Chapter 32: Gun Against Hammer

Taking the lead, Umare guided Meisatsu and Ethan toward the outskirts of town where a wide-open space stretched before them

The first choice for a battleground, was the Melodious Scales Forest, but the idea was quickly dismissed because a monster could show up—that, and the damage left from previous battles. Specifically Umare's…

And the road in front of the Explorers Guild was certainly out of the question. It would be a battle that could get very, messy—definitely not the kind of fight suitable for a younger audience.

They continued their silent walk. Umare led at the front, and Saki sealed off at the rear, the two Heroes sandwiched between them.

Ever since the fight was announced, an evil grin had been flashing across Ethan's face—one that Meisatsu found very disturbing.

Does he want to kill me that badly?!!

It was decided earlier that Umare and Saki would be the only witnesses to the battle, leaving everyone else behind at the Guild.

Ayame paced in circles in front of the Guild, muttering to herself, “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. This can’t be…”

Gō, Lysa and Akane watched her drift off, their faces full of pity. The members of Umare’s party who had just arrived joined them.

“Is Meisatsu really going to fight?” Akito asked Gō, who he assumed must know Meisatsu personally. “To the death?!! I just heard!”

The silence that fell over everyone gathered was louder than any answer to Akito’s question.

Suddenly, Ayame crouched down, covering her ears, bawling her eyes out. 

Kurito landed a swift chop on Akito’s noggin, whispering, “Read the mood!”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Kiku snapped at him.

“Mm…” Shizuka muttered to himself. “He just can’t catch a break…”

Umare’s footsteps came to a stop—they had arrived at the place where the Heroes would fight... To the death.

Knowing it certainly wasn’t the time for questions, Meisatsu instead chose  to simply gaze at Saki. Something about her seemed...off

She caught his suspicious look. “Need something?”

He shook his head. “No, it’s nothing…”

“Scared?” Saki then smiled at him warmly. “I totes get it…but it’ll be fine.”

Her head turned to Ethan. “Same goes for you!”

Her tone remained neutral as she addressed them both.

“Please…can we get on with this…?” Clutching his hammer, Ethan leveled it at Meisatsu. “I can’t wait to crush…”

Though he muttered the rest, Meisatsu was sure he heard him say…

“This filthy human…”

Umare and Saki now stood several paces away, watching as the two Heroes faced each other off.

Inhale... Exhale…. Meisatsu repeated like a mantra in his mind, aware that this fight would be very different from any he had faced before.

He would be fighting a person who intended to kill.

Don’t get scared now! He stared into Ethan's apathetic eyes, which seemed to suck the very life out of him. Just relax…and think of way out!

Balling his hands into fists, Umare stared at the ground.

“They can start…” he mumbled, his voice heavy with bitterness. 

The rapier at her waist swayed as Saki cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Begin!”

At the sound of her voice, Ethan's leading foot lifted of the ground—about to stride forward. Seeing this, Meisatsu’s eyes snap shut—

He had entered the void.

“Scroll! Tell me! What should I do?!!” Meisatsu had no idea how to diffuse the situation. 

He wanted to ask why he had to fight to the death, but the mood from everyone made it clear—there would be no exceptions.

A long pause followed. No response. Then…

Scroll’s surface glowed brightly with a golden hue—

UNLOCKED: GUN TERROR

“Try, this…?” Scroll replied uncertainly. “You unlocked it when you scared off those Anti-Gun Front people. It might help.”

So that’s why they backed off… Meisatsu’s forehead wrinkled with displeasure. But wouldn’t that me sound like some sort of terrorist…?

“Focus you fool!” Scroll’s voice rang with urgency. “Do you want to die out there?!!”

“I’m too young to die!!!” Meisatsu briefly reflected, Though... I’ve already died once…

“Then hurry up and use it. It creates an aura that intimidates your opponent. His level’s still higher, but it’s worth a try!”

“A-alright!”

Before exiting the void, an idea bloomed in Meisatsu's mind. What if I just stay here...?!

It didn't take long to brush off the cowardly thought. Besides, time did not move while he was in this space, so nothing would be solved.

Meisatsu’s eyes snapped open, and as if picking up from where he had left off, Ethan was striding toward him—hammer raised, ready to swing.

He got assumed a defensive stance, racking his Glock’s slide.

“GUN TERROR!!!” Meisatsu shouted—

CLANK!

It only slowed Ethan for a mere second, before he got close enough to strike—Meisatsu blocked with his Glock.

Sparks danced as the two weapons collided.

“That scroll of yours won’t be saving you,” Ethan growled, feral and relentless. he kept pushing the attack. “I’ve heard of all your little tricks!”

He knows about Scroll? Who told him? Meisatsu thought, hopping back, examining his Glock. But... Why does it feel like I’m fighting a…

A swung hammer forced Meisatsu dodge, stepping back. He retaliated—

“GUN MARTIAL ARTS: Rapid Bullet Punches!!!”

