by Nikita Thorn
“I didn’t want to involve you. This is high treason we’re talking about.”
“Unless there’s no evidence,” replied Seiki.
They had now reached the beginning of the tunnel, and this part was unlit. “We’ll have to go through here,” said the old man. Seiki soon found himself enshrouded in complete darkness and he had to keep one hand on the wall to guide him forward. He could hear Master Tsujihara’s footsteps in front of him. The old man’s low voice echoed in the tunnel. “The ground is level enough but be careful.”
Seiki had to laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m really good at this.” He had meant it to be light-hearted but could not keep bitterness completely out of it.
After some time, they came to another underground room, about three times the size of the first one, and Seiki heard water running. The room was dug deeper into the ground, and there was a steep flight of stone steps leading down. On the left was what appeared to be a small underground river.
“This is connected to the city sewage system,” said Master Tsujihara.
On the right, barrels of gunpowder were stacked on top of one another into a wall. From a glance, Seiki could count more than thirty. This was obviously not the work of a single young man.
“As I suspected,” said Master Tsujihara. “Someone was behind this.”
He pointed to the large pile of rubble and rotten wood at the far end of the room. “That used to be a stairway that led directly from the Palace basement. Once you came down here, you could choose to take the water or leave into the eastern wilderness. But they sealed off both exits a long time ago and not many remain who know of it.”
They slowly descended the steps. At the midway point, Master Tsujihara made an unexpected halt and raised a hand to stop Seiki. There were sounds of irregular splashing coming from downstream. Before long, a small boat emerged from the tunnel, dragged against the currents with moderate difficulty by a tall man who was tugging on a rusty metal chain that ran along the wall of the waterway.
The man hooked the boat to the end of the metal chain and got out. That was when he spotted Master Tsujihara and stopped short. “Who are you?” he growled, his voice raspy. He looked up at Seiki and frowned. “And where is that Okamoto boy?”
“He won’t be coming,” said Master Tsujihara. “And you won’t be leaving here alive.”
Although the man appeared human enough, his eyes were showing a hint of a red glow. As if to confirm Seiki’s bad feeling, the man’s right hand grew into a long shadowy blade. “You’re too late to stop us,” the man barked.
With that, his blade stretched out and the tip of it came striking the ground, where awaited a long black fuse leading to the pile of barrels. The tip of the blade sparked, and the fuse started hissing. “Unless you’re faster than fire.”
“I am,” said Master Tsujihara.
Before Seiki could blink, the old man was at the bottom of the steps with one swift motion. He glided forward and his blade trailed on the ground as he made a wide swerve, cutting the fuse in half. Without missing a beat, he then shot forward at the intruder.
The demon growled and parried his attack with his shadow blade, which made low metallic hum as they clashed. It was clear that Master Tsujihara was more skilled, and the demon was forced back as he could not withstand the swordsman’s power.
“Seiki, listen well,” said Master Tsujihara, as he pressed in with more attacks. Seiki had heard that tone before, and it filled him with restless excitement.
The old man’s voice rang clear. “Energy on both feet or knees, and use energy to map out your trajectory on the ground. First hold, then release.”
Right before Seiki could fully grasp the instructions, their opponent had rushed toward the shortened fuse and struck the tip of his blade on the ground beside it, lighting it up again. Master Tsujihara could have easily stopped it, but he was letting Seiki take care of it.
Following what Master Tsujihara had told him, Seiki focused his energy on his feet and imagined a pathway on the ground, which almost illuminated in his mind. He still ignored exactly how to hold and release, since this was new. But he did what felt right; he leaned forward and pushed his energy down and back.
The flame was shooting rapidly along the fuse line, when Seiki slid forward down the stairs in what felt like flying and falling at the same time. Keeping his balance was a challenge. But trusting his instincts, he did a little leap off the end of the stairs that did not hinder his motion. Now aiming for the fuse, as Master Tsujihara had done, he drew his sword and sliced it through as he sailed past it, stopping the flame before it could go any further.
