Even before Ren reached Masato, the warrior of the Hayashi clan struggled to pick himself up. Blood covered his face, and he was clearly in immense pain, groaning through gritted teeth as he strained to move even a little.
Ren dropped to his knees, sliding a bit on the grass, before providing any support. "ARGH!" Masato voiced his pain. "We can't win against that monster. We need to evacuate... I know you don't have your glove, but you need to provide support to the others. I'll be fine," he said, fighting the agony in his body.
This made Ren realize why Masato had seemed uninterested in calling him for help earlier. ‘He was worried about my hand,’ the thought struck him. "Are you sure you'll be fine?" he then asked.
"Yes, just go!" Masato squeezed out.
While all of this transpired, the fight with the mysterious man continued. The puppets charged, directed by Kazuki, who appeared to control them via strings manipulated by his hands and robotic arms.
The man clearly noticed it and finally decided to stop merely defending. He found an opening in the relentless assault of all those warriors swarming him. His attention shifted to Ryoma, and somehow he managed to push both katanas of the white samurai aside, delivering a powerful elbow to his forehead.
A loud crack resonated, audible to everyone. Ryoma's eyes rolled up, leaving only whites visible. His strength left his body, and the force behind the strike threw him backward.
"Nooooo!" Yumi shouted, tossing her bow aside and rushing to assist him.
Hikari gritted her teeth, unleashing a barrage of stabs. Multiple loud noises, similar to gunshots, momentarily overwhelmed the entire area. Despite the incredible power behind this outburst, the warrior deflected every single one of the stabs with his two katanas.
Ryusuke must have noticed an opening created by the woman, and he decided to seize it, striking with his single blade. The stranger easily switched from defense to offense, intercepting the sword and aiming to cut him down. His Jujin cut through the weapon made of regular steel with ease, causing the Noroi clan warrior's eyes to widen before the tip of the katana dug into his chest, slashing it open.
Kaito rushed to help, blocking the attack that followed the initial strike, then jumping back and dragging his fellow clan member away.
"Retreat, you fools!" Jiro screamed.
Surprisingly, his voice came from above. He landed right in the spot freed just a second before by Kaito and Ryusuke. He unleashed a single punch so heavy that the mysterious man instinctively reacted by blocking it with his crossed weapons.
The deafening sound of the impact momentarily overtook the area, and then the shockwave pushed the warrior away, taking his bamboo hat with it. It revealed his messy black hair and the Hyottoko mask covering his face. The mask was white, with red cheeks. On the forehead, it had a number twelve painted with black ink.
"Retreat!" Kazuki shouted. "I'll support the captain!"
"Hihihihihi!" The mysterious warrior giggled. "You took my hat... You are good. I'll fight with a proper weapon with you," he said before shifting his gaze to his two companions. "Throw me my cleaver!" He shouted.
Ren briefly looked in that direction and spotted the tall man with the crow's beak mask healing the injured traitors with shinryoku. The third man, the one who had tried to recruit him earlier, approached the backpack and pulled out a weapon wrapped in bandages from it, then tossed it into the air with surprising strength.
Kazuki reacted, attempting to use his strings to grab it in the air, while Jiro charged at the warrior, striking with bare hands coated with a layer of shinrioku.
His attacks were powerful and vicious, but the stranger showed incredible speed in dodging, and then countering with two katanas, pushing the captain away. Only to throw one of the swords at the cleaver, changing its direction, so it would avoid getting snatched by the strings.
The cleaver spun in the air, landing in the hands of the stranger in the Hyottoko mask. He immediately pulled the bandages off the weapon, revealing its dark blade. There was no doubt; it was a Jujin.
Jiro seized this opening to charge and try to hit the man, but his fists were avoided, plowing through the air and releasing bursts of shinrioku. Then he dropped down, cutting the legs of the warrior, but he flipped in the air, landing on his hand, only to attack with the cleaver. The captain blocked it by crossing his arms coated with a thick layer of energy, but the sharp edge cut through his skin regardless.
"ARGH!" A groan escaped his mouth as he jumped back.
Stolen story; please report.
The puppets controlled by Kazuki surrounded him, providing protection just in time because the stranger followed by twisting his body once again, regaining footing, and swiftly attacking. His cleaver smashed into the heavy turtle-shell-like shield of the bulky, short metal doll, digging deeply into it.
Despite the fact that Ren rushed with all his might, he needed slightly more time to cut the distance and provide support, so he only watched as the other dolls descended on the man. The twins flanked him, releasing the swords hidden within their arms, trying to cut him, but he avoided their attack and with insane strength pushed the shield-bot away, making it collide with the one with long hair.
The two puppets collapsed, but the one carrying the heavy hammer managed to swing the weapon. Before the heavy hammer head landed on the stranger, he intercepted it with his bare hand, enduring the impact.
