That same day… Night, the whole group of four is sleeping in the tavern.
There are four beds, all by the wall in a square room.
In the background, crackling and shouting voices of people can be heard.
Jigoku wakes up, sits up and rubs his eyes.
*Jigoku: What's going on? – he asks in a sleepy voice.
He sees Uso fully dressed, standing by the slightly open door and listening.
Mafin wakes up.
*Mafin: Where's Desu? – he asks quickly.
Everyone quickly gets dressed and leaves the room.
They're already standing by the railing, from which the entire tavern can be seen.
Chaos is being spread in the tavern by people in black cloaks covering their whole bodies.
Around their necks they wear wide collars, across the whole collarbone, with five skulls. The middle skull on the collars is the biggest. Each one of them has a dagger.
On the sides sit crouched people over whom the attackers are standing. The young waitress who earlier took their orders has her hands stabbed to the table with a dagger, right in the middle of the tavern. Behind her she is being raped by one of the attackers in a black robe.
Jigoku: Fuck… what the fuck is going on. – he thinks, in heavy shock.
Without a moment's hesitation, a fiery blaze erupts above one of the attackers. From the flame, Uso emerges, giving the enemy no chance to react, slitting his throat in one swift motion. Before the body can hit the ground, another flame ignites behind the next enemy's back. Uso disappears and reappears in a split second to deliver another blow. After a brief spectacle of blazing massacre, all the attackers in the tavern lie dead. Uso sheaths the dagger into its vertical scabbard on the right side of his belt.
Jigoku runs up to the girl who was just being raped. Then he pulls the dagger out of the table, which exits through her hands. The girl quickly snatches the dagger from Jigoku's hand, the one he just pulled out of her pinned palms, and stabs it into her own neck from the left side.
Jigoku: Fuck!… – he thinks, terrified.
Mafin heads to the main exit.
*Mafin: I'm going to see what's going on, Uso watch these people.
*Jigoku: I'm coming with you! – he shouts.
Mafin and Jigoku, after leaving the tavern, see all the villagers kneeling on one side of the fountain, and around them people in robes.
The night is warm, and there's practically no wind.
On the other side of the fountain kneels a man, and next to him a woman — it's the Village Chief with his wife.
Above them stands a towering, humanoid figure—Muzabori—about three meters tall. Upright, arms crossed, he gazes down with an air of absolute dominance. His presence is terrifying; his massive, muscular frame is accentuated by taut, visible muscles across his chest and arms. Red markings wind across his skin. His face is fierce and demonic, with pale human-like skin, sharp cheekbones, and a pointed chin. His deep-set eyes glow with a piercing red light. His mouth is wide, filled with sharp, protruding teeth.
Two massive, curved horns protrude symmetrically from either side of his skull, arcing upward and then back like the horns of a hellish beast. He is bald. His legs are as thick and powerful as the rest of his body. Long, clawed fingers and toes add to his monstrous look. Strapped to his back is a massive two-handed katana. He wears nothing but tattered long pants.
Mafin and Jigoku crouch behind the tavern wall, watching the scene unfold in silence.
Next to Muzabori stands a hunched, grotesque creature. Its body appears burned and shriveled, like that of a malformed child. From its body extends a long, thin neck about a meter in length, topped by a large, blinking eye. The creature is completely naked.
The one-eyed being holds a book and writes something while barking orders.
*Eyed Creature: Separate the women and men. Women to the left, men to the right, now! – it speaks with a shrill, authoritative voice.
Figures in black robes kick and force the kneeling villagers into two groups.
*Eyed Creature: Lord Muzabori, you promised me one of the human females. – it says, its eye fixated on the towering monster.
*Muzabori: You can choose… after I'm done with them. – he growls in a deep, menacing voice.
The one-eyed creature trembles with excitement. Its body twitches, and its behavior becomes increasingly erratic and disturbing.
*Eyed Creature: Ahh, I can hardly wait… – it says in a breathless, eager voice.
From the spot where the one-eyed monster's navel should be, a half-meter-long penis emerges — it looks like a worm and begins wriggling from side to side..
Muzabori nudges a woman kneeling in front of him with his foot, knocking her onto her back.
*Village Chief: No, please! Not my wife! I gave you everything! You had what you wanted! – he cries in despair, eyes wet with tears.
*Village Chief's Wife: We should have known it would end this way. – she says calmly, smiling sadly at her husband.
*Muzabori: You really trusted us? – he sneers.
Then Muzabori steps down with full force on the woman's chest, crushing it.
The village chief stares in silence, as if life itself has been drained from him.
After a moment, Muzabori lifts his foot from her body. Crushed organs fall from his sole, and blood drips down, trailing along his foot.
*Village Chief: Bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! – he screams in despair.
The village chief tries to stand up, but people in black robes run over and begin to hold him down. Meanwhile, Muzabori exposes himself and urinates obscenely on the woman's corpse. During this, Muzabori looks into the face of the already-dead wife of the chief.
Muzabori laughs with a heavy, monstrous voice.
*Muzabori: Would've pleased me, wouldn't you, woman? – he says confidently, full of dominance.
The weeping village chief struggles and tries to get up. Muzabori drives his outstretched, monstrous hand with sharp claws into the man's head, cracking open his entire skull with a smooth, precise strike.
Meanwhile, Desu sits on the toilet.
Desu: Damn, those dumplings really surprised me. Four plates, huh? – he thinks, curious and powerless.
And what's with all that noise? Not that I care… – he thinks, smoking a cigarette.
Mafin grabs Jigoku by the head with a strong, almost brotherly grip. Their foreheads touch, and their gazes meet in silence filled with unspoken emotion. Mafin looks straight into Jigoku's eyes.
