~Notes~
I apologize for any delay, my birthday was this past Wednesday (1/31) and I didn’t feel like writing. ^^

Episode 50 The Sin of an Assassin

Shuriken turns slowly, grasping his Avenger in hand. “Do you still insist on standing in my way?”

Ivy stares at Sasha, and then Tide, both of whom lay motionless on the ground, bathed in blood. She shuffles in front of Lily, stretching out her arms once again, and meeting Shuriken’s cold glare. “Yes. Yes, I will!”

“Very well,” Shuriken growls, “prepare to die!” He leaps forward, with his Avenger raised, armed to kill. Jumping through the air, Shuriken brings his Avenger singing down in a wide arc, straight towards Ivy.

As Ivy raises her arms a second time, another clang of metal interrupts the imminent attack. As Ivy opens her eyes to look this time, her eyes widen at the person standing before her.

Kunai stands in between she and Shuriken, his own Avenger parrying Shuriken’s. Shuriken struggles to push his Avenger past Kunai’s, who holds it firmly in one hand.

“If you’re gonna pick a fight with Ivy, then you just picked a fight with me,” Kunai growls. He half-turns to Ivy, flashing a grim smile at her. “Yo. Hey, Ivy. It’s been a long while, eh?”

“Kunai!” Ivy cries in disbelief. “What are you doing here?! Have you finished your training already?”

“Yeah.” Kunai speaks distantly, his attention entangled with his opponent. “It took only three days to complete after all. The important thing is that I’m here now.” A black necklace gleams around his neck.

Tide raises his head weakly from the ground, peering at Kunai, who stands high above him. “S-So that’s Kunai…?” he mutters, collapsing from the effort of raising his head. He breathes in the fumes from his own blood.

“The dude’s got a weird look in his eyes…kinda like the one—” Tide coughs, blood spilling from his mouth. He clears his throat, unable to continue speaking. His eyes close halfway, losing their focus.

Shuriken snarls at the grim stance Kunai has entered. “So it would seem you have come to interfere yet again. Are you going to keep standing in my way?”

“Of course,” Kunai growls back, “as long as you come after Ivy. As long as you come after Lily. I will be there, and I will be there to take you down. That is what I have grown stronger in order to do. And now, I won’t let anything, not even you, stop me from protecting them!”

Shuriken narrows his eyes dangerously, retracting his Avenger. “It would appear that you have grown even stronger during our short time apart. Very well. I will not ask you what new power you have achieved, but merely concentrate on removing you from my way.”

Kunai draws three Steelys, forming them into an Avenger. “Heh. We shall just see about that. I haven’t gotten stronger for nothing, you know!”

Ayame raises her own arms to shield herself. “Did that…blast just obliterate Iris in one blow?!” Ayame’s mouth drops open as she gazes up at the monstrous being approaching in the sky. “What the hell is going on here?!”

A brief flapping of black robes suddenly catches Ayame’s eye. She turns, and finds a black-robed figure whose face is shielded by a Blue Bamboo Hat standing above her in the stands.

“Ezekiel!” Ayame cries. “You…you’re a Soul Eater!”

“Correct,” Ezekiel replies, glaring coldly down at Ayame.

Ayame gestures wildly at the sky, her eyes showing every sign of panicked fear. “What the hell did you just do right now?! What is that in the sky?!”

Ezekiel stares silently at her for several moments, almost coldly, before replying, “Who else exhibits such a powerful presence? It is none other than Lilith.”

A group of breathless men suddenly enter the stadium, staring awestruck at the creature emerging from the sky above. Jirgen, standing tallest amongst them, cries out loud in fear, cowering despite his size. “Th-that’s—!”

Ayame turns, panic etched across her face. She turns to face Ezekiel again, as Noel and Azuria come to join him. Meanwhile, Lilith thrusts forward her hideous face, screaming in a tortured shriek.

“I-Impossible!” Jirgen exclaims, staring at the unbelievable sight before him. “They’ve…they’ve summoned Lilith, the legendary beast said to have been locked up in the Underworld thousands of years ago!”

“What are you idiots doing here?!” Ayame screams. “Don’t just stand around here! You’ll get killed! Quick, go get some help from the others immediately!”

“Y-Yes!” Jirgen cries, backing away even as he speaks.

Ryuu continues to stumble along the deserted roads outside of town. He clutches agonizingly at his stomach, which continues to bleed profusely.