Jiro seized the opportunity this chaos provided, changing the strategy. Instead of retreating any further, he used the fact that the dolls were in front of the stranger's face, blocking his vision, and moved to the side, attacking from behind.
He was incredibly fast, even faster than Takashi, whom Ren had bested in his final duel. It was evident that the captain was utilizing shinryoku to achieve such speed.
Upon getting close enough, He swung his fist at the warrior's back, but it never landed. The man blocked it with a slight twist of his body, combined with an elbow strike, which clashed with Jiro’s fist. The shockwave produced by this exchange pushed them both away, allowing the puppets to converge on the stranger. They all struck from different sides. Their initial hits landed, but as they attempted second strikes, the man burst away from their grasp, pushing his way through. He dodged to the side, closer to Ren, who saw this as an opportunity.
Ren drew his maken. The razor wire whipped out, entangling his right hand and digging deep into his flesh, cutting his skin and drawing blood. He ignored the pain, swinging the sword with all his might.
The stranger noticed this attack and immediately turned his body to block it, but he didn't expect the shockwave produced by the weapon, which dug into his flesh and clothing. It inflicted some damage, cutting through the fabric and even making minor scratches on the mask, but the impact wasn't as significant as desired. Nevertheless, the warrior retreated further by jumping back.
"Hihihihihih! You... I like your sword! Yes! That weapon... I'll take it with me!" He yelled, suddenly changing direction.
He leaped forward, showering Ren with attacks from different angles. Ren did his best to block them all, but several landed, cutting his flesh and spraying blood around, leaving red marks on the grass.
Kazuki's dolls were too far away to provide assistance, and Jiro, pushed away by the blast, had a much greater distance to cover, making it appear as if there was nobody who could help Ren.
He tried his best to withstand, but it was evident that the difference in technique and physical capabilities was simply overwhelming.
"Back off!" Suddenly, a voice reached his ears. The voice was unfamiliar, but soon the source became clear.
Kaito Noroi, the prototype of his body, came to help, charging from the side. He swung his blade with all the power he could muster, but the stranger blocked the attack with his bare forearm without getting cut.
This brief interruption was enough for Ren to escape, not completely, but just enough to avoid immediate danger. He didn't fully retreat but rejoined the fight from a different angle.
Kaito noticed this and, after the initial exchange, attempted to create some distance, allowing Ren to strike once more. He brought his weapon down, producing another powerful shockwave that hit the stranger, pushing him away and shredding his clothes. As before, it didn't inflict much damage, but it bought enough time for Jiro to join them. The puppets were also charging to provide assistance.
"The four of you... You're not bad together, but it's still not enough! Hihihihihih!" The mysterious warrior giggled before launching another attack.
The man was intercepted by Jiro, who avoided getting chopped by the cleaver. Then, he attempted to cut the legs of the enemy with a low kick, but the man jumped, avoiding the attack. Ren swung his Maken, attempting to hit him in the air, but his attack was blocked by the cleaver, which cut through the shockwave.
The captain reacted, seeing an opening for himself. He jumped forward, attempting to grab the legs of the warrior before he properly landed, only to be blasted to the ground with an elbow to the back.
The puppets reached them at this point, swarming the man. However, with one powerful horizontal cut, he sliced through the twins, and the remaining three were pushed away by the shockwave.
Kaito attempted to stab him in the back while he was doing so, and he even succeeded, but his Jujin was unable to penetrate the flesh, only making a small cut in the already destroyed kimono. He tried to immediately retreat. Unfortunately, the warrior was faster. He twisted his body, backhanding Kaito and swiping him off his feet due to the power behind the blow.
As Kaito flew through the air with his eyes wide open and blood escaping through his mouth, the warrior performed yet another display of ridiculously fast movement by completely spinning and then cutting with the cleaver from above. The weapon passed through the body of the Noroi clan warrior with ease, cutting him in half, and then those two halves were thrown, still under the control of the force delivered by the previous attack. The Jujin sword fell from Kaito's hands, landing on the grass.
"NO!" Ren shouted.
And time slowed down. He saw the Hearteater standing right in front of him.
‘You are weak,’ the ghost said against the backdrop of the frozen battleground. ‘You will never win with this warrior.’
‘Then help me!’ He shouted in his mind in response.
‘Feed me, and I will cut him down!’ The ghost responded, yelling. Its eyes turned into black holes as it did so, and its lips twisted into a nasty grin.
‘I'll feed you this man's heart, just cut him down!’ Ren screamed.
And then the world began moving again, although very slowly. He could hear the dragged-in-time, weird noises produced by Kazuki screaming, and the curses thrown by Jiro. The voices of the guards and the rest joined, although they mixed together, creating this weird cacophony.
He could feel the presence of the ghost and knew that the spirit had taken over his body. He had this relentless, undying urge to cut everything and everybody down. It was overwhelming, something he had never felt before, as he had never allowed the ghost to fully take control.
In this scenario, the seemingly lost fight resumed.