Chapter 101: The Decisive Shizuku
Ronin's focus remained primarily on the Butler, but he didn't stop monitoring the duel between Shizuku and Spence.
Spence's ability was clearly a hybrid of Conjuration and Transmutation, with added Conditions and Vows that enforced specific rules.
Any object flying across the court, or any item Spence himself threw, would transform into a tennis ball the moment his racket struck it.
Once launched, the object would revert to its original state after a short flight.
It was a troublesome ability, especially considering the digital counter above Shizuku's head. There were clearly hidden rules at play.
The scoring system mirrored professional tennis, but Ronin wondered what happened to the loser.
And then there was that high chair.
If someone sits up there and becomes the 'Umpire', they likely gain a massive tactical advantage.
Rather than getting caught up in the opponent's game, Ronin decided the best approach was to attack from outside the boundaries, ignoring the "rules" entirely.
Ronin took a step forward, preparing to charge Spence.
At that exact moment, the Butler threw a punch!
Simultaneously, a bizarre figure materialized behind Ronin. It resembled one of those "Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tubemen" you see at car dealerships, but this one's fists were coming down on Ronin's head with lethal intent.
An Emitter ability?
Ronin had been baiting the Butler to move. He didn't flinch. As the balloon man's fist descended, Ronin threw his own punch to intercept.
Bam!
The power behind the balloon man's strike surprised Ronin, but what happened next was even more unexpected. Upon impact, the balloon man's arm exploded.
It wasn't a standard blast. It was packed with Nen needles that erupted outward like cactus spines.
Ronin was the primary target.
Susanoo.
The blood-red skeletal ribcage flickered into existence instantly. Ronin ignored the hail of aura needles—they tinkled harmlessly off the Susanoo's ribs. Instead, the massive skeletal hand lunged forward, reaching for the Butler.
The sheer size of the Susanoo shattered the hallway ceiling as it manifested.
"What is that monster?!" the Butler thought, his face pale as he scrambled backward.
But his eyes made a fatal error. For a split second, they met Ronin's eyes, visible through the gaps in the Susanoo's ribcage.
In that heartbeat, the Butler's world warped. The hallway vanished. He was in a desolate wasteland filled with the cawing of crows and falling black feathers.
He looked up and saw no ceiling, only a sky filled with circling omens of death.
The illusion lasted less than a second in the real world, but it was enough to paralyze him. The Butler coughed up a fountain of blood as the psychological shock registered.
When he snapped out of it, he realized he was already trapped in the grip of the giant skeletal hand.
Ronin gave a mental command. The hand squeezed.
The Butler didn't even have time to scream. He was pulverized into a gory paste in the Susanoo's palm.
Ronin immediately turned his gaze toward Spence.
Spence had just swatted the returned grenade away. This time, however, the grenade didn't reach Shizuku. It detonated right at the net.
Spence also saw the Butler die.
The speed of the kill exceeded his worst nightmares.
In his mind, he and the Butler were an invincible duo inside this estate. But the Butler had been erased in seconds, leaving him alone against two monsters.
What frustrated him most was Shizuku. Her ability was a hard counter to his game.
Her method of "absorbing the ball and firing it back" would normally be ruled a foul by the Umpire, resulting in a point deduction.
According to the rules of his Hatsu, if he led Shizuku by two "games," her Nen would be temporarily sealed, turning her into a helpless girl he could toy with.
But without an Umpire, Shizuku's "illegal" moves were never penalized.
Desperate, Spence pulled out another grenade. He pulled the pin, counting the fuse. This one was specialized—a 5-second delay.
He planned to net-ball it so it would explode right in front of her face before she could react.
But Ronin's Susanoo lurched into the court, the massive hand reaching for Spence.
Spence had seen the Butler crushed. He had two choices.
Retreat.
But leaving the boundaries of the court would instantly deactivate his Hatsu, leaving him defenseless. Against Ronin, he would die in seconds.
Strike.
Try to "Tennis-ify" the Susanoo's hand and swat it away.
He didn't hesitate. He threw the grenade at Shizuku and swung his racket with all his might at the incoming skeletal hand.
Whoosh!
The racket hit nothing but air.
The Susanoo vanished just as it was about to connect. In its place, a grenade appeared right in front of Spence's chest.
His own grenade. Returned to him by Shizuku.
Spence's play was too predictable. The moment he threw the bomb, Shizuku had lunged forward with Blinky.
"Blinky, inhale. Return," she commanded.
The vacuum swallowed the grenade before it could detonate and, with Shizuku taking another step forward past the burning net, spat it back at Spence's face.
The grenade exploded precisely when the timer hit zero.
Spence never saw it coming. He tried to shrink his aura for defense, but the blast was point-blank.
KABOOM!
Spence was hurled backward, half his body scorched and shredded by shrapnel.
Ronin stood down. Shizuku had already cleared the net. She stood over the dying Elder, raising Blinky high above her head like a club.
Spence looked up at her, blood gurgling in his throat. He tried to beg for mercy. He didn't want to die.
But seeing Shizuku's blank, indifferent gaze, he knew it was over.
"If you kill me... your father... is a dead man!"
CRACK!
Shizuku didn't hesitate. The heavy base of the vacuum cleaner slammed into Spence's skull with sickening force.
Splat. Crunch.
Spence's head was reduced to a fine red mist. The game was over.
☆☆☆
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