[Rona and Ronald's Side]
The moment the cat monster hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud, a guttural roar tore through the air like a siren of vengeance.
The dog monster lunged.
Veins bulged. Muscles coiled like springs. Eyes burned with blood-red fury.
A living missile of rage.
Ronald spun, shield snapping into place.
He met the beast's charge head-on, not a single tremor in his eyes.
"Let's do this, Rona!" he yelled above the tremor in the ground.
"If we're together—nothing can stop us!"
"Yossha~!" Rona grinned, swinging a massive battle axe nearly twice her size over her shoulder like a toy.
Up in the stands, Mimi shrieked with manic energy, hands flailing like a deranged conductor. "Kill them, Mr. Dog! Revenge for Mr. Cat!"
A roar unlike any before exploded from the dog monster's throat—
A wave of raw, crushing force blasted outwards, nearly knocking Ronald and Rona off their feet.
Ronald dug his heels in; shield braced against the shockwave.
"It feels stronger than before," he grunted through gritted teeth.
The dog monster didn't wait.
It surged forward in a blur—
All muscle, speed, and wrath.
"Here it comes! Get ready, Rona!"
BANG!
CLANG!
SHIIK!
The impact smashed into Ronald's shield with earth-shaking force, rattling his entire body.
The force of the collision flared through his arms and legs like fire.
The shield shuddered with each brutal strike, edges beginning to crack under the relentless assault.
Beside him, Rona swung her axe with both hands, wild yet determined.
Each swing forced the dog monster to veer off course for a moment, buying precious seconds.
But as the minutes dragged on, fatigue gnawed at them. Unseen but suffocating.
Ronald's arms screamed in agony. His shield arm was going numb, his knees threatening to buckle.
Rona's hands were slick with blood from torn blisters, her axe growing heavier with every passing second.
The dog monster didn't slow.
It got faster. Meaner. Hungrier.
Its claws sliced through the air like deadly scythes, tearing gouges into the stadium floor.
Its jaws snapped close enough to tear the air itself, missing Ronald's head by inches.
Ronald could feel it.
'We can't hold out much longer…'
'If this kept up, they'd be ripped apart.'
Biting down on his fear, Ronald mustered the last of his strength, gritted his teeth, and lunged forward.
With a guttural roar, he drove his shield forward like a battering ram.
THUD!!
The impact struck the monster square in the snout, staggering it backward with a dazed snarl.
"This is our chance!!" Ronald shouted, voice hoarse.
"Yosh!" Rona, despite her trembling arms, responded without hesitation.
They moved as one.
Dodging low under a swipe—
Sliding past a crashing paw—
They struck—
CLANG!
Ronald's shield slammed into the monster's ribs.
CRACK!
Bones buckled.
An opening.
"NOW! Rona!"
Rona surged forward with a cry. "Flying Axe CHOP—!"
Her axe carved the air, blade sinking deep into the beast's exposed chest—
CRACK!
The blade pierced flesh, tore through bone—and slammed against the beating heart.
But—
"Tch! It's still alive."
The blade hadn't gone deep enough.
The monster shrieked, its body convulsing with raw fury. Muscles rippled. Blood sprayed. It bucked wildly—thrashing like a beast on fire—trying to throw Rona off.
'One more hit. Just one.'
'But how?'
Ronald's eyes darted—axe, shield, axe again. His thoughts clicked into place.
'—I've got it.'
"Rona!" he roared, cutting through the chaos. "MOVE!"
"NOW?"
"NOW!"
Rona gritted her teeth and rolled away just in time. "LET'S GO!"
Ronald leapt forward like a missile—
Eyes burning. Shield raised.
"RAAAAAHH!!"
With every last shred of strength, Ronald brought his shield crashing down like a meteor.
BOOM!!!
The shield slammed directly onto the back of Rona's embedded axe—
CRRRAAACK!!
And with a deafening crunch, drove it all the way into the dog monster's heart.
SKRREEEE—!!
The beast's scream split the air, wild and pained—then abruptly cut short.
Its limbs seized, spasmed once—
And dropped.
THUD!!!
