Kobayashi's twin swords materialized in his hands with a sharp SHIIIING, radiant energy forming their edges. He flicked a glance at Pathro just a fraction of a second then his eyes snapped back toward the Zunan hovering ahead.
I need to eliminate it first, he thought coldly.
Before Pathro could even react, Kobayashi vanished.
"Wait!" Pathro shouted, but the word died uselessly in his throat. Sound couldn't catch up to someone already moving far beyond it.
Pathro pushed himself upright, teeth clenched.
"Does he seriously think he can take that thing on alone…?"
Kobayashi reappeared in front of the Zunan in a blur and swung both swords in a lethal cross-slash.
CLANG!!
The Zunan's arm morphed mid-motion, flesh rippling and hardening into a blade-like structure that met Kobayashi's strike head-on. The impact sent a violent shockwave through the ground KRRRRRACK cracks spiderwebbing outward as the earth groaned beneath them.
Kobayashi's eyes narrowed.
It can shapeshift.
The Zunan didn't stop there. Its other arm twisted unnaturally, bone and muscle rearranging with a wet KRSHK, forming a second blade. Kobayashi hopped back lightly, boots skidding against fractured stone.
"A blade fight, huh," he muttered.
They lunged at each other simultaneously.
CLANG-CLASH-SKREEECH!!
Sparks of energy burst with every collision. Their blades collided again and again in rapid succession, shockwaves pounding the terrain, stone pillars shattering and collapsing around them.
Kobayashi ducked under a wide slash, narrowly avoiding having his head cleaved off.
Tsk…
This thing has zero swordsmanship. No form, no discipline
He twisted aside as another slash barely missed his ribs.
but it's faster and stronger than me. It's brute-forcing its way through the skill gap.
The exchange reached a breaking point.
The Zunan raised its blade high and brought it down in a crushing overhead strike. Kobayashi crossed his swords in an X above his head
BOOOOM!!
The impact drove him knee-deep into the ground, rock exploding outward. His arms trembled under the pressure, teeth grinding.
Then
The Zunan's free hand warped again, swelling and reshaping into a massive spiked ball.
Kobayashi's eyes widened. He couldn't move.
"…Screw it."
He detonated his swords.
KABRAAAM !!
The explosion blasted both of them apart in opposite directions.
Unlike Pathro whose explosions automatically formed a protective barrier Kobayashi wasn't immune to his own detonations. His body was flung through the air, tumbling violently. He slammed into the ground, skidding across shattered terrain as debris rained down.
Scratches lined his face. His combat suit hissed and sparked, fabric torn in several places.
Nothing lethal.
He pushed himself up just in time to see the Zunan completely unharmed already flying back toward him, its spiked arm cocked back to strike.
Before it could connect
THUD!!
Pathro crashed into the Zunan from the side with a brutal kick, sending it rolling across the ground. It skidded only a few meters before flipping upright, claws digging into the soil.
"What the hell are you doing?" Pathro snapped.
"You can't beat that thing alone. We have to work together."
The Zunan straightened, its arms reverting to a neutral form, eyes burning as it stared at Pathro.
"Just this once," Pathro added, breath heavy.
"It's the only way we stand a chance."
Kobayashi hesitated just a moment.
"…Fine," he said finally.
"I'll cooperate. For now."
His swords dissolved, replaced by two massive double-edged axes, their heads humming with condensed energy.
Pathro noticed immediately.
So he can form any weapon… and choose whether or not it explodes.
That's absurdly versatile. Way more flexible than my fists.
No time to dwell on it.
Pathro's hands ignited red once more.
I'd normally stack explosions until I overwhelm its durability, he thought grimly.
But if it kills us before that… it's wasted energy.
I'll chip it down instead. Guaranteed damage.
The Zunan's mouth opened.
Pathro's instincts screamed.
"RUN!"
Blue flames spiraled inside the Zunan's jaws, the ground beneath them VROOOOMING as it vibrated violently.
Then
KABOOOOOOOOOM—!!
A colossal beam erupted forth.
The beam erased everything in its path, carving through the planet's surface like a god's blade entire regions vaporized in an instant. Nearly ten percent of the planet's crust was gone, molten rock spraying outward into space.
The beam punched off-world, obliterating four moons caught in its trajectory before disappearing into the void.
The battlefield was engulfed in smoke and fire.
Then
WHOOSH!!
Pathro burst out of the smoke, leg extended, aiming straight for the Zunan's head.
The Zunan dodged and caught him.
It grabbed Pathro mid-air, slamming him downward, but Pathro twisted, locking his other leg around its neck, arms wrapping around its head as he tried to twist and snap it.
