Gehrman Sparrow didn't even try to dodge Kalyo's massive fist.
All the people in the pub, whether they were on their way to assist the Villain to get on his good side by attacking the Bounty Hunter, or on their way to make a beeline out of the establishment, stopped dead in their tracks.
To them, it felt like Gehrman had abandoned all will to live.
Involuntarily, just as the blackened, steely fist landed on the Bounty Hunter's head, they squinted their eyes.
Then, with a crackle, Gehrman's entire body crumpled like paper.
Silence.
Fire hissed to Kalyo's right, and Gehrman Sparrow walked out of the flames, holding his straw with his white-gloved right hand, his black-gloved hand's fingers pulling the revolver's lever.
Then, aiming the barrel at a stunned Kalyo's head, the Bounty Hunter fired.
Bang!
There was such power in the bullet that it made the steel-bodied Kalyo stumble before he crashed into the wall, splinters raining down from above.
With a thud, the flattened bullet fell on the floor.
Stunned beyond words, all the people looked from the Bounty Hunter to Kalyo's figure embedded into the wooden wall.
They couldn't believe it.
Not only had Gehrman Sparrow entered a doomed fight, but… he was still alive!
A grunt echoed through the entire pub, bringing everyone back to reality. It didn't matter if the Bounty Hunter was still alive, they realized. The only thing that should matter to them was that… Kalyo lived.
The over 7 ft tall Villain pulled himself out of the wall and touched his head.
When he brought his fingers down, he saw a long-forgotten redness on their tips.
On his head, where the bullet had struck him, there was a tiny crack, a trickle of blood smudging the steel around it.
Kalyo's wrathful gaze fell upon the Bounty Hunter.
A sound came from his body as if hundreds of tons of steel plates were being pressed onto each other by a mansion-sized hydraulic machine.
"Ahhhhh!" Kalyo let out a shout.
In the next moment, the entire Pub sank a few feet as he shot forward, a tremor making all the walls shake.
Kalyo's punch seemed faster than a bullet as it went for Gehrman's head.
The Bounty Hunter's entire back arched backward as if he didn't have a spine. Then, putting his hands on the floor, he flipped backward, landing on his feet, the revolver in his hand again aimed at Kalyo's head.
Bang!
The Villain clenched his teeth, letting the bullet hit his forehead.
A dent appeared there before the bullet slid off, doing nothing but making him even angrier.
"You… fucking… clown…" Kalyo cursed.
Then, he punched again; again and again.
Hisses and thuds rang out as Kalyo became a storm of steel, ruining the entire pub and crushing chairs and tables.
However, no matter how fast he attacked and how much strength he used, he couldn't land a blow on Gehrman Sparrow.
The guy was moving as if his bones weren't solid, but were made of rubber.
As if that wasn't enough, the moment an attack did land on him, he would immediately crumple, appearing somewhere else with a burst of flames.
In their entire lives, the sailors had never seen such a weird Quirk.
Forget about understanding the true extent of Gehrman's abilities, the more the battle stretched, the more they found themselves unable to tell what kind of Quirk he possessed.
Still, no matter the mysteriousness of this Quirk, one thing was simpler to understand.
Gehrman Sparrow was surviving Kalyo's wrath till now, but… for how long?
There was a reason that even the few Pros in this god-forsaken place stayed away from Kalyo.
It wasn't just because of his backing, but also because the guy himself was ruthless and incomprehensibly strong.
Even squads of police, with rifles, weren't enough to hold him back.
In a one-on-one fight, Kalyo could crush any opponent using his simple but ridiculously strong Quirk.
Also, it wasn't like the guy lacked stamina or anything.
So, even though Gehrman Sparrow was managing to pull one over Kalyo for now, none of the people could truly find a way for him to win the fight.
The more time went on, Kalyo would only get stronger, finally managing to go past the paper-crumpling trick and crushing the Bounty Hunter's head.
Then there was one more futile thing that Gehrman Sparrow kept repeating.
Bang!
Another shot hit Kalyo's forehead, knocking his head back, the flattened bullet bouncing off toward the ceiling.
When he brought his head down, a vile grin had appeared on Kalyo's face, the likes of which he must have never shown to anyone.
A trail of blood slithered down from his forehead, reaching his lips.
"I… have changed my mind…" the Villain declared, licking the blood. "I will not kill you… First… I will let you know what that fucking bitch experienced when I…"
Gehrman's brown eyes behind the well-placed golden shades narrowed.
This time, when Kalyo lunged at him, he didn't make fists, but spread his arms out, almost covering the entire breadth of the room.
Even if the Bounty Hunter used the flame-escaping trick, Kalyo was dead set on getting his hands on him, it seemed.
Gehrman Sparrow had no intention of escaping, though.
He was exactly where he had intended to be, in the blind spot of all people, because of Kalyo's sudden decision to grab him.
Gehrman pointed the revolver toward Kalyo once again, making the Villain grin at its futility.
Unlike all the other times, though, the Bounty Hunter had also raised his right hand, facing the white-gloved palm toward the Villain.
Kalyo was already rushing with such momentum that he couldn't stop even if he wanted to.
Suddenly, a horizontal tear ran through the white glove on the palm, and trails of blood dripped out of it.
As eerie as the sight was, it was nothing compared to what happened next.
The tear snapped open, revealing a pupilless eye in it, donning bloody red veins. Suddenly, the eye rolled, and a red pupil came sliding down, its reddish muddiness reflecting Kalyo's huge figure.
Instantly, the blackish steeliness covering the Villain's body… receded.
And this time, when Gehrman Sparrow fired the revolver, Kalyo, who had become so used to bracing for the bullet's impact, didn't even try to dodge…
… his head exploding with a bloody squelch, filth splattering the walls of the old pub!