The room was thick with smoke, blood, and the stench of gunpowder. The Crimson Fang soldiers hung back, watching their captain step forward. His axe gleamed in the fractured light—each nick in the blade told the story of someone who hadn't lived to see another sunrise.
Luv's gun was steady, his stance unshaken. Ayu felt the tension in the air like static, her pulse racing in sync with the silence that fell.
The captain roared and swung his axe in a wide, deadly arc. Luv fired. The bullet cracked through the air and slammed into the giant's chest armor, sparking off steel but failing to pierce. The force barely staggered him.
"Pathetic," the captain sneered.
Luv rolled to the side as the axe cleaved into the floorboards, splitting wood like butter. He shot again, this time aiming for the man's shoulder joint. The bullet sank in, but the captain only growled, wrenching the axe free and charging forward.
Ayu lunged to help, but a dozen Crimson Fang thugs blocked her path. They surged at her with knives and pipes, eager to prove themselves.
"You'll get eaten alive!" one shouted.
Ayu's lips curled into a snarl. "Try me."
Her knives became an extension of her rage. She spun, ducked, and slashed, blood spraying in crimson arcs as she carved her way through the crowd. For every enemy she dropped, two more closed in. Her laughter echoed through the chaos—mad, sharp, alive.
Meanwhile, Luv's duel grew brutal. The captain's axe crashed against his pistol, knocking it from his hand. Luv instantly switched to his blade, parrying a strike that nearly split him in half. Sparks flew as steel clashed against steel.
"You fight well… for prey," the captain taunted, swinging again.
Luv caught the axe haft with his blade, twisting and driving a knee into the man's ribs. The blow made the giant grunt but didn't drop him. He shoved Luv back with sheer strength, sending him crashing into the wall hard enough to rattle the building.
Dust and plaster rained down.
A lesser man would've stayed down. Luv stood, blood dripping from his mouth, black eyes cold as winter. "You're already dead. You just don't know it yet."
The captain snarled, lifting his axe high for the killing blow.
And then—
Ayu screamed his name.