Saito slowly opened his eyes.
He groaned as dust drifted through the ruined laboratory.
"...Ugh."
He looked around.
Broken machines, shattered glass, and chunks of concrete were scattered everywhere.
Then he realized—
A massive section of the collapsed wall had pinned him down.
"Tch..."
He pushed against the heavy rubble with both hands.
"...Get off."
With one final shove—
Boom!
The broken wall slid away, crashing onto the floor.
Saito stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes.
He glanced around the destroyed laboratory.
"...Where'd that guy go?"
For a brief moment...
Everything was silent.
Then—
"ROAAAR!!"
A monstrous roar echoed through the room.
Saito immediately turned toward the sound.
His eyes widened.
Brody was already charging straight at him.
"...Too fast!"
At the last possible moment, Saito leaped to the side.
Boom!!
Brody's massive body smashed straight through a reinforced glass door, reducing it to thousands of fragments.
Glass rained across the floor.
Saito quickly looked around.
"...Crap."
"My sword's gone."
He searched the rubble with his eyes.
"Where did it land?"
Heavy footsteps echoed behind him.
Thud...
Thud...
Thud...
Saito turned.
Brody was already walking toward him again.
The monster cracked his neck before lowering himself into another charge.
Saito smiled.
"Well..."
"Come here, you prick."
Brody roared once more.
"RAAAAGH!"
He lunged forward.
Saito calmly raised one hand.
"Repel."
Boom!
An invisible force burst outward.
Brody was blasted backward and crashed into the wall.
The entire room shook.
Brody slowly stood, shaking his head as if nothing had happened.
Without hesitation, he charged again.
Saito sighed.
"...Persistent."
He extended his hand once more.
"Repel."
Boom!
The invisible force struck Brody again, sending him crashing through a metal desk.
The desk folded in half from the impact.
Saito took advantage of the brief opening.
"Okay..."
"Now where is it?"
He hurried through the ruins, searching for his missing sword before Brody recovered once again.
Saito's eyes suddenly caught a familiar glint among the rubble.
"There you are."
His sword lay on the other side of the ruined laboratory.
A smile spread across his face.
"I was wondering where you went."
He immediately ran toward it.
Just as he was about to reach the weapon—
Boom!
Brody appeared beside him and drove a crushing punch into his side.
"Gah!"
Saito was blasted across the room and slammed into the wall.
Crash!
He slid down, coughing as dust filled the air.
"...Wait a minute..."
He groaned while pushing himself back up.
"Jeez."
Brody didn't give him a second to recover.
The giant monster slowly lifted one foot high above Saito.
Saito looked up.
"...Not good."
Boom!
Brody stomped down with tremendous force.
At the last possible moment, Saito rolled to the side.
The floor shattered where he had been lying.
Using the opportunity, Saito reached out.
His fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
"Got you."
Before he could stand—
Brody lunged forward again.
Crash!
His massive body slammed directly into Saito.
The impact sent both of them tumbling across the laboratory.
Saito's sword flew from his hand, spinning through the air before clattering across the floor.
Clang!
Saito looked toward it with an exhausted sigh.
"...Seriously?"
Brody charged once again, shaking the laboratory with every step.
"RAAAAGH!"
Saito took a deep breath.
"...Here we go."
He leaped into the air just before Brody reached him.
Whoosh!
Instead of escaping, Saito landed on Brody's shoulders and wrapped one arm around his neck.
"Just stand still!"
Bang!
He drove a heavy punch into the top of Brody's head.
Brody growled in anger.
"Grrr!"
He reached up with both hands, grabbed Saito, and ripped him off.
"You little—"
Boom!
Brody hurled Saito across the laboratory.
Saito crashed into the wall before dropping hard onto the floor.
Crash!
He rolled several times before coming to a stop.
"...Ugh."
Without wasting another second, Saito noticed his sword lying nearby.
"There!"
He rolled toward it and grabbed the hilt.
The moment Brody charged again—
Shing!
Saito swung upward.
The blade sliced cleanly across Brody's open palm.
Slash!
Brody immediately pulled his hand back.
He stared at the deep wound.
"...RAAAAGH!"
His roar echoed throughout the ruined laboratory.
Saito kept his eyes fixed on the injury.
The wound bled...
But unlike before, it didn't close immediately.
Saito smiled.
"...Oh."
He tightened his grip on his sword.
"You can't regenerate that fast with an injury like that."
Brody slowly clenched his wounded hand.
His expression twisted with rage as he realized Saito had finally found a weakness.
Brody let out another furious roar.
"RAAAAGH!"
Ignoring the pain in his injured hand, he charged straight at Saito once again.
Saito smiled confidently.
"...Now this is getting easy."
He gripped his sword tightly and sprinted forward.
The distance between them disappeared in an instant.
Brody raised his massive arm, preparing to crush Saito with another powerful strike.
But at the last second—
Whoosh!
Saito suddenly dropped low and slid beneath Brody.
"Too slow."
As he passed underneath—
Shing!
His sword carved a deep slash across Brody's leg.
Slash!
Blood sprayed across the shattered floor.
Brody's eyes widened.
"RAAAAGH!"
His injured leg gave out beneath him.
Boom!
The giant monster crashed heavily onto the ground, roaring in pain.
Saito quickly turned around and pointed his sword at him.
A small grin crossed his face.
"...Not so tough now, are you?"
Without hesitation, Saito lunged in for another strike.
His sword came down toward Brody.
Shing!
At the last possible moment, Brody rolled to the side.
The blade missed him completely.
Clang!
Saito's sword slammed into the concrete floor, sending sparks flying as the battle continued.
Brody clutched his wounded leg and let out a furious scream.
"NOXUS!"
"Release the specimens!"
Saito frowned.
"...Wait."
"What now?"
A loud alarm echoed throughout the lower level.
Warning lights flashed red.
Then—
The laboratory doors burst open.
Several figures rushed into the room.
They looked human...
...but each one had been horribly altered.
One had large deer horns growing from its head.
Another had the face of a bear.
A third dragged a long rat-like tail behind it.
Saito stared at them for a brief moment.
"...Oh, great."
Without hesitation, the three specimens charged.
They lunged at Saito from different directions.
"What the—?!"
Before he could react, they tackled him to the ground.
Boom!
Saito struggled beneath their weight, trying to push them away.
"Get off me!"
He glanced toward Brody.
The scientist was already limping toward the exit, taking advantage of the distraction.
Saito's eyes widened.
"Hey!"
"Get back here!"
But Brody didn't look back.
He continued running down the corridor while the mutated specimens held Saito on the ground.
Brody staggered out of the ruined laboratory, one hand clutching his wounded leg.
His breathing had become heavier, but he kept moving down the corridor.
"I just need... a little more time."
He limped around the corner.
Thud.
He suddenly stopped.
Someone was standing in his way.
Lily.
She rested one hand on the hilt of her sword, her calm eyes fixed on Brody.
"...Where do you think you're going?"
Brody slowly lifted his head.
A grin spread across his face despite the blood running down his body.
"So..."
"Another samurai."
Without another word—
He lunged forward.
"Move!"
Lily calmly drew her sword.
Shing!
The corridor echoed with the sound of steel as the next battle began.