397. The Bone-Masked Assassin, the look of Frenzy.

WARNING!

The story contains graphic depictions of violence, sexuality, strong language, and/or other mature themes.

[The Spiritual Core's warfare: Arc 19]

Once upon a time, on Planet Earth, a young girl was born; the story goes that her identity was never adequately clarified, but she was effectively known as the 'Holy Light.'

Her title depicted the real life of one's planet. Humankind did not know the Dimensions that had appeared alongside her birth, only of the Spirits that had been destroyed or disappeared.

The woman... The Holy Light, the heir of all the inhabitants, was not born alone. The arrival of the Demon God, whose name was Rez, caused anarchy, and humanity was on the brink of extinction.

Humans terrified him because of his recklessness and hunger for blood, and Demons started to manifest all over the Earth and The World of Zero, alongside alternate races such as The Inner Fiends, The Shades, Wraiths, and Spirits.

To combat the challenge, a new breed of people has awakened, the 'Spiritual Duelists' and 'Substitute-Duelists,' who have been dubbed the "First Army to Face Evil."

With their Legendary Weapons, the Ginken. This swarm of humans increased the world's cleanliness to the greatest extent possible, overwhelming the Demons of various grades and placing their survival at risk.

But, after several years of waiting, the 'Holy Light' gave birth to a human child, a girl of theoretically greater worth than Zero herself, but unlikely to become the next 'Holy Light,' their Goddess gave the girl to a friendly family, and since her mother needed to participate in protecting the divinity, the girl's memories were wiped.

But there is another royalty trapped within the shadows that have been concealed for millennia, even longer than the birth of a Demon...

The only one who has beaten the 'Holy Light's own is the Fiend Lord. Its lurkers will undoubtedly be wiped out, and the newfound foe will ready the battlefield...

- Hidomari City, Sunday, 1:37 pm -

With the possible defeat and demise of the next Demon God, Kanji had entirely plunged into a conflict against Ryoko... Tsuneo's younger sister. While these two battle, Tim, Ayuka, and Elliot remain in Yashikami City with our hero Training. On the other hand, Eva and the rest of her team continue their ascent to the top of the skyscraper, hoping to cross paths with Tsuneo, the successor of the Time Shifting Abilities.

- Hidomari City, Sunday, 1:37 pm -

Kanji was about to hop away after quickly flying back into the air and gripping the wall when Ryoko slammed her fist forward.

However, by reactivating the blue energy, Kanji materialized a few meters behind Ryoko, seeing her fist fully obliterating the wall, but on the same note, Kanji arrived at a solution and a sensation.

("... Wait a minute... That was unusual. It had no impact when I tried to demolish the wall. But the instant she touched it, it was cleaned of its body. Is this to say that she built this chamber, that it is under her control, and that it can only be destroyed by her force, not someone else's? If this is the case, there may be a well-planned way to crushing this room.") Kanji was gradually building together a strategy for beating Ryoko.

("On the other hand... This area is far too tiny for me to use my electricity... I wouldn't be able to freely manage it...") Kanji crouched and sprang back, hearing the whistling wind, as Ryoko dropped in front of him, hit the floor.

("Actually, now that I think about it. We were able to fall down here again because of my strength. Her body was at the bottom, thus my strength was absorbed by her body, allowing it to crush down.") Kanji took a step to the side, turning his head and evading Ryoko's swing, and as she twisted it, she swept once more.

But this time, Kanji dodged with soft arms, straightened his body by moving back with his left leg, and then detected another cut. He crossed his left and right feet this time, whirling on the spot and backing away, skillfully dodging every attack.

"You're being so vexing! Stop avoiding and start fighting, you imbecile!" Ryoko sprang forward, bowed her knee, and caught her opponent off guard. Slamming her kneecap into Kanji sent his body back against the wall and robbed him of his equilibrium.

Kanji had been pushed forward as a result of it, but just as he was going to be smacked by another knee, the blue electricity maneuvered itself around his body, while the blue current flew below Ryoko's right armpit.

Kanji appeared behind her and rapidly hopped and spun his body, kicking Ryoko in the face and knocking her to the side.

Ryoko focused her attention on her body after clutching her red-struck face.

"You're consuming all of my patience. Cruel worlds like this should not be won by individuals like you." Ryoko raced forward at tremendous speed, rotating her body in front of Kanji, and by spinning it, she stretched her right leg and hit Kanji with her ankle, flipping him sideways.

However, even as Ryoko was about to kick again, this time with her left leg, Kanji quickly dived, and Ryoko's eyesight got fuzzy. It has been observed that Kanji attacked from behind her back and slammed her body against the wall, destroying it, with an elbow.

He landed on the floor with his body lightened after fixating his body in mid-air and felt the pressure in his tightened fist. "Can't you just stand up to his scheming one more time? It repulses me! He's your brother, and he's chosen to manipulate a sibling! Come on, Ryoko, you've got to-" However, before he could finish his sentence, Ryoko materialized in front of him, with dust swirling behind her.

