Ryuuto didn't bother hiding the rising heat beneath his skin. He stepped forward, eyes sharp, voice cracking like distant thunder.
"Let me show you what justice actually looks like."
The command wasn't shouted. It boomed.
Behind him, thousands of chakra-laden insects swarmed in a wave, their collective buzz shaking the air.
"Ryuuto-kun, you're incredible!"
Katie Dee practically bounced, then leaned in and planted a bright, unapologetic kiss on his cheek. A perfect lip print, glowing like a crime scene marker.
…This girl is going to kill me before any villain does, Ryuuto groaned internally.
"Are you two done flirting!?"
Penguin's voice cracked with fury. Being ignored apparently triggered something primal in him.
He hurled a cluster of gas bombs at them. Black smoke burst out, thick and corrosive. The swarm faltered, disoriented and scattering.
Penguin cackled. "What now, boy? Without your bugs, you're nothing! Come taste my blade!"
He rushed forward with a long sword raised high.
Ryuuto tilted his head, unimpressed.
"You want a fair fight? Sure. Not like you'll last long anyway."
He gestured for Katie Dee to fall back.
Then Ryuuto moved.
Dozens of fiery lion-shaped chakra beasts exploded from his arms, snarling as they charged straight at Penguin.
"What—HEY—NO—STOP!"
Penguin panicked instantly, slashing wildly as lion after lion lunged at him. Blood sprayed across his own face. His breathing turned ragged, yet that crazed gleam in his eyes only sharpened.
"You think you can escape me!?" Penguin spat. "I own this whole district!"
Ryuuto exhaled through his nose. "You talk like a landlord trying to scare tenants."
He planted his feet, drew the Kusanagi blade from the mouth of a summoning serpent, and launched himself at Penguin.
Steel clashed. Sparks rained.
Ryuuto's blade work was fluid, relentless. Penguin struggled to keep up, swinging in desperate arcs.
"I'll kill you!" Penguin snarled. "And that girl—she's going down with you!"
Ryuuto's expression iced over.
"Shion," he muttered in his mind, "remind me after this to wash the blade. His mouth is giving it rust."
[Lazy system advice: Just kill him already, Host. He's loud.]
Suddenly, a sharp buzzing filled the air. Penguin froze.
Corpses of earlier insects twitched on the ground… then more bugs rose around Ryuuto. Twice as many. Larger. Meaner.
Ryuuto smirked.
"What? I said I would fight fair. I never said they had to."
"You—cheater! We agreed!" Penguin shrieked.
"We agreed to survive. Big difference."
His sword slashed in a blur, tearing Penguin's coat to ribbons. The man's fear became palpable.
Penguin roared and swung one last desperate strike—
—but the Kusanagi sliced his weapon clean in half.
Penguin didn't flinch. He actually grinned, lunging forward with the tip of his umbrella, aiming straight for Ryuuto's heart.
Katie Dee gasped.
But the umbrella pierced nothing.
Ryuuto blurred—then unraveled into a mass of insects.
Penguin froze.
"You… stabbed a clone," Ryuuto said behind him.
He flicked his fingers.
"Now you get to experience a little something I call… regret."
A massive parasitic monster erupted forward, jaws opening like a nightmare. It latched onto Penguin, biting, tearing, dragging him down. The villain screamed and thrashed, rolling helplessly as the worm swarmed his body.
Ryuuto didn't bother watching.
"Take the others," he ordered casually.
The swarm burst outward like a living storm. Penguin's fleeing thugs shrieked and ran for their lives, tripping over each other as the insects chased them through the street.
Katie Dee ran to Ryuuto's side, eyes sparkling.
"He won't actually die, right?"
"He'll live," Ryuuto said.
He sheathed the blade with a soft click. "Unfortunately."
Katie Dee grabbed his arm with a grin. "Then let's go home! I'm starving!"
Ryuuto sighed, letting her drag him away from the ruined street.
Somehow, fighting villains was easier than handling her energy.