At the end of his imagined path, it threw him off very much like a frozen horse, and he staggered as he regained his balance.
Congratulations! You have learned a new ability: Slide. Range: 0-4.5. Damage: 14-34. Energy required: 32-68.
“Push energy down to slow down at the end,” said Master Tsujihara, a little disapprovingly. His sword had cut the demonic man across the chest, and another slash sent the adversary to the ground.
“You’re a hard man to please,” Seiki said, glad to have his master finally back. That was not so bad for a first time, though, and he knew now what it felt like: either ice skating or running with socks on a polished dojo floor—the latter of which he had done his fair share of.
Childish delight filled him and his heart raced from the thrill. This had been the most complicated move so far, and the thought of all the possibilities it opened up almost made him dizzy.
Slide [Seiki – Level 8]: slide forward, adding 14-34 damage to each target struck along the path depending on the user’s speed at the point of contact. Charges: 2. Recharge time: 30 seconds. Required energy: 32-68. Ability modification: none. Enhancement: none.
“Adds damage,” Seiki said as he considered it. His eyes widened as he looked at Master Tsujihara. “Does this mean—”
Master Tsujihara was still engaged in the end of the fight. He stepped forward and pierced the demon in the chest with his sword, killing him, before turning toward Seiki. “Yes. You’re free to use other abilities during the Slide, and the speed damage tops up on the original damage from other abilities.”
Seiki gaped at how good it sounded.
“But it’s energy-intensive,” said Master Tsujihara, deciding to put a slight damper on his excitement. “So save it for when you really need it.”
He was right. That one Slide took almost half his energy.
Seiki was still admiring his new ability when he heard more splashing noises coming from within the tunnel. Three more boats pulled up, filled with a variety of Demonic Assassins and Demonic Archers. Seiki felt restless excitement at the sight of new enemies to test his Slide out on. He smiled mischievously. “You mean, like now?”
Master Tsujihara was all business. “Keep the archers away,” he cried as he ran toward the first rack of gunpowder. Seiki rushed forward at the newcomers. Unlike the foe Master Tsujihara had just slain, these new attackers seemed to be fully demonic and had no speech except their hisses and snarls.
After they had leapt off their tiny boats, they closed in around him in a wide circle. And Seiki found himself facing six Level 8 assassins all at once. With his previous abilities, there would have been no way he could take on them. But now, he was eager to try out what he could do.
Seiki aimed for a wide curve on the ground and slid forward. The energy on his feet propelled him smoothly over the uneven dirt ground, and he swung his Hikari out with Sweeping Blade as he approached them. The blade struck them all in succession. It knocked the first four of them back, while cutting the other two assassins at the end, who suddenly jumped up high. One detached a black shadow patch onto the ground, and Seiki sprang back out of the way. He had completely forgotten about those damn spots.
Wait, Seiki reminded himself. Wasn’t the sword in his hand Hikari, the blade of light?
Mapping out another path as his Slide recharged,
he pushed himself into another slide past the group, sweeping out his blade again. There was no energy left for a special ability, but with Slide topping up the damage on each enemy he struck, Seiki realized it made his normal moves that much stronger. It also gave him range and speed that he never had before. As he slid past the shadow, he pushed his Hikari down and dragged it across its width. The blade glowed brighter, and through it he could feel a strange sensation very much like dipping a brush into a pot of sticky ink. The shadow patch burst into smoke.
Demonic Shadow slain. 14 XP gained.
Seiki looked at his Hikari in amazement.
“Seiki, archers!” cried Master Tsujihara.
Two demons were lighting up their arrows and aiming for the wall of barrels, and Seiki dashed toward them. Sliding was powerful but, just like Master Tsujihara had said, it was quite an energy drain. Thus, with no energy left, Seiki charged at the archers and swung his blade out at the flaming arrows being nocked in the bows. He split them in half before they could be fired.
