Kurou's POV
It was dark. Extremely dark. The same pitch-black nothing from my dream before was in my dream again. However, there was a difference. This time I wasn't chained up in the air. This time I was standing on my own two feet, a difference I was glad for. I began to walk throughout the darkness. Despite it looking like I wasn't going anywhere, I could tell I was moving as my feet pelted the soundless pitch black ground beneath me.
Suddenly, green and purple lights started to rise below my feet, looking as if it was forming into something. I tried to unsheathe my sword, only to find it wasn't with me. Quickly, I instinctively threw both of my arms into a cross guard, attempting to block the oncoming energy. Something else happened to catch my eye; a gigantic, very bright light was following as it neared me.
I was deeply surprised to find that I had suffered no damage in the slightest after that large flash. I didn't know if it was it really harmless, Or was it really meant to kill me, only to be destroyed by some strange, unknown force. Either way, it was at least reassuring that I wasn't dead. As I opened my eyes, something had appeared in its place. I was now standing on top of a gigantic green pillar aligned with purple streaks which looked like a strange, sleek glass-like material.
The glassy material seemed to let out a slight, radiant glow upon the first step I made, and the many of the other steps I made. I didn't know if this was really all a dream. The last time I had come here, it was nightmarish, terrifying to say the least. I felt trapped in my own body. Now it felt… mystical… as if I was meant to be here, and the more I walked, the more mystified I was by the things that were around me.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a familiar black beam of energy shot down in front of me from afar, crashing into the ground. I glared as I watched the silhouette that stood inside the energy; Kagrasia, the demon who attacked me when I left the village. However, compared to last time, Kagrasia was completely silent. He did grit his teeth at me, so I knew he wasn't just in a silent state now. Still, I didn't understand what was keeping him so quiet.
Another beam of energy had suddenly crashed into the ground, a golden beam. It was easy to tell who this was: Rados, the C-class demon I had converted. Only, I didn't get a chance to see his full appearance the last time I killed him. He wore yellow and black light armor all over his body, had a long katana strapped to his left hilt, and a small yellow gem embedded in the center of the chestplate. Rados had golden eyes as well, but they were so full of anger and contempt. Not towards me, but if I had to guess, towards his past. On his head was long flaxen hair with silver streaks in the threads of it.
The last beam to come down resembled fiery, yet colder than ice, dark blue flames. I could recognize it anywhere. Xhanaru. He crashed into the ground as well, slowly getting up as his aura of cobalt blue flames surrounded his body. The minute he laid eyes on me, they became engulfed with hatred and killing intent, the urge to kill me continuously rising the more he stared. They all had now basically formed a triangular formation all around me, each of them facing me. I began to hear a strange, deep voice echoing throughout the area. "Kurou Kurosawa, you have collected three soul weapons thus far… stole the souls of their previous vessels, and they are now bound to your will…" the voice echoed, giving off a powerful, otherworldly, wise aura.
This sudden voice had suddenly surprised me and I summoned a sword of hellfire into my hands, gripping it as I looked around the area frantically. "Who are you!?" I yelled out at the voice, demanding to know who it was, what it was, or why I even heard it in the first place. It didn't respond to me. Instead, a gigantic pillar of flames rose forth from the ground in front of me, nearly filling the entire center of the pillar.
The demons before me had to utilize some kind of defense against the inferno that threatened to incinerate all who went near. All except me. If green flames meant anything, it meant that was my own demonic power. I knew it too well for it to be anyone else's. Now, the only thing that was left for me to wonder was what the hell was gathering in the flames in the first place.
The voice began to speak once more. "But… do you have the power to be independent, and rely on your own demonic power…?" the voice questioned as the flames slowly began to fade, a katana suddenly appeared from inside the flames, stabbed into the ground. My own aura literally flowing off of the entire blade. From the looks of it, the sword was a muramasa katana. Strangely, for a muramasa, it seemed to be twice the regular size of a regular katana, and the blade was twice the length as well. It seemed to also be connected by many symmetrical pieces, and was slightly serrated.
