The chainsaw roared.
Its metal teeth screamed through the cold night air as Rishiro swung it forward.
The checker twisted its body unnaturally, dodging the first strike.
Its elongated arm shot forward.
Fast.
Too fast for a normal human.
But Rishiro wasn't the same person anymore.
He stepped sideways.
The claw sliced through empty air.
"Missed."
Rishiro smirked.
"You know, you've stabbed me like a hundred times already."
The chainsaw revved again.
"You'd think you'd get bored eventually."
The checker didn't respond.
It never did.
The creature lunged again.
This time its movement split into two strikes.
One high.
One low.
Rishiro ducked under the first attack.
The second grazed his jacket as he spun past it.
"Okay," he muttered.
"That one was new."
He swung the chainsaw upward.
The spinning blade scraped across the creature's arm.
Sparks burst into the air as the metal teeth tore through the dark surface of its body.
The checker staggered.
Only slightly.
But it was enough.
Rishiro's grin widened.
"…Nice."
"So you can feel that."
The creature lunged again.
Desperate.
Its limbs twisting like broken shadows.
Rishiro stepped backward.
Then sideways.
Every movement felt familiar.
Because he had seen them before.
Again.
And again.
And again.
He tilted his head slightly.
"You know the funny part?"
The chainsaw roared louder.
"That I am gonna kill u but u can't come back like me."
The checker rushed forward.
Its arm pierced toward his chest.
The exact same attack that had killed him countless times.
But this time—
Rishiro stepped forward instead of back.
The claw missed by inches.
The chainsaw came down.
The spinning blade cut straight through the creature's chest.
The checker froze.
For a moment the world went silent.
Then the creature's body began to break apart.
Dark fragments drifted into the air like dissolving shadows.
The checker collapsed onto the pavement.
Rishiro stood there breathing slowly.
"…Finally."
He walked over and dropped down onto the remains of the creature.
The chainsaw rested across his shoulder.
The engine slowly quieted.
Neon lights flickered above the empty street.
Tokyo continued its ordinary night.
Cars passed in the distance.
People laughed somewhere far away.
Completely unaware that something impossible had just happened.
Rishiro looked down at the remains beneath him.
"…You were annoying."
He leaned back slightly.
"But I guess we're even now."
Then—
A familiar mechanical voice echoed through the air.
[System Notification]
System Entity "Checker" Eliminated
New Title Obtained
The Irregular Player
End of Chapter 7