Tiger responded with another growl—whether that meant yes or no was anyone’s guess. Whatever the case, she didn’t turn her claws on Ox at that moment. But she also understood that her nails wouldn’t be effective against the younger twin’s corpse—like Ox’s saber, they would only make the situation worse. Anything she scratched or tore from the zombie would only add to its number.
Never in its entire history had the Zodiac War seen such a ridiculous scenario as two top-favored combatants facing an already dead enemy, yet being entirely unable to act.
Except they can act, Dragon thought as he watched the battle from far above. My brother is the one who can’t. Without his head or his arms, he can’t take on those two fighters at once. Besides, this isn’t even the kind of stand-off where the first to move will lose. My unfortunate little brother’s primary mission is to chase after that kid. If Ox and Tiger realized that and simply turned their backs and fled, the battle would be over just like that. I’d love to see that prodigy, Ox, turn tail for once in his life. On the other hand, this might be my time to act …
Dragon had been waiting above the skies for the right moment, and he was prepared to wait as long as it took, but this seemed like it might be his best chance. What better opportunity would there be to make a surprise attack on the mighty Ox and Tiger than when both were injured? Dragon was willing to wait longer, but he’d never have a better chance to put himself on the board.
And here I’d thought our days as a team were over, little bro. Not even I saw this coming—I guess we brothers have a bond stronger than death. Anyway, I’m your big brother—it’s my job to be the superhero coming to your rescue.
Now, which should he kill with that first surprise strike? For a moment, Dragon considered Tiger—after being set on fire, she seemed like she would have the fewest remaining hit-points and made for the easier target—but in the end, Dragon’s decision was easy. Remove the more dangerous adversary first: Ox.
I’m counting on you, little bro. Keep them distracted. I’ll hold a memorial service for you.
At the last moment before his rapid descent, he declared himself with determination in his voice.
“I am Tatsumi the Elder, the Fighter of the Dragon. I kill for the money.”
“I am Tatsumi the Younger, the Fighter of the Snake. I kill for the money.”
Dragon thought he heard his brother’s voice in unison with his. It must have been an illusion, a trick of his ears—but then something that was not at all an illusion fell into his hands with a plop!
What could possibly have fallen into his hands from above, when he was already above the birds, and the clouds, and the very skies themselves?
His brother’s head.
Some time had passed since the head was severed, and it hadn’t been particularly well preserved, but there was no mistaking his twin’s face. This was no illusion—it was really him. The surprise left Dragon dumbstruck, and he nearly fumbled the severed head, but his mind immediately went to work, attempting to find a logical explanation.
Is this something like a rain of frogs falling from the skies? No, I’m higher than the clouds, and I’ve never heard of a rain of severed heads. So then the head didn’t fall from somewhere above me—it was thrown from somewhere below! Someone launched it to heights even higher than my own, and I caught it on the way down.
But who had thrown his brother’s head so high and for what purpose? The who was without question—Rabbit, who held control over Snake’s corpse. With that in mind, the second answer became just as clear—to search for Dragon, who was nowhere to be found on the ground.
Dragon had seen Rabbit hang his brother’s head from a tree as a makeshift surveillance camera. Now the necromanticist was using it like a drone—one that went higher than the Eye of the Cormorant and even Heavens’ Holding.
What—what is Rabbit trying to accomplish?
The necromanticist couldn’t have guessed that Dragon was hiding above the skies, but regardless, the elder twin had been found. Snake’s eyes—once familiar, but now clouded and unrecognizable—locked onto Dragon’s face and relayed the image to his supposed friend down below.
Damn! I became so absorbed in my brother’s battle that I lost track of what the others were doing. But there’s no need to panic. Remain calm. Rabbit knows where I am now, but what can he do about it? Not even Ox, the Natural-Born Slayer, could attack me up here!
As long as Dragon remained where he was, he would be safe. That would mean giving up his chance to help his little brother on the ground below, but that was then, and this was now. More important than killing Ox and Tiger was ensuring his own safety—
“Ow!”
A jolt of pain shot through Dragon’s upper arm. He’d been careless. The object in his hands might have been a severed head—his younger twin’s severed head at that—but it was still the necromanticist’s minion. As had Snake’s severed arms, the severed head remained a member of the walking dead—or at least, the moving dead. The decapitated head bit down with all the force and tenacity of its former namesake.
Of all the times for our first brothers’ quarrel!
Dragon attempted to pry his brother’s head from his arm. He was lucky Snake hadn’t gone for his neck. This way, at worst, he’d only lose his arm.
All of Dragon’s attention went to dealing with the immediate danger, but his brother’s bite was more effective than he thought it could be. Snake always had given everything his all.
This wasn’t the kind of zombification that spread by bite—that wasn’t the issue. But the pain took Dragon’s focus, if only for one moment, from where it should have remained: on the ground below. One moment was all it took.
That one moment invited his death.
The next moment, a rabbit had leaped in front of him—a rabbit wielding two massive, long-bladed, hatchetlike weapons.
“How—?” Dragon gasped.
Rabbit said, “Haven’t you heard the legend of the bunny who jumped all the way to the moon?
“I am Usagi, the Fighter of the Rabbit. I kill with distinction.”
In one smooth horizontal motion, Rabbit’s twin blades cleaved the elder brother’s torso in two.
The brothers’ bond was stronger than death. This was more true now than ever as they reunited under Rabbit’s banner, and the elder twin’s corpse, much like a superhero, hurtled gallantly toward his little brother’s rescue.
Rabbit vs. Dragon
End of the 8th battle