The blade of the katana was a deep emerald green, apparently transmuted into a type of magic metal due to the hellfire still blazing onto it. The hilt was black with a long violet cloth wrapped around it, the end of it flowing in the nonexistent wind of my spirit. The scabbard of the sword seemed to be green as well, and had the designs of what looked like a hydra with 5 heads all grown on it, their heads all snapping at an unknown target I could not see. The echoing voice began to speak again. "Pick up your weapon," it said in a guiding voice. I walked toward the weapon, grabbing the hilt as soon as I was near it, and ripped it out from the ground.
I took the scabbard as well and held it in my free hand. "Now, for your test… Kurou Kurosawa…" began the voice, the aura around the demons suddenly began to disappear, untrapping them. My eyes widened as menacing grins appeared on their faces before it had suddenly spoke once more. "Kurou Kurosawa, prove your strength… and fight the demons you've captured thus far. Aside from meaningless thoughts and emotions, you will not be able to read their thoughts on battle strategies while you engage each other." the voice instructed. All I did was grin at that, I wouldn't have that any other way, and even if I was given access to their thoughts in battle, I'd destroy that access myself the moment it was given, to battle that way was only worthy of disgrace. "Now Begin!!!" the voice roared out.
At that moment, the demons, from all directions, rushed at me from their positions at the same time. Anxiously looking around at which one I should attack first, I decided to settle on attacking the biggest threat, Kagrasia, only for the pieces connecting my katana to suddenly disconnect. A cord was seen connecting the pieces together before it suddenly whirled around my body. Their eyes widened, arms all raising to blocked the blade shooting for them, knocking them back from the force. Rados disappeared in a burst of electricity, appearing behind me. I quickly swung my body around to face him and blocked his slash. Lightning burst around his body as he did, pushing me back, aiming to send me flying off the edge.
Green, flame-like auras gushed out of my body and I slashed my sword at him quickly in an attempt to counter attack, knocking him back as the pieces of my blade disconnected again. Using this to my advantage, I swung my disconnected sword at him, the cord shooting for him and lassoing around him. I then swung down with great strength, the sword pulling him down and crushing him against the floor.
Thanks to the souls of the demons in my own spiritual body, I had developed a strange form of telepathy. This was how I was able to tell that Xhanaru was filled with untold rage, watching me perform such a brutal move on his comrade. He rushed at me, cold as ice azure blue flames bursting around his body, creating a trail of ice on the ground. I swung my sword to meet his and managed to block, the sword not disconnecting this time. I could feel the power behind his slash, seeing it had created a very powerful shockwave. More flames exploded around the area from the intense winds it created, freezing and burning the ground around it. When it stopped, Kagrasia dashed towards me next, possessive hatred in his eyes.
Without looking, Xhanaru held out his hand towards the air, a blue blast of energy shooting out above, spreading to the point it created a large ice dome. I was a bit surprised. It seemed Xhanaru had wanted to finish our battle personally. He scowled at me and roared, rushing forward at me once again. I slashed at him as well, our auras bursting around our bodies when we clashed. We sliced at each other more and more, causing destructive force each time our blades and auras collided together. He slashed at me multiple times with very fast speed while I jumped back from him. Flames rose from his body and into the air, forming five saw blade shaped flame projectiles being sent at me. I covered my own sword in an abundance of green flames and slashed at each saw blade, knocking them all away.
They all merely bounced off the surface of the dome, coming at me again with even more speed and power. I kept slashing at them, knocking each saw blade away continuously only for just two to be successfully destroyed. I failed to destroy the others and one promptly slammed into my abdomen, slicing into it viciously whilst slamming me into the wall. My eyes were wide with pain as I screamed out when it exploded, sending me up into the air only for another to slam into my back, forcing me up even higher into the air. The saw blade sliced through the side of my abdomen rather than exploding, appearing above me as the last one joined it, both igniting brighter with freezing hellfire until blasting through the air.
I quickly held out my hands to try and grab them, but screamed in pain when they hit, pushing my arms down. They finally plowed me into the ground, creating a very huge explosion of icy flames. Xhanaru had a satisfied look on his face as he looked into the cold smoke caused by the attack, only for his eyes to widen to see that the saw blades had been turned into actual weapons by me, held in my bleeding hands.
