's mouth.
Snapping back to his senses, he realized he was already crushed in the grip of the crimson skeletal hand.
At Ronin's silent command, Susanoo squeezed. Blood sprayed.
The butler didn't even have time to scream before he was popped like a blood-filled balloon.
Ronin shifted his gaze back to Spence.
Over on the court, Spence had just swatted away another grenade Shizuku fired at him. This time, the explosive didn't even reach her; it detonated right above the net.
Spence immediately noticed the shift in the atmosphere. The butler's instant death completely derailed his plans.
In his head, as long as he was on his home turf with the butler playing umpire, they were invincible. Now his right-hand man was pulverized, leaving him in a two-on-one nightmare. Worse, Shizuku's ability was a hard counter to his own—a variable he hadn't planned for.
Under normal circumstances, if the butler had been sitting in the umpire's chair, Shizuku's trick of vacuuming up his shots and firing them back would be flagged as a penalty, stripping her points.
According to his rules, once he gained a two-point lead, Shizuku would lose the match. Her Nen would be temporarily stripped away, leaving her a helpless doll for him to torture.
But without an umpire to call fouls, Shizuku's cheating went unchecked. Out of options, Spence ripped another grenade from his belt.
He pulled the pin. It was a five-second fuse, specifically chosen for this tactic.
If he timed it perfectly, turning it into a tennis ball at the very last second, it would blow before that damn vacuum could suck it up.
It was a solid plan, until Ronin's Susanoo crashed onto the court. The giant crimson hand swept down, reaching straight for him.
Having just watched his butler get reduced to paste by that monster, Spence had two choices.
Option one: backpedal. But if he stepped out of bounds, his tennis court rules would vanish, taking his Nen advantage with it.
Without his ability, surviving this absolute beast of an intruder was a pipe dream. He finally realized just how outclassed he was.
Option two: swing the racket and pray he could tennis-ball the giant hand away.
Without hesitating, Spence lobbed the live grenade toward Shizuku and violently swung his racket at the incoming Susanoo.
Swoosh!
He hit dead air. The terrifying red avatar vanished right before his eyes. Instead, a grenade suddenly appeared inches from his face.
It was the very same explosive he had just thrown. And the one returning the serve was Shizuku.
Spence had telegraphed his move. The moment the grenade left his hand, Shizuku rushed the net, raising Blinky.
With a simple verbal command, the vacuum inhaled the explosive with a split second to spare. Taking another step over the debris of the ruined net, she fired it point-blank back at him.
The projectile shot out at the exact moment Ronin dismissed his Susanoo. Completely blindsided by the bait-and-switch, Spence frantically contracted his aura to shield himself, but it wasn't enough.
The blast caught him flush, hurling him backward like a ragdoll.
Ronin didn't press the attack. There was no need.
Shizuku was already vaulting over the net, her vacuum cleaner raised high above her head like an executioner's axe.
Spence wasn't dead, but the explosion had turned half his body into pulverized meat. Seeing Shizuku looming over him, panic seized his throat.
He didn't want to die. But looking into her dead, emotionless eyes, he knew begging wouldn't save him.
"If you kill me, your father dies!"
Thwack!
Blinky came down without a shred of hesitation. The heavy nozzle smashed into Spence's skull mid-sentence.
Crunch. Splat.
Blood and brain matter sprayed across the court as she caved his head in entirely.