Grimacing widely, Ryuu reaches into the pocket of his jacket, unwrapping a white pill. He pops it into his mouth, feeling its nourishment give strength to his limbs again. He reaches for more, but pauses. “Fresh out of pills and luck, I guess.”

Ryuu stumbles awkwardly again, grabbing onto a streetlamp for support. “Guess I’ll have to make do with one pill for now. In the meantime, I’ve gotta hurry up and get to the others.”

Ivy watches open-mouthed as Kunai stands in front of her, guarding her, his Avenger poised to strike. Lily hides behind Kunai and Ivy as well, peering fearfully into the dark faces of Kunai and Shuriken.

“Step back, Ivy, Lily,” Kunai growls.

Ivy takes a step backwards, surprised by the order. Lily shuffles backwards as well, reduced to silence. She drags the handle of her useless Helios in her hands, afraid to make any movement.

“More,” Kunai orders. “I’m afraid I might accidentally hurt you two.”

Ivy’s eyes continue to widen, as she steps away from Kunai and Shuriken, leading Lily by the shoulders. ‘Something’s different about Kunai…’ Ivy wonders, ‘He seems a lot stronger, more confident, dangerous…’

Kunai turns his attention back to Shuriken haughtily. “Let’s go, Shuriken.” However, Shuriken has already made his move. In a blinding flash, Shuriken appears next to Kunai, thrusting his Avenger forward.

Kunai calmly raises his own, challenging Shuriken’s attack without even once moving his feet. Kunai grabs Shuriken’s wrist, aiming to throw him; however, Shuriken disappears in a puff of smoke, reappearing behind Kunai.

Kunai leaves his feet at once, jumping high and using Flash Jump to position himself behind Shuriken. “I’ve got you!” he cries, launching his Avenger while upside down and in midair.

The Avenger spirals dangerously towards Shuriken, but he merely deflects it with two Tobis, and sends his own Avenger sailing towards Kunai.

The flying shuriken slashes straight past Kunai’s shoulder, throwing him to the ground. Kunai slides back several feet as he lands, kicking up clouds of brown dust. Kunai crouches, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to peer past the rising dust clouds.

However, as the smoke clears, Shuriken is only standing. He takes off his claw, and a black dragonish creature emerges from within it. The Paradox shrieks loudly, surrounding Shuriken.

“Para…dox fusion…” Kunai mutters, gripping a Steely fiercely. “He’s going to fuse with Phoebe.”

As the waves of black wind crash over Shuriken, they envelop him, and as the blades of black wind part, Shuriken emerges, a pair of red pupils gleaming in yellow eyes.

Elongated, black spikes emerge from Shuriken’s arms and legs, as his whole body becomes enveloped with the same material making up Paradoxes. A steaming black liquid oozes out of his right arm; it then shapes itself into a large Avenger, with a blinking yellow eye in the center.

“Level Three Paradox Fusion…” Kunai mutters. “Paradoxical Residency!”

“Not good…” Ivy whispers from the sidelines, “Shuriken’s fused with his Paradox!”

“We have to go and help Kunai,” Lily mutters next to Ivy. She picks up her axe, stepping forward.

Ivy holds out her arm, stopping Lily. “No,” she replies, “we’ll get killed for sure if we enter this battle. All we can do is believe in Kunai.”

“Perish!” Shuriken cries, his voice mutating into some sort of monstrous growl. He hurls his new Avenger straight at Kunai, who raises his arms to block it.

The Avenger rams straight into Kunai, who maintains his ground. Nevertheless, he is pushed back on his heels, as the blinking Avenger tears into his arms. All of a sudden, the shuriken explodes, shocking Kunai.

Using the opening, Shuriken strikes from Kunai’s right, firing another one-eyed Avenger at him. “Drain!” Shuriken yells.

A wide, gaping mouth replaces the center of the Avenger where the eye previously was. Kunai turns, but does not react quickly enough, as the Avenger clamps onto his arm, biting into his flesh and stunning him.

Kunai freezes, dropping to one knee. He clenches his teeth in pain, until finally the Avenger detaches itself from Kunai and falls to the ground with a clatter. Blood pours out from the wound inflicted by the Avenger.

The next second, several black tentacles sprout from the wound, and wrap themselves around Kunai. Each tentacle has a tiny, miniscule mouth on it, fanged nevertheless. They tear into Kunai’s flesh, eating him alive little by little.

As the tentacles wrap around him and restrain his movements, Kunai screams out loud in mortal pain, unable to even stand up.

