Everybody was in shock. Saiin's face turned completely white, her body started to shake, and her legs gave way, making her a perfect target. It didn't escape the eyes of the Hearteater, who in the blink of an eye appeared right in front of her with his hand holding the katana, already in the air. It fell down, but Ren came to the rescue at the last possible moment, blocking the heavy attack by jumping between the two.

The raw power drew him straight into the ground. His bones seemed to shatter under the immense pressure, as he felt jolts of horrible pain penetrating his body. "Run! Get up and run!" He screamed.

She was unable to react, but the doctor came to the rescue, charging in and pulling her away while Ren wrestled with the ghost. But the Hearteater was not going to just give up on his prey. He slid his blade along the Jujin, spraying the young warrior with orange sparkles created by friction, only to twist his hands and redirect his katana just when the two swords lost contact. Then he drew his weapon into the side of the human, forcing a loud scream of pain to escape his mouth.

Hiroshi dropped Reiko, who seemed to regain her senses, and immediately started running away on her own accord while the doctor changed direction, heading back to help.

He closed the distance, stopping abruptly and sliding on the ground, just as he put both hands to his mouth as if he was holding a flute, then blew with all his might. A roaring flame erupted instead of just the air and consumed the ghost, slightly burning Ren's hair in the process.

While the Hearteater retreated by jumping back, only to move forward, the young warrior was forced to cover his eyes with his hand to avoid getting blinded by the abrupt burst of light. This was a golden opportunity for the ghost to attack Hiroshi.

He materialized right in front of the doctor, ready to strike, but the older man was clearly expecting such a move. He dropped to his knee, grabbing the leg of the grotesque creature, then drove it up, attempting to slam the ghost into the ground like a wrestler. The katana arched through the air, but the sudden lack of leg support rendered the attack completely unsuccessful.

In mid-air, the doctor slammed his palm right into the knee of the Hearteater, before jumping back, only to turn around and bolt away. "Run! Ren, run!" He screamed.

But the ghost didn't land on his back as he was supposed to, just as the attack, which should shatter his joint, didn't work as well. He twisted his body, landing on one hand, just to flip back to a perfect standing position and gave chase. The difference in speed was just too great, so the chance of the doctor escaping was just nonexistent. Ren came to the rescue.

He regained his vision, noticing the desperate efforts of Hiroshi, and charged, attacking the Hearteater from the flank at the very moment the creature was about to follow the doctor. He cut relentlessly with all his might, pushing the ghost away and forcing it to focus solely on him, despite the horrible pain in his side. "Both of you! Run! Forget about me, and run!" He yelled.

Since the blows weren't doing much to the ghost, he quickly pierced through the slashes Ren was flooding him with and forced the human to defend himself.

‘I won't make it! He is too strong! I need something!’ Thoughts flashed through his mind, and then he remembered that he had the last hidden card up his sleeve, the regular sword gifted by Satoru. He pulled it out, slashing across the Hearteater's chest, but it did just as little damage as Jujin, if not less. There was not even a single trace left after the attack, but it did cause a violent retaliation from the ghost, whose fury only increased, forcing Ren to defend desperately.

He seized a moment to stab his opponent, only for the weapon to be broken, spitting orange sparkles, as the specter deflected his attack with such power, that the steel couldn't endure it. He felt the vibrations in his hands, which were surprisingly painful, only reminding him that the strength gifted to him by the pill was about to vanish.

He noticed the reflection of the orange light caused by the heated small fragments of metal, which vanished into the air, and an idea popped into his mind. In his desperate last attempt, he raised the sword's hilt, then turned its flat side toward the Hearteater utilizing the hole in the canpty created before to catch more light.

The ghost saw his reflection, freezing for a moment, only to let out such a powerful scream that Ren's eardrums burst, and blood poured out of his ears. He felt as if somebody stabbed him right in the brain, but that was not the only thing he could feel. The shinryoku was also almost fading away, as it provided him with this last moment of protection from the sonic wave that decimated everything behind and around him.

The Hearteater panicked, his blade turning into smoke, and he looked around as if he was searching for a hideout. At this very moment, Ren raised his Jujin, and his legs gave way under him. The darkness swallowed his mind, and he had no idea what happened after.

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Just as fast as the light was turned off, it also got turned on. His eyelids fluttered, but the light was too strong, so he had to close them. He felt so much pain that a groan escaped his mouth. Due to all the horrible discomfort, it was hard to even understand what was going on around him and where he was.

"Are you awake?" The voice was familiar and belonged to Hiroshi. Then the sound of footsteps followed, and he felt somebody grabbing his hand.

He tried to open his eyes, but it was surprisingly hard as if he didn't have much strength, then the darkness swallowed him again.