"It was all my choice! Now back off!" Ryoko smacked Kanji's face with her hand clenched and bent behind her back, causing the crimson energy to burst around her. The pummel that Kanji got had sent him flying through the back of the wall and forcing his body to spin sideways due to his enhanced speed and power. Falling to the floor forced him to roll and bounce his elbow into the wall, knocking him forward.

However, while doing so, Kanji's vision was interrupted by Ryoko's body peering into his face; not long after that, his body was hit into the stomach, causing him to spew up saliva. Then, following up, Ryoko seized his left arm, pulled him in a circle above ground, and hurled him behind her body, into the distance, as more rubble erupted from the walls.

- Hidomari City, Sunday, 1:38 pm -

The remainder of our heroes came to a standstill as they moved through the structure when they came upon a man with his right side of the jaw covered by a bone. His eyes were blue, as were his hair and white apparel.

"... Are we expected to figure out who that is..." Kylin gulped, a little tempted into pain. "What foresight... the heroes arrive, but just four females... I haven't committed to fighting a female army... What a price to pay..." The man scratched his blue hair with his fingers.

"So... Are you another Tsuneo guard?" Uncomfortable with the sight of the man's skeleton jaw on his right side, Kylin inquired and noted that the man had slipped both of his arms into his pockets. "You may address me as such... Yoshii Kageyasu is my name. I believe you've spotted the group of forces stationed on the outside. Then this will come as no surprise - I am the commander of the troops as well as the foremost assassin who obeys Tsuneo's orders." Kageyasu explained that he has a fairly natural demeanor.

"Tsuneo had already gifted himself with a whole community of defenders and assassins... In the long term, this is problematic." Kylin called out, her perspective portraying the foe's frenzy in front of them.

"Do I have to fight all four of you, or can I just fight one?" Kageyasu muttered as he looked at the four girls in front of him. "I guess passing by is out of the question. If necessary, we will fight you as a group." But, in defiance of Kylin's request and stride forward, she extended her right hand, summoning a fast sword.

"I assume you're the one I have the chance to clash with..." Kageyasu sighed, ready for a lengthy battle.

"That is correct. The remainder of you. Move ahead, I'm sure that guy won't have an issue as long as he gets the chance to fight one. I'll keep him busy. Get going now." Kylin's exhortation to fight caused the others to continue advancing silently.

"It's intriguing. Then I'll have this chance to battle. Besides, those jackasses aren't going to get very far..." Kageyasu lifted his right arm, expanding his palm and augmenting it with a boney physique.

"So there you have it. How long did it take you to perfect your bone structure? It appears to be a very uncommon occurrence among my type of folks." She could tell from Kageyasu's natural look that he had no intention of engaging in a genuine dialogue.

"Should you not ask questions. Please get to the point quickly before my patience runs out." Kylin grinned really, and the purple energy soon encircled her body. It began to expel itself at a faster rate while also flashing out the electrical fortune that had been received by her sword.

Kylin dusted the floor with her speed as the sparks continued to crackle outward, emerging in front of Kageyasu and rotating her sword to point away from the front.

She swept it obliquely at Kageyasu's neck with a stride but was stopped by the purity of his boney arm and its toughness. Kylin dragged the blade to the side but was cut off by Kageyasu's duck, who immediately adjusted backward. Kylin took a fast stride forward and accelerated, chopping down with her blade.

Kageyasu defended by swinging his right arm and shoving Kylin away, who immediately moved behind Kageyasu's back and rotated her body to face his back before circularly sweeping it forward.

Kageyasu, however, stretched his right arm and created a bone blade while sweeping past his chest up, twisting and blocking her sword, when he ran forward and struck straight at Kylin's skull.

Fortunately, with her quickness, she was able to squat on the spot and open her left hand, preparing a growing voltage that was then unleashed from her hand, straight towards Kageyasu's chest. To defend himself, he crossed both of his arms and turned them into a boney sword, deactivating her power totally.

While doing so, Kageyasu flung his right arm down towards the floor, piercing it and releasing a torrent of rising bones, forcing Kylin to defend himself.

Using her agility, she quickly glided to the side with her purple trail of lightning, only to find the next set of bones approaching her. When she saw the bone sprouting from the ceiling, she hopped up fast and successfully, catching her balance on the bone in a hand-stand.

She fixed her body while rotating it around the bone and then sprinting forward, connecting both of her feet to the wall.

She prepared her sharp blade and spotted the bone growing from the top, so she quickly cut and broke the bone in two as the next set grew.

She pushed herself forward while rolling to the left and evading, landing on the roof and utilizing her power as a magnet to the wall.

But, realizing that she was close to Kageyasu, she perfected a flip over the next bone and then zigzagged within purple lightning through the passage, appearing in front of Kageyasu in seconds, from whence he saw her assault.

He was taken aback by the onslaught from the front, which he had not anticipated.

"Sword of the Star. Starward Sword." Her body vanished instantly as a swarm of electrical currents formed a star around her, with Kageyasu at the center. And instead of seeing her, her body struck from numerous directions at once, becoming a star, at which point Kylin appeared in front of the injured Kageyasu and formed a long, massive, and sharp cut of electricity, utterly disordering Kageyasu's bones and pummeling him back, while Kylin crashed on the floor.

Kageyasu's bone body was entirely destroyed.

To be continued...