Kaizen was dancing on the edge of a knife.
Clang.
[ Multiplier: 5x ]
He took a step back, his boots sliding in the muck. Sir Cassiel wasn't just fast; he was a whirlwind of sorrow and steel. Every swing was aimed to kill, but every swing was also… slightly off.
Kaizen saw it. His [ Intelligence: 12 ] was finally paying off.
This wasn't the "Prime" Sir Cassiel. This was the "Fallen" Cassiel. He was reliving the worst day of his life, which meant he was already injured.
He was dragging his left leg. There was a demonic claw wound in his side that was leaking black smoke. He was bleeding from a dozen cuts before the fight even started.
'He's hurt,' Kaizen realized, ducking under a horizontal slash that sheared the top off a stone pillar. 'He's strong, but he's broken.'
"Is that all?" Kaizen shouted, forcing a grin despite the terror gripping his heart. "You swing that sword like a broom! My grandmother hits harder!"
"DO NOT MOCK ME!"
Cassiel roared, lunging forward with a thrust that screamed through the air.
Kaizen didn't dodge. He caught the blade with the flat of the pan.
BONG.
The vibration rattled his teeth.
[ Multiplier: 6x ]
"I'm not mocking you!" Kaizen grunted, pushing back against the steel. "I'm critiquing you! Your form is sloppy! You're letting your emotions drive the car!"
"I WILL PURIFY YOU!"
Cassiel spun, delivering a flurry of strikes.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
[ 10x… 15x... 18x... 20x... ]
Kaizen's arms felt like jelly. His bones were screaming. He was F-Rank. He shouldn't be surviving this. The only reason he was still standing was because the Pan absorbed the kinetic energy, sparing his body from the worst of the impact.
But the Pan was getting heavy. It was humming with stored violence. It felt like holding a live grenade.
'I need to hit him,' Kaizen thought frantically. 'But I can't get close. His reach is too long. If I step in, he cuts me in half.'
He tried to trigger [ Blink ].
'System! Blink! Get me behind him!'
[ ERROR. ]
[ Target Line of Sight is Unbroken. ]
Cassiel was staring at him. His black, tear-filled eyes were locked onto Kaizen like a laser guidance system. He didn't blink. He didn't look away. He was hyper-focused on erasing Kaizen from existence.
'I can't teleport if he's watching me!'
Kaizen blocked another heavy overhead smash.
CRACK.
The stone floor beneath him shattered. Kaizen dropped to one knee.
[ Multiplier: 28x ]
This was it. The limit. He couldn't hold anymore. The pan was vibrating so hard it was blurring in his vision. If he took one more hit, his arms would snap.
Cassiel loomed over him, raising the black katana for the execution stroke.
"Rest now," Cassiel wept, his voice thick with misguided mercy. "Return to the light."
Kaizen looked up. He saw the blade. He saw the death in the Paladin's eyes.
He looked down at the floor.
It was covered in blood. Thick, black, demonic blood mixed with the Paladin's own gold-tinged ichor.
Kaizen didn't think like a Knight. He didn't think like a Hero. He thought like a desperate student fighting for his life in a back alley.
'Honor is for people with extra lives.'
Kaizen released his grip on the pan with one hand. He plunged his fingers into the puddle of blood.
"Rest this!" Kaizen screamed.
He whipped his hand upward.
A spray of thick, black slime flew through the air.
It wasn't magic. It wasn't a skill. It was just filth.
SPLAT.
The sludge hit Cassiel right in the face. It covered his eyes. It filled his mouth.
"GAH!"
Cassiel flinched. Instinctively, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Line of Sight: BROKEN.
[ Conditions Met! ]
[ Proceed with [Blink]? ]
Kaizen didn't hesitate. He mentally slammed the [ YES ] button so hard the interface shook.
ZIP.
The execution strike slammed into the empty stone floor.
Cassiel wiped the blood from his eyes, swinging wildly. "WHERE?!"
He looked left. Nothing. He looked right. Nothing.
He didn't look up.
High above the altar, gravity reasserted itself.
Kaizen materialized in mid-air, ten feet above the Paladin's head.
He was falling.
He gripped the handle of the Rusty Pan of Doom with both hands. He pulled it back over his shoulder like he was about to hit a home run.
The pan was glowing red hot. The stored energy of twenty-eight D-Rank strikes was screaming to be released.
"EAT..." Kaizen roared, tears of fear and adrenaline streaming down his face.
Cassiel looked up. His eyes widened.
He saw the boy. He saw the pan. He saw the mathematical inevitability of his demise.
"...THIS!"
Kaizen swung.
The pan connected with the Paladin's helmet.
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
It wasn't just a metallic clang, it was an explosion.
The sound barrier shattered. A shockwave of pure kinetic force erupted from the point of impact, blowing out the temple windows and cracking the pillars.
Sir Cassiel didn't just fall. He was launched.
He flew across the temple like a ragdoll fired from a cannon. He smashed through a stone pew, through a marble railing, and embedded himself into the far wall with a crater-forming CRUNCH.
Kaizen landed on his feet, wobbled, and collapsed onto his butt.
He breathed heavily, staring at the dust cloud where the boss used to be.
"Round one," Kaizen wheezed. "Trash wins."