The Hybrid leader went in for a claw strike, hoping to wound Kazuichi on the shoulder and tear a tendon or two. Kazucihi responded by stepping, causing the Hybrid to miss his shoulder by an inch. With his backward momentum, he twisted his left foot and spun, lashing out his foot before the Hybrid could react.
BAM!
The roundhouse kicked met its target, and the Hybrid lashed out at him and broke his neck instantly. With a forced grunt, the Hybrid's head turned one-eighty degrees before he flew sideways. Once he landed on the ground, he was unconscious, and his neck flopped from his neck.
Before the group of Hybrids could react, Kazuichi walked towards their leader, grabbed him by the head, and decapitated it without a second thought. Of course, a Hybrid wouldn't die that quickly even if their head was severed. That's why he was confident that he wouldn't needlessly kill the Hybrid if he made the wrong move.
Tris and the uninfected humans thought the fight would be to the death, with Kazuichi on the losing end. There were a dozen Hybrids in that group, and eleven of them surrounded Kazuichi and their leader, ready to step in if their leader showed any signs of losing.
But it didn't end up as expected. In just a couple of seconds, Kazuichi unleashed the perfect counterattack as soon as his opponent made the first move. And in just one fluid movement, he had checkmated the Hybrid leader before the group could even react.
It was a perfect example of kidnapper-hostage play as Kazuichi formed a firm grip on the Hybrid's head. He then carelessly swung the Hybrid's head toward his teammates, emphasizing his defeat and reminding his loyal followers of his utter failure.
The Hybrid leader clicked his tongue. He couldn't accept the truth even though he was experiencing it firsthand. A couple of seconds later, he felt a hint of wooziness since Kazuichi continued swinging him around. It was torture for him, but Kazuichi seemed to enjoy every bit of it. He was even laughing his heart out like a maniac.
Of course, the group couldn't even approach Kazuichi. After all, their leader was on the brink of death, and one wrong move could alert Kazuichi, impulsively killing their leader before they could do something about it.
Obviously, the best course of action at present was to listen and give in to Kazuichi's demands, or else their leader would die. Seizing his chance, Kazuichi changed his grip. Instead of holding the Hybrid leader by his hair and swinging him around, he gripped his head with the palm of his hand. A smirk appeared on his face as his advantage was set in stone. He had taken the upper hand, and the Hybrids surrounding him were paralyzed in fear.
"Do you feel like listening to my demands right now?" Kazuichi called out, riling the Hybrids to his heart's content. They couldn't do anything regarding the situation. If they make a wrong move, then their leader would be a step closer to his grave— granted, he was already by the edge of his grave since he was already infected.
"We'll let them go. Once we let them go, hand over our leader's head." One of the Hybrids spoke up. His voice trembled in fear, and it boosted Kazuichi's confidence.
Kazuichi nodded. "You four, get out of here! And don't let these guys find you next time."
In response, Sander nodded his head as well. He muttered a soft thank you before turning around. Aya and the others were still speechless, and he had to garner their attention to bring them back to reality.
"What are you dilly-dallying around for? Let's get out of here. We don't have time for this." Sander called out. It's not every day that they get to face death in the face and turn away without suffering death.
To them, Kazuichi was heaven-sent. Even though he was a Hybrid through and through, there was still a bit of humanity left in him, and they were thankful for that. If it weren't for that aspect of Kazuichi's character, they'd have already been dead— or worse, they'd have turned into mindless infected.
Sander made a mental note, telling himself that not all Hybrids are against humanity. But then again, he needed clarification because Kazuichi implied that he just wanted to pick a fight with the group.
"Let's get out of here," Aya repeated as the group turned around, heading opposite where they came from.
There was a change of plan. Instead of going straight forward to get to the next city, the scouts and scavengers decided to look for supplies nearby and return to the Ironlock Stronghold as soon as possible.
They might not be lucky on their second expedition, but at least they can live another day. In a world where death is a regular occurrence, it is a privilege to live and survive.
Kazuichi was too focused on the head of the Hybrid leader that he overlooked one of the Hybrids running away. Then there was Tris, who immediately assumed that the Hybrid ran away because he was too afraid of Kazuichi.
Such wasn't the case, and by the time Tris realized she was mistaken, it was already too late.
Tris felt the atmosphere of the vicinity get heavier as an imminent danger approaching. She had been traveling alone for quite some time, enabling her to rely on her innate instincts. She could more or less tell that she and Kazuichi were about to meet with danger.
Then two figures appeared in the distance. Kazuichi didn't see it correctly since he was too fixated on the Hybrids around him. Adding to that, he could still smell the group of uninfected. That's why he continued stalling for time.
It was already too late. Tris tried to warn Kazuichi, but she didn't want to attract unnecessary attention to herself. It would give the Hybrids an advantage if she were taken hostage.
"Brother?! You're here!" The Hybrid leader screamed, momentarily causing Kazuichi to flinch.
Squelch!
One couldn't blame Kazuichi. He was cornered, and if he were to make a wrong move, he'd die at the hands of these Hybrids. That's why when the Hybrid leader suddenly screamed, he impulsively used his nature as a Hybrid.
Then he accidentally squeezed the Hybrid leader's head. It made a squelching noise, and thick blood and bits of his brain flowed from the gaps in Kazuichi's fingers. To others, it looked like Kazuichi squeezed a ripened tomato... except it wasn't a tomato.