Eleo and Tony crept along the side of the building, keeping to the shadows. As they peeked around the back, Eleo groaned.
"Ah man, looks like we'll have to knock 'em out," he whispered, eyeing the two Ascendants standing guard.
Tony stretched his bony fingers, smirking. "Meh, I wouldn't mind."
Just as they were about to move, a blur shot past them.
"FINGER KNIFE!"
SHINK!
The two guards stiffened, then collapsed instantly, eyes rolling back.
Standing behind them was a tall, lean figure in a dark bodysuit with a red scorpion logo on the back. A black mask covered their face, leaving only their sharp eyes visible beneath their long dreadlocks.
Eleo's jaw dropped. "WOAH!! WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Tony grinned. "Ohoho, this is perfect."
Eleo blinked. "How is this perfect, exactly?! That dude just stabbed people with his pinky!"
Tony snorted. "That's Finger Knife, kid. And that means he's a Scorpion—an assassin. See the logo?" He jabbed a bony finger at the assassin's back.
Eleo scratched his head. "Okay... but what's Finger Knife?"
Tony sighed. "It's part of Shichishini—a crazy fast assassination style. No defense, just pure attack. And Finger Knife lets them stab like a dagger using just their fingertips."
Eleo's eyes widened. "So... he's like a walking knife?"
Tony let out a sharp laugh. "Exactly."
Eleo gasped. "WAIT—WHAT IF HE CAN TURN HIS WHOLE BODY INTO KNIVES?!"
Tony tilted his head. "...That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, and I love it."
Meanwhile, the assassin ignored them completely, already heading toward the main entrance.
Tony smirked. "He's here to kill Mayor Hunk. And while everyone's watching him—"
Eleo clapped his hands. "WE STEAL THE FLYING SHIP!"
Tony let out a satisfied chuckle. "Exactly."
Eleo beamed. "WE'RE GENIUSES!"
Tony patted Eleo's head. "Sure, kid. Sure."
Eleo casually strolled up to the assassin like he was about to ask for directions.
"Hey, sir! Would you like to join my team?"
Tony's skull nearly cracked from stress. "ELEO, WAIT—!"
But Eleo was already standing way too close to the masked man, beaming like an idiot.
The assassin stiffened, turning his masked face slightly. "Stop where you are, kid."
Tony rushed over, waving his hands. "WAIT! WAIT! Don't do anything drastic, alright? I already know what you're about to do."
The assassin narrowed his eyes. "Oh? And what's that?"
Tony sighed. "You're here to assassinate Mayor Hunk."
The man paused, then nodded. "…How'd you know?"
Tony deadpanned. "Who else would you be here to assassinate? It's Mayor Hunk. He's loud, he's important, and half the people here either love or hate his guts."
The assassin considered this for a moment. "Huh. Good point." Then he shrugged. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?"
Tony smirked. "Well, that's a—"
Eleo grinned. "WE'RE STEALING THE MAYOR'S BOAT!"
Tony's soul left his body. "ELEO?!"
Eleo blinked innocently. "What? He asked."
The assassin chuckled. "Heh… you guys wouldn't happen to be, uh… you know… trying to fight the strongest?"
Eleo's ears perked up. "YEAH! I'm building a team to take on the strongest fighters in the world!"
The assassin suddenly looked genuinely interested. "Ah man, I'm trying to do that too! But first, I gotta kill this guy… and that guy… oh, and that guy over there… and you get the rest."
Eleo tilted his head. "Why do you gotta kill 'em?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Because some people pay the Scorpions ridiculous amounts of money for assassinations."
The assassin nodded. "Yep. I joined when I was six. My momma died, and the Scorpions found me, gave me food, and told me I could make a fortune if I was willing to, you know—" He made a quick stabbing motion with his pinky. "Shichishini-style."
Eleo gasped. "YOU WERE SIX?! THAT'S YOUNGER THAN ME!"
The assassin shrugged. "Yeah. And now I'm probably going to hell."
Eleo frowned. "What's hell?"
Tony froze. "Uhhhh…"
Thinking fast, he grinned. "It's a legendary Bunny Island where you can fight forever."
Eleo's face lit up like the sun. "WOW! I WANNA GO TO HELL!"
The assassin snorted. Tony tried to hold it in, but a second later, they were both cracking up.
Eleo nodded seriously. "Alright, new plan! After we fight the strongest, we go to hell!"
Tony sighed. "Yeah, kid. That's definitely where we're headed…"
Olorun dusted off his hands. "Anyway, name's Olorun. And you two are?"
Eleo puffed up his chest. "I'm Eleo! And this is Tony!"
Olorun nodded. "Cool. How 'bout this—I'll join your little team after I've killed Mr. Mayor."
Eleo grinned. "Deal!"
Olorun smirked beneath his mask. "Alright then. Later, suckers."
Before Eleo could even blink, Olorun disappeared—gone like he was never there.
Eleo gasped. "WOW! We're getting another person on our team!"
Tony crossed his arms. "Yeah… I'm surprised he'd wanna join us over the Scorpions."
Eleo smirked. "That's because of my charm."
Tony stared at him. "Uh-huh. Sure. Let's go with that."
Inside the Mayor's Place
Tony kneeled over one of the unconscious guards and patted him down. "Come on… come on… Yes sir! This guy's got a key."
Eleo pumped his fist. "NICE!"
Tony unlocked the door, and the two slipped inside.
The hallway was a strange mix of luxury and chaos. There was a robot sweeping up the floor as if nothing was wrong, while a bunch of random people were fighting like it was an underground brawl.
Eleo looked around in awe. "Wow. It's so clean in here!"
Tony blinked. "…That's what you're focusing on?"
Eleo nodded proudly. "A clean floor is important! How can you fight in a dirty place?!"
