Snooring noises reverberated against the dojo's walls, "What time..." Deep confusion drowned in Kuro's mind, repeating the same dream over and over.
His head tilted toward the dojo's door. Something is forcing me to go there... He stepped forward as his eyes kept roaming the room, trying to find any trace of Kaien or Yoshiru.
"Strange, they should be sleeping as of right now..."
Kuro stepped slowly, causing no noise to awaken anyone around. Upon reaching the front dojo's door, he gripped the sliding door's handle, opening it silently.
"..."
The air was still, and the moonlight poured on his glowing pupils, reflecting their red color. "I slept for a long time again..."
"Ay, you're finally awake?"
The voice of the talking person echoed through Kuro's ears, snapping him back to reality. "Kaien?"
"And Yoshiru?" Kuro tilted his head, staring at the two. Seeing Kaien's ushi triggered, while Reikonryoku was pouring on Yoshiru's fists.
"Training session ended." As those words were spilling out of Kaien's mouth, Yoshiru fell on his back, catching his breath.
"Hey..*Exhale* Kuro." Yoshiru slowly muttered.
Kuro landed on the tip of his feet, walking toward them. "Secret training sessions?"
Yoshiru forced himself upward, sitting while still catching his breath.
"Well...how can i say it..." Kaien scratched the back of his head. His eyes narrowed at Yoshiru.
"You see..." He couldn't spell.
Kuro frowned, then smiled. "I know Yoshiru bothered you to train him overtime."
"I have to get stronger...the war is near!" Yoshiru finally caught his breath and sprang up.
Kaien leaned against the pillar, "The thing bothering me right now is why you slept two days."
He then sat down, "I bet something happened. Explain everything."
Yoshiru, "Man, even i forgot his existence."
"That's a long story, the most important part..." Kuro spoke, the air weaved the leaves beneath as he continued.
"Where are the secured grounds located?"
Kaien's eyes widened, then glared at the standing Kuro. He raised his head immediately.
"How do you know those grounds exist?"
Kuro muttered, "I said it's a long story."
"Doesn't matter...Tell me why you wanna know the location of such grounds?" Kaien lowered his head, observing Kuro's face.
Silence fell on the place; no words were spilled. The cricket noises increased, while leaves fell from the trees.
"I don't know..."
Kaien lowered his head, shedding a sigh.
"A lie is the refuge of the immature."
"I-" Kuro was interrupted.
"I don't care whether you go there for a purpose or not. I know you've got an invitation from the Rojin sins. Which already proved what consumed my mind about you." Kaien's words echoed through Kuro's brain.
"Rojin Sins?" Yoshiru frowned in confusion.
Does Kaien know about my truth...? A thought struck Kuro's mind.
Kaien crossed his legs, "Our world contains a wide known sins across all continents." He proceeded to explain,
"And they are pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Those specific sins are titles given to particular people throughout time. Each one of the sins carries a specific power, which is a third part of Reikonryoku."
"Katenryoku is a source of sin, manifesting the User's soul. Like corrupted Reikonryoku, they possess unreadable energy. What makes it different is that you can't sense this kind of soul power; only previous sinners can read it." Kaien raised his head, staring at the sky.
"Pride's power expands without limits. Greed wants everything, even miracles. Envy's jealousy could grab whatever his eyes catch. Gluttony, nonstop hunger possesses the power to eat souls. Wrath's angriness consumes everything. Lust's eye manipulates any sort of creature or gender. In comparison, Sloth defies everything, inventing it in his own way while sleeping." His head lowered as he sprang up to his feet.
Kaien turned his back on Kuro, "The secured grounds are nonexistent in earth. The only interactable way with such place is by a ritual, or an invite marked in your soul. First you have to reach a specific place to be vanishing to their place without any trace of your soul, only an empty body lying on the ground."
Yoshiru's mind screamed, Kaien seems to fear something about this place... While Kuro's tongue clicked.
"Kuro, listen carefully. If you want to depart your way there, you should know no one could leave that place unless they're..." Kaien's tongue refrained from continuing. He immediately used the resort to return inside the dojo, stepping forward toward the dojo's door.
