Chapter 88

The gigantic towering samurai raised his sword and sprinted towards Douma who blocked the incoming attack with his fan. The sheer pressure given off by Ryukushu's movements caused Douma to stumble giving Ryukushu the opportunity to strike again under a second that barely passed.

Douma swiped his fan at the sword in front of him and leaped into the air once Ryukushu pulled away from the clash. There was something about those movements of Ryukushu's that made the blonde fearful about this battle. Knowing the mass destruction Ryukushu did as a ruler, those same sword techniques were used for killing numerous people and Ryukushu was proud of it going as far as to classify his horrendous actions as an ambition.

That brutal technique Ryukushu did where he slammed more than half of the large sword on the ground, putting all its weight down that was enough to crush every bone in a person's body and the next incoming attack that Douma didn't even notice coming his way.

Douma slid under another sword slash but unfortunately Ryukushu managed to grab ahold of his shoulder with a firm grip.

The samurai wasn't even hesitating on his decision, he was going to fling the shrine leader away and it didn't matter if the battle ended early because of this profound strength that none of his opponents could comprehend, not even the angel who was just as puzzled at this samurai's fighting skills.

So that's how Mr Moikawa was able to endure Atashi's attacks with the sword, Ryukushu was controlling him. Douma was about to swipe his fan at Ryukushu's helmet when the samurai moved away and unleashed another sword slash that left Douma petrified at this stealth Ryukushu displayed.

"If you continue running away this battle will keep going and I can tell you really want it to be over." Ryukushu said watching Douma narrowly escape his sword attack.

Who does this guy think he is? Douma swiped his fan at Ryukushu again, who instantly countered it with another slash of his sword.

"Don't act confused. You know what I'm talking about, and if this keeps going you're going to start relying on a saving grace which is a mistake that you're hoping I will make. This is what happens when you let fear eat away your confidence during a battle."

Douma grit his teeth in panic. This samurai utilizes one's fear. During a battle, fear isn't on anyone's side but this samurai has managed to control it. His power alone stands on fear, so getting hit by that dark energy is basically having a wave of terror rush coursing through in one setting.

When Ryukushu rushed towards him again, Douma unleashed his two ice shards that flew towards the samurai.

Ryukushu crushed both ice shards into pieces with his foot and continued sprinting like nothing happened. The pieces fell to the ground like dead flies which left Douma in a state of despair, he hopped away when the figure of Ryukushu got closer.

"Genkakuna Jiritsu-sei Style One: Akui no aru hakai-sha!" Ryukushu swung his sword at the shrine leader which struck the ground instead as Douma got out of the way before it could hit him. The shrine leader noticed aftershocks of abysmal purple energy rushing towards him at an alarming speed.

It doesn't matter what you are, angel or not. This is a battle not a superiority contest. So you can take your goody behavior elsewhere by forfeiting this match. Ryukushu narrowed his eyes at Douma who was in disbelief at the impact of the samurai's recent attack.

Douma was sent flying backwards as overwhelming aftershocks of Ryukushu's attack engulfed him at the same time. This attack had landed a hit on him. Douma found it hard to believe that being from Earth could possess such powers. The demon within Ryukushu, had granted him a curse that only the worst individuals could handle and it knew this man was capable of it.

"The world is cruel indeed." Ryukushu watched as Douma landed on the ground and immediately got up in a weakened state clutching his shoulder as he winced from the effect of the samurai's attack.

In fear, Douma swiped his fans numerous times at Ryukushu who just dodged them by taking a step to the side whenever they were about to land on him.

"You don't know what you're doing nor are you prepared for the rest of this battle. How are you going to proceed if something like this is hard for you to grasp?" Ryukushu threw Douma off the ground with his sword.

"Mura hachi-bu." The samurai placed the edge of his sword near the bridge of his nose as Japanese symbols that read as "Prohibition" appeared above his head at that moment.

A dark spiral encircled Douma on the ground. Several purple flames rose from the highlighted points of the spiral and increased in height. Douma could feel his legs turning numb every time the flames expanded.

This is my chance to reflect his attacks. Hope this works if it doesn't I really don't know what to say. Maybe this guy was never born human who knows. Or that awful demon who's got a hold of him is the one I'm fighting and he's just a puppet. This is no mere demon it's a powerful one that ended up in the hands of an awful individual. Douma focused on the flames that were forming into beams that would strike at any second now.

When the flames began flickering, Douma immediately took control as the flames struggled to inflict damage on their target.

Although Douma managed to deter Ryukushu's attack he struggled to reflect them back to the samurai. It seems these attacks of Ryukushu's weren't law-abiding either and it didn't just stop there as they were able to keep up with Douma's tactics.

After a while the flames exploded from the pressurizing contact with Douma's technique forming clouds of smoke.

Panicking, Douma got out his honorable staff and swung it at the approaching Ryukushu. It lit up a shimmering gold as Ryukushu dodged it and grabbed the staff when the light went off underwhelmingly.

"It seems you haven't mastered using this weapon yet. What a shame and to think you could unleash its power at a time like this?"

"What are you talking about? You don't know anything about this staff!" Douma yelled at the samurai who was also frozen in place.

