No Means No

"Huh?!" the demon exclaimed, eyes going wide with shock. "Wh-what did you—"

"I said NO!" Hina cut in.

"Arrgh, what a hassle," the demon sighed, gaze rising to the ceiling. "If you won’t accept my deal..."

It lowered a piercing gaze onto the trio and raised its arm toward them.

"Hmm," Code’s eyes narrowed while Ryūma tensed.

"Then die!"

KLARK!

The cannon barrel cranked.

Then it fired straight at Hina.

Her eyes went wide. "Get down!" she screamed.

"Huh?!" Code and Ryūma exclaimed, lunging to jump away.

However—

The demon’s lips curled into a grin. "Too late," it said.

Krsssh... thwooomph!!

A cannon shell shot out of the barrel, churning the air as it sped toward the trio.

BOOM!!

It connected in a catastrophic impact, sending explosive tremors through the air.

"Hahaha!" The demon chuckled, grin widening through the haze. "No way they could’ve survived that," it muttered, walking away while dragging Finn along.

"No, save me!!" Finn shouted, struggling to free himself, but it was all to no avail.

"Oi, there’s no point struggling," the demon said, its footsteps echoing.

'Shit, don’t tell me they’re dead,' Finn thought, heart thudding as a drop of sweat slid down his cheek. 'Hina. Ryūma. Code. There’s no way they’d die this easily.'

SHIIIINNN!

A metallic sound sliced into Finn's thoughts, jolting him back to reality.

'Is that—' His eyes widened as he locked onto the glistening steel in the cloud.

"Uhn?" The demon stopped walking when it noticed Finn’s movement. "Whatcha looking at?" it asked, turning back.

That was when it finally saw—

Crackle. Crackle.

Sparks ignited in the cloud, followed by the shout:

"Crimson... Burst!!"

The dust cleared out, revealing Ryūma, as he unleashed a gust of fire from his palms.

SWOOOM!!

The flames burst out, propelling him forward at blistering speed.

"Huh?!" the demon exclaimed.

FWAAM!

A ripple tore through the air. Code was already in stance, left foot drawn backward, body bent forward.

"Muscle Enhancement..." he whispered as veins and arteries hardened, muscles tensed.

"...Acceleration!!"

FLAAASH!!

Code became a blur of motion, blitzing forward at impossible velocity.

"Neh?!" The demon’s eyes went wide with terror as Code and Ryūma closed in.

"You fucking bastards are such a hassle!!" it roared, aiming the barrels at them.

But came the cold whisper:

"No, you don’t!"

Ryūma was already in front of it.

"Wha? When did—" the demon started, but Code cut in.

"Pulverize!!" he cried, delivering a catastrophic punch to the demon’s torso.

"Oomph!!" The demon’s eyes bulged, saliva splurting from its mouth as the impact sent it ramming into a wall, cratering it.

"Arrgh. Arrgh," Code exhaled heavily, gaze shifting from the demon to Ryūma beside Finn.

"We did it," Ryūma said, grinning amidst heavy breaths.

"Y-you guys," Finn muttered, tears glistening at the corners of his eyes. "I thought you’d abandon me and run away," he wailed.

"What are you talking about?" Ryūma cut in. "There’s no way we’d leave a member of the team behind."

He turned to Code. "Right?"

"Yeah," Code nodded with a genuine smile.

"Y-you guys..." Finn whispered, eyes glistening. "At least I know I’ve got good friends now."

"Yeah, but it’s true that you’re useless in battle, though," Ryūma chimed in flatly.

"Eh?!" Finn blurted in shock.

"Man, you didn’t have to add that," Code said, facepalming.

"Y-you, how could you?!" Finn wailed, pointing a finger at Ryūma.

"Yeah, yeah, it’s not like I’m lying," Ryūma said, waving it off.

"Anyway, where’s Hina?" Code asked, changing the topic. "If not for her, things might've gotten ugly there," he muttered, recalling the moment.

...

Right before the cannon connected with them...

Hina had leapt backward, gripping her sword and raising it in defence.

CLAANG!!

Sparks flared out as metal collided with metal.

"Hnngh!" Hina grunted through clenched teeth, against the shell.

"Ahh!" She let out a battle cry, tilting the projectile away before it detonated.

...

"Yeah, she saved our asses there," Ryūma said grimly.

"Huh? Are you guys praising me now?" Hina’s voice boomed as she stepped into view.

"Huh?" Everyone turned to her.

Her face was smeared with blood, arms bleeding profusely.

"Hina," Code whispered.

"H-Hina, are you okay?" Finn exclaimed, running to her.

