Bull and Butcher
"Die."
A fist the size of a torso cleaved through the air.
Rohan's response to Hopfnagel's attack came instantly.
—Shring! He drew Radiance and brought it down like lightning.
The mana-wreathed fist clashed against the glowing-hot blade.
Claaang!
A metallic clang that was hard to believe came from striking a fist with a sword.
The bull beastkin who threw the punch held his ground firmly, but Rohan slid back on his feet, dragged across the floor.
In raw strength and total mana, Hopfnagel had the edge—honed over long years of training, bolstered by special tattoos enhancing his body.
It was a simple, direct demonstration of the fact.
Hopfnagel suppressed his earlier rage with the thrill of seizing the momentum, baring his massive fist as he poured out killing intent.
"Grovel and beg. I'll kill you in one clean strike, no pain. If you're gonna act all high and mighty, I'll chew you up nice and slow."
Bang! A defiant bullet shot from Rohan.
Hopfnagel took it bare-handed and glared at him.
"Ptoo!"
Rohan spat blood-mixed saliva from his mouth and curled his lips into a smirk.
His guts twisted from the internal damage of being pushed back in this deadly struggle. It had been a while.
Pain that would keep an ordinary person from standing straight—but Rohan stood tall as ever, casually speaking.
"A bull's gotta eat grass. What're you doing trying to chow down on meat?"
"…."
Taunt that the usual Hopfnagel would brush off without a second thought. Hell, it wasn't even worth calling a taunt.
But something was off.
Hopfnagel couldn't laugh it away. Every word grated on him excessively.
Was it some special emotion born from the urgency of being dropped into this dungeon?
No.
Different.
This was what he'd often felt back when he was a lowly grunt in the beastkin supremacist group Grisham.
'…Impatience?'
Hard to admit, but undeniable.
Shame boiled into fury that Hopfnagel could barely contain.
'Against a blood sack like that? Me, one of Avar Federation's strongest?'
Fueled by rage, he leaned his center of gravity forward. The horns on his head targeted Rohan.
A clear posture for charging.
"Look at that stance. A bull's a bull."
Rohan's remark was the signal.
The bull stomped the ground. A shockwave erupted from his Charge skill.
Kuuuung!!!
Hopfnagel hurtled forward at a speed belying his bulk.
He rammed Rohan, smashing through the temple entrance and vanishing outside.
With the two who had dominated the temple's air dragged out of the ring,
the onlookers, who had watched the brief exchange in tense silence, finally breathed free.
The beastkin pack raised their voices as if they'd never been cowed.
Among the girls on the opposite side, Lete's expression soured.
"…."
She kept glancing at the shattered entrance.
The beastkin right in front of her were tense enough in real combat, but she worried about Rohan flying off with that brutish bull beastkin.
Anyone could see that wasn't an opponent an academy cadet could handle.
As Lete fretted, Noah sneaked up with a grin and poked her cheek.
"Eek!?"
Satisfied with Lete's startled jump, Noah patted her back reassuringly.
"Ahaha! No need to worry about Rohan. Mana quantity doesn't decide victory."
"Yeah. Rohan's gonna win, so don't sweat it. If he comes back more hurt… I'll give him an earful."
Ichinose ended it there,
and strode toward the beastkin horde with their lecherous glints, drawing her pristine Yoru in perfect form.
…
…
A reckless charge that made even a dump truck look like a toy.
Rohan, countering the attack, now knew how a skipping stone felt being sacrificed.
He'd never wanted to know, but now he did.
Bouncing across the desert sands, he landed far from the temple.
Luckily, his timely deflection meant it was just the shockwave's doing.
No major damage—he sprang right up.
His twisted guts even felt better.
'More efficient than expected.'
Effect from his third Transcendence.
Excellent.
Successful parry or attack during evasion recovers a set amount of health. Cooldown: 30 seconds
No time to bask in the skill's afterglow.
Rohan gripped his dual pistols and sword tight, eyeing the approaching Hopfnagel.
This bull beastkin was, excluding out-of-spec freaks like Omega or Pandora,
definitely the toughest and tankiest opponent Rohan had ever faced with killing intent.
'Perfect chance.'
He lit his blade with Scorching Blade to draw eyes,
and loaded Weakness Infliction into his bullets.
"Holding form after taking my charge… you're no ordinary greenhorn."
Hopfnagel's mutter reached him as he closed in.
Rohan focused on his foe.
'Won't try Charge twice. Cooldown?'
The instant the stalking bull entered range,
Rohan swung without hesitation.
Hopfnagel thrust his fist, revealing a unique mana flow.
"One Sword - Flame Cut"
"Shatter"
Rohan's blade was repelled.
Shock trembled through his sword hand.
'Deeper in.'
Yet he didn't pull back distance.
He pressed forward.
Hopfnagel's face twisted at the response unbelievable from a longsword user.
"Filthy worm!"
He retracted his fist to grab. Rohan dodged the sweeping hand, slamming his back to the sand and lying flat.
His legs hooked Hopfnagel's ankle. A brief lock was enough.
"Say cheese."
Click!Stigma's barrel aimed.
Flames burst, bullets flew.
Physical attribute weakness imparted to target.
"!"
A bizarre sensation crawled over his body. Hopfnagel's eyes flew wide.
At the same time, Rohan snapped his hips up from the ground, heel-kicking the bull's jaw.
"Kuh!"
