‘I will kill them all! Hahahahahaha!!’ The Hearteater burst into laughter in Ren’s mind, and time accelerated from its slowed-down form.

The stranger swiftly switched the grip on his blade to pin Jiro down to the ground, probably piercing him through in the process, but the possessed body of Ren was faster. In the blink of an eye, the ghost made him get to the captain, then cut horizontally with immense power, knocking the cleaver out of the man’s hand before it was able to kill the guard, making it spin in the air as it flew away.

The warrior reacted immediately by jumping away, but the Hearteater followed him, trying to cut him down with powerful swings, wrecking the area in the process. None of them landed, as the stranger proved to be quite agile and showed similar quickness.

"My weapon! Throw me my weapon!" He demanded.

The one of the three who originally contacted Ren hesitated. There was definitely something that initially made him consider the possible options before he finally reached for the backpack. He grabbed one of the weapons too big to fit completely inside, so the blade of it was sticking out. Just like the previous ones, this was also wrapped in bandages, but judging by the shape of it, it had to be some sort of nagamaki with a surprisingly wide blade, or perhaps a strange version of a pu-dao.

He threw it with a mighty toss, but the ghost noticed, immediately charging at his opponent and with a series of powerful attacks forcing him to retreat further, only to grab it to himself. As soon as he did, the weapon burst with black smoke, which began to wrap itself around Ren’s hand. Although he was no longer in control of his body, he could feel the burst of immense pain, which began consuming his flesh.

The ghost must have felt it too, as he dropped the item, growling at it.

The little opening was seized by the strange warrior who dived in to grab it, then tumbled away, only to push himself off the ground and swiftly land on his feet, ready to fight.

With a quick move, he unwrapped the strange nagamaki – because that is what this weapon was. It had a long, much broader than a usual blade, which was not smooth. It had these horizontal cuts, ending with round holes creating square-shaped teeth along the edge.

The same smoke burst out of it, but contrary to Ren’s case, it didn’t seem to hurt the stranger. Instead, it wrapped itself around his both arms, then morphed into a pair of heavy, black gloves, shining as if they were made of metal. The armaments covered his arms all the way to the shoulders.

"Rahahahahaha!" The warrior burst into laughter. "Now we can fight!"

He didn’t waste even a second, rushing at the Hearteater with a single leap of crazy power, only to drag the blade from above with a powerful attack. The ghost blocked, but he got pushed back. He retaliated without wasting even a fraction of a second, seemingly teleporting right to the opponent to shower him with a rapid exchange of strikes. All of them were blocked, throwing a true shower of orange sparks around as if a team of men with grinders was at work.

The inhuman speed and violence of this exchange left everybody, except the two remaining strangers, completely shocked. They couldn't speak or move, just watched with their mouths wide open, barely able to comprehend it.

"I'll… Eat… Your… HEART!" Ren screamed with foam around his mouth and then swung his weapon with such force that it shredded everything in front of him in a straight line, devastating the area.

The stranger avoided it at the last moment, making a correct decision, as the attack clearly couldn’t just be blocked.

"RETREAT!" Jiro screamed, noticing that even standing near the two was suicide.

Not waiting for his order to sink in, he grabbed the corpse of Kaito and then jumped away. Everybody else recognized the danger as well, and they evacuated much further away, leaving the two monsters enough room to continue their clash.

"AHAHAHAHA!" The mysterious warrior burst into laughter. "I LIKE YOU! I’LL TAKE YOUR SWORD FOR MYSELF!" He screamed, then launched an attack, jumping forward and cutting in such a way that the attack created a crevice in the ground.

The Hearteater didn’t try to parry; he just vanished, seemingly teleporting away and landing at a safe distance, only to extend his hand toward the opponent. From underneath his feet, razor wires burst, whipping through the air, trying to wrap themselves around him, but he tore the metal apart as he escaped, only getting slightly wounded, but the blood marked the grass.

„YOU WON'T TAKE SHIT!!” The ghost screamed. „I’LL BUTCHER YOU! I'LL CUT YOU TO PIECES!! I’LL DRINK YOUR BLOOOD!!” His face got all twisted with this massive grin, making Ren appear inhuman as if he was wearing a grotesque mask.

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He lunged himself forward, appearing to teleport right next to his opponent and unleashing a barrage of attacks, which continued to rend the area. Each was like a small explosion, to the point that even the ground started to shake.

The duel initially was insane, but as the fight progressed, it quickly turned into a true calamity, as if the two forces of nature were competing in a strange contest to see who could destroy more.

Ren, controlled by the ghost, was on the offense. Although at first, it appeared that he couldn't break his opponent's defenses, it soon changed as the razor wires returned, bursting out of the ground and whipping around, limiting the stranger's movement. It culminated when the Hearteater, with a powerful swing, almost knocked the nagamaki out of the masked warrior's hands, creating a wide opening, and then attacked with a cut that ravaged the earth and the man equally.

The black kimono was torn apart, leaving scraps of material hanging on the stranger's body with blood pouring out of many shallow wounds. Although he retreated somehow, without taking a full impact of this attack, it was obvious that Ren gained an undeniable advantage now, as he managed to wound his opponent.

