Smoke curled into the blood-red sky over the city of Tsu. The brothel burned behind them, its flames roaring like judgment itself. Yumi lay unconscious in the corner, free from her captors. Asaki stood on the scorched rooftop, wind clawing at her hair, eyes wide with horror.
Below, in a courtyard littered with corpses and shattered tiles, two titans clashed.
Ishikawa panted, blood dripping from his lip. His twin swords—Kurayami and Kurasa—glowed crimson and pale blue. Across from him stood Takayasu Nakajima, Captain of the Kajin - ryu, his black armor cracked and smeared with red. In his hand gleamed a strange, silver blade: Himeno, a curved katana with seven silver rings on its hilt, each one faintly humming, vibrating with a divine rhythm.
Nakajima licked the blood off his glove. "You've danced well, Ishikawa," he said, smiling with teeth too white for the carnage around them. "But this is where the story ends."
Ishikawa's eyes narrowed. "I'm not the one dying tonight."
Their blades clashed again—Kurasa deflected Himeno's sweep, while Kurayami cut toward Nakajima's exposed ribs. But Nakajima turned his wrist, the rings on Himeno chiming like bells, and parried in a shower of sparks. Ishikawa spun, used Shikkiri, and time slowed for a breath.
"Shikkiri: Moonfall Edge."
Kurayami cleaved in a perfect diagonal arc, too fast for the eye.
Blood exploded from Nakajima's side.
But he did not fall.
Instead, he laughed. "I see now... You've inherited the Ronin's style. But let me show you... mine."
He stepped back and whispered:
"Shikkiri—Ame no Mikoto."
The sky went silent.
Suddenly, all seven rings on Himeno detached and floated around Nakajima like a halo. Light burst from his body—white, blinding—and he began to rise off the ground.
Asaki gasped. "He's... flying?"
The rings pulsed in harmony. Nakajima's eyes turned gold. Wind circled him like a vortex. Every breath Ishikawa took now felt heavier—as though the heavens themselves had decided to crush him.
"This technique," Nakajima said calmly, "was passed down by the First Captain of Kajin - Ryu . He who made gods kneel."
He vanished.
Ishikawa had no time to react. A knee smashed into his stomach, sending him flying through a stone pillar. Dust erupted as he tumbled across the ground. Blood poured from his mouth.
Nakajima appeared above him, descending slowly with the seven rings orbiting like moons. "You killed Sabu. You slaughtered my men. Do you think justice would let you walk free?"
Ishikawa struggled to his knees. "Screw your justice."
He roared and charged.
Their blades met again—but this time, Ishikawa was too slow. Himeno's rings intercepted each swing of Kurasa and Kurayami, redirecting the force. One ring caught Kurayami, twisted it, and—CRACK!
The black blade snapped in half.
Ishikawa's eyes widened. "Kurayami—!"
Nakajima drove his boot into Ishikawa's chest and sent him crashing through the wall behind. Kurasa clattered to the floor. The ronin didn't rise.
Nakajima landed gently, robes fluttering. "Your arrogance led you here. You are nothing without your blades."
"I'm not done," a voice rasped.
Ishikawa rose from the rubble, bloodied, broken—but not bowed. Only Kurasa remained in his hand now, the pale blue sword trembling.
"You killed for honor," he said, voice shaking. "But all I saw... was you selling girls in cages. Burning homes. Laughing at the cries of the weak."
Nakajima's golden gaze flickered. "And you think one slash will change that?"
"No," Ishikawa said. "But this one might."
He raised Kurasa.
And in that moment, the blade shone.
Asaki gasped. "That light..."
Kurasa's aura turned deep indigo, then burst with silver mist. Ishikawa whispered:
"Kestan no Hōzuki."
Kurasa lengthened, its edge blazing like moonlight on water. Mist curled around his body. The air itself shimmered. Nakajima's eyes narrowed.
"What—?"
Ishikawa blurred.
This time, Nakajima couldn't react. The blade swept through the mist in a wide arc, slicing past three of the orbiting rings. Sparks. Blood.
Nakajima screamed as Kurasa tore across his chest.
The rings faltered.
He staggered, blood pouring from the gash that split from shoulder to waist. The divine glow around him began to flicker.
"No... impossible... I am—"
Ishikawa didn't let him speak.
He hurled the broken hilt of Kurayami into Nakajima's face, then leapt into the air and brought Kurasa down with both hands.
SHRRAKK!
The blade sank into Nakajima's torso, through armor, through ribs, until the point burst from his back.
Nakajima's eyes widened.
The light in his rings shattered.
The Captain of the Tsu fell to his knees.
And with a final exhale, slumped to the earth.
Dead.
Silence reigned.
Smoke from the fires curled around them like ghosts. Ash drifted from the sky.
Asaki raced down the stairs, past the wreckage, and knelt beside Ishikawa.
"Ishi ... Ishikawa"
He didn't respond. He stood still for a moment, blood soaking through his clothes, hand still clinging to Kurasa's hilt.
Then he collapsed.
His body hit the stone with a dull thud.
Kurasa fell beside him, its light fading.
" Ishikawa !"
Asaki shook him, tears streaming down her cheeks. His breathing was shallow, heartbeat slow. But he was alive.
Barely.
She looked to Nakajima's corpse, then to the broken blade of Kurayami nearby.
She clutched Ishikawa's hand, her voice trembling.
"You did it. You... you really did it..."
But deep down, Asaki knew.
This battle had cost him more than blood.
It had torn something out of him—his weapon, his spirit... perhaps a part of his soul.
The wind howled as if mourning with her.
And far in the distance, from the top of the Black Guard's tower, a banner fell.
The sigil of Tsu fluttered once in the air.
And then it, too, burned.
To be continued