The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 30: Frenzy

Hanseong bolted forward, body a blur against the ruined street. His muscles tensed, veins bulging beneath torn skin, but he didn't slow down. Blood streaked his chest, seeping through his shirt from the gash Jin had carved into him — yet he ran like he didn't feel it.

He wasn't trying to kill.

He was trying to survive.

Jin stood still.

The broken katana hung at his side, its chipped edge scraping against the ground with a metallic hiss. His fingers twitched against the hilt, muscles coiled tight enough to snap. Blood dripped down his arm, a thin trail winding its way from his elbow to the ground, but he didn't react to it.

Didn't flinch.

Didn't move.

His eyes, dimly glowing in the fading light, tracked Hanseong's every step with cold detachment.

Closer.

Hanseong's teeth bared. His grip tightened on his fractured blade, legs pumping harder as he lunged.

Closer.

Jin's chest rose and fell in slow, measured breaths.

Closer.

Then — he moved.

In one fluid motion, Jin shifted to the side, just enough to let Hanseong's strike scrape past him. The broken katana snapped up — faster than Hanseong could react — and sliced clean across his chest.

Steel met flesh.

Blood spattered across the pavement.

Hanseong choked, the air knocked from his lungs, and crumpled to the ground. He hit hard, scraping his palms on the jagged concrete as he clawed at the ground, trying to drag himself away.

Jin followed.

Slowly.

The katana scraped louder against the asphalt as he walked. The sound lingered, harsh and grating, echoing through the empty streets like the distant wail of a siren.

Hanseong coughed, blood splattering from his lips. His body twitched, fingers scraping for anything to grab hold of, but his strength was draining too fast.

Too much blood.

Not enough time.

But Jin didn't stop.

He closed the distance step by step, his breath steady, gaze locked on Hanseong like a predator watching prey.

His fingers flexed against the hilt of the katana. The tremor in his hands was subtle, almost imperceptible — but it was there. A constant, lingering twitch.

Not from exhaustion.

From restraint.

His body screamed to keep fighting.

End it.

His heart hammered against his ribs, each beat vibrating through his chest like a war drum.

Jin's fingers tightened. The hilt dug into his palm, the fractured blade gleaming red with Hanseong's blood.

His vision tunneled.

His breathing slowed.

There was no room for thought. No voice of reason.

Just the instinct to finish the fight.

Hanseong tried to speak. His mouth opened, a shaky, blood-choked gasp rasping from his throat — but Jin didn't hear him.

Didn't care.

He raised the katana.

The blade hovered above Hanseong's head, shaking slightly in Jin's grasp.

For a moment, Jin hesitated.

A flicker of something in his chest — something distant. Buried.

But it wasn't enough.

He let the sword drop.

The blade cut down like a guillotine —

— and stopped an inch from Hanseong's throat.

Jin twisted his wrist mid-swing. The flat of the sword slammed into Hanseong's skull with a sickening crack, the force of the impact shattering the pavement beneath his head.

Hanseong's body jerked, then went still.

Jin stood over him, chest rising and falling, fingers twitching against the katana's hilt. Blood soaked into his shirt, streaking down his face, but he didn't acknowledge it.

Didn't move.

Didn't blink.

He just… stared.

The distant sounds of fighting faded.

Footsteps echoed down the street.

Heavy. Measured.

Ryu.

His silhouette appeared through the wreckage, the faint metallic sheen of his iron form catching the last sliver of daylight. Dents and scratches marred his body, blood smearing across his jawline from a cut that hadn't fully closed.

He slowed as he approached, gaze flicking from Hanseong's limp body to Jin's rigid form.

Ryu exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"...You went a little too far," he muttered.

Jin didn't respond.

Ryu stepped closer, carefully, like he was approaching a wounded animal. He crouched beside Hanseong, checking his pulse. The unconscious man's chest still rose and fell — faint, but steady.

Alive.

Ryu straightened, stretching out his shoulder with a grunt.

"At least he's breathing," he said. "We should get the others and—"

He trailed off.

Jin hadn't moved.

He stood over Hanseong's body like a statue, the broken katana still dangling from his fingers. Blood dripped from the blade, splattering onto the concrete with a slow, steady rhythm.

Ryu frowned.

"Jin?"

Nothing.

Jin's eyes — dim, unfocused — stared blankly at Hanseong's body. His chest rose and fell, each breath just a little too fast, muscles in his jaw twitching as he clenched his teeth.

Ryu's brow furrowed. He took a cautious step closer, his voice softening.

"It's over," he said. "You can drop it now."

Jin didn't let go.

His grip on the katana only tightened.

And even as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in streaks of fading orange and gray —

Jin's eyes never left Hanseong.

Not even once.

Ryu moved.

Fast.

