"I've been waiting for you." He was standing in the grand hall all alone while grabbing a sword that was covered in blood waiting for someone's arrival, he wasn't wearing the mask.
Outside, distant screams marked the continuing slaughter as the unknown force advanced.
"Your rebellion is finished," Tsuki said, drawing his sword. "Those aren't your forces out there."
Koshi grinned, teeth red. "I don't care about their lives. They already gave everything for this moment." His fingers flexed around his sword's hilt. "Just like I will."
Koshi moved first.
His sword erupted in flames, the heat warping the air as he swung—a blazing arc roaring toward Tsuki.
Tsuki barely dodged, the fireblast scorching the wall behind him. Stone cracked from the impact.
"Too slow!" Koshi laughed, already swinging again.
Another wave of fire. Tsuki rolled, the flames licking at his back. He could feel his skin burning, his clothes singed.
He couldn't get close.
Every time he tried to advance, Koshi unleashed another fire slash, forcing him back. The heat was suffocating.
"What's wrong?" Koshi taunted, pacing like a predator. "All that talk, and you can't even touch me?"
Tsuki gritted his teeth. He needed an opening—but Koshi wasn't giving him one.
Koshi attacked again, fire roaring from his blade. Tsuki dodged—but this time, the flames caught his sleeve, igniting the fabric.
He cursed, slapping out the flames, but Koshi was already upon him—a brutal downward slash.
Tsuki barely parried, the force driving him to one knee. His arms shook from the impact.
Koshi leaned in. "You're not walking out of here."
Then—he kicked Tsuki back, sending him skidding across the floor.
Tsuki gasped, his ribs aching. His sword arm trembled.
Koshi raised his blade, gathering fire once more. "This ends now."
Tsuki's mind raced. There had to be a weakness—something he wasn't seeing.
Then it hit him.
Every time he used the fire, there were delays between rhythms, his movements were slowed—just for a fraction of a second.
But that was all Tsuki needed.
Koshi swung again, fire roaring—
This time, Tsuki didn't dodge.
He charged straight through the flames.
Heat seared his skin, but he ignored it—closing the distance in a heartbeat.
Koshi's eyes widened. "You—?!"
"Too late."
Tsuki's sword flashed—
(Illustration in chapter comment)