"You still don't know what kind of ushi you possess. And i know that the current ushi you're using is a manifestation of another person's Ushi." He stopped before the dojo's door.
"Remember...You still don't know whether you can beat the danger that awaits or not. So, think wisely before taking a step in those filthy grounds. And yes, i won't tell you where it's located." He pulled the handle, opening the door with a step inside.
Kuro stood repeating Kaien's words in his head. He knew everything about me from one sentence...even things i never knew.
"Kuro, after i heard Kaien's words. He is keeping a secret in his chest." Yoshiru stepped, following Kaien. "Be careful on your trip anyway..."
"..." Kuro observed Yoshiru's footsteps as he faded from his eyes. "A risk to reveal a mystery won't hurt."
He twisted to the pathway, observing it as he walked. Nivor, any idea yet about Kagenokami?
The voice in his head replied, Analyzing incomplete.
"Useless... even you can't decipher this?" Kuro's disappointment was evident on his face, raising an eyebrow.
Hmph
"Emotionally reacting now...?" He sighed, then continued. He mentioned the previous sinners, are there newones?
Nivor was silent for a second before replying,
Myths and rumours are widely spread about their existence. Any information about the current sinners is not publicly available. However, their existence is indeed true.
"Alright, that solves my question. Now, lead me the way to the place." The pace of his steps increased as Nivor led him toward the place.
-
A cloaked, shadowy figure stood in front of a river. He leaned down, putting his palm on the water. "Coming to capture me...so generous of you." The figure's eyes narrowed in the water.
The water shook when a presenting being appeared behind the figure, "Already knew my arrival? That's expected..."
As the figure sprang up, his cloak fell, revealing his weaving pink hair; his eyes glared, reflecting a pink hue. "Expected huh...Morphus?" The figure twisted toward Morphus, glaring at him.
"What kind of attitude? I never expected such an attitude from the vanished S-Rank...i spoke the facts right, Rum?" Morphus spread his hands while speaking, then lowered them. "You'll be my next perfect soldier..."
"You know my name, too? I bet I've been sending shivers down your spine." Rum's hair weaved, "Capture me if you can..." His wide psychopathic smile stretched his face.
Rum vanished, reappearing in the air, vanishing again from place to place. Appearing in front of Morphus with his clenched fist, rushing toward Morphus' face. His Pink Reikonryoku poured with his fist. Morphus's left arm rose, deflecting Rum's fist upward.
Then he sent a flashy purple reikonryoku amplified with his fist blow flying toward Rum's gut, which was already blocked by Rum's other hand, reflecting shockwaves and sparks of the clash that floated in the air.
Morphus pulled his hand backward while Rum struck with his arm, reaching toward his enemy's chest. Morhpus twirled his upper body backward, leading the strike to pass by.
In a fast motion, Morphus's knee rose, slamming onto Rum's face. He then pulled him self upward, charging his fist backward.
Rum raised both arms in a blocking stance, leading Morphus's fist to plummet into his hand, destroying the surrounding ground, causing the dust to spread. Rum lowered his left hand, stretching the other one forward, and grabbed Morphus by his fist.
"Damn you!" Rum pulled Morphus upward, slamming him into the other side, leaving him crashing from tree to the other one, obliterating all of them. He then swiftly rotated both feet, vanishing and reappearing toward the flying Morphus.
Morphus caught his ground as Rum was already in front of him, "Can't you just show your powers instead of a fist-to-fist fight?!" Morphus muttered, exchanging blows with Rum, with each one amplified with Reikonryoku. The sparks of the clashes raised, shockwaves spread everywhere, as the ground's surface was torn apart by fists slamming into each other.
Rum raised one leg upward, with an axe kick, rushing toward Morphus's head. Fastly, Morphus blocked the strike with his left arm, slamming the other fist on his opponent's face, sending him flying backward.
They both vanished, presenting their appearance floating in the sky. Morphus' smile widened as Rum's smile stretched his face.
