The man whom I swore I would defeat, Shen. He was the one who calmly walked down that doorway.
There was a silkiness to his movements, a subtle grace that made the pistons within me hiss. It was terrible, glorious the way he took a step, as if the earth was sliding backwards, pulled towards him. Yet, it was silent, softer than a falling leaf. This was the walk of the mighty.
He wore a simple black compression shirt that hugged his form. The muscle beneath wasn't swollen like William's. In fact, he was almost lithe. But, it wasn't normal. It spiraled into itself, it flowed with his arms as he walked, drawing the golden ratio as it extended into his shoulders and chest. Each fiber coiled, ready, and utterly at ease.
He reached into his pockets and pulled out an elastic band. His hands reached back and tied his hair into a long ponytail. He tightened the black belt that hung loosely from some dirty karate pants. All the gear was looted from a sportswear shop. The black belt was the worst offender, it was plastic, closer to a shoestring than anything official.
But, I had already known he was far from a fraud.
For a moment, I had forgotten about William. The beast simply stared, teeth grinding as a white fury began to build. I thought of striking William now, I was still recovering, but he wasn't looking. It seemed inappropriate.
I wasn't angry, no. I thought I would be vengeful. I heard many soldiers swear vengeance upon seeing their comrades ripped to pieces. But, I simply couldn't. If anything, I was… disappointed, I had failed.
William had spoken to me back in the church. He didn't want to be here, maybe he enjoyed killing. But, he never killed for enjoyment. We were the ones who struck first.
I looked over to where Steven had been. He was gone, so was the revolver. He probably crawled away, likely thinking of another sneak attack. At least he is still alive.
Shen stopped, those sharp eyes lit up at the sight of the carnage. He reached into his pocket, retrieving his flask before inverting it. "Oi, I asked if you got any?"
"You." William growled, his fists snapped shut, dust and sweat atomized around them. "I understand what you are."
Shen smirked, then pointed his finger while flaring his hips like some sort of drag queen, intentionally inserting zest into his actions. "I get you too. You care so much about manners because you think it will help you get some bitches." He clapped his hands then giggled. "Have you ever looked in a mirror? You look like you come straight from the streets of Yharnam. You ain't ever getting laid, fool."
William closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Everything you do is to amuse yourself. You don't have any goals, do you? Everything you say is designed to be as intentionally obnoxious as you can make it. You treat others like toys, it's pathetic."
Shen put both hands into his pockets then stumbled into the center of the courtyard. He whistled as he did so. Then, he pirouetted abruptly and then pointed to the sky. "Bingo."
"You killed all these men, your allies, my allies. So many dead, for what? A joke?" William's breath quickened, he looked down at the blood covering him. He shook, the dense fur bristling and standing on end. He shook his head again, tears thrown aside.
"I didn't kill anyone, those guys attacked me so it doesn't count." He pointed back to the buildings, referring to the beasts he had fought out of view. "I just lied a little and then you did what you did." He frowned. "I ain't the one covered in blood."
"We both know it's not like that." William whispered. He seemed certain now. I briefly thought of stopping him. But, I couldn't. This needed to happen. "Yet, I can't let you say that. I can't allow it. The situation was unclear. Justice was served to the best of our abilities. We were wrong about who to blame for this. I regret this, regret all this killing. But, I will never regret killing you."
Shen looked down, flicking his hair back before smiling wolfishly. "Good boy—"
William's teeth snapped. The space between them was gone. William's feet dug into the earth, his hips twisted, the force coursed through his joints, rolled through his shoulder, then descended down his fist.
The blow struck the floor, cracks spiderwebbed across the courtyard. Shen had leaned back just enough so the blow would almost kiss him, just enough to boop William on the nose and step aside.
William ignored the insult. He would make him pay anyway. His other fist began to move, a lurching left hook. Then, my cameras caught it. I saw Shen's hand flicker then brush against his foe's chin. It was a blow so fast it was almost invisible.
William stopped dead in his tracks. He face-planted, balance lost, his brain rattled. He wasn't out, not by a long shot. But he had been jarred. The blow had struck the farthest tip of his chin, his head hadn't moved. But the vibrations surged through his skull.
William lay flat for a moment, then he pounced. Shen's hair blew backwards, his foe broke the air, shooting past him, a dark blur of fur and claws, bouncing across the yard. William was on one of the lateral buildings, by the fountain, behind Shen, his fist striking out like lightning.
Shen didn't even flinch. He simply turned, pirouetting like a ballerina. His hair slapped against his foe's eyes as he ghosted past the blow. Shen pressed his back against William's chest, stopping just long enough to allow the insult to register. Then he grabbed his foe's arm and launched him like a judoka.
William hit the floor, his back crushing the stone. Shen moved in, ready to kick his head like a soccer ball. But, William wasn't a one-dimensional brawler. He had tricks. I heard the sound of snapping. William appeared beside Shen once more.