TING! TING!! TING!!!

Every single one of Meisatsu’s blows were either blocked or parried by Ethan's hammer—with razor precision. 

His arms stung after his attack. 

I still have… Meisatsu screamed, “VELOCITY SHIFT!”

BOOM!

A sonic boom tore through the air, and Ethan skidded several feet across the dusty plain, coughing up a little blood.

A punch faster than he could perceive had landed squarely on his gut.

“Woah! He’s fast!” Saki commented, watching the fight. She seemed rather amused at the sight of two potential powerhouses going blow for blow.

Umare did not respond. He just watched quietly with gritted teeth.

Meisatsu panted heavily, his stamina waning. “Listen, I don’t want to kill—”

“My turn!!!”

Ethan closed the distance almost instantly with predatory strides that ate the ground. His hammer swung  in destructive arc to Meisatsu's left. “DIE!!!”

“VELOCITY SHIFT!!!” Another punch, faster than sound, was thrown—

CLANK!!!

“Hammer Down!” Ethan shouted, just seconds before Meisatsu made his move.

His hammer, instantaneously, changed its angle of attack, knocking Meisatsu’s supersonic punch with his Glock downwards—throwing him off balance.

“Sledge Hammer!!!”

Meisatsu's eyes widened as Ethan's hammer temporarily morphed into a fluid stated before hardening. Its head expanded to a massive rectangular block of grey metal—nearing his face.

THUD!

An upward swing—Meisatsu was now hurtling far into the distance. His cape billowed wildly as he arced across the sky, descending toward the ground.

“Kid!!!” Umare yelled, fearing the worst. That was a clean hit to Meisatsu’s head—strong enough to send him flying over twenty feet into the air.

A normal person wouldn't survive that.

After nearly a minute of spiraling high above the ground, Meisatsu crash landed into a rickety shack, made of wood, splitting it right down the middle.

His head throbbed with numbing pain. He held it, thinking, Normally my head would be crushed... Good thing I've got BULLETPROOF!

He sat up in the dim space, looking through the gaping crack he’d made in to the structure.

Wait a minute... His weapon changed forms? Why hasn’t mine done that before? Now that I think about it, I’m the Gun Hero! Shouldn’t I have more guns?!!

Meisatsu's pondering was cut short when he heard the clatter of pots and pans. He turned to his left, seeing a frightened couple, clutching their daughter.

As it turned out, that was their home. They didn’t appear awfully wealthy, rather, it seemed like they struggled to make ends meet.

“Mr. Hero, are you alright?” The father asked Meisatsu, slowly approaching him. He helped him up from the splintered wood and rubble.

To Meisatsu’s surprise, the man didn’t sound the least bit upset—his home was just destroyed. His wife and daughter quickly joined him wearing the same concerned expression.

“I’m fine, thank you. Sorry about the house…”

“Please, worry about yourself. That was quite the—”

The sound of a something heavily thudding the ground reached their ears. It was Ethan, grinning like a devil.

“Still alive, eh?!” he called out to Meisatsu with a sneer. “Guess I’ll have to crank it up!!!”

Light glinted off the sledge hammer’s head, almost as if calling Meisatsu’s to itself.

A strange marking was engraved along its side. Demonic—the word that came to mind. Two horns curled above a fanged face, formed from a maze of intersecting lines. 

Ethan spaced his feet, bending his knees slightly. Then—

He aimed the hammer's head at the shack. “Here I come!!!”

Is he planning to attack? Meisatsu yelled back, “There are people in here!!!”

Saki and Umare had caught up to them a while ago. They were both surprised at just how far Ethan had sent Meisatsu flying.

“Those people will get hurt! I have to step in.” Umare’s hand gripped his sword. He began to draw it.

“Nah, we can’t butt in. Rules are rules y’know?!” Saki informed him as her eyes followed the ongoing battle.

Umare stopped mid-pull, then slowly slid the blade back in it's sheath, heaving a depressed sigh.

“Sledge Hammer: Extend!”

The hammer's handle grew long in Ethan's grip, shooting forward like battering ram toward the shack.

As if the world suddenly crawled, Meisatsu shouted at the family near him. “Gooooooo!”

But the hammer continued its rapid advance regardless—they were still within the range of the attack...

In that instant, he did the only thing he could think of.

He held up his arms—

CRACK!

His Glock tumbled to the ground.

“AAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!” The scream tore from his throat as his right arm now dangled uselessly at his side.

Broken—bones crushed. “Hngh!!!”

He hunched over, clutching the shattered limb, shouting and reeling in pain.

“Hahahaha! The perfect look for you!” Ethan jeered as his hammer began to retract, returning to him. “Trash has to look the part, right?”

