Capítulo 41: (Minor) Regicide
Immediately Judge thrust forward, wielding a spear in his hand, previously hidden behind the throne, as he sought to skewer Dante as quickly as he could and end the battle before it began.
Dante, unwilling to be stabbed through the chest, parried the blow upwards after forming King Cerberus into a Staff. The spear was sent flying upwards, out of Judge's hands and leaving Dante pointing King Cerberus at Judge's head, allowing the half-devil to split the staff and release a blast of lightning directly into Judge's face in quick succession.
Judge was sent reeling back, hands covering his head as the small portions of his skin not covered by armour were left charred and boiling, his eyes blinded temporarily.
Reaching up, Dante then grabbed the spear that he had so graciously flung into the air, covering his hand in Armament Haki as he did so and crushed the blade of the weapon, rendering it useless.
By then Judge had recovered from his temporary blinding, so with fury in his movements the King reached forward, hoping to use his size advantage to squeeze Dante in the palm of his until a bloody mess remained.
His speed was far greater than what one would assume for a man of his size, especially given the armour covering his form, though this did not stop Dante from retaliating before Judge had a chance to run.
He dismissed King Cerberus, replacing it instead with the Coyote, lifting the barrel of his shotgun to meet Judge's open palm. His finger pressed down on the trigger twice, and with each shot Judge's left hand became more and more disfigured, torn in half and with bone exposed.
Judge screamed in agony and clutched his tarnished fist to his chest, quickly deciding that this was no longer a battle of pride but of survival. Within an instant, he was directly in front of Dante, leg poised and heading towards Dante.
The half-devil smirked at the sudden desperation in Judge's movement, meeting the kick with one of his own, leading to a chain of kicks landing against eachother. The speed at which Dante kicked out caused gusts of wind to be blown away at each collision, the fine gold plating of Judge's armour being chipped away as he did so.
"C'mon, Tin Man. This can't be all you've got."
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Judge, realising that he was once more on the backfoot instead shifted his strategy to accommodate his lack of a working hand. Backing up from Dante, he took a small dagger from his waist, slicing across the forearm at an angle and covered the broken limb in Armament Haki, effectively creating a second blade from his arm. Dante simply watched this happen with an open mouth, laughing at the extreme improvisation.
Judge could replace it anyway. A single hand meant nothing in the face of this threat against his life. He lifted his head, determination on his gaze as he stared hatefully in the Red Devil's direction.
Though Judge held the distinct height advantage, he couldn't help but feel small in front of Dante. From his demeanour, his posture, to the way he kept grinning at Judge each time they met eyes. It was humiliating.
His movements became far more aggressive, his posture feral as he lunged desperately towards Dante, swinging both blades several times over. Dante continually Tricked away from the onslaught, avoiding the blades of wind left behind by the cuts Judge made in the air, yet Judge did not stop. Instead, he pushed farther, swinging wildly at Dante as he followed the half-devil loosely.
By this point, both of his children currently in the room had been left astonished at the miserable sight their once noble father had become, however now they were actively having to dodge away from his stray blows.
After a few minutes spent in this frenzy, Judge overextended too far in his pathetic attempts to strike Dante, his body left undefended entirely. Dante dashed back and used this opportunity to summon the Rebellion, taking a page from Judge's book and rapidly swinging the blade several hundred times over within a few short seconds in Judge's direction.
Thousands of blades of wind, sharper than any sword Judge had ever seen, slashed against his body, shattering the armour and littering his form with vicious gashes, his blood now spilling across the castle floors heavily.
He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his body to avoid damage to his vitals, but that was to be the least of his concerns, as once he opened his eyes again he saw Dante just inches in front of him, the Coyote now pointed directly at Judge's head.
"Not bad, old man."
Judge's humiliation only grew as he gazed upon the Red Devil, with not a single mark on Dante's person. He hadn't landed a single hit, let alone enough to kill the bastard. Judge hung his head in a mix of shame and fear, unable to meet Dante's cold eyes.
"You got some guts. Never thought I'd see a guy cut his own hand off and use what's left like some kinda sword."
Judge's hoarse voice cut Dante off as he prepared another jab at the downed King.
"Finish it already. I don't care for your gloating, nor for your pathetic jokes."
Dante chuckled at Judge's acceptance of his fate, as he had made it quite clear that he needed the man alive. If Judge were to die, then the entire plan would go out the window.
"You ain't dying just yet, Tin Man. You're more valuable to me alive."
By this point, Judge was thankful to be alive. He raised his head through extreme effort and sighed, simply nodding and accepting his part in the Revolutionary Army's plan. His children watched with horror, their world view forever damaged. The once proud Vinsmoke was dead. In his place was a coward.
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Yo, it me, the author. Sorry for the wait, some personal shit went down, and I kinda got stuck in the middle of it. Plus side, I get two Christmases. Downside, I lost the motivation to write for a while and basically forgot most of what I had planned.
Luckily for me and you, I am one tenacious bastard, and this whole story was just improvised as I wrote anyway. What this means is that I ain't dropping this story any time soon, and I'm gonna be back to writing. Hell, I may even try finishing the One Piece segment by the end of summer. Probably won't be able to, but lofty goals fuel the souls.
Made that up, anyways, its good to be back, and I damn well hope y'all missed me.
Thanks for reading, any feedback is more than appreciated cause at this point I really need to get better at writing, I feel I'm doing this concept a disservice.
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