Flatten it?
The moment I heard that, rage flared up inside me.
Here I was in the middle of the night, hiding from those crazy women.
I hadn't even gotten my fill of ramen before fleeing underground to hole up here.
And this duck-voiced bastard, who'd crawled out of who knew where-
The first thing out of his mouth was a threat to flatten my basement?
Unbelievable. He'd picked the wrong guy to bully.
I spat.
The spit landed on the purple-glowing floor.
It gave a faint sizzle.
Like cold water dripping into hot oil.
"Want to flatten this place? I'll seal up that leaky mouth of yours first!"
I cursed and slammed my right hand onto the floorboards.
Divine Tree chakra poured out as though it cost nothing.
Bright green light instantly overwhelmed the purple glow.
The wood grain beneath my palm began twisting and hardening wildly.
"Warning. Unknown high-energy reaction detected."
That duck voice was still squawking inside.
His voice was mixed with piercing microphone static.
"Energy level exceeding threshold. Drill overload-"
"Overload my ass!"
I flipped my wrist, turning Wood Release fibers into countless fine steel needles.
They plunged relentlessly into the glowing crack.
I forced that mass of purple light back inside.
A muffled bang rang out.
Something seemed to have exploded on the other side of the crack.
A jumble of screams and twisting metal followed.
The purple crack went completely dark.
Only a scorched black patch remained on the floor.
A wisp of choking black smoke rose from it.
A strange smell of burnt plastic mixed with ozone spread through the basement.
I pinched my nose and fanned the air.
I coughed twice.
Finally, some peace and quiet.
I dusted the black ash off my hands.
Then wiped them carelessly on my trouser legs.