CHAPTER 8: MIST vs MOON

Muichiro Tokito darted through the shifting halls of the Infinity Castle, his blade gleaming like silver fog.

The walls bent around him, distorted by Nakime's sinister music—but he kept moving.

Every sense was alert.

Then—

A silence.

A pull in the air like gravity itself had twisted.

A figure stood before him.

Tall.

Armored.

Six glowing eyes.

Black blade humming like it breathed.

Kokushibo.

The First Moon.

Muichiro's breath caught in his throat.

He had seen him before—from afar.

But this was different.

This was death incarnate.

Without a word, Kokushibo raised his blade.

And their duel began.

Mist and Moonlight collided in a storm of elegance and brutality.

Muichiro unleashed every form of Mist Breathing he had mastered—

But Kokushibo danced between them with godlike precision.

His blade bent reality, creating crescent shockwaves that shattered stone.

Muichiro panted, injured but standing.

"You fight well," Kokushibo said, voice cold. "Where is the other one? Sahiru."

Muichiro's eyes narrowed. "He's with the others. Protecting the weaker ones. Like a real human."

A pause.

Then Kokushibo's voice deepened, the ancient bitterness in him surging.

"How noble. How wasteful."

He raised his sword to finish it—

BANG!

A gunshot tore through the tension.

The bullet grazed Kokushibo's arm, shocking even him.

He turned—

Genya Shinazugawa stood there, breathing heavily, shotgun in hand.

"Back off, freak," he growled. "You're not laying a finger on him."

Muichiro blinked in surprise. "Genya…"

Kokushibo raised a brow, inspecting this strange demon-human hybrid.

"A cursed child," he murmured. "Eating demons to gain strength… foul."

Genya gritted his teeth. "Spare me your sermons."

The air vibrated.

And then—it was two against one.

Muichiro and Genya charged together.

Mist spiraled around moonlight.

Gunfire echoed between blades.

The next battle had begun.