Taking the Beast Away

Bullet suddenly raised his head, his scarlet pupils contracting as he locked onto the top of the rock wall.

Against the rolling smoke and shattered daylight, two figures stood silently.

The tall, black-haired man wore a glaring white cape, utterly out of place on this battlefield of blood and mud.

Beside him stood a young Marine, tall and straight-backed, his eyes as cold and hard as blades, like a sharp weapon ready to be drawn at any moment.

Bullet bared his teeth, bloodstained fangs looking especially grim in the darkness.

"Have you seen enough?"

His voice was hoarse, yet as sharp as a worn blade.

"Get lost."

"Or die."

He needed no explanation, nor would he accept any judgment.

The world had taught him only one rule: whoever stood before you was either an enemy or the next corpse to fall.

Rock did not respond to that naked hostility.

His gaze crossed the pools of blood and severed limbs, settling precisely on Bullet.

"Douglas Bullet."

Rock spoke in an even tone. "A wild beast."

"Yet you were thrown into this rotten mire, left with no choice but to survive by tearing at each other."

His words paused for a moment.

"...What a waste."

Bullet chuckled lowly.

The laughter echoed through the narrow dead end, harsh and crazed.

He slowly straightened, his back tightening as his bones cracked explosively, like a thoroughly enraged beast rising to its feet once more.

His blood-soaked fist clenched at his side.

"I like it this way!"

"Think you can teach me a lesson?"

His gaze swept across Rock's calm face, and his grin widened.

"You, pretty boy?"

The moment the words fell, Sakazuki's presence suddenly sank, his eyes instantly turning dangerous.

But before he could speak—

Rock took a step forward.

The instant that step