"GO DOWN!!"
The Zunan didn't budge.
Instead SHRRK!! spikes erupted from its head and shoulders, piercing into Pathro's arms and leg.
"GHH!"
So it can reshape any part of its body…
That's insane.
Before it could finish him
WHAM!!
Kobayashi smashed his axe into the Zunan's abdomen. The impact sent it flying, scales shattering at the point of contact like broken ceramic.
Kobayashi didn't stop.
The axes vanished replaced by a spear.
He hurled it and grabbed Pathro at the same time, yanking him away.
The spear struck the Zunan's forehead
BOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion followed.
Still not enough.
"Throw me," Pathro said quickly as the smoke cleared.
"And get as far away as possible."
Kobayashi spun him and launched him forward. Pathro accelerated further under his own power, bursting through the smoke.
The Zunan emerged
Pathro punched it square in the chest.
His barrier activated.
KRRRRRAAAABOOOOOM–!!
The explosion dwarfed Kobayashi's an apocalyptic blast that annihilated everything within twenty thousand kilometers. The ground collapsed inward, magma flooding upward as if a miniature supernova had detonated.
The planet screamed.
When the dust settled, the crater glowed red-hot.
Pathro knelt on one knee, breathing hard.
"…Did that do it?"
The smoke parted.
The Zunan stood.
Burned. Scratched. A cracked wound in its chest.
Still standing.
Dread crawled up Pathro's spine.
How durable is this thing…?
The Zunan seized him by the face, lifting him effortlessly, its other arm morphing into a blade aimed straight at his chest.
Pathro grabbed the blade with both hands, blood spilling as it cut into his palms.
They struggled. The Zunan screamed in rage.
Then
CRACK!!
A knee slammed into Pathro's stomach, launching him skyward. The Zunan began charging another beam
But Kobayashi swooped in, catching Pathro mid-air.
The beam fired anyway.
Three more moons vanished.
Kobayashi landed hard, setting Pathro down.
"…Damn," he muttered.
"Looks like this'll take a while."
He glanced back at the Zunan.
"At least it doesn't regenerate. That would've been way worse."
Pathro exhaled shakily.
"…Thanks for the save."
Kobayashi didn't even look at Pathro when he answered. His eyes were still locked forward, pupils tight, jaw set.
"Save your thanks," he said flatly, rolling his shoulders as residual dust slid off his armor, tsshh, "until we make it out of here alive and after we put that thing down. I've never heard of that species of Zunan."
Pathro wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, breathing slow, forcing his pulse down. His eyes narrowed as he replayed the fight in his head.
"…You're right," he muttered. "It doesn't match any known classification."
He paused, brows knitting together. "Then it has to be a variant. Rare, but not unheard of. We studied them back at the academy mutated or evolved strains that break the standard rules."
A bitter chuckle slipped out of him. "Still… running into one on our first day? That's messed up."
He straightened, expression sharpening with resolve, then looked directly at Kobayashi.
"Sorry if this sounds like I'm ordering you around," Pathro said, voice steady but urgent, "but we need to stay on it. Constant pressure. Every time I use a big explosion, it buys that thing breathing room and splits us into one-on-one fights."
Kobayashi clicked his tongue softly. "Yeah, but that's not a rule. It'll fire that beam whenever it wants."
"True," Pathro replied immediately. "But at least then the separation comes from it, not us. When I detonate, you're forced out of the blast radius. That leaves me alone against it while it tanks the hit. By the time you get back, it's already recovered."
He clenched his fists. "So let's stop giving it that opening. Physical assault only. Beat it down, stack damage, break it apart. Then then we finish it with explosions."
For a moment, Kobayashi said nothing.
Then, with a low hum, vvvrrmmm, energy surged around his hands. Two massive hammers formed dense, glowing constructs etched with faint lines of crackling light.
"Well," he said, lips curling slightly, "good thing I decide whether my weapons explode or not."
Both of them shifted into their stances. Pathro's hands stayed normal this time no red glow, no heat distortion. Just muscle, breath, and intent.
Across the shattered terrain, the Zunan let out a low, grinding growl. Its arms warped and elongated, bones twisting with a wet crrk-krkk, reshaping into massive axe-like blades.
Then it charged.
The ground screamed beneath its feet BOOM BOOM BOOM each step carving trenches into the rock. It swung both axes down in a brutal cross.
Kobayashi and Pathro split apart instantly.
The cliff they had been standing on wasn't so lucky.
KRRAAASH.
The entire ledge collapsed, pulverized into dust and tumbling debris, vanishing into the abyss below.
