Beneath the reinforced silver plating of the Zi-O helm, Rin's lips curled into a smirk of pure, undiluted derision. The Spider Orphnoch's bluster was noise—static in the ears.
Rin didn't need words to convey his contempt. He slowly raised his right hand, extending his thumb. Then, with a cold, deliberate motion, he dragged it across his throat in a jagged line. It was a silent verdict. Execution was the only logical conclusion for a parasite that had dared to infest his domain.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Utaha's voice shrieked from behind him, sharp with panicked disbelief. "Why are you trying to provoke that thing? Don't make it angrier than it already is!"
Zi-O's head tilted slightly, the pink katakana of his visor catching the dim hallway light. "And why shouldn't I?" His voice, filtered through the suit's resonators, sounded like a decree. "Against a creature of this caliber... provocation is a courtesy it doesn't even deserve."
The Spider Orphnoch threw its head back, let out a grating, rasping laugh that sounded like dry bones grinding in a mill. It lowered its gaze, mandibles twitching as it eyed the armored Rider.
"Hah! So this is your human 'strategy'? Your petty psychological warfare?" The monster stepped forward, its claws clicking against the floor. "You think by insulting me, I'll lose my head and rush into whatever pathetic trap you've laid? How predictable. How transparent." It paused, its voice dripping with a smug, oily confidence. "I'm not some mindless beast, boy. I won't fall for it."
In the monster's twisted mind, it was playing a high-stakes game of chess. It saw Rin's bravado as a desperate mask for a hidden snare. Little did it know, the Rin didn't use traps; he used overwhelming force.
Rin let out a short, melodic laugh that echoed. "Traps? Strategy?" He spread his arms wide, leaving his midsection completely exposed in a gesture of absolute, terrifying vulnerability. "I apologize for the misunderstanding. I haven't prepared a single trap for you. Why would I bother building a cage for an insect I can simply crush?"
Utaha gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at Rin's open posture. For a moment, she had actually believed the "monster's" logic—that Rin was being clever. But now, seeing him stand there with his defenses down, she couldn't tell who was being more arrogant: the monster or the man. Her head spun. Is he insane, or is he just that much better than everything else in this world?
The standoff stretched. The Spider Orphnoch remained coiled, its multifaceted eyes darting around the hallway, searching for the invisible wires or hidden weapons it was sure existed.
Rin's patience, however, had reached its expiration date.
"You aren't coming?" Rin's voice grew cold, the playful edge vanishing. "Cowardice is such an ugly trait in a predator. Fine. If you won't take the first step, I will."
Rin's boots crunched into the linoleum. The air didn't just move—it shrieked.
The launch was instantaneous. The sheer force of his displacement created a localized shockwave that tore the remaining posters from the walls. Utaha let out a sharp cry, her hands flying down to clamp her skirt against the sudden, violent gale produced by his acceleration.
BOOM!
Before the Orphnoch's nervous system could even register the movement, Rin was there. His fist, backed by the weight of a thousand timelines, slammed into the creature's sternum. The impact wasn't a dull thud; it was a tectonic event. A visible ripple of force distorted the air, followed by the sickening crack of chitinous plates shattering like glass.
The Spider Orphnoch's eyes bulged. In that agonizing instant of contact, the truth finally pierced its skull: there was no trap. There was no scheme. There was only the absolute, crushing reality of a King who didn't need to be clever to win.
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