Meanwhile, Shuriken stalks slowly up to the immobile Kunai, who is lying on the floor, writhing in pain. “Pathetic. Carrion fit for wandering birds whose stomachs scream of hunger. However, since I am a Paradox now, your soul does look particularly delicious…”

From the floor, Kunai’s eyes widen, as his brain jerks wide awake. He musters up the strength to roll, even as Shuriken bends over him. Kunai quickly whips out a Steely, stabbing Shuriken through the hand with it.

He jumps up, as Shuriken howls in pain. Creating an Avenger in his right hand, Kunai pounces on Shuriken; however, even as he does so, Shuriken disappears, only to reappear behind him.

Shuriken grasps Kunai tightly around the arm, holding two Tobis up to his throat. Even as Shuriken holds Kunai in his grip, the tentacles growing in Kunai’s arm come to life again, biting and tearing at his flesh.

Kunai screams unbearably, his entire body convulsing from the pain. Shuriken sneers, holding the Tobis even closer to Kunai’s throat. “It was careless of you to believe you could defeat me in this state alone. Realize that I am far, far more powerful than you, and you hardly even put up a fight.”

Kunai hangs limply in Shuriken’s grasp, strangely still and silent. Suddenly he speaks, his voice steady and completely calm. “Yeah. It really was foolish of me to think so. I actually should’ve known better…

“I don’t know if this is what Azuma would consider absolutely necessary, but I am going to use it anyway!” Kunai’s hand slowly reaches up to his own neck, his fingers wrapping around the necklace there.

Shuriken’s eyes widen, as he attempts to discern Kunai’s words. His grip slackens, as Kunai tugs on the necklace around his neck. “What are you—?”

All of a sudden, an enormous explosion breaks out, as a black wall separates Kunai and Shuriken, throwing the latter off his feet.

Shuriken lands roughly several yards away, raising his arm to shield his eyes from the intense heat. Ivy and Lily do so as well, peering from underneath the cover of their arms at the scene.

“What the heck is going on?” Ivy cries above the uproar.

Finally, the noise dies down, and the wall clears around Kunai. He steps lightly out of it, holding in his right hand the hilt of a thin, black sword. Kunai holds up the sword for Shuriken to see. “Myou. The sword. That’s what I learned while I was away.”

Silver finishes treating her wounds at last, and rises from a kneeling position. She picks up her Asianic Bow, turning momentarily to look back at the motionless body of Zack behind her.

A faded glimmer of despair passes briefly through Silver’s eyes, before they draw back to their emotionless state. She heaves a sigh, and turns away from the body, walking slowly away.

‘He’s…he only wanted to save his brother and sister… I can relate. And yet, what have I done? I’ve gone and slipped poison through his veins. Even if I wanted to save him, there’s nothing I can do anymore. The damage is irreversible. Supposing if even a Priest were here, would he even be able to save him? I doubt so.’

“Lady Silver!” Jirgen’s voice cries over the breathless wind.

Silver turns her head idly, noting the approaching figure of Jirgen and the other members of the militia she’d sent away earlier. “What’s wrong, Jirgen?”

“We headed to the source of the commotion just as you ordered us to,” Jirgen repeats, breathless, as he stands panting heavily. “But when we arrived there, we found that these beings called the Soul Eaters had arrived, and they were summoning Lilith!”

“Lilith?!” Silver bursts out loud. “Are you sure?!”

“Absolutely!” Jirgen cries, panicking. “I saw her very face!”

“This is terrible news,” Silver mutters. “You, stay back and evacuate any pedestrians or bystanders. I’ll head over to the scene myself immediately.”

“Will you be all right going by yourself, Lady?” Jirgen questions.

“Don’t worry about my well-being,” Silver replies softly, “I’ll manage somehow.”

The debris from the explosion clears, and Kunai idly lowers his sword to his side, as Shuriken remains standing, silently staring at the blade in Kunai’s hands.

“A…sword?!” Ivy gasps from her corner with Lily. “That’s what he learned to do while he was away?!”

“Even so, that sword does not appear all that impressive,” Lily mutters admittedly. “It has almost no girth for a sword, and not only that, but the edge of its blade is brittle, and chipped. How can he expect to win with such a cheap weapon?”

Shuriken continues to remain silent, measuring the strength of Kunai’s sword. “Is this the power you have obtained? A sword?” Shuriken questions. “It appears that even the wind can repel your blade. Do you honestly believe that weak thing can even cut me?”