They landed hard but clean, boots skidding, and immediately launched forward.
Pathro closed the distance first.
The Zunan slashed at him Pathro jumped lightly, just enough. The axe-hand buried itself into the ground with a thunderous THOOM, cracking the earth outward in jagged lines.
Pathro landed on the embedded blade, twisted his body midair, and snapped a spinning kick straight into the Zunan's face.
CRACK.
Its head snapped sideways.
But the counter came instantly.
Its free arm twisted, spiraling into a drill WHRRRR aimed straight for Pathro's chest.
"Kobayashi !"
Before the drill could strike, one of the glowing hammers smashed into the Zunan's abdomen.
BOOOOM.
The impact dragged the creature across the ground, carving a trench as sparks and stone exploded outward.
"Pathro, heads up!" Kobayashi shouted.
He hurled the second hammer.
Pathro caught it midair, muscles tensing, and leapt bringing it down from above with everything he had.
The Zunan reacted just in time, its arm flattening into a shield.
CLAAAANG.
The collision detonated a violent shockwave. Wind howled. Rocks lifted and shattered. The ground spiderwebbed beneath them.
But Kobayashi was already moving.
In the same heartbeat, his remaining hammer elongated, reshaping shffk into a sword. He drove it forward, piercing into the Zunan's abdomen.
It screamed raw and furious.
It grabbed the blade and crushed it CRRRSH shattering the weapon into glowing fragments.
Kobayashi jumped back, unfazed. The sword dissolved anyway it was never more than energy.
Pathro struck from behind as Kobayashi attacked from the front. The hammer in Pathro's hand vanished as Kobayashi recreated two swords.
Pathro noticed instantly.
"…So that's it," he thought. "Two weapons max. When he makes a third, one disappears. Guess I'm bare-handed now."
The Zunan clashed with Kobayashi, axe-hands grinding against swords CLANG—CLANG while Pathro rushed in from behind.
He threw a punch.
The Zunan's tail snapped up, blocking it.
Pathro clicked his tongue. "You've gotta be kidding me."
The tail whipped and struck back. Pathro caught it. Metal-hard scales pressed against his palms.
Clash. Impact. Pressure.
"…That tail," Pathro thought grimly. "It's way too controlled."
He changed tactics wrapped both arms around it and pulled.
The Zunan reacted instantly. Spikes erupted from the tail SHKKK piercing into Pathro's hands.
Blood sprayed.
"Ghh!"
But he didn't let go.
With a roar, he lifted and slammed the Zunan into the ground.
BOOOOM.
The planet shook.
Kobayashi seized the opening. He leapt high, swords morphing into axes midair, and brought them down into the Zunan's chest.
SHLAAASH.
The blades bit in. Blood sprayed. Scales shattered.
"If we keep this up…" Kobayashi thought, eyes sharp, "…we can kill it."
The Zunan shrieked and retaliated.
A long spike shot from its abdomenTHRRST aimed straight at Kobayashi's face.
He twisted away, but not fast enough.
The spike pierced his right arm.
"Tsk," he hissed. "This shape-shifting is really getting really annoying."
The Zunan flared with rage.
Energy surged outward WHOOM a repelling wave blasting both fighters away.
Pathro skidded back, boots tearing through rock. "Crap," he thought. "It's pissed."
The Zunan charged him head-on.
Pathro braced
but the chain snapped out first.
CLINK—WHRRR!
Kobayashi had already formed a long energy chain, wrapping it around the Zunan and yanking it short just meters from Pathro.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kobayashi growled.
Pathro didn't hesitate.
He launched a barrage of punches into its abdomen THUD THUD THUD each strike driving deeper damage. Blood poured freely now, internal tissue visibly exposed.
Still standing.
Still fighting.
The Zunan morphed its arms into blades and slashed at the chain.
Pathro grabbed both blade-arms.
They locked.
Muscles screamed.
"…It's stronger," Pathro realized, teeth grinding. "Way stronger."
He released and dashed back just as the blades sliced into the ground.
Kobayashi tried to swing the Zunan using the chain but it resisted, then severed it cleanly.
The Zunan inhaled deeply.
Blue fire gathered in its mouth.
Pathro's eyes widened. "Kobayashi he won't clear the range in time!"
Pathro dashed forward and kicked the Zunan's head sideways.
The beam erupted.
KRRRRRAAAAAA
The blast tore through the planet, annihilating another massive chunk before ripping into the moon field beyond.
Ten moons vanished incinerated into glowing debris.
The battlefield fell silent again.
For a breath.
For a heartbeat.
Then the battle resumed.