Yui Senryu was speechless, not simply because he lacked the strength to speak, but because the sight before him had stolen his breath.
That strike hadn't even been directed at him. He'd only caught it from afar, seen it from behind. And yet, it still sent a chill down his spine.
It felt like he'd just glimpsed his own death.
The monstrous Hollow had already branded itself into his memory. Its oppressive aura, that suffocating sense of menace, it was enough to shake the foundations of a person's entire life.
And yet, what lingered most in Yui's mind wasn't fear. It was disbelief.
It survived that? Just how durable is that thing...?
Seff Yoshiro had wielded nothing more than a standard katana. No enchantments, no enhancements. And still, with one arm and a single swing, he had flung that massive creature like it weighed nothing.
Yui couldn't even begin to fathom the level of strength it took to accomplish something like that.
But the battle wasn't over.
This time, it was Seff who advanced.
He moved at an unhurried pace, calm, steady, but by the time Yui realized it, Seff was already there, standing before the Hollow again. His posture was relaxed, yet it exuded a quiet, suffocating pressure.
Looking down at the beast, he spoke.
"What's wrong? Not coming anymore?"
The sword in Seff's hand no longer rested in that iconic reverse-grip stance with the tip pointed upward. Now, it simply hung casually at his side, almost like an afterthought.
Even his stance conveyed disdain.
"You… what the hell are you?!"
The Hollow's shriek was a blend of panic and confusion, rising in pitch as it scrambled to its feet. The once-pristine white armor-like body was now stained with streaks of red.
From its chest to its side, a deep gash bled freely. Bright crimson spilled from the wound, running down its pale form and pooling on the forest floor.
Seff regarded the wounded creature with a raised brow. He didn't answer.
Instead, he muttered in a dispassionate tone, as if simply voicing an idle thought:
"So even something like you bleeds red, huh?"
"Do- don't screw with me!!"
The Hollow roared furiously.
Its massive claw-like hand twisted grotesquely, its five long fingers melting and merging into one spear-shaped spike. The transformation was unsettling, but the result was clear: a weapon built not for slashing, but for killing in one decisive thrust.
The creature launched forward, faster than before, filled with desperate rage.
From where Yui lay, all he saw was a sharp flash of white light.
But strangely, he wasn't afraid.
Somehow, deep down, he knew Seff would be fine. As if something inside him had already accepted that this monster couldn't touch that man.
And he was right.
"Too slow."
Seff's voice was quiet, tinged with disappointment.
Though the Hollow had acted first, Seff's katana was already in motion, his left arm swinging out in a fluid arc, effortlessly faster than the beast's charge.
The Hollow's eyes widened.
Something spun past its face, scattering droplets of blood through the air. They glimmered like crimson beads before falling to the earth.
A moment later, its severed arm landed on the ground with a muted thud.
Even then, it hadn't realized what had happened.
The strike had been so clean, so fast, that the Hollow hadn't felt a thing. It was only several seconds later that the pain caught up.
Its scream pierced the trees.
It raised its mutilated limb. Where the short spear had once extended, there was now only a neatly sliced stump, bleeding profusely in a steady stream.
Seff frowned slightly.
"That's it? You're that big, and this is all you've got?"
He hadn't moved at all.
Yet to the Hollow, it felt as if Seff had taken a step forward.
Its instincts kicked in before its mind could catch up, and the enormous body stumbled back a pace, trembling.
This thing… I can't beat him.
The thought bloomed in its mind, and like poison, it spread. Doubt. Fear.
The Hollow knew it then.
If it stayed, it would die.
All the arrogance it had displayed moments ago shattered into pure panic. Whatever terror it had inspired in others now consumed it whole.
It wasn't a predator anymore.
It was prey.
Its throat let out a strangled groan, and without hesitation, it turned and ran.
Abandoning its severed arm, it pushed every fiber of its strength into fleeing, into surviving. It ran faster than it ever had before.
Honor meant nothing.
All it wanted now was to live.
Seff watched, expression unreadable.
"Pathetic."
He let out a faint sigh and raised his blade.
A single slash sliced through the air, clean, effortless.
It caught the Hollow across the back, opening another wound. But the creature didn't even flinch. It only screamed louder and ran faster, as if pain had become the fuel for its escape.
But that wasn't enough.
It never was.
In a blink, Seff vanished.
Three or four afterimages trailed behind him like echoes, rippling in the air. He reappeared behind the Hollow, without a sound, without warning.
His katana flashed upward in a sharp arc.
The blade caught the Hollow from below and launched its enormous body skyward. It soared, spinning uncontrollably through the forest canopy.
Its face was a mask of horror.
But Seff no longer paid it any attention.
He turned away and began walking toward Yui.
Behind him, the air around the Hollow began to warp.
Black slivers of nothingness tore through space in four directions, front, back, left, right, needle-thin lines that split open like ruptures in reality.
Within seconds, they expanded into four churning black spheres.
Just as the Hollow reached the peak of its ascent, before it could even fall, the spheres closed in.
They collided in an instant.
And then,
A massive explosion erupted in the sky behind Seff.
Black light roared upward, swallowing the sky.
The Hollow was no more.
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
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• TL/N •
Hello guys Fanfic recommendation!
Check out my other work:
> Naruto: Mind Control
If you like smart and strong MC, this fanfic is for you.
It's Peak.
Give it a chance and you won't be disappointed