Kunai smiles gloatingly, waving Myou about. “Heh. If that’s what you think. But just remember, looks can be deceiving.” He digs his feet into the ground, readying himself for a jolt forward.

Shuriken does the same, creating another one-eyed Avenger in his arm. “Very well. I will teach you the true meaning of power, then! How dare you mock me by producing such a pathetic weapon!”

The two simultaneously dash forward, so fast that they appear only as brief flashes of black and white. In the next moment, Shuriken freezes, dropping his Avenger as it is shaved in half. He clutches his chest, while blood pours out from the wound.

Kunai turns from the other end, shouldering his sword. “See what I meant? This power I got isn’t just some puny sword I found off the street. Taking me lightly was your mistake.”

“You think a tiny cut like that is going to stop me?” Shuriken snarls, spinning around in place. Even as he speaks, the wound Kunai has inflicted closes up, replaced by a black, fibrous flesh.

Kunai’s eyes widen ever so slightly as he observes this regeneration. “Guess I’ve just gotta make my cuts deeper, then,” he mutters nonchalantly.

However, before he even has the chance to step forward, Shuriken brings a new Avenger crashing into him. Kunai blocks the attack with his sword just in time. The two weapons scrape against each other, producing a deafening shriek of metal.

With a calculative push, Kunai edges past Shuriken, launching his body backwards. The resulting shock pushes Shuriken sliding back as well.

Breathless, Kunai tumbles over, knees bent. He stares wide-eyed at the sword he holds in his hands. ‘Azuma wasn’t kidding. Keeping this thing out is really taking a lot of my energy away.’

He glances down at the black necklace stashed in his coat pocket. ‘This thing is starting to really burn hot, too. It must be one of the warnings Azuma mentioned.’

Jerking out of his realm of thought, Kunai’s eyes suddenly avert back to Shuriken, as another of his biting Avengers forms out of the crook of his forearm. Shuriken pulls the spiked Avenger free from his arm, black blood trailing like thick plasma from it.

Kunai’s eyes widen slightly, as he braces himself for the onslaught of the next attack. He bends his knees, readying himself for the jump, but the next second, Shuriken’s Avenger crashes into his sword.

Kunai blocks the attack, while Shuriken forces the Avenger into him. The gaping mouth at the center of the shuriken widens its fangs, and sticks out a long, slimy tongue. The tongue stretches forward, reeking of some foul stench and gropes closer to Kunai.

Kunai swats it away with his hand, but the mouth clasps onto his fingers with its tongue. Kunai clenches his teeth, as the mouth pulls him closer.

“Gah! Get away from me!” Kunai gasps, swinging his sword into the whirling tongue. It snaps in half, and Kunai frees himself from the Avenger’s grasp at last. He bounces backwards, even as Shuriken gives rapid chase.

As Kunai’s feet touch the ground, he is forced to swing his sword again, parrying another Avenger attack from Shuriken.

At that moment, Shuriken steps back a pace, leaving Kunai standing still, swaying slightly in his battle fatigue. A puzzled expression crosses his face, before he abruptly turns his head to look behind after it’s too late.

A large, sticky spider web darts out from behind Kunai and engulfs him, swallowing his entire body whole. The web automatically wraps itself around Kunai, restraining his arms and legs.

Kunai cries out loud and struggles, wriggling around furiously. “Dammit! How could I have been so stupid as to get caught in here?!”

“Forget it!” Shuriken’s voice howls from afar.

Kunai turns his attention back to Shuriken, while from the sidelines, Ivy gasps, “Kunai!” A new Avenger forms in Shuriken’s arms, even as he draws his arm back, readying himself to hurl it at Kunai.

This new Avenger has even larger spikes around it, twisting and curling around the shuriken’s circular shape. A bright yellow eye with a red pupil in it opens up, handing Kunai a bloodthirsty glare.

“Perish!” Shuriken shouts, launching the Avenger forward.

The Avenger darts through the air, wheeling forward towards Kunai. Ivy runs forward, as Lily trails behind. “NO!” she screams, “Ku—!”

The gigantic Avenger stops, as a hand reaches out from the pile of spider webs and grabs it right out of the air. Kunai steps out from his web cage, and cracks the Avenger in half with his knee.

“Ku…nai…” Ivy murmurs, staring wide-eyed at the scene.

“Was that supposed to be the attack that finished me?” Kunai questions, his voice low, and grim.

Shuriken merely stands appalled, his arm still raised in the follow-through from his previous attack. He stares as Kunai steps silently towards him, apparently unhurt.

