Shadows distorted and swirled around Munisai, quickly gathering around his blade.
The image of his wife flashed into his mind.
Her beautiful smile under the moonlight, the way she tied her hair in a cute little bun, the times she mindlessly burnt her tongue on tea she had brewed a little bit too long…
That was his wife, Tori Kage.
A woman who was amongst the strongest fighters in the Kage Clan, rivaling even the great Sword Saint, The Commander of the Royal Guards, or even the Shadow Queen herself.
And yet…
I can’t believe this monster survived after Tori cut off two of its heads. She gave her life to relocate it and it still came back here to resume its rampage from back then!
But even in my current state, we should still be able to cut off the last head!
This world has taken enough of my family already.
I won’t let it take Jun, even if it costs me my life!
…Isn’t that what you thought too, Tori?
Munisai tightened his grip on his sword, his body quickly remembering the necessary movements engraved in it. He taught his students on a daily basis, and had tried to keep up with some of his own training, but he wasn’t confident he was as good as he used to be.
Nevertheless, it was time to unleash the sword techniques he had spent years developing.
And with that…
image [https://i.imgur.com/0GXfaEj.jpeg]
One Shadow Sword Style - Second Stance!
Evening Autumn Moonbow!
Whooosh!
As Munisai’s thoughts came to an end, he swung his sword in a beautiful arc in front of him at a speed Lawkey, who stood amazed behind him, never thought possible for a sword.
As the boy watched the long arc cut through the air, shadows exploded with the swing, releasing a crescent wave of blue-ish darkness towards the giant wolf.
The giant beast glared at the coming attack before moving its body in an instant. It quickly bent its torso sideways, bringing its long and rock-covered tail crashing in the ground in front of it.
The impact immediately created a small crater, forcing rocks out of the ground in front of the wolf. The debris quickly intercepted the incoming wave of shadows, rendering it completely useless.
“It can even do that!?! I guess it really lives up to its grade rank and bounty…” Munisai let out with a slight frown.
Lawkey’s eyes went wide, this was the second time today he found himself in awe.
The Shadowy Woman’s incredible raw shadow power first…
And now, this old man’s sword techniques…
What if he could get both?
I would definitely be able to beat that arrogant Elder! And the Leviathan…
Of that, Lawkey was confident. But something was still bothering him.
“Wait, were those shadows?! Do you also have the same Sign as me, old man?!” Lawkey asked Munisai, not believing the absurd coincidence to just be that.
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In his entire 12 years of life, which he realized weren’t a lot but still, he had only met one other person with the same Shadow Manipulation Sign as his own. Then the butterfly used a similar power, and now this random old man in front of him…
“What are you still standing around for, kid?! Move!” Munisai jumped forward, trying his best to rely on the crutch as a second limb.
“Hey! Don’t ignore me! I asked you a question!” Lawkey shouted back at him.
DOOM!
“?!”
Lawkey was the first to notice it since he hadn’t moved from his position yet. He saw the monster finally go on the offensive.
As if it had been waiting for exactly this situation, It had jumped toward Munisai the moment he rushed forward.
“Watch out!”
“A sudden attack?! Why now-” As Munisai questioned the unnatural behavior of the beast, a giant figure suddenly hovered over him.
It had him in its sights, its slit pupils quickly contracting within its glowing yellow irises.
As the giant claws of the wolf came slashing down at the old man, Munisai's silhouette was immediately cut into pieces.
"Old man!" Shouted Lawkey as he witnessed the horrible scene unfolding in front of him.
Until…
“!!”
He looked closer, and saw what was really going on.
What the monster cut into pieces was but a shadow-like afterimage left by the old man.
One Shadow Sword Style - Eight Stance!
Morning Phantom Dance!
Munisai quickly sidestepped the monster's fatal attack using one of his sword techniques, and leaving a quick shadow afterimage of himself behind to trick and distort his opponent’s perception.
As the monster stood confused as to why its claws seemed to have cut something, but did not feel like it, Munisai used the momentum of his sidestep to segway into another one of his techniques.