"Barely, but I’m alive," Hina reassured. "I’ve had worse. What’s important right now is killing the demon," she said.

"Uh? What demon?" Code asked, confused, as he turned back. "Didn’t I already—" He paused mid-sentence, mouth opening wide.

"What the—" Ryūma muttered, eyes widening. "No way that’s the same demon."

"Hahaha," a low metallic chuckle seeped into the air as the demon stepped forward, each footfall cratering the floor.

It now stood over two metres tall, with six additional arm cannon barrels protruding from its body, totalling eight cannon barrels.

"You’ve pushed me to revealing my true strength," the demon said, voice echoing ominously.

"Bruhh, this guy’s giving me crazy vibes," Ryūma cut in. "I wanna kill it so bad." His grin widened.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, man," Code replied, also smirking.

"This just got more interesting," Hina added, her smile darkening. "Oi, Finn, try to stay out of the way this time."

"O-oh, yeah," Finn replied, stepping backward.

'What?!' the demon exclaimed internally, shocked by the trio’s responses and the expressions on their faces. 'You mean after showing my true form, they aren’t even batting an eye?'

"Wonderful!" the demon said, gaze rising to the trio. "I’ve never met humans so resilient."

"Thanks for the compliment," Hina replied. "But that doesn't mean we'll spare your damn life."

The demon’s lips parted, and it spoke again:

"I'll enjoy killing you!"

THWOOOMPH!

The air split into ripples, a destructive shockwave emanating as cannons fired, shells speeding through the air toward the trio.

"Here it comes... Sword Art..." Hina whispered, unsheathing her sword and falling into stance.

"Fire Sorcery..." Ryūma said, condensing flames around his fists.

"Enhancement..." Code muttered, muscles tensing and veins hardening.

SWOOOM!!

The cannons reached them in less than a second.

"Void Crescent!!" Hina yelled, unleashing a wave of dark energy, cleaving a shell in two.

"Fire Clap!!" Ryūma jammed his arms together, a destructive wave of flames boomed out, engulfing the shells.

"Scatter!!" Code punched through his, the shell folding inward from the impact.

BOOOOOOM!!

The cannons exploded, sending flames and shockwaves ripping through the soil.

"Let’s go!!" Hina boomed, charging out of the fire, sword cleaving the air apart.

"Yeah!" Code and Ryūma replied, dashing behind.

"Nice one surviving that..." the demon said, twisting backward.

"But you won’t survive the next," it roared, exploding forward.

Before the sound could even finish—

FWOOM!!

It was already in front of Hina, hands on the ground, legs spinning in the air.

"Twisting Tornado!" it shouted, rolling rapidly as its leg blades scythed toward Hina’s neck.

SWIIRRL!!

"Suu... arrgh..." Hina exhaled deeply, gripping her sword tighter. "Sword Art: Air Splitter!"

Dark energy spiralled around her blade as she swung, unleashing a horizontal vacuum slash.

CLAAANNG!

Both strikes clashed, as the walls and floor shattered from the reaction.

"Oomph!" The demon backflipped, but just as it was about to land on its feet—

"Fire Sorcery..." the whisper came.

"Huh?" It's eyes rolled leftward, locking onto the rows of glistening fireballs in the air.

"Fireball Barrage!!" Ryūma announced, firing a spray of orbs forward.

RATATATATA!!

The fireballs obliterated the floor and walls, riddling holes through the demon’s arms.

"Tch," the demon hissed, jaw clenching as it spun, aiming a barrel point-blank at Ryūma's face.

"What’s next?" it whispered. "My turn!"

"Shit," Ryūma muttered, staring at the barrel.

FLAAASH!!

"Accelerate!"

The demon’s gaze shifted to the voice emanating from the rippling air.

"Die!!" Code shouted as he descended, hauling a punch toward the demon’s face from above.

However...

The demon instinctively shifted a split second before Code landed.

BAASSH!!

The ground exploded with a loud cataclysm as Code’s blow struck it.

"Shit," Code muttered, looking up at the demon. "It dodged it at the last minute."

"Pulverize!" he launched upward with an uppercut.

But—

"Pointless," the demon whispered, landing on its arms.

SHIUUUUN!!

Its legs flashed, slicing across Code's waist.

SHRREEDD!!

Code’s right leg ripped off.

"Wha?" His eyes went wide.

"Huh?" Ryūma's mouth fell open as he landed.

"Code," Hina whispered in horror, staring at the twitching limb on the floor.

"Hahaha, looks like the tables have finally turned," the demon chuckled.