The demon suddenly disappeared.
Then—
BOOM!
He rushed straight toward me.
He was faster than I expected.
Much faster.
"FIRE!" Marie shouted.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets flew toward him from every direction.
But he dodged every single one.
He twisted his body between the bullets like they were moving in slow motion.
"He's too fast!" Marie yelled.
I raised my katana.
"Nature Breathing—"
The demon was already in front of me.
I swung.
He ducked.
I swung again.
He jumped.
Then he kicked me backward.
"AGH!"
I slid across the ground.
Before he could reach me—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Tobisa landed beside me.
"Still alive?"
"Obviously!"
"Good!"
We both raised our weapons.
"FIRE!"
We opened fire at the same time.
Bullets filled the air.
Left.
Right.
Above.
Below.
There was almost nowhere to escape.
But somehow...
He escaped all of them.
He bent backward.
Jumped.
Spun.
Ducked.
Every bullet missed.
"Damn, he's fast!" I shouted.
"I KNOW!"
The demon suddenly vanished.
"Where did he—"
I felt something behind me.
I turned.
He was already there.
His fist was only a few inches from my face.
Everything stopped.
The bullets.
The wind.
The sound.
Everything.
It felt like time itself had frozen.
And then...
I saw him.
Senjuro.
He was standing directly in front of me.
"So, Fogo..."
He smiled.
"What's your plan?"
My eyes widened.
"Senjuro?"
He laughed.
"Missed me?"
I couldn't answer.
Something strange happened.
My arms moved on their own.
My hand grabbed my katana.
My body twisted.
And—
SLASH!
The demon was cut cleanly in half.
Time suddenly started again.
I stared at my sword.
"...What?"
Senjuro's voice echoed in my head.
"Like my move?"
I finally understood.
He had taken control of my body.
For just a split second...
He had moved me.
And his speed was insane.
I had fought Senjuro before.
But even after everything I had learned...
I had never realized just how fast he really was.
The demon's two halves hit the ground.
But then...
They started moving.
The flesh connected.
The body stitched itself back together.
Within seconds, he was standing again.
I stared.
"He regenerated..."
The demon smiled.
"Nice one, Fogo."
He cracked his neck.
"But..."
"You haven't tasted me enough."
Then something strange happened.
He suddenly looked past me.
His expression changed.
Fear.
He turned around and ran.
"What?"
The demon smashed straight through a wall.
BOOM!
Dust filled the air.
Then he disappeared into the barren desert beyond the building.
I stared after him.
"Why is he running?"
Tobisa looked confused.
"Did he see something?"
I thought for a moment.
"Maybe..."
"He saw a ghost."
I looked toward the direction he had run.
"Or something worse."
"Senjuro."
We chased him.
We ran through the desert as fast as we could.
The sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon.
Finally...
We saw him.
He stopped in the middle of the barren land.
Waiting.
I tightened my grip on my katana.
"Got you."
The demon turned around.
"Come on, Fogo."
I rushed forward.
"Nature Breathing..."
"Seventh Form!"
My katana spun violently.
The demon slammed both hands into the ground.
"Blood Demon Art!"
A massive wave of molten blood erupted from the earth.
"Blood Lava Wave!"
BOOOOM!
I jumped over it.
The wave passed underneath me, scorching the ground.
"Second Form!"
I descended toward him.
The demon raised his arm.
"Blood Demon Art!"
A pool of boiling blood appeared beneath me.
"Lava Pool!"
I barely escaped.
The ground where I had landed melted instantly.
"Fifth Form!"
I dashed forward.
The demon met me head-on.
CLANG!
My katana collided with his claws.
The impact sent a shockwave through the desert.
I pushed harder.
He pushed back.
Neither of us moved.
Then—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Marie and Tobisa opened fire from behind.
The demon jumped away.
Bullets tore through the sand where he had been standing.
"Keep firing!" Marie shouted.
Tobisa didn't stop.
He fired again and again.
The demon dodged every shot.
But this time...
He wasn't looking at me.
He was looking at Tobisa.
His eyes narrowed.
Then he smiled.
"Hello."
Tobisa froze.
"Remember me?"
His face went pale.
I looked at him.
"Tobisa?"
Tobisa's hands began shaking.
"No..."
The demon smiled wider.
"You remember."
I suddenly understood.
This was him.
The same demon from Tobisa's past.
The demon who had destroyed his family.
The demon who had taken away the people who raised him.
Tobisa raised his gun.
His expression changed.
"YOU BASTERD!!"
He opened fire.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The demon dodged the bullets and suddenly launched himself toward us.
"He's coming!"
Marie raised her weapon.
I raised my katana.
But he was already too close.
There was no time.
No room to dodge.
The demon's attack came straight toward us.
And then—
Everything went black.
I couldn't hear anything.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't see.
The last thing I remember...
Was Tobisa shouting.
And the sound of Marie hitting the ground beside me.
Then...
Nothing.
The last thing I heard then was a faint 'toing' sound.