Rohan marveled as his foe staggered back.
'Tough. Meant to snap his neck for instant kill.'
Hopfnagel withstood Rohan's full-force kick. Even with Weakness inflicted.
That quadruped beast neck must've been more than for show.
"…Whatever it is, you've got some shitty skill."
"Thanks for the compliment."
Hopfnagel rolled his still-shocked neck and advanced again.
His face soured at having retreated from the hit.
His pride cracked plain as day.
"…."
Melee range where blows could land.
Hopfnagel scowled at Rohan's excited expression.
"Madman. Having fun?"
"Eh, it's alright."
His genuine tone wiped the anger from Hopfnagel's face.
Beastkin instincts stirred. He read the situation coldly and sobered.
'Type you can't let live. Gotta bury him for sure.'
His underworld experience vouched for it.
Guys like this? Kill them when you're ahead. Give two chances, and the blade comes back for your heart.
"Huum!"
Hopfnagel raised his thick arms high and slammed the ground.
Sand flooded like a bomb blast, blinding the eyes.
His fist whipped toward where Rohan stood.
The blade countered precisely, as if anticipating.
'Hoo.'
But the result differed.
A gash on Hopfnagel's fist bled.
'Not deep.'
Thanks to thick mana wrap. Bare-handed, it'd be lopped off.
Bang!
A bullet pierced the sandy haze.
Hopfnagel dodged and charged the sound's direction.
"Two Sword - Dawn Falling Sun"
A wave of flames greeted the bull.
Hopfnagel didn't retreat.
"Bell Strike"
A shockwave from his fist-tip parted the flames, clearing a path.
Rohan was in sight.
But an intruder seeped into the battlefield.
A monster drawn by the vibrations and noise charged in.
Dune Sailfish. The spear-nose intervened.
—Tskrrrr!
Hopfnagel grabbed the incoming sailfish's nose.
—Tskrk?!
He swung the caught sailfish like a club.
Shiiing!
Rohan neatly sliced the weaponized sailfish.
Points rolled in with the chunks.
He averted his eyes from the alert window.
The closed distance forced exchanges.
The bull's fists poured down with nothing but murder in mind.
"Shatter"
Dodge into Flame Cut. Transcendence healed him repeatedly.
Hopfnagel's sturdy body split under the blade, spilling blood.
Weakness Infliction was landing solidly.
'Let's go.'
Rohan had always been confident in drawn-out slugfests like mud-wrestling.
With Weakness Infliction and Transcendence backing him, his heart already pounded.
"Huum!!!"
Hopfnagel exhaled deeply and charged horns-first.
Unfazed by blade cuts.
Rohan rolled low for the ankle.
The bull's foot stomped his face as predicted.
He evaded, unleashing bullets.
"Hoo!"
Relentless exchanges left no breather.
Rohan kept adding wounds to the bull,
while Hopfnagel madly poured attacks to kill him.
At first, Rohan had to take unavoidable hits, but now the bull was slowing.
The sand floor clumped and rolled, stained with spilled blood.
Stab!
Rohan drove his blade into the side,
countered by a rock-hard elbow, marveling. Without focused mana guard, his skull would've shattered.
'Guys like this exist, huh.'
Weakness Infliction worked fine. Damage was going in.
Yet Hopfnagel endured because his raw stamina was monstrous.
Whoosh!
The bull's uppercut.
Had to take it earlier, but now the speed was manageable.
Thud!
Rohan planted his foot on the rising fist and backflipped away.
Spinning midair.
"Hoo."
Landing with distance, he relaxed his tensed muscles.
Peak condition.
Instinct said now he could show a fine sword.
"…."
As Hopfnagel moved for cooldown-cleared Charge,
Rohan beat him by a half-beat, kicking off the sand and vanishing.
"Three Sword - Light Wing Piercer"
A swift heart-piercing thrust.
Hopfnagel reacted barely in time. But imperfectly.
Stab! The hot blade sank into the bull's thick shoulder.
Mana spun, dealing a second wound.
Splurt!
Flesh burst, fist-sized hole.
His oversized frame hid it well, but
his face crumpled.
"…Urgh!"
Pain not forgettable in excitement.
'Chance.'
For the finish, Rohan moved nimbly.
Pressed the advantage.
Front kick to the solar plexus,
Stigma under the jaw, emptying remaining bullets.
Bang!
"—!"
Blood sprayed; Hopfnagel reeled.
Pupils dilated.
Click!
Empty mag dropped; Radiance in both hands.
Swinging for the neck—but Hopfnagel instinctively blocked with forearm.
Rohan didn't stop.
Slash. Slash again.
Thrust. Thrust relentlessly.
Until body and breath gave out, he painted wounds across the giant frame.
A shower of slashes.
Hopfnagel's muscular arm guarding his head gave way.
—Shwick! Rohan cleanly severed the thick neck.
Thud.
The bull's head hit the sand. Decided.
Only then did Rohan exhale heavily.
"Haa…! Haa…!"
He collapsed to the ground.
No inch of him unscathed. Pain surged; he pulled a potion from the Shop and chugged it.
"Hoo!"
Forcing his heavy body up to rejoin the group.
The beastkin in the temple were screaming and wailing—time to help clean up.
Heading back, Rohan looked down at himself.
'…Ah, gonna get an earful when I get back?'
Something told him Ichinose would have words.
Rohan trudged toward the temple, one worry in mind.