There were too many enemies, and taking on more than four was perhaps undoable, especially if some were ranged. Seiki felt a cold wind on his back and twisted in time to dodge an assassin’s bladed hand. At the same moment, an arrow pierced him on his thigh, and the shadow counterpart missed Seiki by an inch. His energy recharged just enough and he spun around with Sweeping Blade, giving himself some room to breathe.
There were now more than eight enemies on him. With or without Slide, Seiki could not deal with that many, since Sweeping Blade only struck four enemies before it became a normal move with significantly less knockback effect.
An assassin dashed toward him and detached his shadow. Seiki avoided him just in time not to be trapped under him, but the bladed fingers left a nasty gash along the whole length of his right arm. Seiki prepared to block as another assassin decided to have a go at him from the right. He was bracing himself for the unknown result, seeing that he lacked the energy to Parry, when a barrel rolled down and crashed into the man, sending him flying backward toward the underground stream.
Master Tsujihara had not been idle. He had been cutting the ropes that held up the tower of barrels, and was now pushing them toward the group. One of the barrels caught an archer with a flaming arrow, and Seiki, quickly putting two and two together, threw himself flat on the ground as the gunpowder exploded.
Demonic Archer slain. 12 XP gained.
Demonic Assassin slain. 19 XP gained.
The remaining opponents were at half health or lower, and Seiki’s energy had recharged enough to run in with Sweeping Blade.
Demonic Assassin slain. 32 XP gained.
Demonic Archer slain. 14 XP gained.
Demonic Assassin slain. 29 XP gained.
It was utter chaos now as ten or more attackers arrived on another boat, and Master Tsujihara had finished destroying about three quarters of the barrel stacks. One more archer was lighting up his arrow. Seiki ran at him and finished him off with a Focused Strike.
Demonic Archer slain. 49 XP gained.
“Stand back!” said Master Tsujihara as he kicked more barrels down at the group.
Three or four came tumbling down, gaining speed as they rolled down the convenient slope. Seiki positioned himself between their paths and pierced one assassin in the back.
More shouts rose as yet another batch landed. Seiki grunted, feeling a sharp cold pierce on his left shoulder from an arrow, and the shadow one immediately struck just below it. He turned to look.
Demonic Archer [Level 8]. HP 124/190.
Breaking off the physical arrow, Seiki ran toward the aggressor, but was forced to tackle a Demonic Assassin that tried to leap on top of him instead. He could feel the difference in his energy regeneration from the Kohagane dagger, but there was still never enough. He rotated to cut the attacker with two normal moves.
Demonic Assassin [Level 8]. HP 149/210.
At that moment, the assassin detached his shadow. Seiki did not hesitate. He plunged his sword into the liquid pool of ink—killing it as it started to grow bladed fingers—, before pivoting to do a double-handed slash at the assassin. There were still too many enemies, and an arrow struck him again on his side. This time, Seiki managed to block the shadow one, which dispersed as soon as it met the glowing Hikari.
After he broke off the arrow again, Seiki bounced backward to avoid the assassin’s blade and hit the man with two more normal slashes.
Demonic Assassin [Level 8]. HP 98/210.
He still needed to get to the archer, who was already lighting up his flaming arrow and aiming for the last stack of barrels where Master Tsujihara stood. Knocking the assassin away from him, Seiki went after the archer. Bad luck, the archer spotted him right away and tossed out a trap. Seiki parried it aside, but the assassin behind him had caught up and landed on him from the left. They both fell to the ground.
The shadow arrow that had struck him earlier had been slowly draining his health, and there was no light sphere to run into to get rid of it. Adding that to these new attacks, Seiki was now lingering below half health.
The assassin had managed to stamp one foot on Seiki’s sword arm, pinning it down with all his weight. Seiki grunted and unsheathed his dagger with his free hand, doing his best to slash the Demonic Assassin on top of him. Unfortunately, his position only allowed for a shallow cut, with moderate damage. The assassin snarled, his red eyes wild with malicious mania as he raised his bladed left hand high, aiming for Seiki’s throat.
