Always Move Unpredictably
He accelerated his body and lunged at me with ferocious speed. He was still so fast it was hard to track him with my eyes alone, but I'd read his motion right before he moved, managing to predict the timing to some extent. The moment I sensed him coming, I threw my body sideways to dodge the attack.
The advantage of quadrupedal movement over bipedal is the freedom to change direction. No matter how fast he was, turning at that speed wasn't easy for him. But this wouldn't work multiple times. If I kept failing him over and over, he'd start using feints in our psychological warfare—or even if not, he might adapt to my movements. The situation remained overwhelmingly against me.
As I scampered around dodging, he grew irritated, twisting his face and calling out to me.
"How long do you plan to keep running? You think stalling will bring backup?"
"Even a body honed by acceleration powers must strain at that speed, right? Your breathing's already rougher than before. If I just keep dodging, doesn't that benefit me?"
"Hoo... You're more intelligent in a fight than you look. Fine then, as you say—let's end round one here and take a breather."
"Bullshit. Round two's already started!"
I hadn't fully recovered from the damage I'd taken earlier, so part of me wanted that break too. But the longer I dragged this out, the better it was for him, not me. This was right in the heart of enemy territory. No one was coming to help me, but if I stuck around, other villains might swarm in. Already struggling against this one, getting outnumbered would be game over.
Keeping an eye on his attacks, I zigzagged on all fours to close the distance. But the speed gap was huge from the start, and this erratic movement killed my own pace. Naturally, he tracked me with his eyes and accelerated in an instant, closing right up beside me.
Thud—!!
Even blocking with my shoulder sent shockwaves rippling through every inch of my body. But I didn't go flying like before, and the distance shrank. I thrust out my hand to grab his leg, but he pulled back a step faster, leaving me swiping at empty air.
"Tch. You're filthy fast."
"Conversely, you're slow enough to yawn over."
Situationally, I was at a massive disadvantage, but he wasn't letting his guard down either. He knew it too—if I got hold of his leg, he was in danger. Acceleration or whatever, all that explosive power and speed came from those legs. Cripple them, and he'd be like a fish flopping on dry land.
"No choice now, huh."
"No choice about what?"
"Thought it over, and yeah, can't do it. I've rampaged enough, so I'm outta here."
"...What?"
Straight-up confrontation was hopeless. With that conclusion, I turned tail and bolted.
"...Is he actually insane?"
"Yell whatever!"
As I fled without looking back, he froze for a split second before activating his power and giving chase. Escaping an acceleration specialist whose specialty was speed was near impossible. Truth was, I hadn't planned to really run. My real goal was luring him into a tight space. Indoors like this, the hallway would limit his attack angles. If I knew the direction, I could deal with any speed.
His kick slammed into my unguarded back mid-flight. I flew like I'd been hit by a car, smashing through the wall into the hallway and tumbling far beyond. My back felt snapped in two. Gritting my broken teeth against the pain, I barely hauled myself up.
At least I'd made it to the hallway.
"So that was your plan—lure me into the hall? You think fighting in tight quarters disadvantages me?"
"Yeah. Won't be so easy from here on."
It wasn't just the narrowness. Direction mattered, but more than that, I could run on walls. Attacking someone wall-crawling like me wouldn't be simple for him now. I dug my claws into the wall and raced along it. As expected, he didn't charge recklessly like before. Now, the offense-defense dynamic had flipped.
I kicked off hard, launching myself at him. I slashed with my claws in a flash, but he dropped low to dodge. The instant I registered the miss, I hit the ground and stuck back to the wall. Like a pinball, I bounced between floor, walls, and ceiling, steadily pressuring him.
I was clearly on the offensive, but the situation wasn't improving. He was too fast for solid hits. Worse, he'd adapted and started countering. Speed was annoying, but the experience gap stung more. I'd only seen a handful of real fights; he was a heavyweight who'd clawed to the top of a villain org on skill alone.
