As he watched Gern lie face down on the ground, pounding it and sobbing while spewing an endless stream of defeatist remarks,
and Perona beside him, her little face flushed with excitement at how "super effective" her ability was, kept directing more Negative Hollows through Gern's body...
a clearly visible vein finally bulged on Hawk-Eye's forehead.
And so, our World's Greatest Swordsman took a deep breath.
Then, silently, he raised the right hand he had kept folded across his chest and gripped the hilt of the Black Blade, Yoru, on his back.
There was no warning, no windup, not even a trace of killing intent.
A true zero-frame startup!
Whoom! A dark green slash erupted instantly, bearing the resolve to cut through everything. It was not aimed at Perona or any of her ghosts,
but shot straight toward the back of Gern's neck at a speed impossible to follow with the naked eye, as he lay in an "Orz" pose radiating overwhelming negativity!
Fast! Ruthless! Precise!
Whoosh!!! The terrifying dark green Flying Slash tore just above the ground, instantly vaporizing several Negative Hollows in its path,
and continued without losing any momentum, striking the enormous hull of Thriller Bark behind them,
carving a massive fissure hundreds of meters long through half the ship!
But... within one hundredth of a second of Hawk-Eye drawing his blade,
Gern, who had been lying there passively waiting to die, teleported. His figure blurred, then vanished into thin air!
In the next instant, he appeared behind Hawk-Eye, hooked an arm around his neck, and yanked him backward, making him stumble.
"Motherfucker!" Gern leaned close to Hawk-Eye's ear. His despairing, defeatist expression had vanished without a trace,
replaced by a smile so "friendly" it sent chills down the spine.
**"You-bastard! That slash just now... you really