Chapter 254

SLASH

Ali deflected Toji's strike at the last second, his red longsword sliding against Toji's katana. A burst of sparks exploded from the violent friction between the two weapons, illuminating the shadows of the ancient temple.

Toji instantly flipped his katana and struck again with blistering speed—only for Ali to sidestep the arc of steel, the blade carving a deep gouge into the concrete beside him.

Ali leapt back as Toji followed through with a spinning kick, his momentum fluid, lethal. The sorcerer killer raised his katana back onto his shoulder, ready for the next exchange.

Ali landed atop the roof of one of the many wooden structures scattered around them. The warm lantern glow filtered through thin paper doors below, painting golden lines across his face.

But there was no time to pause.

Toji appeared in front of him again—almost teleporting—with his katana slicing horizontally.

'He's predicting my attacks!' Toji thought with a scowl as his eyes caught Ali's quinque already in motion to block the strike.

BOOOM

The rooftop exploded under their weight, shards of wood bursting like shrapnel as both warriors crashed down into the room below—locked together, blades still pressed against each other.

Ali adjusted his grip, shifting the angle of his weapon to slide Toji's katana off the quinque's edge. He spun with brutal speed and struck at Toji's now-exposed side.

Toji reacted instantly, twisting midair in an impossible display of control. He landed gracefully on the opposite end of the room just as Ali's foot smashed into the floorboards, sending vibrations through the entire structure.

The moment passed in under a second.

And still, both men stood, unshaken. Breathing steady. Focus absolute.

'He's good,' Ali admitted, narrowing his eyes—then they landed on the grotesque creature coiled around Toji's neck. 'I should watch out for whatever he takes out of there…' He caught the faint glint of a handle already visible in the creature's gaping maw.

Toji's smirk returned.

He launched forward again, a blur of motion. Ali's enhanced perception broke down every twitch.

'Left leg—preparing for a heavy kick.'

Toji's katana came in fast. Ali blocked the slash—but the kick followed instantly.

SWISH

Ali let go of the quinque and dropped beneath the kick like water escaping a net. His massive frame twisted with unnatural agility, sweeping his leg out beneath Toji, who was still in the air.

Toji, balanced on one foot, flipped backwards mid-motion. Ali recovered, caught his quinque just before it hit the ground, and charged for the first time.

Their weapons clashed once again.

Ali swung the massive weapon well before reaching Toji. The monstrous red blade slammed into Toji's katana with a deafening boom.

BOOOOOOM

CRACK

Ali's eyes sharpened. He heard it—the faintest crack from the quinque's spine as it clashed against the finer craftsmanship of Toji's blade. The katana had the advantage.

Toji's smile widened as he held the pressure and suddenly launched a kick into Ali's weapon.

Ali braced. He leaned into the broad blade, using it as a shield.

BOOM

SLIDE

He slid backward, boots screeching against the floor. The quinque cracked again, the fracture spreading like a spiderweb through the weapon's structure.

'It's useless now,' Ali decided, exhaling slowly.

He stood tall. Calm. Unbothered.

SNAP

The quinque vanished back into his inventory.

He was now unarmed—but Toji didn't strike. He waited. As if silently acknowledging Ali's readiness to continue. A warrior's patience.

'As long as she isn't used up for Tengen, I can always grab her later. For now, he's what I am after.'

Toji's eyes were locked on Ali, watching.

Ali raised his hand again.

SNAP

This time, a different handle appeared in his grip.

'I've never seen anything like this. What is that?' Toji's instincts kicked in. The handle looked alien, unknown.

VVVVVVVVVVVV

Ali activated the lightsaber.

A cross-guarded blade of red energy ignited with a violent hum, roaring with an energy that defied explanation.

Ali slowly lowered the weapon to the floor, letting it carve a searing gash through the ancient wood beneath him.

Toji's eyes narrowed.

'That thing will burn through my weapons—unless it's made from cursed energy, then I'll cut straight through it. But again… there is NO cursed energy.'

The dilemma hung in the air.

Toji's smile returned.

He drew his gun from the cursed spirit's mouth and aimed it at Ali. The moment paused.

Ali didn't blink.

POW

ZIP

Ali sliced the bullet mid-air. It vaporized instantly on contact with the red blade.

Ali stepped forward.

STEP

Toji's grip tightened.

STEP

POW POW POW POW

ZIP ZIP ZIP ZIP

Ali surged forward, slicing through each bullet as if they were flies in the air. Sparks exploded from every cut.

Toji backpedaled—then suddenly turned and crashed through the wall behind him, falling into the room below to regroup.

Ali didn't follow. Not yet. He vanished back into the shadows of the structure.

Toji landed and sprinted down the corridor, trying to outflank his opponent.

VOOOOOOOOM

A wooden plank—large and razor-sharp—whistled through the air and slammed into the wall beside him.

Toji turned.

Ali stood far above, balanced on the roof of another building. His foot slammed down—

THUD

—five more planks launched into the sky.

Toji smiled and dashed forward as the projectiles rained down.

Ali hurled each one like a spear. Toji weaved between them with ease, destroying the elegant corridor as he went, until—

Ali jumped back into a room behind him and vanished.

Toji didn't hesitate. He slashed through the entire corridor, splitting it open—exposing the empty rooms within.

His instincts screamed.

VVVVVMMMMMMMMMM

The hum of Ali's lightsaber approached like death itself. Down the destroyed hallway, the red beam of energy surged forward like a javelin of plasma.

Toji dodged—barely—his body shifting to the side as the beam missed him by inches.

But then—

Ali was already there.

Right behind him.

Holding the lightsaber.

Toji's eyes widened.

'HOW—how did he get so close?!'

His muscles moved on reflex. He turned, swinging his katana to intercept Ali's attack. The red beam of death was already coming down at his shoulder.

'He's OPEN.'

Toji found it. A tiny opening in Ali's swing—a narrow gap, just big enough for a counter.

No time to think.

He acted.

He let his years of experience take over.

The katana struck.

SLASH

Ali's left arm was severed at the shoulder, flying through the air in a burst of blood.

'Perfect,' Toji thought. He'd made it just in time.

But then—Ali twisted. Instead of pulling back, he fell into Toji's side.

'He fell for it.'

Toji's eyes widened.

Ali's right arm, swollen and glowing red with heat, came into view.

'FUCK.'

The air around them exploded with pressure—two physical titans clashing, pushing the limits of speed and strength.

BOOOOOM

Toji flew backward, crashing through multiple rooms, shattering walls until he landed hard on the concrete at the tomb's entrance.

Ali stood—armless now. One arm lost to Toji's blade. The other, reduced to a blackened husk, withered and dissolving on the floor from the cost of the attack.

Toji staggered.

He looked down at his torso—there was a gaping hole, punched straight through his abdomen. It was the exact size of Ali's fist.

Blood poured freely, soaking into the floor beneath him.

'He got me. I actually fell for that. But… he sacrificed his arm. It was a trade I couldn't turn down.'

Toji removed the remnants of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around the wound. Blood still poured through the makeshift bandage, but he stood straight. Steady.

Without flinching, he slid the katana back into the cursed spirit's mouth.

And reached for something new.

A long chain, weighted with a hooked blade at its end, shimmered in the dim lantern light.

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