Tony sighed. "Kid, we are literally sneaking into a corrupt mayor's base. Focus."
Tony glanced around and spotted a large metal sign that read:
PRISON ROOM
Eleo gasped. "WOW! They have a prison down there?!"
Tony grinned, rubbing his bony chin. "Y'know… I'm kinda tempted to explore. If it's okay with you, of course."
Eleo's ears twitched. "OH! SAME! I wanna see what's inside!"
Tony cackled. "Alright then—let's explore."
With a smooth click, Tony unlocked the door, and the two of them descended the dimly lit staircase.
Inside the Prison
The air was damp, and the stone walls were lined with iron-barred cells. Inside, prisoners of all kinds sat in the dark, looking miserable.
In front of them stood a group of Ascendants—and they weren't just guarding the prisoners…
They were mocking them.
One of the Ascendants sneered. "Pathetic. You weaklings thought you could take us on?"
Another one laughed. "Yeah, keep crying. Maybe we'll let you out in… never."
Eleo frowned. "Hey, Tony."
Tony's eye sockets flickered. "Yeah?"
Eleo pointed. "I don't like them."
Tony smirked. "Heh. Me neither."
Eleo cracked his knuckles. "Let's punch them."
Tony grinned wickedly. "Now you're talking."
Eleo cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "HEY, UGLY!"
One of the Ascendants turned, scowling. "Who the hell—"
Before he could finish, Eleo launched himself forward, his fists coated in dark, swirling ink.
"INK BARRAGE!"
His punches came fast. Too fast.
Eleo's fists slammed into the Ascendant's face, ribs, stomach, and arms, his movements wild yet unpredictable—like a rubber ball bouncing out of control. Every strike left behind splashes of ink, coating the enemy's body in sticky black splotches.
The Ascendant staggered back, eyes wide.
"What the—?!"
BAM! Eleo's uppercut sent him flying into the ceiling, his body cracking the stone before he collapsed, unconscious.
Eleo put his hands on his hips. "HA! That's what you get for being ugly."
Tony chuckled. "My turn."
Before the remaining three Ascendants could react, Tony glided forward, his skeletal hands moving like a blur.
One of them swung a punch—but Tony barely tilted his head, dodging it by a hair's width.
Then, with effortless precision, he redirected the punch with his palm, trapping the enemy's arm against his own.
"Oops. Too slow."
SMACK!
Tony's fingers flicked the guy's forehead.
The Ascendant's legs buckled, his body collapsing instantly.
Another lunged at him from the side—but Tony spun, trapping the attacker's wrist in a joint lock.
"Tsk tsk. Predictable."
In one smooth motion, he twisted the guy's arm and delivered a palm strike straight to his chest—sending him crashing into a pile of crates.
The last Ascendant panicked and tried to pull out his weapon.
Tony grabbed his wrist.
"Nah."
Then, with ridiculous ease, he slapped the guy's face.
SLAP!
The force sent the Ascendant twirling in midair like a spinning top before he collapsed in a heap.
Tony dusted off his bony hands. "That was fun."
Eleo pumped his fist. "WE WON!"
The prisoners in the cells all blinked in shock.
One of them muttered, "...That was hilarious."
Another one whispered, "Did that skeleton just slap a guy unconscious?"
Eleo threw his hands up. "WHOOO! Tony, we're awesome!"
Tony smirked. "Of course we are."
The two of them high-fived, striking ridiculously exaggerated victory poses.
Olorun crouched behind a rooftop, peeking over with a mischievous grin. He took a deep breath and smacked his cheeks.
Meanwhile:Olorun crouched behind a rooftop, peeking over with a mischievous grin. He took a deep breath and smacked his cheeks.
"Alright, Olorun, you got this."
Then—he leaped.
His body shot high into the air, soaring like a missile. His dreadlocks trailed behind him as he flipped midair, twisting his body into a deadly dive.
"FINGER KNIFE!"
With razor-sharp precision, he aimed straight for Mayor Hunk's head—his pinky gleaming like a dagger.
But just as his attack was about to connect—
A hand shot up.
GRAB.
The entire crowd froze.
Mayor Hunk had caught Olorun midair—by the wrist—like it was nothing.
Then, with a casual flick, he twisted Olorun's body sideways, sending him tumbling onto the ground.
Olorun landed with a roll, immediately popping back up into a crouch, rubbing his wrist.
His eyes narrowed. "So… you knew I was here."
Hunk crossed his massive arms. "Yeah. Also—" he raised an eyebrow, "I literally heard you yell 'Finger Knife.' Of course, I knew."
Olorun blinked. "Oh… fair." He scratched his head. "But let's be honest—who doesn't yell out their attack?"
Hunk nodded. "Okay, true."
Then his expression turned serious. "And I already know about your two friends."
Olorun's smirk vanished. His eyes sharpened. "What?! How?! Who snitched? Who's the rat?! WHO'S THE—THE FILTHY, DIRTY, STINKIN'—" His eyes widened. "Cheese lover?!"
Hunk waved a hand. "Don't worry about that." He stepped forward, his boots echoing on the ground.
"All I need from you… is to attack me."
Olorun blinked. Huh?
"...What?"
Hunk's expression remained dead serious. "You heard me."
"I want you to attack me."
Olorun's mind raced.
"This dumb, thick-headed, meat-brained, knuckle-dragging, rock-eating MONKEY is asking me to attack him?!"
Then, slowly, a wicked grin spread across his face.
"Hehehehe..."
His eyes darkened—his usual cheerful, mischievous aura melting away, replaced by something colder.
Something ruthless.
His voice dropped to a chilling tone.
"Alright then, Hunk."
His fingers twitched. His muscles tensed. His bloodthirsty smile widened.
"I'll attack you."