~Notes~
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Episode 51 Unraveling of the Bonds: Teacher Versus Student!

A dull clattering escapes from the two clashing swords belonging to Ryuu and Kunai, as they struggle against each other. Ryuu stares coldly into Kunai’s eyes, who, inversely, does the same.

Ryuu glares for a moment at Shuriken, as he collapses facedown onto the ground. His body rolls off to the side of the slanted roof, resting at its very edge. Ryuu’s calm green eyes then stray over to Ivy and Lily, who are watching the scene helplessly from the sidelines.

“Ryuu!” Ivy screams, dashing up to the broken wall of the building Ryuu, Kunai, and Shuriken are standing on. Lily follows her from behind.

“Take the others and go,” Ryuu orders immediately, tilting his head towards the motionless bodies of Sasha and Tide lying on the ground. “Heal up Tide and Sasha, then take them and head back to the others. We’ll be right behind you. This shouldn’t take long.”

“Ryuu…are you sure—?” Ivy begins.

“Did I stutter?!” Ryuu growls impatiently. “Heal the others and run away from here. It’ll be quick. You don’t need to see this.”

Ivy pauses slightly, eyeing the situation between Ryuu and Kunai, and the resoluteness in each one’s eyes. She finally nods, dashing over to Tide and Sasha. Bending over each one, she rapidly assesses their situation, healing their wounds with a soft green light.

With the help of Lily, Ivy helps both of them to their feet, and then the four of them sprint right out of the scene. Only Ivy looks back once, turning her head before disappearing down the road.

Ryuu turns his attention back to Kunai, whose sword still struggles against his own. Their two swords scrape against each other, shaking violently. However, Ryuu continues to have the upper hand, holding Kunai’s blade down easily.

“Get out of my way,” Kunai hisses.

Ryuu stares calmly at Kunai, his arm not even quivering, while Kunai’s shakes violently with the effort of pushing his struggling sword up against Ryuu’s. “Kunai. Let’s get out of here.”

“After I finish him!” Kunai howls madly, gesturing at Shuriken’s limp body nearby.

Ryuu sighs wearily, his own muscles becoming limp. “Look, we haven’t got the time for this, Kunai. I’ve always been a supporter of finishing off your opponent, but this situation doesn’t call for it. Continuing this fight would only be pointless; you, me, we’re needed back in town. Now, are you gonna stop or not?”

Kunai remains silent for several moments, his face growing darker and grimmer. “I’ll say it again,” he mutters in a low voice, “GET OUT OF MY WAY!”

Ryuu leaps backwards just in time, his eyes widening in alarm as Kunai takes a swing at him. The next second, Kunai brings his blade crashing against his, forcing Ryuu to parry. ‘He’s serious about fighting…’ Ryuu wonders to himself, staring into the enraged light in Kunai’s eyes.

Ryuu jolts back, failing to take his opportunity to retaliate, as Kunai takes another swing at him. However, he fails to react swiftly enough, and the very tip of Kunai’s sword scrapes against his shoulder near his neck, loosening a thin trickle of blood.

With a violent jerk, Ryuu loses his balance and tumbles off the side of the building, landing roughly on the floor. He sways about on the ground for several moments, his sword out in front of him. ‘Not good,’ he gasps, ‘thanks to using Joukai Amplifier a while ago, my strength’s been all but sapped. My mana’s sealed…I’ve gotta finish this quick before Kunai can exploit it.’

Kunai darts forward, slashing the air next to Ryuu; he sidesteps the attack, and Kunai’s momentum carries him past Ryuu. Using the opening, Ryuu then turns halfheartedly and aims to stab at Kunai.

However, Kunai rapidly reacts, parrying the blow easily and throws Ryuu off balance. “Hm?” Kunai notes, his eyes narrowing slightly. “You seem to be much slower than usual, and your attacks have none of the typical strength or resolution needed to cut me.”

Ryuu finally catches himself and stops swaying. He glares at Kunai, shouting, “Damn it, Kunai! We’ve got better things to do than this! Why are you so intent on fighting?!”

