The Laughing Swordsman

Booming thumps reverberated through the air, the sound of footsteps.

Apollo and Layla looked towards those sounds to see what looked like a giant cougar.

This creature was different from the others in that its skin was a muddy green, as opposed to the fleshy pink the others had. Although the creature was still fairly easy to see, if it wasn't moving, it would blend in fairly well with certain sections of the toxic wasteland.

  It was roughly ten meters long, not counting its tail, and opened its mouth wide to reveal bright white teeth.

Apollo scratched his cheek with his index finger, then turned to Layla.

"Is that tasty?"

Layla pouted.

"Mm... it's ok. Not too tasty, more for playing."

Apollo nodded and began walking towards the cougar. He had a neutral expression on his face.

His pace slowly increased to a slow jog, while a small smile formed on his face.

It increased even further, becoming a brisk run, while the smile on his face grew larger.

Then, he began sprinting without abandon, giggling to himself with a wide smile.

In just moments, they were only several meters away from each other. The cougar roared defiantly while Apollo pulled his bokken back.

Suddenly, a little bit of lightning crackled around Apollo, specifically his legs. He pushed off the ground, causing the repulsive dirt of the toxic wasteland to splash into the air.

As for Apollo, his figure flashed as though he became a lightning bolt.

Before the cougar realized anything, Apollo was behind it.

Its first instinct was to try and turn around, but before it could...

The cougar split in two.

Black blood splashed onto the ground, while the dark red flesh of the cougar was revealed. Something noticeably strange was that its bones were not only black, but split cleanly apart along with the flesh.

It was as though the bone was flexible, like skin.

Apollo turned around to admire his work, however, the smile suddenly left his face.

The two halves of the cougar began to recombine. At the point where it had been cut, the flesh and bone seemed to begin dissolving, becoming some sludge-like substance. That substance combined with each other, reforming to become the cougar once more.

In just moments, it reverted back to its original state. It was as though the cougar was never cut in the first place.

Apollo twisted his head to the side and began laughing.

"Alright then..."

The cougar turned around and swiped its claw at Apollo without hesitation. But before it landed, Apollo leaped, letting the claw slam into the ground. He rested his hand on the flat side of the bokken.

Then, it snapped out.

Two clear cuts appeared on the cougar's body, splitting it into four. The pieces fell to the ground, but did not remain dead. Instead, it continued to squirm, forcefully piecing it back together.

Apollo did not simply watch as this happened. He let out a flurry of slashes, but it was as though he had been hitting water.

In the end, the cougar easily continued reforming into its original state, essentially unaffected by Apollo's strikes.

Suddenly, the cougar lunged forth with its jaws wide, despite the fact it was only half reformed.

Apollo's bokken flashed.

A clear snap rang out.

He slammed his bokken against the cougar's bright white teeth, causing them to snap off entirely. However, the cougar continued forth, not caring about losing its teeth in the slightest.

Apollo's body swayed to the left while the cougar's jaws snapped shut.

Yet, before they only landed on air.

As for Apollo, he had pushed off the ground and disappeared into the shadow world. In less than a second, he reappeared to the side of the cougar. As Apollo pulled back his bokken, large amounts of lighting gathered around it.

Then once it looked like a lightning bolt, Apollo swung.

A thundering crackle rang out.

The cougar was bisected, while its body was charred around the cut. Unfortunately, although the wound looked promising, it wasn't enough.

The charred section peeled off, like a snake shedding its skin. Then, the cougar recombined.

Although it seemed that the damage was somewhat permanent, the amount was far too little. Apollo would end up spending so much time slashing, he would probably die of boredom before the cougar was finished off.

Apollo raised his bokken once more, gathering more lighting. The cougar roared, almost reformed.

But those two weren't the only ones here.

"Waaaaah!"

Layla came from above, coming down from the sky like a meteor. She had a bright smile on her face as she tore through the air. Her feet were kept close together, while her arms were raised high in the air.

Layla somewhat resembled a needle.

However, her attacks were more like a sledgehammer.

A booming thump reverberated.

Right when the cougar had reformed, Layla slammed down onto it. The cougar splattered onto the ground like a tomato, while a miniature crater had formed on the ground.

Apollo froze, holding his bokken awkwardly in the air. The smile slowly left his face as he lowered his bokken.

"I suppose that is one way to deal with that."

Layla giggled.

"It can still play, but we have to give it some time!"

Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Layla pointed towards the splatter that formed on the ground.

"This friend is not sleeping yet! We can come back later."

Apollo looked down at the slime.

The splattered remains of the cougar were still moving, trying to reform. It was several times slower than before, but was doing it nonetheless.

It would probably take a few hours for it to reform.

Apollo slashed at what had become of the cougar, but only caused it to splash around. At that point, he gave up.

Layla grabbed onto Apollo's hand.

"Come on, there are still more tasty things!"

Although Apollo felt being dragged along was a little unnecessary, he let himself get pulled around by Layla.

Until they reached a strange honeycomb.