I had a feeling it was going to happen, and it did. The saw blades instantly vanished from my hands. I had no complaints. The voice did tell me to win with my own power, and what was the point of using soul weapons if it meant I couldn't even show them who's boss on my own? I instantaneously unsheathed my green katana, stabbing it forward, the pieces all disconnected. The cord suddenly ignited with green flames as I channeled my demonic energy through it, each piece of the blade being ignited as well until finally reaching the last.
Xhanaru's eyes widened. He tried to block with his weapon, only for the attempt to be proved useless, the tip of the blade smashing into his sword, easily pushing him back. A blast of green flames followed afterwards, igniting the flames even more. The blast broke right through the ice dome and sent Xhanaru hurtling out of it. I pulled back my katana, the katana recoiling, connecting with each piece, assembling back into its whole form. Both Kagrasia and Rados sent sizable blasts of golden lightning and shadowy black energy toward me.
I swung my sword all around me, the cord making the pieces of the blade disconnect around me again, forming a circular barrier around my body. Igniting the cord, the entire blade was consumed by hellfire as both blasts hit, exploding against the sword. I pulled the blade back to its original state once more, then slashed at the smoke, all of it dissipating in that single slash. There were pieces of ice all over my body from the bout Xhanaru and I had, but otherwise, my condition was fine.
I could tell Kagrasia, who was standing like a statue, was shocked. I could tell that I was more powerful than the time when we battled. Despite this, I knew before that the only reason I managed to pull off a win against Kagrasia was because I was able to make him lose focus. I doubted it would happen a second time, and his pride was far too high for him to just back out of this battle.
Rados, obviously wanting revenge for the attack I landed on him before, appeared as a bolt of lightning, rushing past me with blinding speed, slashing at me from the front. I blocked his slash with one hand, albeit the slash had managed to form a small crater under my feet. He gritted his teeth, frustrated, and continued slashing at me rapidly from all sides, zipping around me at amazing speed as he did. His attempts were almost futile. I had blocked most of them already, and the attacks where he actually did manage to cut me were minor, thus healing fairly quick on my body.
Angered, he formed into a powerful blast of energy, all of it rushing right past and behind me when he rematerialized from it, screaming while he slashed down with his katana. I created a glove of green flames over my hand, grabbing the blade of his katana, roaring as I flipped his body over my own and slammed him into the ground with extreme force. Blood gushed out of his mouth from the intense attack. For a C-class weapon that I had used to single handedly murder a squadron of demons, he was pretty damn tenacious. Then again, considering the fact that he was a C-class, I suppose it was to be expected that he wouldn't affect me all that much.
Right as I had smashed Rados into the ground, Kagrasia suddenly showed up right in front of me. I glared at him, throwing and flipping Rados's body in front of me. Then, covering my foot in flames, I used it to roundhouse kick Rados in the chest, the force even plowing into Kagrasia as their bodies connected, sending them flying. It was clear Rados was already down for the count due to him becoming a beam of golden energy again and rushing fast into the pitch black sky.
Kagrasia's body started flowing with black energy, the energy leaking out of his body before exploding into the sky. With incredible speed, he appeared in front of me with his battleaxe out, slashing fiercely at me, energy radiating off of the weapon with each swing. I dodged and blocked each slash Kagrasia threw at me, that is, until one of his slashes promptly slashed at my free arm.
I screamed out in unbelievable pain. Rendering it immobile, he then reared back the battleaxe, slamming the blunt side of it into me. I was now struggling to stand back on my own two feet, struggling to regain focus, I would not die here, not when I'm in my own soul. Azure flames engulfed my body, freezing me inside a large icicle. Xhanaru walked up to the icicle, a spear of ice forming in his hand as he then stopped and stood from afar, aiming at me as if I were a target. I had no plans on giving in to him just yet. The ice began to crack as my power rose, green hellfire spurting from them.
My eyes turned to slits and an extreme inferno of emerald flames shot out of the ice toward Xhanaru. His eyes widened and he quickly dismissed the spear of ice, using his hand to twirl around his Tsurugi sword. A small tornado of snow forming around him before forming into another ice dome around his body, managing to block the inferno. My eyes surged with an eerie demonic glow and the flames were just strengthened even more, crushing through the ice dome and sending Xhanaru flying off of the platform and into the abyss.
