Chapter 25: Katana Woman II
GOT: The Dangerous Traveler 25
Lyn Corbray
Year 2010 AD – Georgia
The night was quiet, broken only by the faint sound of wind slipping through the cracks of the supermarket. Lyn, Ciri, and Maggie slept in the cleared area of the store, the horses tied nearby, also resting. However, that calm wouldn't last.
Lyn's eyes snapped open, his sharp instincts alerting him to imminent danger. In one fluid motion, he reached for the hilts of Dawn and Blackfyre, drawing them just as a katana descended toward his position. He rolled to the side, feeling the air cut mere millimeters from his head.
The katana blade embedded itself in the spot where Lyn had been seconds earlier. As he got up, Lyn fixed his gaze on the attacker. It was the hooded black woman he had seen through his eagle. The hood had fallen back, revealing her determined face and eyes filled with silent fury.
"Well, well," Lyn murmured as he stood, twirling his swords in circles. "And who do I have the pleasure of facing tonight? I'm Lyn Corbray of House Corbray."
Michonne didn't respond, maintaining her combat stance. The determination on her face said it all: she wasn't there to talk.
"Understood, absolute silence," Lyn said, his tone laced with mockery. "Well, at least this will be entertaining. It's been a while since I've had a sword duel."
Michonne charged at Lyn, her katana tracing a wide arc toward his torso. Lyn blocked the attack with Blackfyre, and the sound of metal rang out... for a brief moment. The katana split in two, the blade flying to the ground as Lyn smiled.
"Oops," Lyn said, observing the broken half of the katana Michonne still held. "You should invest in something more... durable."
Michonne didn't stop, despite the surprise on her face. With a quick motion, she threw what remained of her katana at Lyn, forcing him to dodge. Taking advantage of the distraction, she grabbed a metal pipe from a nearby shelf and wielded it as an improvised weapon.
Lyn laughed, spinning both swords effortlessly. "Seriously? A pipe? This is getting ridiculous."
Michonne responded with a series of rapid attacks, using the pipe to keep Lyn at a distance. Though her strikes were precise, Lyn dodged them with ease, dancing around her like a predator toying with its prey.
"I must admit," Lyn commented as he blocked a strike with Dawn and countered with Blackfyre. "You've got guts. But this is just a warm-up for me."
Michonne lunged toward a shelf, toppling it toward Lyn. The shelf fell with force, but Lyn simply leaped backward, avoiding the impact.
"Creative," Lyn acknowledged, clapping mockingly. "But that won't be enough."
Michonne used the fallen shelf to gain ground, grabbing a kitchen knife she found among the debris.
Lyn, seeing the knife, let out a laugh. "Now you're really desperate."
Suddenly, the two walkers Michonne had been leading on chains began moving toward Lyn, drawn by the noise of the fight.
"Is this all you've got?" Lyn said, lunging toward the walkers. With a quick slash of Dawn, he decapitated the first, and with a spin of Blackfyre, he split the second in half.
Michonne used the distraction to attack from behind, but Lyn turned just in time, blocking the knife with Blackfyre and disarming her with a skillful motion.
"Brave, but clumsy," Lyn commented as he pushed the knife aside with a slight nudge from Dawn.
Michonne, now disarmed, was forced to retreat, using the supermarket debris as cover.
Michonne hurled a shelf toward Lyn, forcing him to dodge once more. However, Lyn was no longer interested in prolonging the fight.
With a quick motion, he sliced the shelf in two with Blackfyre, advancing toward Michonne with a confident smile.
Michonne tried to flee to another part of the supermarket, but Lyn was faster. A precise slash from Dawn struck her knee, sending her to the ground with a cry of pain.
Before she could react, Lyn immobilized her with a foot on her arm and another on her injured leg.
"Not bad," Lyn said, breathing calmly as he lowered his swords. "But this was more fun for me than for you, wasn't it?"
Michonne, wounded and unable to move, looked at him with a mix of fury and resignation. Lyn watched her for a moment, tilting his head as if considering what to do next.
"So," Lyn said, his mocking tone returning, "what am I supposed to do with you now?"
Michonne's only response was to spit in his face.
Lyn fell silent for a moment, the spit still dripping down his cheek. His expression shifted from momentary surprise to a tense smile, his jaw clenched as the muscle in his neck visibly tightened. "Well, how bold," he murmured softly, almost inaudibly.
With a controlled motion, he sheathed one of his swords, letting it drop to the ground with a metallic clang, freeing his dominant hand. "You know what I hate the most?" he said, leaning toward Michonne as she tried to look away. "Stains on my face... and disrespect."
Without further warning, Lyn clenched his fist and slammed it into Michonne's left cheek with force. Her face snapped to the side, and her skin already showed a slight cut where his knuckles had struck.
The second punch landed on her right cheekbone. The bone sank slightly, leaving a mark that began to redden. Michonne's lips parted with a faint groan, but she had no chance to respond before the third punch smashed into the bridge of her nose. A clear crack indicated the bone had given way, and blood began to pour, staining her face red.
Lyn smiled, satisfied by the sound. "That was better, wasn't it?" he commented, raising his fist again.
The fourth punch found its way to Michonne's jaw. The impact made her bite the inside of her mouth, filling it with blood. Her face was already beginning to swell, the left side deforming more visibly.
The fifth strike was crueler, aimed at her right eye. The eyelid swelled immediately, closing almost completely. Blood dripped from the split eyebrow. Lyn, his teeth clenched, seemed to enjoy the transformation.
"Still think you're brave?" Lyn asked as his fist came down again, this time against the left side of her forehead. The blow left a bruise that began to darken instantly, while Michonne gasped weakly.
Another punch landed right on the center of her broken nose, making it bleed even more. Michonne's face was now a map of pain and deformity, her features almost unrecognizable.
"This is what happens when you mess with someone like me," Lyn continued, his tone mixing cruelty and superiority. The next punch struck her right cheek, breaking the skin and leaving a gash that began to bleed.
The rhythm of the punches didn't slow. Each strike added a new level of deformity to Michonne's face: split lips, eyes completely swollen shut, dark bruises covering almost all her visible skin.
By the tenth punch, Lyn's strength had begun to wane slightly, but the cruel intent remained. "Does it hurt?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom that reflected his wounded ego.
Michonne didn't respond; she barely could. Her face no longer had a defined shape, just an amalgamation of inflamed flesh, broken bones, and blood that fell in thick streams to the ground.
Lyn paused for a moment, contemplating his work. "You're a mess," he said, his tone filled with disdain. But it wasn't enough. With a roar of frustration, he struck again, this time on the right side of her skull, making Michonne's head hit the ground.
The next punches weren't more precise, but they were just as brutal. Each impact seemed to erase any trace of humanity from Michonne's face, reducing her to a disfigured victim of Lyn's uncontrolled rage.
When he finally stopped, breathing heavily, blood covered his hands and splattered his face. Lyn looked at Michonne, now motionless, her face completely unrecognizable. Despite his initial fury, a faint mocking smile appeared on his lips.
"Maybe that'll teach you something about respect," he murmured, standing up and wiping the blood from his hands with a dirty piece of cloth. "Though, of course, you're no longer in any condition to learn."
Lyn then proceeded to pick up the woman and throw her outside the supermarket, whistling to attract nearby walkers.
"If you survive, maybe I'll forgive your disrespect," Lyn commented, simply walking back inside.
Ciri and Maggie were already awake, and though they had seen part of the fight, they hadn't witnessed Lyn's final outburst.
"Did you deal with the attacker?" Ciri asked.
"Something like that."