Chapter 118 Desperado (Illustration)
Chapter 118 Desperado (Illustration)
Bang! Bang!
“Hey, don’t you have a bigger gun?” Iryoku shouted as he vaulted behind Mr. K.
Mr. K darted aside, weaving through barbed wires and whipping chains, then snapped his revolver up and fired at one of the charging monstrosities.
Bang!
A blinding flash of magic seared the dark. The bullet punched through the monster’s forehead—dead center—leaving only a pinprick hole before detonating in a sharp explosion. Its skull burst, and the beast crumpled, twitching.
Then Mr. K froze. Iryoku nearly collided with him, skidding to a stop just a step behind. In an instant, the gunslinger spun, gun flaring toward Iryoku.
Light flashed. Iryoku twisted aside at the last second, the shot blazing past his cheek—straight into the monster lunging behind him.
Snarling, Iryoku surged forward. He slid low across the stone floor, slipping just under Mr. K’s arm, and lashed out at the man’s legs. Mr. K lifted his own in defense, absorbing the strike, but Iryoku closed in on his back. Using the momentum, he flipped onto his hands and drove a double kick upward into the chest of another beast.
The monster barely staggered—its long, crooked claws carving down in a savage arc.
“Tch.” Iryoku clicked his tongue, drawing a throwing blade in one smooth motion. He spun low, the weapon flashing as he slashed with precise, surgical strikes, each cut aimed at tendons and joints. His movements threaded cleanly between the whipping wires and lashing spikes, not a step wasted.
The creatures pressed in tighter. Mr. K fired, one round punching clean through a monster that tried to dart between the chains.
“Why aren’t you using your Leben?” Mr. K barked.
Iryoku’s frown deepened, fury flaring hotter. Instead of answering, he slashed—not at a monster, but straight toward Mr. K.
“Shut the hell up, pussy!”
Mr. K reacted fast, kicking back at Iryoku. The two tangled in a vicious three-way brawl—man against man against monsters—while the cavern’s traps turned the battlefield into chaos.
Bang!
Another burst of light exploded from the revolver, the shot grazing Iryoku’s face before tearing into the arm of one of the creatures.
The beast staggered into the flailing chains and spiked wires, thrashing wildly and dragging more traps into motion.
The cavern erupted into bedlam. Both men leapt, scaling walls and dodging the deadly rain of iron, their struggle spiraling into pure survival at the utmost speed.
“Hehehe…” A pale light returned from the hole high above. The executioner leaned in, hooded head tilting as he peered down.
“You’re very energetic prisoners.”
The gears groaned again. This time, jets of fire roared from the ceiling, sealing off their way up. Iryoku and Mr. K jerked back, their arms yanked together by the binding flesh-chain.
Snarling, Iryoku seized a dangling chain and swung through the air. Mr. K had no choice but to follow, dragged along by the tether binding them. With a sharp jerk, he pulled back, breaking Iryoku’s momentum. The two men slammed hard into the cavern wall, crashing down in a tangle of limbs and chains.
“Let’s see what you do with this,” a voice mocked from above.
Another iron door groaned open. From its depths emerged a malformed dwarf—its hollow eye sockets staring blankly, its swollen frame bulging with scarred muscle. Jagged claws scraped the stone as veins pulsed across its grey flesh, glowing like black fire.
The monstrosity halted, staring blankly for a heartbeat—then growled, a sound so deep the stone itself trembled. Muscles bulged, veins swelled, and dark energy flared across its body like armor.
“Oi, oi—it’s too soon for a boss fight,” Iryoku mocked, grinning at their predicament.
In an instant, the dwarf vanished.
THUD!
The cavern floor exploded as it reappeared in a blur of speed, claws smashing down in an earth-shattering blow. Dust and rock burst outward in a violent shockwave.
Both Iryoku and Mr. K barely leapt aside—made harder by the living flesh-tendril binding them together.
Driven by survival and rage, they countered in the same breath: Mr. K with his magic gun, Iryoku with his small blade.
The dwarf took the gunfire head-on—its skin torn in shallow wounds that healed almost instantly. Iryoku’s slashes did even less, dulled without the aid of his arpoons white rope..
They dodged again, forced into awkward synchronicity, every movement tethered together.
Iryoku scowled mid-leap. “Hey, puss—why don’t you use that defensive trick or whatever to take him down?”
Mr. K kept firing, teeth gritted. “Shut it! I don’t have my sword!”
Iryoku grabbed a chain embedded in the cavern wall, yanking Mr. K with him. They swung in tandem, momentum building until both lashed out with a double kick to the dwarf’s head, knocking it back—but not hurting it.
Iryoku spat. “Really? You were so damn strong when the griffon attacked—why’re you so weak now?”
Mr. K snapped back without missing a beat. “I could say the same about you, asshole!”
“This can’t keep going—follow me!” Iryoku barked, leaping up the cavern wall.
Mr. K followed, still firing down between climbs. “There’s still the magic attacks from above!” he shouted, eyes darting warily upward.
“I know! We’ll use the dwarf to our advantage. Hey, monster—come eat us, dumbass!” Iryoku cursed, taunting as they clawed higher toward the cavern’s massive exit.
The monstrous dwarf roared, muscles surging as it gathered power. With a burst of dark energy, it launched upward like a cannonball.
“Here it comes!”
The two sprang aside just in time—yet the ceiling flared with deadly runes. From above, fire magic ignited in a torrent, flames cascading downward.
The executioner, standing at the rim of the high opening, sneered—until his eyes widened. The dwarf tore upward through the inferno, its body exploding with dark energy.
BOOOOM!
The entire cavern shook as the beast pierced through the firestorm unscathed, shattering stone as it rocketed higher.
Iryoku, clinging to the wall, saw Mr. K falter—his foot slipping, balance breaking.
“Tch—idiot!”
He lunged, yanking the tendril that bound them and grabbing Mr. K’s gun arm just as he pitched backward. With a grunt, Iryoku swung him upward and hurled him toward the opening.
Mr. K tucked his revolver away midair, snatching the rim as Iryoku launched himself after him.
Together, they scrambled through, bursting into the jagged hole the dwarf had torn open.
What they found above was another gaping shaft in the ceiling—higher still. The dwarf was jammed partway up, claws scraping as it dragged itself forward, stones cracking under its thrashing bulk.
The two men glanced around. Several tunnels branched off in a winding labyrinth. No time to think—they bolted down the nearest path, unsure if it was the right one.
Suddenly—
WHAM!
A colossal axe crashed down in front of them, splitting the stone floor. Both men dove aside as the blade rebounded off the fleshy tendril binding them, leaving it completely untouched.
“Fuck!” Iryoku spat, springing forward. The hooded executioner loomed, already swinging again. Iryoku slipped inside the arc of the swing and slashed his throat in a blur, darting behind him.
Mr. K followed up with a sharp kick to the man’s head, sending him crumpling.
“Hey, puss, can you use that big axe?” Iryoku asked, eyes glinting.
Mr. K scowled. “Are you stupid? And stop calling me that.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, sprinting deeper into the corridor. Iryoku followed, the tendril jerking taut between them.
Then—
BWOOM—BWOOM—BWOOM!
A thunderous alarm blared, echoing through the cavernous halls. Both men skidded to a halt, exchanging a sharp glance.