"AHAHAHAHA!" The man still burst into laughter. "Yes! YES! YESS!! So strong! So powerful! I’ll take it for myself!" He screamed despite his situation.

"A DEAD MAN CAN’T STEAL ANYTHING!" The ghost replied, screaming.

"Dead?! DEAD?! You will never kill me! Just you watch!" He yelled. "In shadows deep, where honor's lost, I claimed a prize, at any cost. From noble hand, to grasp so cold, Greed's dark embrace, a heart turned bold. Maken awaken, through treacherous might, In the name of avarice, I revel in the fight. For honor's cloak, a joke I wear, In greed's embrace, I have no care. With stolen blade, I stand alone, A twisted soul, my heart's dark throne. I'LL-GOTTEN WEALTH, MY ENDLESS FEAST, I SHALL TAKE WHAT’S YOUR’S, CAUSE I'M THE BEST!" He began reciting, but the words quickly turned into ecstatic screams.

As he finished, both hands in this strange thick armor burst with dark smoke, causing them to morph. Sharp spikes emerged from them, covering the surface, and the weapon itself changed, accompanied by the sound of snapping steel. It expanded, got heavier and bigger in size. The gaps between the rectangle teeth became wider.

Without skipping a beat, he swung the nagamaki. Although the distance was too great for him to land an attack, the shockwave produced by the blade easily cut through the air, forcing the ghost to leap in the air in an attempt to dodge it. As he did, multiple wide pieces of sharp steel, similar to axe heads and connected together, burst from the ground, moving in synchrony, forming a gigantic saw chain.

They appeared everywhere, shredding the area, only to rise from the ground, fully revealing themselves to be actually a gigantic saw chain. It lashed at the Hearteater, ready to tear him apart. He blocked, twisting Ren’s body midair, using his blade to deflect and attack, which showered the vicinity with orange sparks like some apocalyptic rain.

Although he withstood this attack, his back got exposed, and the stranger swung the nagamaki again, producing a shockwave that hit the ghost right in the back, pushing him forward so violently that the Maken actually caused the chain to break with a loud metallic sound. The fragments shot around, ravaging the vicinity and forcing the team of guards under Jiro’s command to escape even further in an attempt to save their lives.

Few didn't make it, killed on the spot by the fragments flying at such speed that they decimated the bodies of the poor warriors instantly.

Ren fell to the ground, tumbling, but somehow managed to twist his body again and get back to his feet, to slide further on the devastated ground, carving a shallow line in the loose soil.

Blood was pouring from his back, and the grimace on his face indicated that this was a grave wound. He coughed up some more blood, but despite everything, straightened his back and raised the sword to continue the fight.

‘I’m gonna die here!’ Ren panicked. ‘You stupid ghost! Do something! I can’t die here!’

The Hearteater only growled in response, clearly too weak to argue while holding control over the vessel.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" The mysterious warrior burst into laughter. "YOUR SWORD IS MINE!" He screamed then rushed forward.

"ENOUGH!" A loud shout from the stranger who originally tried to recruit Ren rendered the whole area silent and caused his companion to stop abruptly, sliding on the destroyed ground. "What do you think you are doing, Twelfth? The Oracle would never approve of this! We got our orders, and we should prioritize them! They can’t follow us anymore, and that’s enough! Return at once!"

"I need it! I need the sword!" The man responded with an equally loud scream.

"Take the Jujin of the warrior you already killed. It should be enough to quench your greed! We need to move! Our mission was not to kill people but to recruit them!"

This caused the 'Twelfth' to shift his gaze to Ren, who was barely standing on his feet, thanks to the Hearteater controlling the body.

"We will meet again, and your sword will be mine!" He screamed, then leaped in the air, only to land next to Kaito's Jujin. He picked it up, then jumped again, collecting the cleaver, and repeated the process for the third time to pick up the katanas. Then he rushed to his companions.

At that moment, Ren collapsed face-first on the ground. Kazuki didn't waste any time. He charged forward, using all of his robotic arms to get to his friend. He picked him up and began retreating, keeping one eye on the three strangers.

The Twelfth clearly couldn't take his eyes off the man he had just almost defeated but was prevented from robbing. Nevertheless, he packed his weapons in the rucksack and threw it on his back. Then the tall man with the mask of the crow's beak, hidden underneath the large bamboo hat, approached him and placed his hand on his companion to heal him with shinryoku.

Even that was a display of power and skills, as the wounds vanished in seconds.

This was enough time for Kazuki to escape with Ren and his weapon still tightly fixed to his hand with the razor wire.

"Retreat!" Jiro screamed.

Everybody clearly waited for this order with desperation as they charged back toward the forest they came from, leaving the three strangers and the traitors alone.

This group also embarked on the journey but in the opposite direction.

Soon, the lovely songs of the birds returned to take over the empty, now partially destroyed field, as if nothing had ever happened in that area. The setting sun was like a curtain in the theater, heralding the end of the scene.