The Eternal Swordsman
Chapter 6: Blade and Beast
The moon was pale that night, veiled behind a drift of clouds, its light unable to pierce the oppressive blackness that spread across the city's northern ward. Somewhere within that dark expanse, a man stood alone.
His coat was torn and dirty, frayed edges dragging like shadows across the cracked pavement. A long green scarf swayed loosely around his neck, the ends fluttering in a faint breeze that didn't truly exist. His hair was silver-grey, unkempt, falling against his temple in disarray, and his beard was short but ragged, giving him the look of someone who hadn't cared for himself in years. Yet his eyes sharp brown glimmered with the unsettling sheen of mania.
In his hand, he held a katana. The blade was black, streaked with faint veins of purple that pulsed like veins of poison running beneath skin. That strange, grotesque energy coiled around him, seeping into the air in waves. The ground beneath his boots trembled with each breath he took, as though even the earth was afraid of him.
Juzou Sasesage.
He tilted his head back and let a crooked smile stretch across his face.
"Finally…" he muttered, voice cracked yet filled with venomous glee. "Finally, it begins."
He raised the blade high, the purple veins throbbing. Then his voice echoed across the void:
"Art of the Hollow!"
The air split.
Reality itself cracked before him, as if some invisible mirror had been shattered. From the tear seeped a darkness so complete it drowned the world around him. He carved through the fabric of existence itself, his katana dragging glowing fissures into space. The sky groaned like a wounded beast, bending under his command.
And then it opened.
A rift, vast and endless, stretched wide. From within, there was nothing nothing but red and violet eyes. Thousands of them. Too many to count, each pair glowing like a predator's stare in the abyss. The Hollowkind stared back, their forms unseen, lost in shadows so dense even light refused to touch them.
Juzou laughed.
It wasn't the laugh of a man. It was the cackle of a lunatic, sharp and grating, echoing with triumph. His shoulders shook, his teeth bared in wild joy.
"Do you see this, Ukoten?" His words carried into the night as though the headmaster himself stood before him. "This… this is what will break you! This will tear your world apart!"
The Hollowkind shifted within the rift, their eyes blinking, multiplying, watching. Juzou's laughter rose higher, blending with the growing hum of energy until the whole ward quaked beneath the threat of what he had unleashed.
Far away, in the heart of the Hitorika Headquarters, silence filled the great chamber.
The Headmaster sat cross-legged at the far end of the room, moonlight seeping through tall paper windows, painting his figure in blue-white hues. His mask gleamed faintly, hiding his mouth but not the severity in his royal eyes.
Around him, the silhouettes of the Masters flickered into being shadows cast upon the walls by lanterns, each figure seated in solemn composure. The masters had gathered.
Ukoten spoke, his tone calm but heavy.
"Juzou has begun."
The room darkened, the weight of his words suffocating.
From his place, a tall figure leaned forward, the lantern light briefly revealing his fierce face. His hair was wild, brown spikes jutting like the mane of some untamed beast, and his eyes glowed golden-yellow with sharpness that promised bloodshed. Master Kanyko Ryoten, commander of Division Four.
"I'll take the frontlines," he said, his voice gravel-edged. "If that bastard dares set foot in Setagaya Ward, I'll cut him down myself."
At his side, another master shifted his demeanor colder, calmer. Heburai Omotski of Division Five, his long maroon-dark hair draping over his shoulder, his mouth hidden behind a plain cloth mask. His gaze was quiet, but in that silence burned an unshakable resolve.
"I'll support Division Four," Heburai said, voice muffled but steady. "Our lines will hold."
Ukoten's gaze moved to them, steady as the moon.
"Division Four will defend Setagaya. Master Kanyko, Master Heburai, you will lead. Take your frontlines. Take your PAs. And take the burden of every civilian life into your hands."
Kanyko grunted, smirking like a warrior eager for blood. Heburai bowed his head.
Ukoten continued, turning to his left. "Hayate Senju will go as well. His power must grow in battle. He must learn."
Hayate, seated at the far end of the silhouettes, stiffened but nodded, silent as ever.
Ukoten's eyes narrowed slightly as he added, "And if Hiruko Kyotetsu succeeds in achieving Raiken before the day arrives, he too will march with you. His blood is not one this war can afford to waste, still he needs to find himself"
At the mention of Hiruko, some of the shadows shifted uneasily, but none dared question.
"Do you all understand?" Ukoten's voice rang.