William slashed, recurve claws severing the wind. Shen jumped back. But, he was bleeding now, a shallow cut across his cheek. Shen caught a drop of blood as it fell. He stared at it inscrutably, his grin falling. The look in his eyes shifted abruptly. What before was a playful malice was now a silent rage.
Shen's hand flashed like a blade, his fingers straight like the end of a spear. William stepped to the side, then backwards in an L shape. A tiny cut across his own cheek now. He pressed two fingers to the wound and gulped, steeling his resolve.
William's fist flashed, a lethal jab. Shen parried, his hand forming a C shape and striking the joint of his opponent's arm. At the same time, Shen struck out with his right, the back of his fist catching William and snapping the beast's head back.
William adjusted quickly and stepped to Shen's side. Shen started to turn, but William bit down and warped to his left. He threw three sharp blows, jab, cross, left hook. Shen responded appropriately, ducking and weaving, retaliating with a switch kick, shin slamming into William's ribs.
William's brow narrowed, he resisted gagging. Shen moved in, William tried to keep him at bay, stepping back and jabbing. Each time William struck out, Shen parried, ducked, or stepped through.
William threw a jab, like any other. But Shen struck simultaneously with a side kick. William, ready for the counter, bit down. Shen expected it, twisting and readjusting, leaning back to avoid William's latest haymaker.
William readied for a wide swing. Shen saw how his opponent's mouth opened. He caught where William was looking. The jaws snapped, the fist flew. But William hadn't displaced. He had fooled Shen the same way he had fooled me.
William's fist cleaved through Shen. The wind blew past them, the shockwave picking up a tidal wave of dust. William smiled triumphantly.
But Shen, he was whole. A bruise formed on his jaw, sure, but he shouldn't have a jaw. The blow should have pulverized him.
No, he went lax at the moment of impact. If you hold a piece of paper taut and strike it, you go right through. If it's falling, it would be hard to cut it even with a blade. Shen had become the falling sheet.
William, befuddled, didn't register the palm strike till it landed. His massive body was launched, it skidded across the floor, crashing into the building he had thrashed and collapsing it around him.
Dust rose, filling the air. Glass rained from broken windows as concrete crumbled.
William heaved, blood spilled from his mouth. His chest looked softer, bone and muscle all shredded. Yet, he had been a sinner. Pain wouldn't stop him. And so, he stood up, he inhaled, his chest swelled with air as his punctured lungs failed to hold it, he didn't care.
My display jarred, clusters of pixels that my lenses fed with information flickered out or filled with static. The world rumbled around him. William unleashed his sonic screech. The building fell, yet none of the masonry touched him. The sound had formed a bubble around him, vaporizing the cement and throwing aside the dust.
Shen covered his ears, then closed the distance in a single step. He struck faster than the vibrations could pull him apart. The air displaced by his step momentarily shielded him from the sound waves.
William's jaw, his teeth, they were pulverized, crumbled like the shell of an egg. Shen's shin slashed across his face, his foot drawing a crimson arc as he brought his leg back down.
William tried to nurse the bone back into place. But Shen was before him and he was pissed. "That fucking hurt." He barked, looking down at his wounded enemy.
William stood back up. Shen waited for him to regain his stance. Then, he struck. Struck with finality, with artistry.
It
Was
Sublime
Six straight punches struck William. They were simultaneous, not an instant of delay between them. My lenses saw them all at once, as if Shen's arms had multiplied. The sound coalesced into a single, massive BANG.
They were drill-like, spinning, rending. They reverberated through William. The force carried through to his back and rippled through his fur. His flesh imploded around the points of impact, branded with Shen's fists.
Fists that were now slick with blood.
William didn't buckle, didn't break. He roared, stance lost, claws swiping. Shen propelled himself forward. He parried the blow with his shoulder, letting the inside of William's elbow buckle against him.
Shen threw an uppercut. The fragments of William's jaw rattled like loose change in a burlap sack. His eyes glazed over, his strength fading. Yet, William refused to fall. He prepared to strike again. Shen read his intent, then stomped the inside of William's knee. The joint snapped decisively.
William didn't hesitate. His fist was underway, not halted by the loss of his leg. Shen tugged at the arm and displaced the joint.
William snarled, his broken jaw groaned as he forced it wide, ready to clamp down and tear Shen's head clean off.
Shen did not let go, he subtly twisted the arm and forced William to bear his weight on the damaged leg. He fell to one knee, jaw snapping shut and sparking, closing on nothing but air.
He did not let go. The man sharply pulled the arm into full extension before striking the elbow with the heel of his palm. William's bone snapped, it jutted out through his skin like a sharpened point.
But that was just an appetizer as the next strike cratered William's throat and swallowed his Adam's apple.
William coughed out a mixture of his pulped organs and shredded throat. His bloodshot eyes widened in terror. Shen pivoted out and dragged the arm that had already been broken out of its socket. Then, after grabbing the forearm like the handle of a lance, he pushed the sharp bone right through his foe's jaw and out his cheek.
William stood as if frozen in time. His shallow, agonized breaths were the only signs he was alive.
The man proceeded to unceremoniously push William over and turn to face me.
"You wanna go too?"