—and the massive body collapsed to the ground like a crumbling tower of flesh and bone, sending dust and debris billowing out in all directions.
Unmoving.
Lifeless.
Dead.
For a moment, silence reigned.
Then—
An eruption of cheers shook the arena.
The stands roared with triumph. Feet hammered against stone, voices clashed into a single thunderous cry that made the earth itself tremble.
Ronald and Rona collapsed to their knees, bodies numb, every muscle screaming from the abuse they had endured.
They had done it.
They had survived.
But—
The instant relief dared to creep into their lungs—
Thump.
…Thump.
...Thump.
The sound cut through the chaos. Heavy. Rhythmic. A predator's cadence.
Ronald raised his head with effort, sweat blurring his vision.
At the far end of the arena—it appeared.
The rabbit.
It hopped forward slowly. Calm. Collected. Its oversized teeth gleamed under the lights, lips curling into a smile too wide, too deliberate.
But its shadow—its shadow did not belong to it.
The silhouette warped, twisting unnaturally as if something else was writhing inside.
The air changed. This was no comedy. No farce.
Only the suffocating presence of a predator who knew its prey had nowhere to run.
Its eyes glowed—not with hunger, but with intent.
Ronald's chest tightened. His heart stuttered.
'This one… is different.'
"Rona…" His voice was barely a whisper.
She was already beside him, her grin gone, her gaze hard.
They locked eyes.
No words were needed.
Their hands found each other. A silent vow passed between them:
Even if their bodies broke—
Even if death stood waiting—
They would stand. Together. Until the end.
The atmosphere thickened. Heavier. Denser. As though the world itself held its breath.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Each hop was eerily soft, yet the ground quaked beneath it. The crowd, moments ago deafening, now sat frozen. Even Mimi, who had screamed herself hoarse, was struck silent, eyes wide with dread.
The rabbit twitched. Fur white as bone. Paws faintly stained with pink. Its body trembled with unnatural energy, as though something vast and wrong barely fit inside that plush frame.
Ronald tightened his grip on Rona's hand. She returned the pressure, knuckles pale.
"…Its aura," she muttered.
He nodded. "It's off."
Way off.
The other monsters had been beasts—feral, mindless, raging. But this one?
It did not roar.
It did not snarl.
It studied.
Calculating.
Ronald swallowed hard. "This one… isn't like the others."
Rona slowly retrieved her axe—still slick with blood from the dog monster.
"It's smarter."
"And faster," Ronald said, adjusting the cracked strap of his shield. "Probably way stronger, too."
They were exhausted.
Drained.
Their muscles ached, skin torn, clothes clinging to blood and sweat.
And yet—their enemy had just arrived, fresh.
Unscathed.
Not a single scratch marred its plush exterior.
Its buck teeth gleamed with a strange, silvery sheen. Its eyes—those eerie, glowing orbs—never blinked.
"Plan?" Rona whispered.
Ronald hesitated. "Stall it. Wait for an opening. Pray we're still standing by then."
Rona gave a small, breathless laugh. "Cool, cool. Sounds like a great plan."
The rabbit stopped—fifty feet away.
Its head tilted. Once. Twice.
Then it smiled.
Ronald's blood ran cold.
"MOVE!!"
The rabbit vanished.
No sound. No wind. No trace.
Just gone.
Ronald spun instinctively—shield rising—
CRAAACK!!
A clawed foot descended like a guillotine, smashing against his shield. The impact detonated through his arms, shattering wood and steel as he was hurled across the arena. His body slammed into the wall with a bone-jarring thud.
"RONALD!!"
Rona didn't hesitate.
She spun with a battle cry, axe swinging in a wide arc at the rabbit's now-visible form.
But the rabbit leaned.
Effortlessly.
Her swing missed—by inches.
Its counter came instantly.
A blur of claws.
SLASH!!
Blood splattered the sand.
Rona's side tore open in a diagonal gash. She stumbled, gasping, but twisted her body to roll out of the next strike.
The rabbit didn't chase.
It simply watched her land in a crouch, one hand clutching her bleeding ribs.
Amused.
Curious.
Like a child toying with an ant.