Something flew through the air and struck the assassin in the neck. The man let out a gurgling sound as he collapsed. Now, Seiki had a dead assassin, HP 0/210, not lootable, on top of him. A slim silver dagger was buried deep in the man’s nape. Seiki glanced to his right and saw that Master Tsujihara had finished cutting off all the barrels and was rolling them down at the attackers. He was out of range, but his dagger had saved Seiki.
“Thanks, Master Tsujihara!” said Seiki as he pushed the corpse off him. But before he could properly get up, the archer had landed a trap on him. Unlike ryoushi traps, this one did a modest amount of freezing damage as it snapped shut around his legs. The archer had turned his attention back to firing his arrow, and Master Tsujihara was now too busy dealing with two assassins to notice.
Seiki had one knee and one foot on the ground before the trap landed. Having saved up energy, he mapped out a short path and focused his energy onto his knee and foot on the ground. When he let go, the energy propelled him forward, bursting through the trap toward the archer. He had not had time to think about how to land and the short Slide sent him flying forward. Thank goodness, he had been aiming for the flaming arrowhead and he stretched out his Hikari to cut the arrow. As he dropped, he executed a rather imperfect Focused Strike with his unsheathed dagger, and the blade plunged into the archer’s stomach, driving him back.
Demonic Archer [Level 8]. HP 68/190.
Seiki caught his balance. He was now out of energy again, but two diagonal slashes sufficed to seal the deal.
Demonic Archer slain. 58 XP gained.
Glancing at the attackers, Seiki counted about twenty more. He was starting to wonder if there would always be that many no matter how many they killed. If more boats would just keep coming and coming.
An idea flashed in his mind as he saw the flaming arrowhead on the ground. Seiki grabbed it, taking the sear on his hand, and threw it with all his strength at a barrel that was lying on its side about fifteen feet away. The arrow landed right beside it, and the flame licked at the edge of the barrel for two very long seconds. Seiki held his breath, wondering whether it would work.
It did.
As soon the wood caught fire, he dropped to the ground and braced himself as the gunpowder exploded. The barrel was close, and the force of the explosion took a bit more of his health—which was still steadily trickling away with the shadow arrow. But that stunt seemed to have worked. Around the wreckage of the explosion, six or seven a
ssassins and archers lay dead. Seiki quickly took note that he did not get any experience from the ones he did not physically touch.
There was no time to rest or reflect, though. A bunch of assassins were still alive, as well as two archers who were shooting at Master Tsujihara. The old man blocked both arrows with relative ease as he took on a group of assassins. Seiki heard a snarl, and one assassin, at about half health, started running toward him from the left. Following in his tracks, another one, who had been outside of the explosion range and who had been strangely idle, decided to give him a hard time too.
No more boats, Seiki remarked with relief. He was not too worried about the enemies, since Master Tsujihara was here. But with this shadow arrow slowly killing him, Seiki knew he did not have very long.
“Bring them over here!” shouted Master Tsujihara.
Seiki sprinted toward the old man, turning in time to Parry one thrust from the nearest foe, and dragging his Hikari through a loose shadow patch along the way to finish it.
Demonic Shadow slain. 14 XP gained.
A group of four assassins was surrounding Master Tsujihara, and the man swept his sword in a perfect half-circle with Sweeping Blade, dropping two of them.
As Seiki got in range, the old man cried, “Duck!” Seiki dived to the ground while the master swordsman slid forward a graceful curve, slicing the two assassins behind Seiki in one smooth slash. He killed one of them, before turning around and piercing another in the original group he had been fighting by way of a perfect Focused Strike.
Seiki had to force himself to take his eyes off the master’s flawless execution. He jumped to his feet and hit the remaining assassin that had been pursuing him with Focused Strike, finishing him off.
Demonic Assassin slain. 12 XP gained.
Demonic Assassin slain. 38 XP gained.
When Seiki looked around again, Master Tsujihara had also taken care of the two archers. The teacher was now turning around to kill one last Demonic Assassin—that had been lingering at the edges—with that two-handed diagonal downward slash Seiki had seen Hiro use before.