In unison, the silhouettes bowed their heads. "Yes, Headmaster."
"Then prepare," Ukoten finished, and with a wave of his hand, the lantern light snuffed out.
The meeting was over.
Days slipped away like sand.
Hiruko trained until his body screamed, until his hands blistered and his shoulders trembled with exhaustion. Raiken the art of channeling one's karma energy into a true blade remained just beyond his grasp. Every attempt left him winded, his katana humming faintly but never bursting with true power.
But he refused to stop.
Hamuro Yamada, Division Six's arrogant prodigy, often appeared during his training. With her golden hair and mismatched eyes, she wielded her sakura-petal Raiken with effortless grace, each swing of her blade scattering thousands of shimmering pink petals that shredded stone as easily as flesh.
"Pathetic," she'd remark, watching him fail again and again. "If you can't even control your own energy, you'll just embarrass Division Six."
"Shut it," Hiruko would grunt, glaring. But secretly, her flawless technique only spurred him further. He hated losing especially to someone so smug.
Night after night, he tried. And then on the eve of battle something shifted.
His blade glowed.
Royal blue and moonlight-blue karma energy surged along the steel, brighter than stars, sharper than any flame. The ground beneath him trembled, air rippling outward in waves. For a breathless moment, Hiruko simply stared at the katana in his hands, heart pounding.
"…Raiken."
Master Hatake stood nearby, arms folded. His lips curled in the faintest smile. "Good. But remember power alone is nothing if you don't master it. Tomorrow, you'll be tested."
The day came...
The skies above Setagaya Ward twisted black. From the rift tore forth the Hollowkind dozens, then hundreds, then countless swarms pouring into the streets. Their claws scraped against the air itself, their roars like the shriek of metal tearing apart. Civilians fled, their cries mixing with the cacophony of chaos.
And then light.
A slash cut through the darkness, swift and merciless. One Hollowkind screamed as its arm was severed clean, its body dissolving into ash. The swordsman stood tall, his spiked hair wild, his golden eyes blazing.
Master Kanyko Ryoten.
"Come then!" he roared, his blade raised. "Division Four doesn't break!"
Another Hollowkind lunged, and his katana flashed again, slicing its face in half, its corpse evaporating.
The frontlines surged. Division Four swordsmen rallied behind their master, blades igniting with Raiken energy, slashing through the hordes. Among them stood Nemu Roiten, pale-haired and pale-eyed, his scarf fluttering as his ice-born Raiken froze Hollowkind solid before shattering them into glittering shards. At his side fought Hayate Senju, crimson lightning dancing across his blade, every strike precise and unrelenting.
Above, Heburai Omotski raised his sword. His Raiken flared, transforming his weapon into a massive black blade edged with glowing orange. Behind him, two enormous karma-forged arms erupted one wielding a mirror of his blade, the other clenching into a colossal fist.
"Resonance Art: Release."
The giant arms swung, cleaving through dozens of Hollowkind at once, tearing through the battlefield like a storm given form.
At the same time, Kanyko roared:
"Golden Aura Art!"
His blade expanded into a gold-and-black greatsword, slashes of golden energy erupting outward with every swing, waves of light obliterating Hollowkind in droves.
The battlefield blazed with Raiken. The clash of swords, the cries of beasts, and the shouts of warriors thundered through Tokyo.while other swordsmen prioritized the safety of the civilians.
And far away, Juzou watched, standing in the sky with his karma control.
His lips curved into a mocking grin as he stood in the air itself, his corrupted katana twitching with grotesque limbs of Hollowkind flesh.
"That Ukoten really sent only two masters?" he sneered. "How pitiful. He underestimates me."
With one swing, he released his own Raiken. His blade warped into a monstrous double-edged sword, its edges sprouting claws and pulsating veins. The air grew foul, poisoned by its presence.
He leapt. His grotesque arms lashed out, striking toward a fleeing civilian. Their scream echoed only to be cut short.
Not by death.
But by lightning.
A streak of crimson tore the grotesque arms apart, sparks exploding in the air. The civilian stumbled away, alive.
Juzou's eyes narrowed. Slowly, he turned.
And there stood Hayate Senju, his crimson katana sparking with red a blue lightning, his gaze unflinching.
"Oh… you," Juzou said, his smile twisting wider. "Senju."
The battlefield stilled for an instant, tension thick enough to choke.
THE WAR HAD JUST BEGUN...
TO BE CONTINUED...