The boss monster blocked the way out so completely, Riko might as well have been staring at a living wall. Its hulking frame dwarfed even the piled junk around them; scraps of metal slid off plated shoulders as it lowered its head, growling deep enough to vibrate the air.
Riko swallowed. "Okay," he whispered, his hands shaking. "This is fine. Totally fine. I'll just… punch it? I guess? Why not. Everything else today has been a terrible idea."
The screen on his arm flickered, offering no comfort whatsoever.
Riko raised his fist.
He didn't feel strong enough to punch a monster that looked like it drank melted engines for breakfast—but something deep in his bones thrummed, a leftover hum from all the accidental power-ups and panic boosts.
He took one trembling step forward.
The boss snarled.
Riko swung.
It wasn't a good punch; it wasn't even a coordinated punch. It was the panicked, half-flailing swing of someone who'd never been in a fight except maybe during lunch line arguments.
But the instant his fist cleaved the air-
The world blew open.
A shockwave erupted from his knuckles so violently that the air itself cracked. A white flare of light burst forward, slicing across the junkyard like a horizontal lightning strike. It hit the nearest wall of trash—an entire stacked cliffside of old washing machines, vending bots, crushed car frames—
And erased it.
Metal flew everywhere. Not fell. Not dropped. Launched. The entire wall blasted apart like it had been hit by a mining charge. Car doors spun like shuriken. Springs whistled through the air. A refrigerator rocketed upward and vanished into the sky, becoming someone else's future problem.
Riko stumbled backward, wide-eyed. "WHAT—THE—WHAT—WAS THAT?!"
The boss monster jerked its head aside just in time. The shockwave tore past its cheek, ripping metal plating off its face and leaving smoking scratches along its jaw. The monster froze, stunned—not hurt exactly, but shocked. Even offended.
Then its eyes narrowed.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
With the cold clarity of a creature who absolutely understood what had almost happened to it.
Riko raised both hands defensively. "Hey—hey—look, that wasn't intentional. I'm new to… uh… whatever this is. So maybe we just—talk? Or negotiate? Or you go home and I pretend none of this happened?"
The monster breathed in.
Riko could have sworn he saw real hatred in its glowing yellow eyes. Not the instinctual "eat the human" hunger. No, this was the unmistakable look of someone who had been personally disrespected by a tiny creature barely half its size.
"C'mon, man," Riko said weakly. "You dodged. You're fine. We're all fine."
The monster stomped forward.
Riko took the hint and immediately retreated, hands up, waving frantically. "Okay, okay! You're mad! I get it! Totally fair! But can we maybe discuss this without the whole 'giant murder stomp' vibe?!"
The boss didn't slow.
It lunged.
Riko yelped and dove sideways, rolling over broken metal as the monster's claws tore a trench where he'd just been standing. Sparks showered up from the ground. The impact sent a tremor rippling through the heap of junk behind him.
He scrambled to his feet and ran-not away, exactly, but in frantic zigzags, desperately trying to avoid the monster charging after him. Its breaths came out as sharp bursts of steam, each one smelling like scorched iron. Claws gouged deep ruts in the ground as it sprinted.
Riko tried another punch.
A little one.
A test punch.
It hit a rusted engine block.
The engine block atomized.
Riko's eyes widened in surprise, staring down at his own hand like it belonged to someone else. "Dude… what did you eat? And why wasn't it breakfast?"
The monster dived into a half-collapsed structure, tearing through it with a roar that sent a shower of broken screens clattering loose. Riko ducked and ran under dangling wires, weaving between shattered drone wings and cracked solar panels.
The screen on his arm flickered with wild static, as if it struggled to keep up.
He glanced at it. "Help would be nice! A tip! A hint! A tutorial! I didn't sign up for boss battles in real life!"
The screen offered exactly zero comfort.
The boss monster barreled toward him once again. Riko barely managed to leap behind a stack of motorbike frames as claws slashed through them, shredding the metal as if it were paper. Shrapnel flew. A bent wheel bounced off Riko's shoulder, sending him spinning.
He hit the ground hard.
Dust filled his throat; his lungs stung. His arms shook from leftover shock of that punch.
He looked up.
The boss loomed over him.
It slowly inhaled, expanding its chest to squash him like a bug. His mind was racing as Riko's legs tensed, ready to dodge, though he wasn't sure he could outrun another lunge at this angle.
"Hey," he whispered, hands trembling. "Before you do whatever horrible thing you're planning, just know—I'm having a VERY BAD DAY."
The monster lifted a claw.
Riko flinched.
And then-
The screen on his arm spasmed violently, bright enough to illuminate the entire junkyard.
BEEEEEEEP—
BZZZZZT—
KRRRCHHH—
Red light flooded his arm, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Riko froze.
The monster paused mid-swipe.
The screen pulsed again, brighter-so bright it painted the junk piles around them in strobing red.
"What now?" Riko whispered.
The display glitched, numbers scrambling, symbols twisting. The whole wristband rattled as if something inside it was trying to break out. Then the red light solidified. And then the words carved themselves in jagged, ominous text upon the screen: "NEW ENEMY DETECTED