The Centaur Orphnoch skidded across the asphalt, its four powerful hooves carving deep, jagged trenches into the reinforced concrete. The creature strained every sinew of its horse-like lower body just to arrest its momentum. The sheer kinetic force of Rin's kick had been a revelation—a physical decree that shifted the air pressure around them.
The beast let out a wet, rattling hiss. It was damaged, its stone-grey hide cracked and leaking wisps of ashen smoke, yet it showed no sign of faltering. Driven by a primal, berserk fury, the Orphnoch had long since discarded the last vestiges of human reason. It was no longer a man; it was a living engine of destruction, a gladiator whose only remaining instinct was to pulverize anything that drew breath within its line of sight.
"Not bad," Zi-O remarked, his voice a cool, resonant hum behind the visor.
Despite the initial transformation being his base form, it was a vessel saturated with the concentrated essence of the Ohma power. Most "trash" he'd faced would have shattered like glass under that kick. Seeing the Orphnoch rise, its muscles rippling with renewed, desperate violence, actually drew a spark of genuine interest from the King.
"You've got backbone," Zi-O noted, his tone carrying a trace of regal condescension. "You're a far cry from the bottom-feeders I've had to clear out lately."
The Orphnoch couldn't understand him. It didn't care for praise or logic. It threw its head back and unleashed a piercing, high-pitched shriek that echoed off the surrounding buildings. Then, it charged.
Trot-trot-trot-CRACK.
The sound of hooves hitting the pavement accelerated into a rapid-fire staccato of thunder. As it bore down on Zi-O, the creature stooped low, its massive humanoid hand sweeping across the ground to reclaim its fallen greatsword. Using the terrifying inertia of its charge, it swung the heavy blade in a horizontal arc designed to bisect everything in its path.
In a blur of motion, Zi-O reached into the shimmering air of the sub-dimension. His fingers closed around the hilt of the Zikan Girade, pulling the blade into reality just as the Orphnoch's steel arrived.
CLANG!
The collision was seismic. A massive shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact, the sheer spiritual and physical pressure blowing out the windows of the nearby shops and sending debris flying into the night.
Fortunately, the Sovereign's arrival had already cleared the streets; the commoners had fled, leaving only the King and the traitorous beast to settle their accounts in the ruins of the festival.
Steel ground against steel. The Orphnoch leaned its entire weight into the press, its horse-legs braced against the shattered road, trying to overwhelm Zi-O with pure, unadulterated strength. It was a top-tier combatant among its kind, and in its berserk state, it was pushing the base Zi-O armor to its physical limits.
But the struggle was an illusion. Rin Kuga wasn't breaking a sweat; he was merely observing.
You've had your fun, he thought, his cold indignation finally crystallizing into a death sentence. You've trampled my streets and spilled the time of my subjects. The trial is over.
With a fluid, practiced motion, Zi-O released his left hand from the hilt of his sword. He reached for the Zi-O Ridewatch mounted on his belt, clicking it out of the Driver and slotting it directly into the Zikan Girade's secondary port.
FINISH TIME!ZI-O! GIRI GIRI SLASH!
The blade erupted in a blinding halo of pink and gold chronal energy. The hum of the weapon changed, rising to a predatory shriek that sliced through the Orphnoch's roar.
Zi-O swung.
The Zikan Girade didn't just hit the greatsword; it ignored it. Like a hot wire through butter, the energy blade sheared through the Orphnoch's weapon and continued its path, carving a glowing line from the creature's shoulder down through its barrel chest.
A single, clean stroke.
The Centaur Orphnoch froze. For a heartbeat, the air was silent. Then, a brilliant blue flame erupted from the wound, consuming the creature from the inside out. It didn't scream; it simply dissolved into a cloud of fine, grey ash that scattered into the evening wind, leaving nothing behind but the lingering scent of cinders.
"Another failure..." a voice rasped from the shadows of a far-off basement, watching the screen fade to static.
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