Drunk Swordsman & New Names

Just as he took a step closer, a middle aged man fell out the doorway stumbling down the small staircase in the entrance of the residence.

He was dressed in a grey haori over a black robe and pants, his hair was disheveled and untidy not to mention he reeked of cheap sake.

Which wasnt really a big surprise considering the empty flask in his hands. After falling down the stairs, he somehow managed to stand up back on his feet again.

"I-I'm fine...W-Wait I think...I-I've got it" He did his best to balance himself, although he fell right back to the ground against the wall of the veranda.

Seeing an grown man drunk in the middle of the day, definitively surprised Akira. He slowly tiptoed his way over to his drunk body until he could towered over him.

Looking at the slump of a man who reeked worse than a dog, only one thought ran through Akira's mind...

"How is it possible that this is the man who saved me?"

Back to the unfortunate day, where one small boy faced a demon.

Seconds seperated the young boy from being met with the demon's teeth, expecting this to be his last moment the boy closed his eyes.

He waited and yet...nothing came. He opened his eyes and was met with the figure of a familiar person.

It was Saki, he was blocking the demons claws from reaching the boy using the edge of his azure coloured blade. However, this time the the old man felt gave of a different feeling.

His moves were sharp, swift and full of power.

"Don't move boy, you might regret if you do"

Thats all the young boy heard before the azure coloured blade that caught his attention from the beginning dissapeared under his eyes, along with its clear reflection.

An azure light flashed, and the next moment the demon's head fell down its neck with grace and slowly scattered into ashes.

Following the death of the demon, Saki sheathed his blade.

At the start of this day, a rumour was going around the Osamu Mountain. The rumour was that a demon had entered the mountain and was kidnapping young children.

Most just ignored the ridiculous tale and got on with their lives, however some like Saki caught on.

You can't blame them demons were seen as myths rather than flesh and bone.

Ever since Akira has been begging Saki to become his sword instructor, nonstop everyday.

Back to present, Saki was still snoring against the veranda of the residence. Seeing that it was obvious he was not going to wake up anytime soon, Akira decided to explore.

Entering the residence, Akira immediately noticed the detailed designs on the wall and floors. The residence was split into four small different sections.

The main bedroom, kitchen, guests bedroom and a simple dojo set right in the middle of the building and spreading into the backyard.

Stepping into the backyard, his attention was immediately drawn to the beautiful red cherry blossom tree placed in the middle of the yard.

Each leaf shone with a bright red glow, over time the fallen leaves created a scarlet ring around the canopy of the tree.

The branches of the tree spread far and wide creating twisting paintings for others to observe and admire.

Akira was lost for words, the second he entered the scarlet ring he was caught in a trance. Being under this vast canopy was similar to entering a different world.

After some time, he finally went out his trance and gained his full consciousness back.

Suddenly, a small flash caught his eyes, it came from the trunk of the tree.

"What's that?"

Against the trunk of the tree appeared an illusionary sheathed blade made up of bright light.

With a single glance one could tell just how sharp the blade was and easily it could draw blood. The blade was real nor fake similar to a mirage.

Worried it might dissapear Akira stepped closer, the instant he did...

[You have fulfilled the neccesary conditions for the class awakening mission 'Path Of The Supreme']

[Would you like to accept the mission?]

Seeing all this infront of his eyes, Akira didnt know what to say or think. Thinking back to his status there was class section.

'Are all missions like this? Do they activate depending where I am? Now that I think about it the fishing mission only appeared when I went closer to the lake'

'The name of the mission is 'Path Of The Supreme' so its reward should be decent. But thats the only detail given, nothing more'

Considering all the possible consequences of accepting the mission in his head, Akira ran his hand through his hair in worry.

Taking a deep breath and clearing his mind, he finally decided...

"Accept"

[Creating a link with Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Muzan Kibutsuji]

[The player doesnt have to worry about bodily harm or possible repercussions]

[The player will be given details of the mission further on]

The second the messages stopped Akira find himself in a completely different environment before he could even process the new information.

The cherry blossom tree dissapeared along with the scarlet ring, Saki's residence and even the sky changed from day to night.

Akira find himself in the middle of a bamboo forest near a road trail he didnt recognise.

The moon was full and bright, illuminating the night sky and distracting bypassers from the cold gale.

"Where the hell am I?" He exclaimed.

Out of nowhere, he heard footsteps coming from the left side of the road trail.

As the footsteps became louder and louder, Akira decided to hide out of instinct in the tall grass near the road.

Keeping his gaze on the trail, he finally saw two bypassers side by side walking together. One man and one woman.

The man was possibly in his late twenties, with unhealthy pale skin, curly black hair parted down the middle and sharp almond shaped eyes.

Looking closer, his pupils were vertical and plum red along with strangely blue coloured nails.

He wore a black haori with embroided designs coupled with a white sash and pants.