This was one of those times he always told his students about, but most of them never believed him.
It's fine and dandy to learn and master the techniques, but sometimes, you just have to improvise and use more than one technique to outsmart your opponent.
“In fact, you should always be mindful to have the upper hand, not giving them a chance to predict your next moves.”
“If you have a weakness, you should rely on it. It can be a great source of distraction.”
Though Munisai was up against a mindless monster, he already noticed it had some capacity for battle smarts as it blocked his earlier attack.
He knew that if it attacked him, it would go for his weak side, the side missing the leg. Having been aware of his own weaknesses, he leaned on to it, and had himself open to an attack on that side.
This allowed him to dodge more successfully to the opposite side, sidestepping the attack with his other leg and the support of his crutch.
Now using the momentum of his evasion and turning around as the monster was confused, Munisai stood in its new blindspot, covered by the shadow its giant body casted on him.
He quickly adjusted the grip on his sword and immediately swung it forward in a downright slash toward the left side of the beast's neck. This time, to the opposite side of where Lawkey had landed his own sword slash earlier.
One shadow sword style - first stance!
Endless night !
As some shadows answered the call and engulfed the blade of his sword, other remnants of blackness came together to form some kind of black emblem in front of the Sword Saint’s forehead. It had a slight blue hue around it that matched the one on his shadows, and it even stretched to the sides of his head for some odd reason.
Time seemed to slow down to a halt as Masamune came down.
The monster, realizing too late what was going on, quickly attempted to jump away from Munisai, but as soon as it started…
Oh, no you don’t!
It quickly noticed its body stuck in place, unable to move. As if it was being held in place.
One Shadow Sword Style - Fifth Stance!
Beast of Darkness, Unseen!
Another one of Munisai’s nine sword techniques was at play. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold the giant beast’s shadow for long by himself, but he only needed a second.
“AGHHH!”
Munisai roared with bloodshot eyes as his swing connected with the neck of the giant wolf in front of him, all the shadows he had gathered sinking in with his blade.
As if out of reflex, the monster instinctively swung its rock-covered tail toward its side, aiming for the Sword Saint before he completely cut off its last head.
"I won't let you!"
Before the attack could connect, Lawkey jumped in seemingly out of the sky and blocked the tail with all his might, the impact and push from the swing dragging his feet along the ground and screeching him closer to Munisai’s position.
"Cut it off already!" Lawkey shouted at Munisai behind him as he gritted his teeth and tried to push back against the tail many times his size.
"I'm trying!" Munisai shouted back as he tried to push his own sword deeper into the monster’s neck.
He felt the means the wolf had gone through to strengthen its neck muscles, it was doing all it can to block the blade, to survive.
Swordsman and wolf stood in a continuous silent battle as one pushed down on his blade with all his might, while the other tried all it could to resist it.
They had almost found themselves in an impasse before the sword began to finally cut through-
“!”
The giant wolf wasn't about to stand by and let them kill it this easily.
"GRAWWWWWRRR!"
As a last resort, the giant wolf roared again, ignoring its pain and sending shockwaves all around it.
Munisai and Lawkey both got sent backwards, digging their swords in the ground to stay in place. The ground itself shook and trembled, even their swords weren’t still in front of those shockwaves.
Feeling its neck free from danger, the giant monster quickly stopped roaring and turned towards the two enemies gunning for its life.
The yellow glint in its eyes told them all they needed to know.
It wasn’t playing around anymore.
It recognized them as dangerous, a potential threat to its own and its packs' survival.
It wasn't going to give them any chances anymore.
"GRAWWR!"
The monster didn't waste any time and quickly jumped toward Lawkey, its giant claws swinging for his small body.
"No! Get back kid!" Munisai shouted at the last second, as he pushed Lawkey out of the way and came to stand where he was.
Shit!
Next thing he knew, he felt a boiling hot and piercing pain in his chest, along with a striking numbness in this back.
He couldn't even open his eyes.
"Jun…"
Blood covered his mouth as he managed to mutter before losing consciousness completely.
I’m sorry…
I couldn’t do anything again…
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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]