F-Front!
H-How was that possible?!
At that moment, time seemed to slow. The Ninja Sword was drawn inch by inch, its cold gleam gradually flashing forth as it prepared to slash upward. Yet the Masked Man's head turned back little by little, toward the wall directly in front of him.
"Crack... crack-crack-crack... crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!"
At that moment, on the Rock Wall before him, where the tremors had already ceased, that tiny crack suddenly spread outward, webbing across its surface. In an instant, the wall was covered in fractures.
"Boom!"
Then, as his gaze turned back, the fissured Rock Wall exploded with a roar.
"Clack-clack-clack-clack!"
In an instant, time seemed to accelerate a hundredfold. Countless fragments of rock, carrying tremendous force, came hurtling toward him. Before he could make any move, the swift shards struck his mask. Under the immense impact, it cracked twice, fractures immediately spreading across the spot that had been hit.
Pain like flesh being pierced and bones shattered struck him in an instant! Damn it!
Under the intense pain, the Masked Man immediately gritted his teeth. But he had recovered his senses by then. The sword motion in his hand halted abruptly, and his left hand pressed against the ground suddenly clenched.
"Boom!"
A rock wall surged up before him at once, blocking all the flying debris and Rock Spikes outside.
"Crack! Crack! Crack-crack!"
However, the rock fragments and broken Rock Spikes came with tremendous force. Though the wall blocked them, it began cracking everywhere. He had only just managed to sheath the half-drawn Ninja Sword when the wall was already riddled with fractures, before he even had time to catch his breath.
Tch! Seeing this, the Masked Man could not spare the attention to check the injuries from the rock fragments and Rock Spikes. His left hand