Umare turned away, unable to keep watching. Meisatsu’s broken state was too much for him to bear.

Saki just watched on as usual, not batting an eyelash.

✦✦✦

A black mist began swirl next to them, revealing someone as it faded away.

“So, the kid’s really fighting another Hero...?” It was Master Toshiko, stroking the light stubble on his chin. Under his amigasa, he muttered to himself, "The prophecy..."

“Wassup, former First?” Saki drawled, relaxed as ever. “The other kid says he’s the Hero too. So they’re gonna have to like, settle it themselves.”

Ethan continued his gloating, ranting to himself as Meisatsu stared blankly at his limp arm.

With a scowl, Ethan finally marched up to him, asking, “Ready to die, yet?”

Something deeply rooted bubbled to the surface within Meisatsu—

“Raaaaaaaah!” He grabbed his Glock with his left hand and swung it madly at Ethan.

“Have you lost it? That hit to the head must've have broken something!” Ethan laughed, avoiding Meisatsu’s wild uncoordinated swings.

Meisatsu pulled the trigger—

BANG! BANG!!

Ethan raised the large head of his sledge hammer up to his face—bullets bouncing off.

"RELOAD!!!"

Meisatsu’s eyes began to glow with a dull shade of crimson as he continued his relentless volley of shots.

“Time for the good part!!!” Ethan roared.

Avoiding the barrage of bullets, Ethan crouched, extending his sledgehammer—sweeping Meisatsu off his feet and slamming him onto his back.

Then he planted the handle firmly in the ground and extended his hammer once again, hoisting himself high into the sky, directly above Meisatsu—

“Sledge Hammer: Extend!”

The heavy block head shot downward, slamming into Meisatsu’s gut. “Ack!!!”

He gagged, coughing up a mix of spit, blood, and half-digested stomach contents.

The hammer retracted back to the sky, but before Meisatsu could catch his breath—

“Sledge Hammer: Extend!”

Ethan repeated this sequence over and over, riding the hammer like some sort of pogo stick as he trampled Meisatsu beneath it.

With each impact—each bone-crushing strike—the pain only grew shaper. BULLETPROOF was being overpowered, and his suit did little to bolster it.

He wanted to use VELOCITY SHIFT or MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER, but he’d already spent the rest of his magic power using the former…

His eyes flickered and his vision blurred as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Everything dulled around him, and he slowly faded into the darkness...

They’re going to take from you again… Do you want that?

Meisatsu’s thoughts echoed around him as he stood in the void…

This would be the second time your life is taken, right?

“Meisatsu… Listen to me…”

Scroll's voice was drowned out by the raging thoughts and emotions welling up inside him.

What do ‘you’ want?

“I just wanted to play with guns…” Meisatsu mumbled inaudibly. “That’s all I wanted…”

What will you do to the problem that stands in your way…

“I’ll…” Meisatsu fists relaxed, then tightened—

“SHOOT IT! I’LL SHOOT IT ALL!! ANYONE AND EVERYTHING IN MY WAY!!!”

That’s good…

“Meisatsu… Meisatsu!...” Scroll’s voice grew faint—

UNLOCKED: GUN FRENZY

The hammer buried itself once more into Meisatsu’s gut, but the eyes of everyone watching widened in shock…

“MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER…”

As Meisatsu spoke the words, his voice had changed—unhinged, frenzied, and terrifying. He clamped his available hand onto the hammer's handle, just above the head as it still pressed against his stomach.

His Glock stayed in the same hand, fingers manipulating to hold it in place.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” Meisatsu screamed, twisting his body, slammed the long handle that reached the sky downward to the earth.

Dust exploded outward, and the ground trembled from the force of impact.

From within the jagged crack, Ethan crawled out, his hammer’s handle having cleaved the earth it struck in two.

Dragging the back of his hand across a bloodied nose, he snarled, “So, you still have some fight left, huh?”

He quickly retracted his hammer back to its original length and shifted into a battle stance, preparing for Meisatsu's follow up attack.

Meisatsu didn't lunge forward... Meisatsu...

Laughed…

“Hahahahahhahaha!!!” He rose to his feet, wiping the blood that had settled on his chin with his Glock, smearing it all over his face.

Then, twirling his Glock nimbly in his left hand as the right one dangled lifelessly at his side, he jeered, “I’m gonna pump you full of lead!!! …Wait are these even made of lead?—Who cares!!!”

Meisatsu’s red eyes narrowed to slits as he inspected his Glock. Once satisfied he snapped back to Ethan and took aim. “No more Mr. Nice Hero.”

It that moment, it was clear to Meisatsu—the person standing front of him was less of a human…

And more of a monster…

A sudden gust blew between them, sending his cape billowing eerily to the west—a wind that marked the start of the second half of their bout.