Eleven pulled the trigger at point-blank range, a psychotic smirk plastered across his face.
"Time to taste your own medicine!"
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Nothing happened. The metallic gun ran completely dry—out of bullets.
Before Eleven could process the empty chamber, a sharp, cold voice echoed from behind him.
"Don't even think about moving, you brainless bull... or I'll snap his neck right now."
Eleven spun around. A short distance away, Twelve was frozen in place, his head locked tightly in a chokehold by Leo! Blood dripped down Leo's pale face, his dislocated shoulder hanging limply, but his eyes burned with a terrifying, unyielding killer intent.
"Stop him from joining his hands!" Null roared, throwing himself up from the dirt.
But it was a too late. Twelve's fingers tapped together just in time.
COUGH!
A thick spray of blood burst violently from Leo's mouth. As he start coughing up blood, a dark, sinister smirk spread across Twelve's face as he looked back at Leo.
"I just knotted your heart with dense magical energy..." Twelve wheezed, blood pouring over Leo's teeth. "The closer you stay to me, the tighter that knot pulls. Eventually... your heart will burst."
Leo's grip on Twelve's throat tightened into a vise. "I don't know what kind of curse you just cast on me... but using it was a fatal mistake."
Twelve gasped for air, but his eyes narrowed. He drove a violent elbow backward straight into Leo's chin! At the exact same second, Leo slammed his forehead forward into the front of Twelve's head. To make matters worse, Null drove his own head into Twelve's nose from the opposite side!
CRACK!
Sandwiched between two brutal headbutts, Twelve's nose shattered, and his eyes rolled back as he went instantly limp, unconscious.
The moment Twelve dropped, the magical tether broke. Leo collapsed onto the cobblestones, clutching his chest as his heart throbbed with agonizing pain. He panted heavily, looking up at Null. "What... what did you do with that bull?"
Before Null could answer, a massive boot smashed straight into Leo's ribs!
BOOM!
"I am NOT a bull!" Eleven roared, kicking Leo like a ragdoll.
Leo flew through the air, crashing hard into the dirt meters away.
Null swung a desperate punch at Eleven, but Eleven caught Null's fist mid-air with ease. Eleven pulled Null in, driving a bone-crushing headbutt straight into Null's face!
THWACK!
Null dropped to the ground, dazed. Eleven immediately grabbed Null by the hair, lifting his head, and slammed his face violently into the stone street.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"You are making me angry!" Eleven bellowed, his face contorted in psychotic rage. "Now I have to deal with another insect all by myself!"
The sheer force of the impacts cracked the cobblestones beneath Null's head, blood pooling rapidly beneath his shattered face. Seeing that Null was no longer moving or responding, Eleven tossed him aside like garbage.
He stomped over to where Leo lay bleeding, grabbed Leo by the collar, and hauled him off the ground with one hand.
"I don't know how you dealt with Michi, but—"
BANG!
Mid-sentence, Leo summoned every ounce of his remaining strength and slammed his head directly into Eleven's bloodied face!
Eleven didn't even flinch. He wiped a drop of blood from his cheek, glaring coldly at the boy. "I wanted to talk to you politely... but fine. Let's speak the language you prefer."
Eleven slammed his forehead into Leo's face with terrifying momentum!
CRACK!
Leo's vision went completely white as his nose broke instantly. Eleven threw him to the dirt, mounting him just like he had done to Null, and began smashing Leo's head repeatedly into the ground!
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
A short distance away, Null lay flat on his back in the rubble. His body was broken, his vision blurring as blood pooled around his eyes. He had nothing left to give. He couldn't fight anymore.
Meanwhile, Eleven showed no mercy. He hammered Leo's head into the stones again and again, faster and faster, until a small river of blood began flowing outward across the road.
Yet, mid-slap, Leo's trembling, blood-soaked hand reached up and grabbed Eleven's wrist.
That small act of defiance set Eleven off completely. "STILL RESISTING?!" he shrieked, raising his fist to finish the job once and for all!
BZZZZZZT!
Suddenly, a blinding surge of electricity tore through Eleven's back!
Null had dragged his broken body across the dirt, jamming the high-voltage taser straight into Eleven's spine!
As Eleven convulsed from the sudden shock, Leo reached out, grabbed a heavy concrete brick from the ground, and slammed it straight into Eleven's jaw with all his remaining strength!
CRACK!
Eleven collapsed sideways onto the road.
Without exchanging a single word, Null and Leo threw themselves on top of the fallen behemoth. They grabbed nearby bricks and began raining frantic, merciless blows down onto Eleven's face!
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Bricks shattered against Eleven's skull one after another until there wasn't a single brick left in the street. Driven by pure survival instinct, they used their bare fists, pounding Eleven's head into the earth non-stop, their knuckles breaking with every strike.
...
Minutes passed.
Twelve slowly regained consciousness, blinking past the dried blood in his eyes. He pushed himself up, only to see Null and Leo continuously beating Eleven's motionless, unrecognizable face.
Twelve chuckled softly, a bitter, arrogant smile returning to his lips. "Brainless idiots... they still don't understand that struggle is utterly meaningless against those blessed by God himself."
Twelve closed his eyes, pressing his blood-stained palms together tightly.
"Oh, my great Lord... please help your chosen one by giving him what he needs the most!"
Nothing happened.
Twelve frowned, adjusting his prayer. "My great Lord... please help your chosen one by giving him what he needs the most!"
Silence.
Twelve's hands began to tremble. "My Lord! Please heal Eleven! Give him what he needs!"
No light descended. No divine blessing washed over the battlefield.
Twelve's eyes widened in absolute, paralyzing horror as he looked down at Eleven's mangled, breathless body.
Eleven was dead.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Twelve screamed, his voice cracking in sheer madness as he glared at the two exhausted boys.
Null and Leo stopped their bloodied fists, breathing heavily as they turned their hollow eyes toward Twelve.
"You killed Eleven!" Twelve shrieked, his face contorting into unhinged madness. "Now you deserve NO MERCY! You are going to DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! MY LORD, KILL THEM BOTH RIGHT NOW!"
BOOM!
Before Twelve could finish his hysterical scream, his own body violently exploded from the inside out!
Gore, flesh, and blood sprayed across the entire street, leaving behind nothing of Twelve except a massive, steaming pool of deep red liquid on the cobblestones.
Null and Leo shielded their faces, completely frozen in shock.
Slowly... the pool of crimson blood began to churn and boil.
The blood bubbled upward, rising into the air as it defied gravity. It swirled together, gradually forming the distinct shape of a tall human silhouette. The liquid solidified, flesh and bone weaving together in seconds until the bloody mist cleared.
Standing in Twelve's place was a striking, insanely handsome man. He had sharp features, carrying an air of absolute, terrifying divinity, dressed in elegant yellow robes.
The man dusted off his sleeve, looking down at the bloodstains on the ground with a cold, disgusted expression.
"You do not give orders to lord."