"Not bad using your head, but you're still too slow to catch me."
"Huff... huff..."
I could feel my stamina draining. Unlike him dodging with minimal effort, I'd been leaping and slashing constantly—my consumption was massive. At this rate, I'd collapse from exhaustion. Needed a new plan.
"This is hopeless. How about we call it and go our separate ways?"
"You think I'll let you go now?"
"Just testing, dumbass."
Click.
While bantering casually, I'd crept along the wall and twisted the handle behind me, slipping into the room.
"What annoying trick now..."
Unable to read my intent, he didn't rush in. If anything, my unpredictability made him even more cautious. Running off was an option, but he'd catch me quick anyway. And killing him here was for the good of the world.
Wall between us, positions unknown. But I'm a werewolf. My keen smell and hearing caught not just his scent, but every tiny breath. There's a saying from my old world: Always move unpredictably. I knew where he was; he didn't know me. He couldn't tell if I'd fled or hidden, but I knew he was in the hall.
Room's a plane; hall's a line. Nail the direction, and any attack lands. Pinpointing him by sound and smell, I smashed through the wall and pounced right at him. He hadn't predicted a wall-burst ambush—his face flashed surprise. Targeting the leg. As my claws closed on it...
"At that snail's pace, you think you can gra—"
"——————!!!"
"Guh!?!"
My werewolf roar filled the hall, echoing thunderously. As he faltered from the blast, my claws snagged his leg.
"Aces are for saving till the end."
"Damn it...!!"
As he said, kinetic energy scales with velocity squared. No speed, no energy. Acceleration-honed body or not, human limits couldn't top a werewolf's. Gripping his leg, I full-swung him into the wall.
Kwang!
"Gah!!"
Not enough to knock him out, but who cares. I gaped my maw, baring savage fangs, and crunched into his ankle with all my might.
"Gaaarghhh!!"
Crunch. Grind.
I worked his ankle in my jaws, chewing relentlessly. My broken teeth lacked sharpness, but a wolf's bite force pulverized a human ankle even so. He writhed in agony yet spun, slamming his good foot into my face. My brain rattled; balance shattered. He yanked his leg free in that gap.
I'd lost my grip, but it didn't matter. Limping on one leg, he was no threat now.
"There, roles reversed. Wanna try running?"
"Grgh... You fucking mutt!!"
"Idiot. I am a dog."
Savoring the metallic blood flooding my mouth, I bared my fangs with a guttural growl and advanced. The tide had turned. I'd been hopelessly outmatched before; now, I held all the cards. Without his acceleration edge, he was sub-Bomberman trash mob. Sensing no path to victory, he limped backward. As if I'd let him go.
Time to end this...
"Mmm~ Who'd have thought such big shots gathered here?"
"...?"
A woman in a pristine white dress—utterly out of place, impractical for daily wear—suddenly wedged between me and the boss.
"Joker and Daidalos's boss? What a fun duo."
"Who the hell are you?"
"Oh? You don't know me? How rude, Joker."
"White Knight Princess... How did you get here..."
The Daidalos boss grimaced, muttering. I'd heard of her—a hero dispatched by the Association to quash this terror plot, one of Korea's strongest. Nicknamed Princess. True to her concept, she always wore battle-unfriendly dresses, like a princess complex incarnate.
I got she was a White Knight, but why was she here?
"Hehe. How'd I know? Got a tip, of course. Looks like you slacked on managing your underlings?"
"What're you talking about?"
"Using Mid hero Spica to stir more chaos. Leaking other alliance factions' info to force them in. Heard it all."
"Goddamn..."
"Honestly, no solid proof the intel was real, so I wasn't expecting much. But jackpot. And I run into the hot-topic Joker too."
What the hell was this? From her words, one of the boss's underlings had betrayed them, spilling the whole plan to the Association. Even without me, their fate was sealed. I just got tangled in it. What rotten luck.