The stone demon roared. The sound echoed off the cliffs. It charged, its heavy feet shaking the ground.
Hayate met its charge with a wild cry. His two jagged swords struck the demon's chest. Clang! Sparks flew. The blades barely scratched the stony skin. The demon backhanded him, sending Hayate flying into the cliff wall. He grunted, sliding to the ground.
"Direct physical assault is useless!" Ren yelled from the back, his voice tight with panic. "I told you! Its kinetic absorption is too high!"
The demon turned its hungry eyes to Tsuruji. It lumbered forward, confident.
Tsuruji didn't move. His face was a blank slate. He watched the demon come.
He drew his black sword. The movement was slow. Calm.
He didn't put blood on it. Not yet.
The demon swung a giant, stone-like fist down to crush him. Tsuruji sidestepped, the fist smashing the ground where he had stood. He moved like water around the demon, his black blade tapping and scraping against its skin. Clink. Clink. Clink.
He was testing it. Looking for a weak point.
"There isn't one!" Ren shouted. "I already checked! The tensile strength is uniform!"
The demon grew angry, swiping at the fast, annoying bug. Tsuruji ducked and weaved, his eyes never leaving the demon's body.
Then he saw it. A thin crack, just behind the demon's knee. A place where the stone skin was thinner.
The demon raised both arms for a massive slam.
Now.
Tsuruji focused. A thin line of red blood seeped from his hand and crawled onto the black blade. The edge glowed crimson.
Blood Breathing, First Form: Crimson Lotus.
He didn't aim for the body. As the demon's arms came down, Tsuruji dropped and slid between its legs. His red-black blade sliced straight through the back of the demon's knee, through the crack.
The demon screamed, a high, shocked sound. Its leg buckled. It fell to one knee, its balance gone.
Hayate saw his chance. Pushing off the wall, he launched himself forward. He didn't aim for the stone body. He aimed for the neck now exposed by the demon's fall.
"Gale Breathing," Hayate growled, "Second Form: Wild Tornado!"
His two swords became a whirlwind of cutting fury. They weren't strong enough to cut stone, but on exposed flesh, they were more than enough.
The demon's head flew from its shoulders.
Silence returned to the pass. The demon's body crumbled into dust.
Hayate stood, panting, a fierce light in his eyes. He looked at Tsuruji with even more respect.
Ren slowly walked forward, his mouth hanging open. "You... you found a structural weakness. I didn't calculate for that. My model was incomplete."
Tsuruji flicked the blood from his blade, sheathing it. The red glow was gone. He looked at Ren, then at Hayate.
He didn't say "good work." He didn't say "thank you." He simply turned and continued down the path.
Hayate followed immediately.
Ren stood for a second, watching them. The calculator in his head was spinning. The probability of survival with these two... had just gone up. Way up.
He hurried after them.