He reached for the katana — fingers closing around the blood-slicked hilt.

Jin reacted instantly.

The blade snapped upward.

CLANG.

Steel bit into iron. Sparks flared.

Ryu staggered back, hissing through his teeth as a thin, shallow line bloomed across his forearm. Blood welled up, sliding down his fingers.

His chest tightened.

Jin had cut him.

Through full defense.

Footsteps pounded behind him.

"Ryu!"

Joon's voice — sharp, panicked.

The others were closing in.

Ryu ignored them. His focus stayed locked on Jin, whose chest heaved like he couldn't catch his breath. His muscles twitched, veins bulging beneath torn skin, fingers trembling around the katana's hilt.

Then it hit.

The air shifted.

Heavy. Crushing.

A system window snapped open.

[Status Window: Jin Yeong]

Name: Jin Yeong

Age: 27

Occupation: Office Worker

Class: [None]

Title: [None]

Rank: [Unassigned]

[Attributes]

Strength: S+

Agility: S+

Endurance: S

Perception: S+

Intelligence: C-

Willpower: S+

Potential: ∞

[Condition]

Status Effect: Bloodlust (Active)

Status Effect: Combat Instinct (Overloaded)

The window flickered, glitching for a split second like it couldn't contain the data.

Ryu's pulse hammered in his ears.

S+ strength.

His gaze dropped to his arm — to the blood dripping from the thin cut across his iron skin.

Nothing had ever pierced him like that since he got his skill. Not once.

And now Jin — the guy who barely made it through the first 24 hours of the system's trial — had done it without even trying.

The others skidded to a stop behind him.

Joon gasped, doubling over, sweat dripping from his chin.

"...He cut you?"

Seul's voice wavered. "That... that's not possible."

Jin lifted his head.

His eyes — dull, predatory — locked onto Ryu like he was recalculating the distance between them.

Chul shifted in front of Seul, body tense. "Why is he attacking you?"

Joon wiped the sweat from his face, coughing. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything," Ryu muttered. His voice was low, steady.

Jin twitched.

Then moved.

Fast.

The katana lashed out — too quick to track.

CLANG.

Ryu blocked again, metal rippling across his body. The impact jolted through him, the force enough to make his bones ache. His boots scraped against the pavement as he slid back, feet digging trenches in the cracked asphalt.

Seul flinched.

"He's still fighting," she whispered.

Her hands trembled at her sides, fingers curling into her palms.

Jin spun, blade dragging against the ground as he turned.

The glow in his eyes burned hotter.

Ryu exhaled slowly, adjusting his stance. His body buzzed with adrenaline, lungs burning with exhaustion — but he didn't back down.

He couldn't.

If Jin kept going...

If he hurt one of his friends...

Jin wouldn't survive the guilt.

Jin lunged again, blade snapping forward like a viper.

Ryu caught the hit with both arms, locking his muscles as the katana carved into his iron skin. The impact echoed like a gunshot, the shockwave sending fractures through the ground beneath his feet.

Blood ran down Ryu's wrist.

He grit his teeth, locking eyes with Jin.

"I need you all to stay back," he muttered.

Joon blinked. "What? No, we can—"

"You can't." Ryu shoved Jin back, boots scraping across the concrete. "Look at yourselves. You can't take another fight. And if he sees you as a threat—"

Jin moved again.

Ryu caught him, barely, twisting his body to redirect the strike.

"—he won't stop until you're dead."

Chul grabbed Seul's arm, voice low. "He's right. We can't match that speed."

"But we can't just leave him," Seul snapped, her voice sharp and broken.

Ryu's arms shook under the weight of the next strike.

He clenched his jaw, pushing back.

"I'll handle it," he muttered.

Jin's muscles tensed, his body winding up for another blow.

Ryu steadied his breathing.

"I don't know what's wrong with him."

The katana snapped forward again.

Ryu blocked. Barely.

"But if he wakes up and finds out he hurt one of you..."

Jin's body twitched. His movements got faster. More erratic.

"...It'll destroy him."

Seul's eyes filled with tears, her voice barely a whisper.

"...Please don't hurt him."

Ryu didn't look back.

Didn't say a word.

He just reinforced his skin, dug his feet into the pavement — and prepared to break Jin apart if that's what it took to save him.

Jin lunged again.

Ryu caught the blade with his bare hand.

Iron skin met steel — fingers clamping around the broken katana's jagged edge. Sparks scattered as the blade screeched against Ryu's grip, biting into metal but not breaking through.

Jin didn't stop.

He twisted, wrenching the katana free and pivoting on his heel. The next strike came faster, slicing toward Ryu's neck in a lethal arc.

Ryu ducked.

The katana sliced through empty air, severing the tip of a nearby streetlamp. The metal pole groaned, toppling over and crashing against the pavement with a deafening clang.