“Just to see how far it can take me,” Kunai replies nonchalantly, flashing his way to Ryuu. Without warning, Kunai appears right next to Ryuu, pressing his sword to Ryuu’s neck.

“Guess I got no choice then,” Ryuu mutters, grimacing slightly. He flips over in midair, pushing himself to the ground by falling backwards. As he falls, he kicks up, causing Kunai to stumble.

Taking the opportunity, Ryuu grasps his sword, swinging it in Kunai’s direction. However, Kunai reacts almost instantly, cutting through Ryuu with an Assaulter.

Blood explodes out from Ryuu’s wounds, new and old, as he screams in pain. Ryuu plants his sword deep into the ground, using it as leverage to help keep him standing. Ryuu coughs, spitting out blood from his mouth. “When did he…when did he get so fast…?”

“Tch,” Kunai frowns, staring coldly at the struggling Ryuu. “Where are your elemental attacks? Too proud to use them against me? At least consider giving yourself the advantage of a double blade!”

Ryuu remains silent, glaring at the gloating Kunai. “I see now,” Kunai murmurs, staring into Ryuu’s eyes. “It looks as though for whatever reason, you can’t use your skills. Oh well. It’s a shame…but what if you were to get stuck in a fatal encounter? You’d die without putting up much of a fight.”

Ryuu’s eyes widen immediately at Kunai’s words. He gathers his remaining strength, leaping far out of the way as Kunai brings his sword crashing into the ground, lifting up large layers of cobblestone.

Kunai shades Ryuu, appearing by his side almost instantly. Ryuu continues to dart out of the way, escaping very narrowly each time. ‘Not good!’ Ryuu cries to himself. ‘If I don’t stop him now, this is gonna end badly!’

“Power Strike!” Kunai shouts, coming out from nowhere. Ryuu is thrown off his feet and flying into the brick wall of a nearby building. Kunai follows straight after him, brandishing his blade.

Ryuu leaps rapidly out of the rubble, combating Kunai’s attack. He expertly slides his sword away from Kunai’s, retaliating fiercely with a swing of his own.

Kunai easily blocks the failed attack, but winces in surprise as a second sword comes from nowhere. It pierces his side; Kunai leaps back, clutching his hip awkwardly.

Ryuu stares coldly at Kunai, brandishing two blades, one in each hand. “You wanted to see me use my dual swords, you got it. Just don’t regret it later.”

Ivy leads the others, Tide, Sasha, and Lily, as they make their way back into town, each one noting the wrecked buildings and resounding explosions occurring not too far away.

A particularly loud blast booms overhead, throwing pieces of rubble and debris into the air even at their distant location. The four of them raise their arms to shield themselves against the blast.

“What was that?!” Sasha cries over the din.

“I don’t know!” Tide yells, his body swaying with the fierce wind.

Ivy glances worriedly at the sky, where, far away, a great big black hole has opened up. A monstrous face and yellow eyes peers out from the center. Ivy then glances back at the way they’ve come. ‘Ryuu, Kunai…please hurry up and catch up soon.’

“Look!” Lily shouts, pointing to a distant figure running towards them.

The other three turn to look as well, and spot a thin figure running towards them, silver hair trailing behind in the wind. “Well if it isn’t Lady Silver,” Tide announces.

Silver pauses, stopping to meet with Ivy, Lily, Sasha, and Tide. “What are you three doing here? I thought Ryuu sent you away after Shuriken gave chase.”

“Kunai and Ryuu showed up,” Ivy replies. “They said they’re gonna be right behind us, but Ryuu also told us to go on ahead first.”

“Ryuu, and…Kunai?!” Silver gasps, her eyes widening. “I see. It seems a lot is happening at the moment. Well, we haven’t got much time to waste now.”

“What’s going on? What is that in the sky?” Sasha asks, turning to Silver.

However, Silver shakes her head, plodding on ahead. She waves for the others to follow, and they begin sprinting after her. “It’s trouble!” Silver replies.