Morphus, "Why don't we play it a little further?"
Rum, "Perfectly fits."
Pink Reikonryoku flashed on Rum's palm, showing a mark of a dagger. Introducing an appearing dagger in his hand. "I already marked you...enough!"
Marked...? Morphus wondered.
"Shisoku..." The dagger filled with his pink hue, Reikonryoku, flowed slowly. "When i mark my opponent, i can distort reality by itself...showing even if he was on the moon..."
Does he mean-
"The fight already ended Morphus..." Rum walked mid-air, teleporting from his place in the blink of an eye, with no speed, just instant appearance. "How-!" Morphus stared at his disappeared opponent as a dagger pierced through his back. Splashing his blood from his mouth.
Rum vanished, appearing away from his opponent. "Job done..."
"Heh.."
A wide smile was visible on Morphus's mouth.
"I was given a truly fascinating ability..." He spread his arms while his head rose to the sky. "I CAN EDIT EVERY BEING'S BODY, TURNING THEM TO WHATEVER I WANT!"
"Even absorbing them..."
His hand was already on the piercing spot.
"I may be the weakest Hierarch in terms of strength and raw power...i can't destroy dimensions...but someone like you can't beat me even in terms of strength." His upper body twirled backward to the ground, maniacally twisting his head.
"Let's see...HIERARCH!" Rum used his technique, piercing his dagger through Morphus's Gut. Reappearing to his side, with a pierce through his opponent's arm, with another presentation to his enemy's back, making his dagger fully enter Morphus's back.
Morphus turned around, smiling, with a blow slamming toward Rum's stomach, with no mercy, his fists kept slamming everywhere through his opponent's body, cracking his body, splashing blood from his mouth with the last blow, sending him flying backward. He then touched every pierced spot, causing the flesh of his body to bend.
Rum fell on his back, "I have a lot of broken bones...from one barrage...Still..." He lifted himself, hearing crackling noises all around his body. Last resort...
His smile widened even more, "Time..."
Morphus stared in confusion. Suddenly, he was unable to see his opponent. "Wh-what..."
Rum vanished, reappearing in the corners of the area, surrounding Morphus from everywhere. His dagger pierced through parts of Morphus's body 9 times.
"GRH" His blood splashed, Damn it...this bastard is not predictable, his ushi defies the law of speed, making him faster than light itself! The flesh bends once again in Morphus's body.
Before the tenth strike.
"Ten steps...Ten Breaths...Ten lights."
His figure blurred, appearing behind the trembling Morphus.
The dagger pierced through, splashing blood everywhere, damaging not only the flesh...but the soul itself.
Shunkan Shikei : Juukon.
The world went silent as the sun slowly shone. "Wh..."
Morphus's mouth was wide open, shaken by the strike. He fell to his knees, as both sides of his back and gut kept leading blood to splash. "I can't...bend..."
"You can edit any physical body, but not the will nor the soul of such body..." Rum appeared away from Morphus, strolling toward him.
"How...-"
"Morphus, if you knew my trick, i wouldn't win...you just underestimated your opponent." Upon his arrival, the dagger rose facing Morphus's face. "See? I'm not even a Hierarch level or prestige, yet i won...I am so proud of myself." His psycho smile widened even further.
Liquid fell down Morphus's mouth, pouring on the ground, moving to Rum's behind.
"Time to die...Hierarch."
"Heh..." Morphus grinned.
The liquid jumped from the ground, trying to catch Rum. Immediately, Rum turned around, raising his arm to stop the liquid. It was consuming his hand. "You filthy demon!" His pink Reikonryoku rushed around his hand, causing the liquid to fly away. Suddenly, it disappeared.
"Huh!?" Rum twisted around, seeing no traces of Morphus. This bastard ran...
-
"Where...The heck am i!?" Kuro stood in a widely open area, with nothing in it but middle-sized green grass weaving on his legs.
The skies turned white as his soul flew upward, leaving his body behind. Wh...
He stared at his fallen body as he appeared in the midst of an empty room that kept forming shapes.
Chapter End.