Ryu surged forward.

His fist snapped up like a piston.

BOOM.

The punch collided with Jin's ribs, the impact echoing like a cannon blast. Jin's body lifted off the ground, flung back like a ragdoll — but he flipped mid-air, landing on his feet in a low crouch.

Blood dripped from his mouth.

He didn't wipe it away.

He just charged again.

Ryu reinforced his body, the iron rippling across his muscles like liquid metal.

Let's see what you've got.

Jin closed the distance in a blink.

Ryu parried the katana with his forearm, pivoting to avoid the full force of the strike. Jin adapted immediately, shifting into a brutal flurry of slashes — but Ryu met each one perfectly, reading the movements like he'd seen them a hundred times before.

Slash.

Block.

Counter.

Every exchange sent shockwaves through the street, the ground fracturing beneath their feet.

Ryu's mind worked fast — faster than most people would've thought possible.

His stance is too wide. He's swinging for power, not efficiency.

Bloodlust makes him stronger, but it's wrecking his form. His balance is slipping.

Another slash.

Ryu ducked, letting the blade whistle past his ear.

He twisted low, sweeping Jin's legs out from under him — but Jin flipped mid-fall, driving his knee toward Ryu's skull.

Ryu caught the knee with one hand.

And slammed Jin into the ground.

The pavement caved, spiderweb fractures exploding outward from the impact point. Dust and debris shot into the air, obscuring them for a split second — but Jin didn't stay down.

He shot back up, katana stabbing toward Ryu's heart.

Ryu caught the blade with his palm.

His iron skin dented, the katana tip piercing half an inch through. Blood welled up around the steel, dripping down his fingers.

Ryu didn't flinch.

His other hand snapped forward, grabbing Jin by the throat.

"You're fast," Ryu muttered, voice steady. "Strong, too."

Jin thrashed, slamming his elbow into Ryu's ribs — hard enough to cave a car door. Ryu grunted, the hit knocking the wind out of him, but he didn't let go.

"But you're not stronger than me."

He threw Jin.

Jin's body shot through the air, crashing through a half-collapsed building. Concrete shattered, rubble collapsing in heaps as dust filled the street.

Ryu wiped the blood off his hand.

His skin shifted, the wound on his palm closing as the metal reformed.

He adjusted his stance, rolling his shoulders as he exhaled.

"I've fought people like you before," Ryu muttered. "People who can't stop once they start."

The rubble shifted.

Jin pushed himself out of the wreckage, body swaying. Blood dripped from his forehead, his clothes torn, skin bruised and battered — but he still stood.

Still moved.

Ryu's eyes hardened.

"I'm not letting you live with that weight."

Jin blurred.

He shot forward, blade screaming through the air.

Ryu stepped into the strike.

Instead of dodging, he closed the distance — smothering Jin's swing by grabbing his wrist. The katana froze mid-strike, the blade less than an inch from Ryu's throat.

Ryu twisted.

The sound of bone snapping echoed through the street.

Jin's arm dislocated at the shoulder.

His face didn't change.

He wrenched free, resetting his own arm with a sickening crack and immediately slashing again.

Ryu sidestepped, then hammered his elbow into Jin's back.

Jin staggered.

Ryu didn't let him recover.

He stepped in, every movement clean, precise — the controlled brutality of someone who had spent a lifetime perfecting combat.

He slipped behind Jin, locking one arm around his neck.

A chokehold.

Jin clawed at his arm, thrashing like a wild animal, but Ryu locked the grip tighter, legs bracing against the ground to anchor himself.

"I was a captain," Ryu muttered, voice low.

His muscles flexed.

The iron across his body thickened — reinforcing his skin like armor.

"I led people into hell and brought them back alive."

Jin's struggles slowed.

Ryu squeezed harder.

"You think I can't handle one more fight?"

Jin's body finally started giving out.

The glow in his eyes flickered.

His limbs went limp, blood smearing across Ryu's iron skin.

Ryu held the choke until he was sure Jin was out.

Only then did he let go.

Jin crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The katana clattered to the pavement beside him, the metal ringing like a death knell.

Ryu stood over him, chest heaving, blood dripping down his arms. His iron skin rippled, receding slowly, revealing bruises blooming across his flesh.

He wiped at his mouth, smearing the blood away.

Then he looked up.

The others stood frozen, eyes wide.

Joon's voice was barely a whisper.

"...Holy shit."

Ryu ignored them.

He crouched beside Jin, checking his pulse.

Still alive.

Ryu sat back on his heels, letting out a long, shaky breath.

He stared at the darkening sky, his voice low and grim.

"If that was just a taste..."

He wiped the blood from his mouth.

"...He's going to be a monster."