The battlefield had reached a moment of dangerous distraction. Every hero's attention was locked onto The Toymaster. And the toys noticed. The unfinished plush creatures moved all at once. Dozens of them. Then hundreds.
They swarmed the heroes like a living tide of fabric and stuffing. Half-bodies crawled across the pavement. Disfigured toys dragged themselves forward with stitched arms.
Others leapt from broken cars and shattered sidewalks. They attacked from every direction.
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield, The Toymaster slowly tightened the cocoon of threads around Brawler. The strings creaked as they constricted. The cocoon shrank tighter and tighter. Brawler's silhouette was barely visible inside it now.
The threads squeezed harder.
And harder.
Soon...he would be crushed.
.
.
.
BANG.
The gunshot cracked through the air like thunder.
For a split second, the entire battlefield froze.
The thread cocoon loosened.
The Toymaster's head jerked violently backward.
A clean hole had appeared in the middle of its forehead. The bullet had passed straight through the skull and exited the back of its head.
Kanasei turned instinctively toward the sound. And saw the shooter.
A man sat atop a brown horse several meters away. He held a revolver pointed forward, smoke curling from the muzzle. His hair was tied into red braids that hung behind his head. A red Van Dyke goatee framed his jaw. His outfit was entirely black—cowboy boots, coat, holster belt. But he wore no hat.
"Bullseye..." The man muttered.
He spun the revolver around his finger a few times before snapping it back into his grip and blowing softly across the barrel. Then he dismounted. The horse immediately galloped away down the street.
The Toymaster collapsed onto both knees. Its head dropped forward.
For a moment...
It looked dead.
Behind it, the thread cocoon around Brawler began bulging violently. The fabric stretched.
Then—
BOOM!
The cocoon exploded apart. Threads snapped and scattered across the pavement.
Brawler stepped out from the wreckage, stretching his shoulders as he groaned.
"Ugh...damn yarn ball..."
For a moment, hope sparked across the battlefield. But it died quickly. The hole in The Toymaster's head began sewing itself shut. Thread crawled across the wound like living insects. The creature slowly stood upright again.
"You are such simple-minded creatures...that you believed that would defeat me."
The stitched grin widened.
Suddenly—
Red and black lightning exploded across the battlefield. Electric arcs tore through the streets. Shinku's voice rang out across the chaos.
"You guys go for him!"
"I can handle these things myself!"
Lightning flashed again. Shinku blurred through the battlefield faster than the eye could track. Plush toys were torn apart instantly.
One.
Two.
Ten.
Twenty.
Dozens of toys were shredded within seconds. Red lightning carved through the swarm like a hurricane.
The other heroes nodded. Their attention returned to The Toymaster.
Kanasei remained standing near the back. Frozen.
What can I even do here...?
Everyone else was powerful. Experienced. Useful. But him? Nothing. Then a thought hit him.
Wait...
Blade fists.
Kanasei raised his hands and stared at them. His fingers flexed slowly.
He shook his head.
"...I'm a dumbass."
He inhaled deeply. Then he brought his arms together straight in front of his body. He lowered himself into a horse stance.
Muscles tensed. Eyes squeezed shut.
Come on...
Come on...
Nothing happened.
Seconds passed. Still nothing.
Doubt crept into his chest.
Maybe I just can't—
Pain exploded through his foot.
Kanasei's eyes snapped open. The agony started at the back of his ankle. It surged upward through his lower shin. His veins bulged violently beneath his skin. His foot began glowing red. The pain intensified—
BOOM.
A shockwave erupted from his body. The blast cracked across the street and forced several heroes to glance toward him.
Kanasei's sneakers ripped apart. Blood splattered onto the pavement. Something pushed through his skin. Knuckles. Toe knuckles. They pierced outward from his feet. But they weren't bone-white. They glowed a deep, burning red. The knuckles extended several inches forward, hovering above his toes like curved blades. The pain was unbearable. But Kanasei endured it.
Panting heavily.
Then the knuckles began moving again. They slid backward along his foot. The agony nearly made him collapse.
Kanasei groaned loudly, teeth grinding together as the bones shifted beneath his skin. The knuckles traveled upward. They stopped at the top of his ankle.
Then they began pivoting. The elongated tips slowly angled inward. One by one.
The three knuckles of the smaller toes aligned along the front of the ankle.
But the largest knuckle—the one belonging to the big toe—with the second largest knuckle—the one belonging to the second toe—moved behind the ankle. It slid downward slowly. Until it settled at the heel.
Kanasei dropped to one knee.
Wh...what...?
He stared at his feet in disbelief. Then at his hands.
"...the hell just happened?"
He thought the blades would appear on his fists. Not his feet.
After a moment, he pushed himself back up.
Can't be complaining. Not now. Not here.
Kanasei bounced lightly on the balls of his feet.
Left leg forward. Right leg back.
Hands low. Ready to guard.
A Taekwondo stance.
The Toymaster opened its arms slowly.
"Come at me..."
Its voice dropped to a deep, monstrous tone.
"...but it will be your last time doing so."
The heroes prepared to attack—
A black spear ripped through the air. It moved so fast it whistled. The spear grazed the cowboy's cheek. A thin line of blood appeared. Then the weapon slammed into a nearby tree with a violent THUD.
Everyone turned. The spear was strange.
A large black rose decorated the butt of the weapon. Black rose vines wrapped around the shaft. More roses bloomed along its length.
Kanasei followed its trajectory. And saw the man who had thrown it. A young man stood calmly in the distance.
Messy black hair hung around his face. His gray eyes looked tired—half-lidded.
He wore an oversized gray hoodie with a rough asphalt-like texture. Black jeans. Black sneakers.
But his right eye looked wrong. Red vine-like "veins" spread across it like cracks.
The man stepped forward.
The instant his foot touched the ground, thousands of black rose petals appeared beneath him. They spiraled upward. They swallowed him completely. Then vanished.
Kanasei blinked. The man was gone.
A moment later, he stood beside the tree. Next to the spear. He pulled the weapon free from the trunk with one smooth motion.
Another voice echoed nearby.
"Hehehe~"
"Dramatic entrance...I like that!"
Magnus walked forward excitedly, bouncing slightly as he moved.
High above the battlefield, a figure stood on a rooftop. The assassin robe shifted in the wind. Kokoro adjusted his black gloves calmly.
"Nocturne."
His voice was quiet and cold.
"Keep the heroes occupied."
Then he stepped forward. And jumped. The fall was enormous. But when he landed, he touched the ground as softly as silk. Not a scratch nor a sound. As if gravity simply...obeyed him.
Nocturne glanced toward him.
"Occupied they shall be..."
He stepped forward again. Black rose petals exploded beneath his feet. His body dissolved into them. And reappeared beside Magnus.
Magnus bounced on the balls of his feet. His posture bent forward slightly, arms pulled behind him and his hands intertwined, stretching.
Nocturne spun his spear once. Twice. Then lowered it beside him.
"Their stage awaits—and I shall be the tragedy."
Kokoro approached calmly. Two black daggers slid into his hands.
Across the battlefield...three new monsters had entered the war.