The ground beneath Riko's feet still shook as the boss monster moved.
Not cautiously.
Not hesitantly.
Suddenly.
It surged forward with a speed unnatural for something of its size, claws tearing dirt as it launched itself across the junkyard in a blur of metal-plated muscle and fury.
Riko barely managed to gasp before the monster was already on him.
He dove sideways behind a heap of tangled bike frames just as the boss's claws slammed down where he'd stood, carving a trench so deep it exposed the darker soil beneath the rust and scrap metal. The shards flew everywhere, whistling past Riko's ears.
"HEY!" he shouted, scrambling backward on hands and heels. "I DIDN'T BREAK THE SKY! STOP BLAMING ME!"
It was of no concern to the boss.
It tore into the pile of bicycle frames as if they were made of paper decorations, hurling chunks of metal in all directions. A crooked rim whirled ominously past Riko's head like a buzzsaw. He ducked, rolled, and scrambled to his feet, running without any idea where he was going-just anywhere that wasn't directly in front of that thing.
But the boss was faster now.
Much faster.
Its claws carved through the ground again as it charged. Its plated shoulders slammed aside refrigerators and engine blocks like they were just ornaments. The creature was moving with purpose, with focus, like all of its confusion and fear about the sky had compacted into pure, sharpened rage.
"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!" Riko shouted over his shoulder.
His only answer was a guttural roar that rattled the fillings in his teeth.
A metal cable whipped under Riko's foot, and he tripped—his body pitching sideways. He barely caught himself on the edge of an old vending machine. His wrist screen flashed violently from the sudden jolt, sparks dancing under the glass.
The monster was already mid-pounce.
Riko had no time to think.
No time to dodge.
No time for anything except—
Move.
His arm shot upward on instinct, fist clenching with a surge of power he still didn't fully understand. His muscles tensed. The air around his knuckles hummed. The ground vibrated beneath his feet.
The boss came down on him.
Riko punched.
The impact exploded.
A shockwave burst outward, blowing dust and fragments of metal into a spiraling cloud. The force lifted the boss monster off its feet—lifted it, a creature the size of a truck—and launched it backward like a kicked wheelbarrow.
The junkyard shook from the hit. In an instant, a dome-shaped crater formed under the monster's jaw-the metal and dirt compressed into a bowl of fractured debris. Broken appliances tumbled down surrounding piles from the tremor.
Riko was frozen, his fist still extended.
His hand tingled. His forearm buzzed, as if electricity had crawled under his skin.
"I… I did that?" he whispered, his voice cracking.
The shockwave slowly faded away.
The dust settled.
The boss didn't move.
Riko took a trembling step backward. His heart hammered so hard, it shook his whole chest. He stared at the crater, trying to process the fact that he'd just uppercut something that weighed several tons.
"I didn't mean—I mean, I DID mean to hit you, but not like THAT," he babbled. "Are you dead? Please don't be dead. Actually—no. Please BE dead. This is confusing.
A low rumble answered him.
The monster's fingers twitched.
Riko's stomach dropped.
"Nonononono-stay down! That punch was like… illegal! That should've counted as the end!"
But the boss's arm moved again, in a slow, heavy push against the crater floor. Dirt crumbled under its palm as it heaved itself upwards. Metal plating on its jaw sparked from the impact; some fractured pieces hung loose.
Riko stepped back further.
The boss's enormous torso came up, dust cascading off its shoulders like sand from a shaken statue. Its breathing was rough now—deep, thunderous, echoing through the junkyard with the sound of a war drum.
Riko swallowed so hard it hurt. "Okay. So you're not dead. Cool. Good talk.
The creature planted one clawed foot, then another, bracing itself. The pile of junk behind it groaned with the pressure. Its spine cracked audibly as it straightened to its full and terrifying height once more.
Riko backed into a rusted engine block, hands raised in defense even though his arms were shaking too much to be any real protection.
"Look," he said, voice shaking, "you started it. I just reacted. You can't get mad at me for self-defense—!"
The monster's head lifted.
Its glowing eyes locked on him.
And then-
Slowly.
Very slowly.
The corners of its massive jaw curled upwards.
Not in a snarl.
Not in a roar.
But in something far worse, A smile. The boss slowly gets back up, smil ing.