Kunai easily blocks both of Ryuu’s blades with his one, never breaking a sweat. Kunai pivots, allowing Ryuu’s momentum to carry him past him.

Ryuu growls, turning back to face Kunai; however, Kunai lands a swift stroke on Ryuu’s right wrist, causing him to drop his sword. As a result, Ryuu is forced to block Kunai’s second attack with the one in his left. He holds on, his hand shaking furiously from the heavy pressure.

Meanwhile, Ryuu gropes for his sword with his right hand, and finally wraps his fingers around its hilt. He pulls it up, stabbing Kunai once.

Kunai flings himself out of the way, avoiding the worst of the injury. Ryuu uses the opportunity to retreat, bouncing back several feet. He reaches into his pocket, and draws out a tiny black pill. “These pills will give me a quick mana charge. I should be able to concentrate it into my sword and fire a rapid, but strong blast in Kunai’s direction. The blast should be powerful enough to incapacitate him for a while.”

Ryuu chews the pill, even as Kunai dashes right back at him. With a shout, Ryuu snaps both his swords together into one again, and raises it against the approaching Kunai.

“Take this!” Ryuu shouts, swinging his sword down.

A huge, white explosion rips through the air, stemming from Ryuu’s sword. It rocks the ground and cuts the atmosphere, turning up huge pieces of debris as it clashes against the paved road.

Kunai calmly stretches out his sword, held cocked in one hand, to meet it. “Refract.” As the blast hits Kunai, it splits completely in half, moving past Kunai on either side, yet not hitting him.

Kunai lowers his blade, as all that remains of the impact is the smoke. “Too slow, too weak. You always told me not to give your opponents attacks in which they could have time to retaliate, didn’t you?”

Ryuu’s eyes widen at the defensive tactic of Kunai. “I-Impossible!” he gasps. “There’s no way you could have blocked that attack so easily. Just what kind of skill was that?!”

“A forbidden skill,” Kunai replies calmly. “You needn’t concern yourself too much over it. I’ve been told not many who see the mana manipulation skills live to tell the tale.”

“Heh. No problem. I won’t ask more than that,” Ryuu growls, “so try this, then!” Ryuu fakes right, before attacking Kunai from the left without alarm. He swings with all his strength; however, Kunai returns the attack, parrying it evenly with his own sword.

The impact throws Ryuu backwards; but persistently, he attacks again, ducking a retaliatory attack from Kunai and slicing hard right across Kunai’s black sword.

All of a sudden, Kunai’s sword melts away, disintegrating into thin air. The black particles of Myou part, and become nothing but tiny bubbles floating in the air.

Both Ryuu and Kunai cry out in alarm at this unexpected incident. However, Ryuu takes advantage of the opportunity, using it to slash at Kunai.

Kunai blocks the attack with the hilt of his sword, which then too begins disappearing. Kunai stares at the hilt of his sword in angry disbelief, clutching at it desperately.

Ryuu looks on with great surprise as well, his hands slipping on the sweaty hilt of his own sword. ‘His sword…it’s…disappearing?!’

But the next second, the flow of the black particles suddenly reverses, and Kunai’s sword returns smoothly back to its original state.

Ryuu parries, while Kunai lands another heavy blow against him. ‘Rapidly regenerating sword… What on earth is the limit of this power?!’

As Ryuu stands still in his single moment of thought, Kunai strikes blindingly fast, and blood spills freely into the air after the resulting collision of sword on flesh. There is a clatter as his sword falls to the floor, while he soon follows, dropping to his knees.

Next Time: Episode 52 The Monster in the Sky

Tide: Silver, Silver! There’s a monster in the sky!

Silver: I know…

Tide: Silver, Silver! The sky is falling!

Silver: I know…

Tide: Silver, Silver! Do we have to fight it?!

Silver: Yes…

Tide: Silver, Silver—!

Silver: What?!

Tide: Can you read me a bedtime story? I can’t sleep anymore knowing there’s monsters in the sky.

Silver: …

Tide: Oww! You don’t have to smack me!

Episode 52 The Monster in the Sky coming soon!