While Null and the beastman clashed in the center of the clearing, the other fight reached its boiling point.
Ronan's group had finally locked the two remaining bandits into a tight circle. Moving as a coordinated team, they quickly overwhelmed the first thief.
Mira flicked her dagger forward to draw a block, and the moment the bandit turned,
Ronan stepped in. His sword flashed downward, building a steady, relentless rhythm that gave the man no room to counterattack.
Derrik crashed in from the side with a reinforced shoulder slam to the ribs, exposing the bandit's posture. Mira disarmed him with a clean slash to the wrist, and Ronan followed through, dropping the man with the flat of his blade.
"One left," Ronan breathed.
The final bandit didn't panic, charging straight at them with pure, drunken aggression. He swung his axe heavily toward Derrik, who barely raised his staff in time to absorb the bone-rattling impact. But the opening was exactly what the novices needed.
Mira slipped behind the man, her dagger slicing his thigh to stagger him, while
Tobin steadied his hands and fired a precise crossbow bolt into the bandit's forearm. The axe clattered to the dirt. Ronan slammed his blade into the man's temple, and Derrik shoved him flat into the dirt.
Mira pressed her dagger against his throat. "Stay down."
The bandit simply stared up at the sky, laughing breathlessly. "The shadow court has been defeated!"
Ronan wiped the sweat from his brow, staring down at him. "Are you that drunk? You still think this is a stage play?" He turned back toward the center of the clearing, where sparks still flew between claws and steel. "Alright. Let's go help Null."
But as the party turned, they realized the fight between Null and the beastman had already escalated far beyond their expectations.
...
Null's blades slid along the beastman's claws, scattering sparks like fireflies before both fighters jumped back, breathing hard.
Null lowered his stance, pointing his weapon directly at his opponent. "Your goons are out," he said, gesturing toward Ronan's group. "Now what will you do?"
The beastman wiped the sweat from his eyes, a wild, breathless grin returning to his face. "You kids kick the crap out of my crew and then ask what I'll do next? That's rich. Just because the stage looks bad doesn't mean the show is over."
Null rubbed his temples, thoroughly exasperated. "Are you guys literally insane, or just plain dumb? From start to finish, you've been acting like you're putting on some ridiculous theatre production. Prophecies. Shadow courts. Rocket this, destiny that."
"Are you all that bored of living as villains?" He tilted his head. "I mean, real bandits would have run away the second the situation turned against them. It is literally the basic code of thieves"
The beastman's eyes narrowed dangerously, his claws scraping together with an angry screech. "Bandits running away is called cowardice. We live by the blade. If someone stronger shows up, we fight them. Simple."
Null let out a heavy sigh, turning inward. 'Fantasy Omniscience-san, please solve this ridiculous mystery. I can't stand the cliché dialogue anymore. Are these bandits always this stupid, or did they turn stupid?'
[Analysis complete. Their current mental state is the result of a high-grade alchemical substance: Moonfall Serpentwine. It induces extreme euphoria, heightens aggression, and suppresses higher reasoning, reducing their cognitive processing speed to twelve percent of normal function. They are magically intoxicated.]
'Great,' Null thought dryly.
[Additional observation,] she continued. [This substance is rare and expensive, suggesting they were supplied with it. Probability: ninety-two percent. The assassins targeting you likely used the intoxicated bandits to exhaust your party. Once sufficient fatigue accumulated, the hidden knives would deliver the finishing blow.]
Null exhaled slowly as the pieces clicked together—the relentless aggression, the insane dialogue, and the refusal to retreat. They weren't just eccentric; they were a disposable distraction.
Null's dark red eyes drifted toward the surrounding trees. The forest suddenly felt entirely too quiet.
"Well. That's annoying." He raised his katana and pointed it calmly at the beastman. "Sorry. You're not even the real enemy today."
Null's eyes drifted toward the deeper woods. "I need to finish this quickly."
Null switched his weapon again. The katana vanished and two single-handed dual swords rested in his hands.
The beastman rolled his shoulders, a feral grin splitting his face. He cracked his neck, the harsh screech of his claws cutting through the clearing. "Heh. So I'm just the warm-up act. You've got guts, kid. Too bad you won't live long enough to deal with whoever's hiding in the bushes."
He dropped low, muscles coiling like springs as mana surged beneath his skin. The fur along his right arm thickened, and his bones shifted with a sickening crunch. The limb expanded grotesquely—veins bulging, muscles swelling, and his nails elongating into curved, black talons the size of daggers.
"What the hell..." Ronan muttered from afar.
"That doesn't look good," Mira swallowed.
"Beastkin blood technique," the beastman snarled, flexing his monstrous arm. *Rocket Finish*
The ground exploded under his boots. He shot forward like a launched projectile, claws raised high for a single, lethal strike meant to tear straight through Null's chest.
Null didn't retreat or panic. He slowly raised both swords, a weapon in each hand. 'Man,' he thought quietly, 'I've always wanted to try this.'
[Master. Opponent impact estimated in 0.6 seconds,]
Null offered a small smile, shifting his stance. Left sword forward, right sword angled low. His body relaxed, but his dark red eyes sharpened.
Memories from another world surfaced in his mind—A finishing technique from an anime he quite liked surfaced in his mind. For the first time, he was about to recreate it.
"Let's see if this works," Null whispered.
The beastman closed the final distance with a roar. "DIE!"
The massive claw swung down with bone-shattering force. Null didn't dodge backward; he lunged forward. His body became a blur as steel flashed.
★ Star
CLANG! The first strike slammed into the beastman's claw, knocking it off its trajectory. Before the bandit could adjust, the second blade followed instantly.
★ Burst—
CLANG! The sword carved across the beastman's chest.
Then, the world exploded into motion.
Null's swords became twin streaks of silver, flowing into a relentless storm of slashes. Left, right, high, low—faster than the eye could follow.
★ STREAM
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
An overwhelming barrage of slashes erupted in the clearing. Four strikes. Eight Strikes. Twelve Strikes. Sixteen Strikes.
The beastman tried to counter, tried to block, but every time he raised his monstrous arm, another sword struck from a blind angle. Null moved like lightning, his blades executing a flawless whirlwind of steel.
At the edge of the woods, the novices watched in absolute disbelief.
"What... what kind of combo is that?" Mira whispered.
"That's not a ordinary technique," Derrik blinked.
The frantic assault lasted only a few seconds, the clearing lighting up with dozens of sparks. The final blow came like a thunderclap.
X!
Null crossed both swords and slashed outward simultaneously.
The impact launched the beastman backward. He crashed through the dirt, skidding across the clearing before finally slamming down near the camp.
Null slowly lowered his swords, his breathing a little heavier. "Huh," he tilted his head. "That actually worked."
Across the clearing, the beastman weakly tried to push himself up, his monstrous arm trembling violently. His chest and shoulders were patterned with a dozen shallow cuts.
"Heh..." he coughed, blood dripping from his lip. "That was..."
His beast arm slowly shrank back to its normal size, the claws shortening and the fur receding as his strength finally failed. The bandit collapsed face-first into the dirt with a heavy thud.
The clearing went dead quiet.