Looking at this man, Akira couldnt help but have a chill run down his spine.

Every muscle, bone and drop of blood in his body was telling him to keep as far away from him as possible.

The feeling was completely different from when he met the demon on Osamu Mountain. If the demon on the mountain was a single droplet of water then this man is a vast ocean.

Akira was hoping and begging the gods to not let the man notice him.

However, he remembered the words he was given before coming here and calmed down.

Although, he still stayed hidden one could never know what might happen.

Next to the man was a woman with dark brown hair tied in a low ponytail.

The woman wore a purple furisode kimono decorated with pale tree branches and red flowers, along with a cream coloured sash tied around her waist. Finally, she wore plain white socks and violet sandals.

She followed the man right behind him similar to his personal aid.

The next moment, more footsteps sounded from the other side of the trail. The man in the black haori clearly noticed them but didnt react.

A few seconds later, a man appeared in everyone's eyes. A tall and muscular man with long and spiky hair with red tips held in a ponytail.

The man also had a flame-like pattern on the left side of his forehead. He wore a red haori over an orange nagagi with a black sash and a blade attached to the left side of his waist.

His expression was solemn and reserved.

The moment these two men met their gazes, the atmosphere changed. Similar to the moment before a volcanic eruption or a thunderstorm.

"I am no longer interested in warriors who can use breaths"

Not missing a beat, the man in the black haori brandished his arms.

His arms stretched and grew several sharp blades on his forearms. They turned to whips with incredible speed, precision and massive range.

The man in the red haori managed to dodge his attacks with ease, as the attacks passed by his body they would end up cleanly slicing through the hardened bamboo.

This all happened at a speed Akira could barely react to, he only saw multiple images pass by as the bamboo near him fell down leaving behind a smooth surface.

Finally, the man in the red haori decided to brandish his arms too. His blade was long since drawn, however so far he has been on the defensive.

Looking closer Akira wasn't sure if his eyes were functioning right, before the fight began he could swear the mans blade was deep black in colour but the moment the fight began the colour changed to bright red.

The hilt of the blade was circular shaped with 4 indentations, along with a black center and a golden border.

The katana had the kanji for 'Destroy' engraved near the guard.

Akira was already expecting the man to attack, and yet saw nothing.

If Akira was able to see the full movements of the man, he would see the the man perform twelve continous forms in repetitive succesion with incredible accuracy and agility.

What surprised him the most was that his expression stayed the same, it hasnt changed from the beginning of the fight.

Even when he was dodging the demons life threatening whip strikes.

It all happened in an instant but the demon was sliced in multiple areas. His head severed, two wounds on his chest, his right and left arms gone, wound across the stomach along with his legs cut apart.

The demon panicked, fell to the ground and did his best to support his severed head. Still covered in blood, the demons expression twisted into uncontrollable anger.

"What do you think lives are?"

The man in the red haori asked in a calm voice, devoid of emotion. Nor anger, nor bloodlust, nor sadness just nothing.

Throughout the whole event, the woman who stood behind the demon in the beginning didnt do nothing.

She didn't even try to save or help the man, in fact she looked hopeful. Her eyes glimmered with the light of hope.

The fight was coming to an end, it was already decided atleast from Akira's point of view.

Suddenly, the sound of clenched molars breaking rang out.

Something out of a horror story happened right before the young boys eyes. The flesh of the demon exploded with great force, into more than a thousand pieces. 1800 to be specific.

The next instance, an event happen that would inspire Akira in the future multiple times. Inspire to keep pushing forwards. He burned the image into his memory.

Out of the 1800 pieces of flesh that burst out at incredible speed, the man in the red haori managed to cut 1500.

This might not sound impressive, but a normal swordsman could not even manage to slash 1 of them. The mans sword strokes were swift, graceful and shown incredible technique and skill that only a few could have.

The remaining bits of flesh were the size of a human head, sadly it managed to escape.

As the man stood still in one place, both he and Akira heard the sound of the girl wailing as if she was a screeching banshee.

She fell to the ground and screamed...

"YOU WERE SO CLOSE, YOU WERE SO CLOSE"

"HE ACTUALLY CONQUERED THE WEAKNESS OF HIS HEAD"

She squeezed out those words and tore through her own hair. Then with complete anguish and misery in her voice she screamed at the top of her voice once again.

"YOU SHOULD'VE JUST DIED!! YOU FILTHY MAN!!

"KIBUTSUJI MUZAN...!!"

The emotions in her voice completely caught Akira off guard. The misery, anger, anguish, sadness and hopelesness in her voice. It was the sound of a broken will.

Thats where everything ended, Akira find himself back in the scarlet ring under the canopy of the cherry blossom tree.

He was left with only a few thoughts...

"Kibutsuji Muzan and Yoriichi Tsugikuni"

"I will remember those names"