The Hand-Half Sword cleaved downward from a high position, blocked just in time by a Large Cleaver raised in defense. Twisting the wrist that held the sword, the blade traced a semicircle in mid-air, ready to strike again— but would it be from the left or the right?
The Defender chose the left and guessed wrong. The sword blade found the juncture between its shoulder and neck, then pierced the purple body, slicing through the trachea and the lobes of the lungs, and finally, the spinal column exhausted the remaining kinetic energy of the chop. The sword began to retract, but not before adding a horizontal pressure intentionally. The effect was marvelous, for the anatomy of the Beard Demon was much like that of humans; aside from the spine, there were no bones in the abdominal cavity, and after crushing the intervening ribs, it sliced through as smoothly as cutting through a piece of tiramisu.