Kunai swings his sword through the air experimentally, creating a whirring sound as it clashes against the atmosphere. “Too bad,” he mutters.

“It’s a shame,” Kunai continues, stopping in his tracks. He stares straight into Shuriken’s eyes, a sort of mad gleam in his own. “I was hoping to give you a chance, to see how far you could push me. But in the end, I haven’t even scratched the surface of my powers yet.

“It’s a bit unfair. I guess all that’s left to do now is to finish you off.” Kunai darts forward, disappearing completely for several long moments.

Shuriken’s eyes widen immediately, as he turns to dart out of the range of attack. However, Kunai appears right by his shoulder, throwing his sword forward to stab Shuriken.

Shuriken ducks, avoiding the attack narrowly. Next second, though, Kunai follows him right on his tail, pressing the tip of his sword onto Shuriken’s throat.

Shuriken backs away, but Kunai gives him no breathing room. With an expert stroke, Kunai cuts a deep wound into his opponent’s shoulder.

Blood gushes forth from Shuriken’s wound, rendering him immobile, as he collapses onto his knees on the ground. Kunai pauses, watching Shuriken grovel on the ground weakly.

“Tch,” he growls, “stand up!” Kunai grabs Shuriken by the collar, flinging him into the air. In a merciless flash, Kunai cuts straight through him with an Assaulter.

Shuriken lands on the floor in a crumpled heap, before Kunai does the same thing again, flinging Shuriken by the collar straight into the air.

This time, Kunai waits till he nearly lands on the ground, before slicing past Shuriken with two sword strokes. “Double Stab.” Shuriken falls to the ground again, a bloody, unconscious mass of weight.

“Like attacking a big, useless piece of meat,” Kunai comments, turning to stare at the bloody, wrecked face of Shuriken. “Why don’t you put up a fight already?”

Shuriken struggles weakly to his feet, a rasping noise escaping from his mouth. A sly smirk stretches across Kunai’s face. “Looks like you’re on your feet at last…Shuriken.”

He reaches into his pocket, and retrieves a blue Summoning Rock. “This will only take a moment. Shadow Partner!” A black shadow escapes from Kunai, disappearing into the air.

The next second, the shadow emerges from behind Shuriken, carrying a black sword just like Kunai’s. “Here we go!” The copycat sprints straight toward Shuriken, brandishing its sword.

Kunai does the same, just as his clone stabs Shuriken directly from behind. It pushes its sword straight through Shuriken’s body, tearing apart flesh and leaking out blood. One moment later, Kunai does the exact same thing, piercing his sword straight through Shuriken from the front.

Both Kunai and clone push their swords deeper into Shuriken, until their respective hilts are resting right against Shuriken’s body.

With an evil sneer on his face, Kunai draws both swords back out from the front, wrenching his own out, and then pulling his clone’s sword out as well, blade first. The hilt follows after, going right through the body of Shuriken.

Kunai snaps his fingers, dropping his clone’s sword. The shadow partner disappears instantly. “It’s time at last to finish this.”

With a powerful swing, Kunai hurls Shuriken through the air, until he lands haphazardly on top of the roof of a nearby building. Kunai himself lunges after Shuriken, sword singing through the air.

As Kunai catches up with Shuriken, he stands him on his feet, and cocks his sword back slightly. “Savage Blow.” He swings his sword through the air rapidly, until his arms become mere blurs, blending with the black shape of his sword.

Shuriken feebly attempts to dodge the attacks, but as life is drained from him, he merely sways. Kunai stabs him deliberately six times, drawing his sword back for the last time. “This will be the one to finish it.”

With a grunt, Kunai throws his sword forward to finish the battle. However, his own sword makes contact on metal, as a new sword appears, drawing contact with Kunai’s.

Kunai steps back, his eyes widening slightly. Ryuu stands in between he and Shuriken, his sword drawn out. Catching his breath, Ryuu stares coldly into Kunai’s eyes, his lips moving in a resolute warning.

“That’s enough of this pointless fighting. Shuriken’s obviously beat. If you’re gonna insist on continuing with this useless fight, then your opponent is me.”

Next Time: Episode 51 Unraveling of the Bonds: Teacher Versus Student!

Ivy: Oh dear! Fighting has broken out between the unlikeliest of friends! Who will win?! Kunai…or Ryuu? The ultimate battle between best friends is now set to begin!

Episode 51 Unraveling of the Bonds: Teacher Versus Student! coming soon!