Kurai noticed Kesshō running away, not aware from what till he noticed the carnage trailing. The general charged behind her, killing anyone who came in his path, enemy or not. Kurai nearly froze at the horrifying sight at first, regaining his composure almost immediately. He forced himself to move and hit the knight nearest to him with a punch, finishing him with a slash to the chest before running off towards Kesshō.

“Hold the ground!” He ordered the troops as he disappeared in the sea of enemies.

Using every ounce of strength and skill he possessed he paved his way to Kesshō. She ran straight into a knight and fell to the ground, knocking him down in the process. The general slashed three of his own knights as he noticed the opportunity and quickened his pace. Kurai also sprinted as fast he could, not wishing to know what would happen if the general reached Kesshō before him.

She quickly got to her feet but was stopped in her tracks as the general appeared in front of her in a flash, almost having teleported. He swung his greatsword straight for her neck as she froze in fear, shutting her eyes close. His greatsword was deflected away just as it got close to Kesshō’s neck by a completely black katana.

Kurai stood between Kesshō and General Fletcher, a determined look in his eyes. “Nothing to worry about, he isn’t laying a finger on you,” Kurai reassured.

Kesshō looked towards him in hope. Clutching her katana she got back to her feet and pointed it at the general, prepared to help in the battle.

“Very cute, but not that it will matter when you are both dead.” General Fletcher spat as he swung his sword in a horizontal arc.

Kesshō ducked as the sword whistled above her head towards Kurai. He skillfully deflected it, grunting under the force of the blow. Seizing the opportunity Kesshō stepped towards the general and spinning on her heels delivered a horizontal slash. The general’s armor was pierced by the attack, but not enough to draw blood. He grunted in amusement before attacking towards Kesshō again. His attack was cut short as Kurai deflected it and delivered a spinning back kick to the general, causing him to stumble backwards.

“He is hard as a rock," Kurai groaned.

Kesshō nodded her agreement as the general swung his sword again, but this time neither Kurai nor Kesshō could find any room to dodge it. Seizing the opportunity many enemy soldiers had surrounded them and some stabbed their swords at them at the same time, blocking any escape routes. They both ducked as low as possible, dodging both the general’s and the soldiers’ attacks.

The general’s sword shattered the soldiers’ swords before slicing a few of the troops in half, but they didn’t step back. The troops kept attacking Kesshō and Kurai, hoping to land a hit on them or help the general in doing so. Kurai performed a diagonal slash, narrowly deflecting the general’s sword and slicing a soldier almost in half, Kesshō using her sword and tails to fend off any who came near. Kurai turned his attention to the general whose right hand emitted a red glow out of nowhere. The bright red lines glowing in his arm traveled to his sword.

“This is the divine power the gods have bestowed upon me.” The general roared as he performed an upwards vertical slash.

A red energy blade sliced towards Kurai, missing him by a hairsbreadth as he stepped to the side. The slash killed everyone till a long distance in that line, all of them luckily being the king’s troops. Kurai turned towards the general, hoping that attack had worn him down a bit, but he stood there unfazed, and prepared to perform it again.

Stolen novel; please report.

General Fletcher grunted as he swung his sword again, a horizontal slash. Kesshō noticed it in time and jumped on to a nearby soldier, using him as support to launch herself further up. Kurai bent himself backwards, barely dodging the slash as it whistles right past face, the heat of the slash having been felt by him.

The general cursed himself on having missed twice. The red glow in his hand seemed to not be ending no matter what, making Kurai question if this is how it was going to end. No, he thought to himself, not like this, not right now.

Kurai renewed his efforts, but just determination was not going to get him anywhere. The general constantly slashed with his so-called ‘divine power’. Kurai could see from the destruction that just one hit meant death, which meant he couldn’t let his guard down or just charge in before disabling the general from using that attack.

The general laughed, lowering his guard ever so slightly. Kurai and Kesshō both noticed this opportunity and rushed in at the same time. The general glanced between the two and swung his sword towards Kesshō, but she dodged the slash effortlessly, not even slowing down. The general grunted in anger and slashed maniacally, wanting to finish her right now.

Kesshō tripped and the weight of her body shifted to the side, unbalancing her. The general seized this opportunity and used all his strength in an all-out strike. Kesshō smiled as the general fell right into her trap. She straightened her body and back-flipped out of the way of the attack, charging straight towards the general the second she landed.

The general’s left leg gave away and he knelt down, having been kicked just when he put too much force behind his heavy blade. Kurai sliced his sword for the general’s neck as he pulled his leg back from the kick. The general smiled at Kurai as the sword arced for his head. Kurai’s sword sliced through thin air, the general having disappeared in that moment. Kurai was too shocked to react as the general’s sword arced down to cut him in half.

Using her tails, Kesshō threw her sword with all her might as she noticed the general teleport behind Kurai. Kesshō's katana collided with the general’s and knocked it slightly to the side, causing it to barely miss Kurai and plant itself in the ground. Kurai snapped to attention as the general’s sword landed at his feet and Kesshō’s clattered to the ground.

Spinning on his heel he kicked the general hard in the face. The general reeled back from the blow, slightly disoriented. He then kicked Kesshō’s sword towards her and turned to face the general. Picking up her sword Kesshō rushed to Kurai’s side. Kurai reeled back from a blow to his jaw that no one saw, not even Kesshō, making her stop just short of him.

“I must say you are more trouble than I would have expected,” The king observed. “You even turned my queen into a troublesome child.”

He smiled at Kesshō, one that sent a shiver down to her core. Her katana tilted forward as her grip loosened on the handle, her entire body trembling in fear. The general already recovered from the hit and retrieved his sword. Kurai pointed his sword at the king as he took a step towards Kesshō, resting one of his hands on her head, stopping her shaking and offering her a reassuring smile.

“I am not letting you lay a finger on her as long as I live, and I am quite certain I will live longer than you," Kurai smirked.

“That’s the spirit," the king cheered, "one that would soon be crushed." He ended with a scoff.

“Allow me," The general offered.

The king nodded and the general held his sword out and whispered something as he closed his eyes. The red lines reappeared on his hand and he smiled, opening his eyes and noticing a thin black line in the air. He stumbled backwards as blood spurt out from his right eye, a shuriken embedding itself in his head. Kurai placed his hand back on his katana and whispered something as well, similar sounding, but feeling much different.

Dark blue lines, the same color as his eyes, appeared on his sleeves and made their way through his hand to his sword. The blue lines lit the black katana as Kurai raised it into the sky and brought it down with all his force. A blue slash of energy sliced the general in half and many behind him. The attack was stronger than the general’s, but Kesshō could tell it took its toll on Kurai. He panted as he turned towards the king, determined to finish this even if it meant dying alongside him.