It vanished as soon as it appeared. This time, the fluttering of his eyelids was only a prelude to him slowly peeling them away to see the dim light illuminating the inside of the doctor's office. He realized the presence of the buzzing sound produced by those few lamps that were turned on.

He felt some pain, but it was nowhere near what he experienced seemingly just a moment before.

"You are awake," once again he was able to hear the familiar voice of Hiroshi, followed by the footsteps, and the doctor appeared right by his side. "How do you feel?"

"Horrible," Ren mumbled out.

He was lying in the bed with his torso in bandages.

"We survived," he then added.

"Yes," Hiroshi smiled. "But you almost died. Your body was so damaged by the pill that I barely managed to put you together. Fortunately, this body of yours is also very resilient... It's been ten days since you fought with the ghost. It's remarkable that you healed enough to wake up this fast... I put you on some sedatives to get rid of the pain, so I hope you feel better. In the morning, you were groaning, so I thought you might need that..."

"I woke up in the morning... So that's why it was so bright."

"No. We are inside, I just had all the lamps turned on. I didn't expect you to be so light-sensitive when you woke up, but I noticed that it was making you uncomfortable, so I fixed my mistake. You should get some more rest... The sedatives are making you speak nonsense."

"Mhm," Ren agreed with nothing but a murmur, before drifting away once again.

For him, it was not more than a blink of an eye before he was awoken again, but the whole night had passed. The sound of the door opening brought him back to reality. It was joined by the noise of a conversation.

"How is he feeling?" A soft, melodic voice asked. Ren required a moment to put the face of Reiko to it.

"It's hard to say," Hiroshi replied. "He awakens only to fall asleep. His body was in terrible condition. The medicine he used to keep up with the ghost has very grueling side effects. It damages everything from the muscles to bones, even the nervous system. People need months of recovery afterward, but he..." The doctor cleared his throat. "He appears to be special."

"I am," Ren agreed, turning his head to the side, to witness the two by the entrance.

The shinshoku smiled, noticing his gaze resting on her voluptuous body.

"I was worried," The words and her reaction were so unlike her that it took him by surprise. She previously only showed him her cold side, so the warm one was a nice change of pace.

"I'm happy that both of you are alive," Ren stated.

"I'm happy that you are alive as well," she replied, taking first a few steps closer.

He decided to prop himself up in the bed, to sit down, but he quickly regretted this decision. Not only did his muscles refuse to cooperate, but the jolt of pain that went through his body squeezed a gasp from his lungs.

"It's better if you don't move," Hiroshi advised, walking across the room to pick up some medicine from one of the cabinets.

Meanwhile, Reiko arrived by Ren's side. "You look surprisingly good compared to the last moment I saw you."

"Thanks, I guess," he forced himself to smile, despite the lingering discomfort after his foolish attempt to sit. "Can you tell me what happened? I remember you two running away, and the Hearteater... I had to stop him, and then... Then my sword broke... I saw a reflection in the polished blade, of the sparks, and I remembered the words you told me once... That the ghost will get scared of himself if he sees the reflection, and will flee."

"Yes," she smiled. "It's good that you listened carefully. The Hearteater must have fled, and the familiar object he attempted to use as the hideout was a sword. Your sword... He was an incredible swordsman, so he found solace in a weapon. Something he always carried around."

"Yes, he was," Hiroshi agreed, approaching with a syringe. He immediately stabbed Ren with it, squeezing the clear liquid into his body. "This should ease the pain," he added.

"So the Jujin..." The young warrior ignored the pinch, focusing his attention on Reiko.

"It's safe in the temple, waiting for you. Nobody will touch it there. Nobody even knows..." she said, then another brief smile graced her lips. "The transformation is incomplete, though. You lost consciousness, so technically you were not present, and you, as the one who forced the ghost into the sword, are required to be present. The pact between the two of you needs to be formed."

"What does that mean?" Ren got restless lying down. He tried to reposition, but Hiroshi put his hand on the young man's chest, keeping him in place. "Will everything be fine with the blade?"

"Technically the ghost could be able to escape, but I placed many talismans on it. I also put some around, so even for the Hearteater it won't be possible. This time I’m sure of it, so you can rest safely. When you are back on your feet, visit the temple. All you will need to do is grab the weapon," she explained.

A sigh of relief escaped Ren's mouth.

"He shouldn't be getting this riled up in his current state," the doctor said. "I don't want to give you an impression that you are not welcome here, but he needs rest," Hiroshi explained, with his eyes on the shinshoku.

Reiko nodded, showing her understanding, then leaned over Ren giving him a perfect view of her cleavage, only to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered to his ear. "I hope you get back to health, and we will be able to see each other in different circumstances."

A blush immediately covered his cheeks, but it was not only his reaction. She also had gotten slightly red. He noticed when she straightened her back, immediately turned around, and left.

"Youngsters..." The doctor sighed.

Ren was not even listening at that point. His mind was filled with other things.