"Oh really? Can you prove me wrong by answering this question then?" Ryukushu replied sinisterly. "Why are you so hesitant to use it? You're holding back."

That response struck him, Douma's lack of confidence in his own skill was that obvious? But it wasn't because he was clueless about his own weapon, the staff posed a serious threat to the livelihood of anything that comes into contact with it. The staff would decimate its existence in one blow to bite-sized particles that represent its status before it came to be which was, something without a term to describe it.

Douma jumped away with the golden staff held firmly in his hands. "Back off! You'll regret it if you dare land a hand on it!" To make matters worse, the staff's power would be unleashed within the entirety of this world, Earth and the surrounding planets would be the first to fall victim to the staff's power since it doesn't only affect the main target, however, if he could control the extent of it, Douma would be able to end this battle without putting anyone at risk.

"How are you going to use this weapon of yours?"

Douma couldn't tell if Ryukushu was able to read his thoughts or not but he had a strong intuition there was no doubt about that. Which means Douma had to be careful.

Ryukushu pushed Douma away and held his sword. "I could care less about that." The samurai rushed towards the blonde who blocked his attacks with his golden staff.

This isn't a good idea. I have to figure out how to control the scale of the staff's power. Douma kept his golden staff and continued swiping away every one of Ryukushu's sword attacks with his fans.

"Radiance!" The shrine leader unleashed his golden radiating slash that flew towards Ryukushu who stood there with his sword held close to his chest.

Clouds of smoke rose to the sky as an explosion occurred but it wasn't over yet. Ryukushu soon emerged from the smoke with a ghostly figure rising from the back of his shoulders.

The demon had showed itself with an expression that reeked of hunger for the fear and hatred that it evoked in others and the desire to leave a wound on its victim.

Two other similar entities that were slightly smaller in size emerged from Ryukushu's shoulders. Douma watched as they charged up Ryukushu's power that rose.

"Genkakuna Jiritsu-sei Style Two: Tamashī no naka ni aru kyōfu." Ryukushu swung his sword forward that began releasing strides of purple energy in all directions. He sliced through the air in front of him creating an opening within the fabric of space that started glowing when the entities flying out of his sword made contact with it.

Ryukushu's power casted a shadow that covered the sky and turned the surroundings of the Hasu Mountains into a desolate wasteland with abnormal structures and floating rocks.

The building ahead of Douma reminded him of a haunted house with the scattered tombs from all directions resembling a cemetery. There was lightning flashing every few seconds and a pungent smell of something that got struck by it.

Numerous rocks were seen floating in the sky leading up to stationary stone platforms. Douma made a detour of the strange place while Ryukushu was still 'hiding' beneath the smoke. The surroundings of this place could be just as merciless as Ryukushu himself so Douma needed to keep an eye out on potential traps and abnormal laws that were in place.

Ryukushu leaped out of the smoke and struck Douma's fans that were fast enough to block his attack. The entities on his back reappeared with a couple others spawning out of nowhere. They swarmed Douma, the other two on Ryukushu's shoulders following suite.

Douma got away from the clash between his fans and Ryukushu's large sword and dispersed the demonic entities with the golden radiating energy emitted by both of his fans.

Another attack was on the way, Douma soared to the floating rocks near one of the platforms. Ryukushu dashed to the point where Douma was hovering and summoned large dark clouds towards the blonde.

Douma avoided the clouds by flying higher into the dark purple sky. He fired his iridescent ray at Ryukushu who got buried in the ground from the impact.

The familiar ravenous hand of Ryukushu rose from the rubble and gripped the surface of the ground harshly. Ryukushu pushed himself out of the crater. He summoned the entities that growled and hissed at Douma like vicious animals, charging up a dark source of energy in their hold.

The entities fired their prism beams at Douma watching their target fending off the floating particles with his fans.

Ryukushu sprang up and summoned a large ghostly monster surrounded by chains. It's behavior and expression being no different from its other demonic counterparts hovering around Ryukushu and his ruthless sword.

"Now you'll see the wrath of true fear and relish in its ambience." The samurai pointed his sword at Douma giving the demonic monster the cue to attack.

The purple ghostly monster slithered in the sky and opened its jaws when it got close to Douma. Its chains rattled in the sky which gave Douma the advantage of being able to detect its whereabouts.

Douma held the ghostly monster's jaws and waited for the entity to tire out from the opposing pressure in its direction. The ghostly monster began thrashing around in the sky eager to crush Douma in one bite.

"This pet isn't the most obedient out there." The ghostly monster flew past the floating rocks struggling to break free of Douma's hold on its jaws.

When it got slower, Douma let go of its jaws and grabbed the dangling chains on the side of ghostly monster, dragging it away from where it was flying too. The ghostly monster screeched at the strain it felt on the sides of its body. With a behavior like this, Douma wondered how Ryukushu could find these critters in his pocket useful, they could barely stand up to their opponent.

Nevertheless they were still a threat with the sneak attacks and resistance be it in the sky or on the ground. Douma moved away from the ghostly monster with the chains still in his grip as the entity fired energy particles from its body in all directions.

When the ghostly monster was about to open its large mouth again, Douma kicked it in the head causing it to groan and swivel to a corner.