Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 89: The Golden Legend (Patreon)

Bullets came from every direction, curving around Nomiyama's huge hand before he could react.

“Ugh!”

His ears, eyes, and temples were struck almost at once. Dizzy and unable to stay upright, he fell heavily onto his backside.

Pantheon closed in once more, shifting the Chainsword’s target to the wounds on Nomiyama’s body that hadn’t been fully sutured.

Thanks to the [Human Anatomy] knowledge he’d gained from the Scavengers and his experience collecting hundreds of bodies, he knew the human anatomy inside and out.

In that respect, he was something of an expert.

The serrated edge of the Chainsword sank into the stitches on Nomiyama’s left leg, slicing through the muscle fibers and the neural links of his implants in a single stroke.

“Clang! Clang!”

The serrated edge ground furiously against the titanium alloy skeleton, emitting a piercing screech.

Unable to bear such torment, Nomiyama forced himself to ignore the discomfort and lashed out with a slap.

Pantheon was much faster. As he dodged, he used the Chainsword to slice open an implant incision on Nomiyama's back.

The blade reached the neural implant inside him, sending violent feedback through his body. The pain nearly drove him mad.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh! I’m going to kill you!”

Nomiyama's face twisted with pain as tearing sensations spread throughout his body. He immediately activated his Berserk System.

The Berserk System connected to his spine whirred into action, pumping concentrated chemicals straight into his veins while his Pain Editor forcibly shut down the pain signals.

Nomiyama instantly recovered from his flagging condition. He stood again, his skin turning an unnatural purplish red. His blood no longer sprayed from his wounds. It congealed into jelly-like clumps.

Activating the Berserk System seemed to have stripped him of his last shred of sanity. He stopped feinting and guarding, instead charging out of control like a heavy truck at full speed.

But to Pantheon, such a straightforward charge was far easier to handle than the sumo master who had previously employed sumo techniques and psychological tactics.

Pantheon dodged Nomiyama's attacks while harassing him with gunfire, opening fresh wounds whenever he could.

Nomiyama missed his mark once again, crashing head-on into one of the main hall’s load-bearing columns.

“Thud!”

Wood shavings flew everywhere, and the surface of the load-bearing column was covered in cracks. As the heart and face of the shrine, the main hall had always been meticulously maintained by the priests and worshippers.

But no building, however sturdy, could survive the way these two were tearing it apart.

Tiles slid from the roof in sheets. The rafters groaned under the strain, dust and debris rained down, and the entire hall teetered on the brink of collapse.

Pantheon looked at the severely deformed dome and, without a flicker of emotion, took two steps toward the doorway.

Nomiyama charged at him once more, but this time Pantheon chose to take the blow head-on. The massive impact sent him flying right out the front door. Pantheon smiled as he pulled two grenades from his waistband and tossed them into the hall.

“Have a taste of this!”

“Boom!”

The grenades were the final straw. The damaged support columns snapped, the roof gave way, and the entire hall collapsed in a thunderous crash.

Nomiyama’s massive form vanished instantly into the rubble. Pantheon waved away the dust swirling before him and squinted into the depths of the smoke.

Just as he was about to approach, a massive boulder suddenly flew out.

Pantheon sighed and held the broad blade of his Chainsword up in front of him.

“Thud!”

He blocked the boulder, but before he could catch his breath, Nomiyama suddenly burst out of the smoke, appearing instantly in front of Pantheon with a speed that belied his massive frame.

The distance was too close. Pantheon had no time to dodge.

A cold light flashed in Pantheon's eyes. He stepped forward into Nomiyama's reach, closing the distance until he was pressed against the giant's chest.

Abandoning all defense, he brought his roaring Chainsword down toward Nomiyama's face in a stroke that could split steel.

“Crack!”

“Whoosh!”

Two completely different sounds rang out simultaneously.

Nomiyama’s bear paw slammed squarely into Pantheon’s left arm, sending him flying several meters and crashing into a flower bed by the roadside.

Pantheon spat up a mouthful of blood. His left arm was numb, and he had no idea where his Wingman had gone.

But Nomiyama wasn’t faring much better on the other side either. The crushing weight of the collapsing hall caused all his wounds to burst open, and the earlier chainsword slash had blinded him in one eye.

“Aaaargh!”

Nomiyama roared, yanking out his damaged cybernetic eye and flinging it to the ground.

Perhaps the side effects of the drugs had subsided somewhat, or perhaps the intense pain had broken through the limitations of the Pain Editor.

Some of the madness faded from Nomiyama's remaining eye as he regained a little of his senses.

With his remaining eye, he fixed his gaze on Pantheon, who had gotten back to his feet, and burst into a maniacal laugh.

“Hahahahaha! King, you certainly haven’t disappointed me! You’ve let me taste the most delicious fruit!”

Pantheon silently circulated his breathing technique, its peculiar rhythm restoring his body to peak condition.

His voice was slightly hoarse, and the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even brighter.

“To be honest, you’re definitely the most troublesome opponent I’ve ever faced.”

The deathly silent shrine seemed to echo only with the two men’s heavy breathing.

“Roar!”

Nomiyama pounded his chest and launched a final charge at Pantheon. But wounded as he was, he could no longer fight at his earlier peak.

Pantheon darted beneath his arm, circled behind him, and drove the Chainsword into the wound he’d previously torn open.

This time, the Chainsword successfully penetrated deep into the joint, severing the artificial tendons and the titanium alloy skeletal drive shaft.

Nomiyama’s left leg lost its support, and his nearly one-metric-ton frame collapsed to its knees, shattering the stone slab beneath it.

Perhaps the back was the blind spot of every strongman and sumo wrestler.

Pantheon mercilessly brought the Chainsword down on the wound over his spine.

“Crack!”

Even those reinforced bones couldn't withstand repeated cuts from the Chainsword. His spine split down the middle. His spine severed and his left leg useless, Nomiyama had become a motionless mountain of flesh.

Pantheon retrieved his fallen Wingman, aimed into Nomiyama's empty eye socket, and granted him a warrior's death.

“Smack!”

[Detected trait: [Mighty King] (Gold)]

Description: Want my recipe? Go find it! I've left everything there!

Effect: Body +5. Special effect: Greatly reinforces bones and muscles, making them as tough as steel.

[Trait loading.]

Pantheon felt his muscles turn into a pool of soft mud as an invisible giant hand reshaped him into an extraordinary form.

It felt as if someone had broken all his bones and plunged them into boiling adamantium, filling every crack and hollow.

When it was over, Pantheon had returned to full strength. He spread his arms wide and flashed a determined smile at the Tyger Claws gang thugs who had appeared out of nowhere.

“Everybody, charge together! He can't kill us all at once!”

The leader of the Tyger Claws gang thugs roared furiously and charged forward, knife raised.

Pantheon shook his head in resignation and reluctantly accepted this wave of Essence.