"I'm going to enjoy killing you," Knife said, still with a wild smile on his face. As he noticed, his hand couldn't escape the grasp of the "Gravedigger".
Matsu didn't answer, his expression still shadowed by his hood.
Knife threw a kick, which Matsu blocked, creating distance.
They both stood from afar, looking at each other
"Won't talk huh?!, fine by me. But don't regret it, I won't let you have any final words,"
Knife cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders.
Matsu tightened his grip on the shovel.
Silence reigned.
Then, Knife moved.
In a blink, he was gone from sight—just a blur of motion—and then bang, his boot struck Matsu's shovel mid-guard, sending the boy skidding back, boots scraping against broken earth. Sparks flew where knuckles met wood.
The shockwave rippled out across the ground.
Matsu recovered fast. He spun with the momentum, planting his wooden leg deep into the dirt and using it as a pivot. The shovel arced upward in a wide swing—fast, improvised.
Knife leaned back, barely avoiding it. The blade sliced through the edge of his coat, leaving behind a shallow tear.
"Oho," Knife whispered, now smiling wide. "Not bad."
He lunged again, this time faster. His punches were precise.. Matsu ducked, blocked, dodged—barely. He wasn't faster, but he was reading the rhythm, catching the tempo.
When the next blow came, Matsu didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
His shovel slammed hard into Knife's ribs just as the punch cracked against his skull. Both fighters staggered back—Matsu clutching his head, breath ragged; Knife grinning through the pain, his shirt torn and flapping in the wind.
But something shifted.
Behind Knife, where Matsu's shovel had scraped the tree, vines began to twist upward—fast and wild. They surged like serpents, coiling around Knife's body before he could react.
"What the—?!" Knife snarled, struggling as the vines constricted around his arms and torso, pressing tighter with every heartbeat.
Matsu didn't waste a second. He raised his shovel again, his eyes burning with determination.
Knife smirked despite the pressure. "So this is your special power, huh?" he muttered, testing the tension. "Interesting."
Then, with a sudden roar of motion, Knife threw his entire body sideways, using the momentum to hurl himself—vines and all—into the thick trunk of the tree anchoring the growth.
CRACK!
The tree splintered with a thunderous crack and groaned as it toppled, crashing down toward Matsu.
He hurled himself to the side just in time—the massive trunk slammed into the earth where he'd stood a heartbeat before.
The impact sent tremors through the ground, and a thick cloud of dust exploded outward, swallowing the battlefield in a choking haze of grey.
Coughing, Matsu squinted into the swirling smoke, searching for the bounty hunter.
Then—
A flash. A jab
Pain burst in his jaw as a fist cracked against his face, vanishing just as quickly into the mist.
Another blow followed, just as fast, hammering into his ribs.
He barely had time to brace—Knife was in and out like a ghost, his strikes almost impossible to track.
He launched another jab straight ahead—
But it hit nothing.
Knife punched air.
Suddenly, the earth beneath Knife shifted. Matsu erupted from the ground with a roar, shovel in hand.
The tip of the shovel slammed into Knife's jaw, lifting him clean off his feet.
Knife crashed to the ground with a grunt—only to be met by a flurry of vines surging from the smoke, whipping through the air like bullets.
Still on his knees, He twisted and dodged, barely slipping past the first few tendrils.
One of the vines slashed across Knife's cheek, slicing a thin, red line just below his eye. Blood welled instantly, trickling down the curve of his jaw.
He didn't flinch.
Instead, Knife grinned—wide and feral—as he rose slowly to his feet, ignoring the vines writhing around him.
He brought a hand to his mouth, wiped the blood with the back of his thumb, then licked it off with a slow, deliberate swipe of his tongue.
His eyes gleamed with hunger.
"This guy's strong," he muttered, voice low and electric with excitement. "This… this is the challenge I've been looking for."
Knife dropped low, planting both hands on the ground. His fingers clawed into the dirt, muscles tense, posture wild. He looked more animal than man.
The earth cracked beneath him.
"Guess I'll go 100% speed," he growled, a twisted grin stretching across his bloodied face.
Then his head snapped up toward Matsu.
"Hey, Gravedigger or whatever your name is… unfortunately, you have to die for me to achieve my dream."
Matsu stirred
But before Matsu could react. Knife vanished.
Not blurred—gone. One instant, crouched, the next a sonic boom cracked the air, and a shockwave erupted where he'd been. Matsu barely turned before Knife was there, fist cocked back, eyes wild.
BOOM!
The punch collided—but not with Matsu.
At the last second, Matsu had thrown his shovel up, both hands gripping the wooden handle. The impact sent him flying backward, tumbling through the air before.
Matsu slung his shovel towards the ground.
"I won't let you do that," Knife's voice snarled behind him.
In a blur, Knife caught up—still airborne, faster than thought. His foot whipped around in a savage arc, slamming into Matsu's ribs before he could fully stop.
Matsu was kicked skyward, breath exploding from his lungs. Wind howled in his ears. For a second, the sky was all he could see.
Then Knife blurred again—above him now, descending like a hawk.
"You're not touching the ground again," he hissed.
His fists came down.
CRACK! A hammering blow to Matsu's chest sent him spinning midair.
Before Matsu could recover, Knife was there again—flickering in and out of vision, using the air like solid ground.
A savage knee to the back.
A hook to the jaw.
An elbow crashing down into his collarbone.
Each hit landed like a gunshot, echoing in the open sky, driving Matsu higher and higher, helpless against the barrage. The air burned with the speed, and streaks of motion blurred like lightning.
BAM! A roundhouse kick to the ribs.
THUD! A backfist across the face.
Matsu's body twisted violently with each strike, bones rattling, vision flashing white.
Then Knife reappeared above him once more—legs tucked in, spinning like a drill.
"Fall."
He dropped.
Both feet slammed into Matsu's chest, launching him toward the earth like a meteor.