My Sword Is Faster

Miming said coldly, "If I cut off your legs, that should turn them both back to normal."

"Wait!" Baroque snatched up a rock and shouted, "I have hostages!"

With Miming, Cairns, and Vivi watching, Baroque slammed the rock down on his own foot.

"Pell! Chaka!" Vivi cried. His foot was flattened, and the shoes shaped like an eagle and a jackal looked pitiful.

Miming stared. "...Doesn't that hurt?"

"It does." Tears welled in Baroque's eyes. "But if you come any closer, I'll smash my foot again! Hahaha! I'm Baroque, and I always have hostages underfoot!"

Miming fell silent.

Damn. He really was a pain to deal with.

"There's no helping it," Miming said coldly. "Let's see whether you can swing that rock faster than I can draw my sword!" He took a deep breath and settled into a sword-drawing stance. There was no way the rock could beat his blade.

Just then, a tall figure emerged from behind the palace. A cigar hung from his mouth. He took a long drag, blew out a cloud of smoke, and sighed heavily.

"Who's there?" Baroque turned, then his eyes lit up. "It's you!"

The figure scattered like dust in the wind. A moment later, Baroque let out a terrible scream in the darkness. The man had appeared right in front of him, gripping his neck and hoisting him into the air.

"Crocodile..." Every drop of moisture was drained from Baroque's body, leaving him a shriveled corpse.

Miming watched in silence. Crocodile, who had appeared out of nowhere, stood nearly nine feet tall. A stitched scar crossed his face, and one hand had been replaced with a golden hook. Now that hook had torn open Baroque's chest and was digging deep inside it.

Baroque's body convulsed as the hook twisted. The shoes slipped