He didn't stay there for long, a blue flash of energy shooting out from the abyss, flying the same direction that Rados's energy had. Now… now it was just me and Kagrasia. Both of our eyes flared with demonic energy the instant we had exchanged looks with each other, staring each other down angrily. "So we meet again, cambion, inside this accursed soul of yours! And now I have once again been presented the chance to slaughter you with my own hands," said the large bulking demon with a menacing smile.
I snarled slightly at him, until grinning. "Says the very demon who ended up slaughtered by me instead," I countered back at him. Kagrasia growled as he remembered our exchange the first time we met, the humiliation he felt when I had suddenly turned his own power against him, and he hated every last second of it. He was a part of my body; our souls had become one now. Everything he felt while inside this mind state, I could feel; everything he remembered, I remembered as well.
However, he suddenly began to chuckle. "Foolish boy… You only managed to win thanks to my power. Let's see how you fare without it," he said as a black handle extended from his free hand. Two blades spiked out from the tip, an exact copy of the battle axe which he already brandished in his other hand.. I gritted my teeth a little, not expecting him to be able to wield two heavy weapons at once. I had a feeling my chain whip katana wouldn't work in my favor against this particular battle style.
As if a response to my very thoughts, the pieces of the blade all, abruptly, melded together. The pieces had formed into a regular muramasa katana… well, at least in the construction of the blade. The size and colors stayed the same. I grinned as I looked at Kagrasia, pointing my blade right toward him. "Bring it the fuck on," I challenged. The hulking demon standing before me bellowed with a hearty laugh as, with astounding speed, he ran straight for me, already closing nearly half the distance to me despite his size.
While he was heading straight for me, he drew both of his axes back. I drew my own weapon back as well, fierce green flames bursting around it and I slashed at him, both our weapons clashing. I was sent flying by the savage power in the strike, flipping while in the air, managing to stop myself on the ground. Kagrasia instantly appeared in front of me via teleportation and began slashing at me swiftly and strongly.
Each strike that hammered against my sword sent me back a far distance. For a demon who wore such heavy armor and carried such heavy weapons, I had to admit, he had good speed. In another burst of shadows, he suddenly appeared above me, both axes raised over my head. I quickly disappeared in a burst of hellfire when he brought them down, the impact of the axes slamming onto the ground damn-near cracking the entire floor of the pillar.
My eyes widened as I watched the scene before me. I quickly snapped out of it and decided to even the playing field, creating another katana in my hand made of hellfire, just about the same length as the muramasa sword. I began to start slashing back at Kagrasia as he slashed at me as well. The current battle between me and Xhanaru, compared to the previous one, was much more intense. A few of the shockwaves threatened to send either of us hurtling off of the pillar.
One of the battleaxes in Kagrasia's hand suddenly turned to a complete black and surprisingly, he had let go of the handle, the blade dropping to the ground. Somehow, as the battleaxe faded into the ground, the ground began to turn pitch black. "Shadow Sentiment…" started Kagrasia before as he rose his hand into the air. "One Thousand Spears." His hand was changed into a tightly clenched fist, signaling trouble.
The instant he did, what looked like very thick, spears of shadows rose up fast, all aiming to run me through. I jumped back, only for multiple spears to come at me from the back, successfully ripping right through my chest. I let out a short yell of pain only for multiple more spears to stab through my body, all of them impaling me to the point that I could no longer even scream.
Kagrasia laughed as he had all of the dark spears stab further into my body, blood drenching all of my clothes and pouring out of my mouth as I was raised into the air by the spears. Kagrasia let out a small chuckle as he looked up at me. "It's like I told you boy: you only used my power to beat me. You owe me mortal," he said as he held my body off the platform and over the pitch black darkness below. I had to admit that when I looked down into the pitch black abyss that was my mind, knowing I would die, never knowing where the bottom would lead… it terrified me.
I coughed up more blood, struggling to look at him. "True… but there's something… you didn't factor in..." I said as green energy slightly sparked around my body. Smirking, it then flared out of nowhere, the flames burning the shadows, completely annihilating them. In an instant, I was in front of Kagrasia, back on the platform. There was an intense glare across my face, despite my injured state. "I refuse to give up..." I said in a defiant voice and slashed across his chest as I landed to the ground. Turning back, I watched blood gush out intensely from his wound, I wouldn't back down, and I would win this no matter what.