Kenjaku stood on a ridge overlooking the Matsue province. In front of him, a black blade was buried in the dirt.
The Soul Split Katana.
The blade shimred with a dark, unnatural light, looking like a jagged tear in the fabric of the morning. Kenjaku looked at the weapon, then turned his gaze toward the distant mountain ridge, which had already been battered into a ruin of stone and splintered wood. The tremors of cursed energy reached him in rhythmic waves, like the heavy breathing of two giants locked in a struggle.
Before the battle, Kashimo had given him a single instruction. If the fight turned difficult, send the sword. Judging by the intensity of the latest shockwaves, it was ti.
Kenjaku brought his palms together. A deep, crimson energy began to pool between his hands, the thick, heavy color of fresh blood. He compressed the energy into a single, dense point.
He took a breath and pushed his palms forward.
"Piercing Blood."
The high-pressure stream of energy erupted from his hands like a red laser, striking the poml of the katana with the force of a battering ram. The Soul Split Katana was wrenched from the earth, transford into a streak of black light that went whistling toward the heart of the battlefield. The blade tore through the air with a high-pitched scream that echoed across the valley.
Kenjaku stayed where he was, watching the light vanish into the distance.
"Show what you're capable of," he whispered.
***
At the sa mont, Kashimo was locked in another exchange with Sawara.
Punches and kicks blurred together in a frantic rhythm. They traded strikes across the ruined path, every collision leaving fresh cracks in the stone beneath their feet. But the dynamic had shifted. Agito remained a constant, shifting shadow at Sawara's side. Every ti Kashimo's fist threatened to break through Sawara's guard, the chiric beast threw its massive fra into the way, absorbing the impact.
Kashimo snapped a heavy roundhouse kick at Sawara's ribs. Agito's arm intercepted it, the fur on the beast's limb charring black from the electrical discharge, but it didn't give an inch. Kashimo used the montum to pivot and retreat, putting distance between them.
He stood ten paces away, staring at the pair. He was breathing harder now.
It was a stalemate. He couldn't reach Sawara because of the beast, and he couldn't finish the beast because Sawara's counters were too aggressive. Whenever he blew a hole in Agito's torso, Sawara forced him back with a torrent of water or a charge from the Ox, giving the chira ti to heal.
"Sothing wrong?" Sawara asked. He massaged his left shoulder, a jagged smile touching his blood-stained face. "You look a little frustrated."
Kashimo didn't answer. He stood steady, his gaze fixed on his opponents.
"Nonsense," he said, his voice flat.
Kashimo suddenly raised a hand toward the sky, his palm open as if waiting for sothing to fall. Sawara's brow furrowed. He followed Kashimo's gaze and saw a dark streak cutting through the clouds. It was descending with a sharp, tallic scream, a needle of black light heading straight for them.
A sword.
Sawara didn't recognize the weapon, but he could feel the energy radiating from the falling blade. He knew that if Kashimo caught that sword, the fight was over.
"Agito!" Sawara roared.
Kashimo was faster.
The mont his fingers closed around the hilt, the Soul Split Katana seed to wake up. It humd in his grip, the cursed energy of the blade syncing with his own pulse. He didn't test the weight or adjust his stance. He simply turned and swung.
The strike was a blur of silver light, a line so fast it left a jagged tear in the air. Agito didn't even have ti to whimper. The massive, muscled fra was severed cleanly at the waist. The beast's upper half continued forward for two paces, driven by montum, before it crashed into the dirt in a cloud of dust.
Sawara stared at the silver light, his pupils narrowing. He didn't look at the remains of his shikigami. He didn't wait to see if it could heal. He imdiately wove his hands into a sign.
"Domain Expansion," he shouted, his voice cracking with the effort. "Shadows of All Creation!"
The shadows ca alive again, surging outward before erupting in every direction. A black tide erupted from Sawara's feet, expanding with a violent, reckless speed that swallowed the mountain path. Kashimo lunged forward, his blade leading the way, but the shadow was faster. The black shell snapped shut, burying them both in darkness.
The battlefield went silent.
***
Further down the mountain path, Fuka stood at a bend in the road. She watched the black hemisphere solidify in the distance. She blinked, feeling the connection to Kashimo's vision flicker and die as Kenjaku's monitoring spell dissolved.
She adjusted her grip on the erald staff.
From the woods below, the Zenin clan's sorcerers were erging. They were drawing swords, weaving signs, and calling forth lesser shikigami. They had one goal, the black do at the top of the hill.
Fuka stepped into the center of the road, leveling her staff. She wasn't letting anyone get past her.
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A/n: We hit 600! Your bonus chapter is here. New goal: 700 power stones = 1 bonus chapter. We're so close, don't forget to vote with your power stones!!
For early access to 15 chapters ahead: p@tre~~/Demonic_Fiction (Link is in the synopsis and my profile).
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