Natan's exploding bullet reverberated over the Grim Isle, which Clawford successfully shielded with his claws and absorbed the brunt of the hit, whilst Natan immediately turned his bazooka back into a violin when he ran out of explosive rounds, as charging through the sunlight was required.
"I can't claim you didn't scare me. That violin didn't look like a gun, so I assumed it couldn't be used for anything other than making music..."
As he wobbled left and right owing to the massacre of the three explosions, Clawford restored his position forcefully, while a purple energy continued to swirl about his body.
"However, now that your boom-boom gun is gone, I should be easily able to kill you..."
Clawford squatted on the floor and carefully slipped his claws on them, then flashed on the spot to send himself forward like a throwing dart, and materialized behind Natan, who sensed Clawford's approach and slightly rotated his body to see Clawford shoot past his stomach.
He reacted immediately by raising his knee, which he rammed into Clawford's stomach, pushing him high in the air. He then aimed his handgun forward and pulled the trigger, firing a bullet that spun through the air and missed Clawford, causing his body to spin. He managed to evade it, but the bullet nevertheless detonated on impact, causing him to lose control of the airborne flight.
Tim's nose itched, and a black feather flapping on it fooled his brain into thinking he was awake. He gently opened his eyes and saw a girl crouching in front of him, wearing a white sweatshirt and a skirt with mauve short hair. His eyes went dotted as he unintentionally glimpsed at her black panties, sneezed, and hurriedly leapt back up, the girl glancing up at him slightly.
"When did you get out of the sword, Tomomi? Even better, why were you in there for such a long time?" She carefully rose up to explain the situation, her adorableness shining through.
"I was sleepy, so I took a nap..." As he raised his arms above his head, to stretch, his gaze quickly got unimpressed. "Well, it's time to eat."
With a grin on his face, he began to walk away, while Tomomi quickly floated alongside him, reminding him of his intention. "...I thought you were gonna go after Natan..."
Tim merely laughed and kept walking forward as he became agitated. "Can't I grab some food first? I'm hungry! I haven't eaten for hours..." While receiving a proper physical physique, Tomomi continued to offer him with better possibilities.
"...But, if you go eat right now, you might never see him again... Don't you want to recruit him?"
"Gah! I completely forgot! Lt's get moving! Which path should we take?!" As they moved forward, their voices became increasingly distant.
"...That way..."
Natan gradually gained an advantage over Clawford, who had been ruthlessly hit by a large number of shots, but it was wearing him down and ruining his attitude, so he became more offensive than before, relying on his speed more frequently than before.
He ran across the floor, his left arm outstretched, spewing purple energy whips as he struck at Natan from afar, who retaliated instantly by raising his pistol and guarding the whips that pushed him back.
He sprang into the air after reloading the pistol's magazine and hastily pointed it forward, firing a round that Clawford evaded by skimming to the side and twisting his ankles.
He spun his body around and vanished in a whirlpool of energy, leaving Natan on the ground, where he observed a shadow behind him, swinging the purple whips once again. However, Natan continued his evasion by speaking the word "Rondo" as he blinked forward into a designated direction, leaving a black trail behind him, as he slid on the floor and dodged the whips that slapped both sides of the floor, whilst the he quickly stopped sliding by turning around and firing three bullets from his pistol.
Clawford swooped down from the sky, spinning between the bullets, and blinked into existence behind Natan, slashing his claws into Natan's back, landing a successful strike that pulsed purple energy and drove Natan forward.
"One side has been hit, and there are just three more to go. Both of your arms, as well as your chest. It should be simple." Clawford laughed as he licked the blood off his claws, spread both arms and legs, and then crossed both arms as he vanished again, this time appearing on the right side of Natan's immobilized body, and slicing, landing another cut, before quickly vanishing for the third time and appearing on the left side of Natan, cutting his other hand, and then quickly retreating.
"And, one last body part to go. "
The others were waiting for Tim to finally reconnect with them, but his lack of appearance has caused them to be concerned about him, causing them to stress and sweat.
"This is not a pleasant sensation for me. Tim hasn't returned in nearly three hours. Shouldn't we go looking for him?"
"I'm not sure. Nina's injuries haven't healed yet, Karisa, and there are five of us here. If someone tries to kidnap another civilian, we should stay in the town."
"So, instead of staying all together, why don't we just split into two groups? Two of us can stay in town to keep an eye on things while the other three go find Tim. Isn't that a better strategy, Codey?"
"What are your thoughts, Ayuka?" Ayuka was shaking and slightly sweating with her right arm crossed beneath her chest and grasping the other arm pressed against her hip when Codey noticed her.
"Hey, Ayuka. Can you hear me?" Ayuka's consciousness suddenly opened, and she glanced at Codey with wonder, hastily concealing her terror. "Yeah! I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something. I think we should stay in town; Tim will be fine on his own." Despite the fact that Codey was well aware that Ayuka had been lying, he chose to respect her decision.
"I suppose you're right..."
Clawford escaped the bullet by ducking and shoving his right sole into the floor, propelling himself forward in anger with his left arm thrust forward, ready to stab Natan's chest.
Natan crouched slightly and then blinked to the side, allowing him to aim his pistol at Clawford, who braked on the spot with his feet upon missing and spun his body around to exchange eyes with Natan, who fired the sixth and final round of his current magazine, which flew ahead accurately.
While reloading the pistol, Natan started to back away when the sixth bullet shot at Clawford, who ducked the bullet and felt it fly by his ears, spinning and exploding into Clawford's throne, and with that, it finally happened. Clawford became infuriated when the rusted old throne got demolished causing him to go insane.
Clawford began to shake in wrath as he watched the throne devolve into a pile of useless rust as a result of such an enraged moment. His veins were virtually bulging out of his skin as he spun around with an intense glare.
"You braindead bastard, my throne!" His mouth and eyes shook fiercely as his voice resonated angrily around the room. "Don't you realize how long it took me to become the island's king?! That throne was the only thing that allowed me to become a king, but you stupid bard destroyed it! Only one thing can be deduced from this. A cruel and helpless death!"
Clawford's pace increased as he ran forward, faster than Natan could fire the bullets, and Natan's eyes widened in astonishment in an instant, while Clawford thrust forward with his arm, impossible for Natan to avoid, and if he was hit, it meant only one thing. Clawford's attack would have affected all four sections of his body, forcing Natan to perish.
Instead, Tim slammed his foot into the, obliterating it into splinters, knocking the pieces away with a serious, outraged expression obvious on his face, thoroughly frightening Clawford, while Tim's voice echoed throughout the room.
"I found you, Natan!!"
With the intimidation, Tim's foot slammed into Clawford's head, knocking him against the wall and forcibly destroying it and piling its pieces on the floor, with Tim sliding on the floor and landing on them with a furious face and steam pouring out of his nose.
Natan's eyes grew dotted, conveying perplexity, as Tim stood in the middle of the room, fiercely shaking his fist and gazing at Clawford.
"Is this the cat I've been searching for? I hope you got a good kick out of it! I've heard everything about individuals being kidnapped, sold as slaves, and then brutally murdered! You dumb cat without a tail, I'm going to break that cocky smug off your face!"
Tim screamed, while Tomomi hovered behind him.
"...You should work on your insults..., I think."
To be continued...