*Mafin: Listen to me carefully now. – there's fear in his voice.
*It's Mujo. Do you know what that means? – he asks with complete seriousness.
*Jigoku: They're freakishly strong.
*Mafin: You take the ones in robes, I'll take the big one.
*Just don't die. – he says, full of worry.
*Jigoku: Alright.
Mafin lets go of his head and steps out from hiding, glancing once more at Jigoku as if to remember every detail of his face.
Mafin walks toward Muzabori.
*Mafin: Shall we duel, "Mr. Muzabori"? – he says in an annoying voice, like a sweet old man.
People in black robes start running toward Mafin.
Jigoku, without a moment's hesitation, charges at the enemies. His movements are quick, almost animalistic.
The first attacker, a broad-shouldered man, raises his dagger high above his head, ready to strike downward. Jigoku, however, wastes no time. The moment the blade starts to fall, he performs a lightning-quick dodge to the side.
Jigoku strikes with full force from below, upward, into the man's chin.
The blow is brutal and precise. Bones crack with a dull crunch, and the strike is so powerful that the attacker loses several teeth.
Jigoku doesn't stop. His movements are smooth, and adrenaline pushes him forward. Another opponent, seeing his comrade fall, charges at him with a wild scream. Jigoku rushes forward, crashing into him with full force. Before the attacker can react, Jigoku strikes him in the nose with his elbow, smashing it completely. Blood splatters, and the attacker jumps back, letting out a piercing cry of pain.
The next one attacks him from behind. Jigoku turns and delivers a high kick that lands squarely in the man's face. The power of the strike is so great that the attacker's body is thrown backward, and blood from his nose bursts into the air.
Another opponent lunges at him from behind, drawing a blade. Jigoku, almost instinctively, drops to his hands and spins his body in an acrobatic move, performing a circular kick. His foot strikes the attacker in the temple, sending him to the ground, dazed by the powerful hit. Without stopping, in the same position, Jigoku spins on his hands and kicks another attacker in the knee, throwing him off balance. Then, in a rhythm of battle-like dance, he grabs a dagger lying on the ground near one of the defeated foes and throws it, hitting another enemy directly in the heart.
At the same time, Mafin stands with his arms crossed behind his back. About ten meters in front of him stands Muzabori. Both of them look ready to fight.
*Mafin: What are you doing here?
*Muzabori: We kill, because that's what we live for, and we take human women. – he says in a terrifying, demonic voice.
*Mafin: Women? And why do you need them?
*Muzabori: You don't understand anything. Our race has no females.
*Thanks to human women, there are more and more of us. – he smiles demonically.
*But my Lord is different, he is not like the rest.
*He doesn't need women, so all of them are for me.
Muzabori smiles demonically, with contempt.
*Mafin: Now I understand. – he says seriously.
Mafin: If I hesitate, I'll die. – he thinks, fully focused.
Mafin positions himself in a combat stance.
His legs are placed slightly apart, wider than the hips. One leg is slightly forward. Feet firmly planted on the ground. Knees slightly bent. One hand is raised to face level, palm open with fingers slightly bent. The other hand is closer to the body, bent at the elbow. A white aura begins to emanate from his body.
Muzabori suddenly charges at Mafin, like a wild beast hunting its prey. Just a fraction of a second is enough for him to be right in front of him, his fist almost touching Mafin's forehead. Muzabori's movement is so fast that when he appears before Mafin, the air around ripples.
But Mafin is ready. His aura strengthens him — the closer the enemy, the faster Mafin becomes. At the moment Muzabori's clawed hand nearly slices through the air right next to his face, Mafin performs a lightning-fast dodge, even faster than Muzabori's assault.
Mafin, stepping back to the side and ducking under Muzabori's arm, starts delivering a series of powerful and fast punches straight into the monster's stomach. Mafin's aura allows him to see vital points, and he focuses all his strikes on a single spot on the monster's chest. At this moment, Mafin begins his destructive combo. His fists move with unimaginable speed, each of them hitting Muzabori's belly with force strong enough to crush rocks.
Each punch shakes the monster's body, lifting it higher and higher off the ground. The sounds around their battle resemble the cracking of breaking boulders. Every time Mafin strikes, the monster's body freezes for a moment, as if paralyzed, unable to respond. He hits the vital points with surgical precision. Every blow is stronger than the last. Muzabori, just moments ago so confident, now looks like a helpless puppet, tossed in the air by Mafin's brutal strength.
When the final punch causes Muzabori's body to hover slightly in the air, Mafin instantly jumps back, preparing for the finishing blow. His right hand begins to glow with a blinding white light. The energy in his hand pulses, as if the entire surroundings were concentrating into that one point.
He moves his left leg forward, rests his left hand on his knee, and pulls his right leg far back, stabilizing his position. Right next to it, in his right hand, the culmination of power begins to form. Mafin aims that hand at Muzabori.
The ground beneath him starts to crack, unable to handle the pressure of the focused force. The space trembles. The air becomes dense and tense.
Mafin screams... a long, drawn-out cry full of will and determination, and in that very moment he delivers the strike. The final one. The ultimate one.
"KOKAN!"
Mafin's fist hits directly into Muzabori's body. In an instant, light explodes, as if the sun itself appeared for a split second, only to immediately go out.
The air is torn by the sound of an explosion, resembling the simultaneous blast of a thousand lightning bolts.
Mafin's hand pierces into the monster's body with ease, as if pushing through soft clay. The energy of the blow pulses so powerfully that the ground around them cracks, forming radiating fissures.
Muzabori is thrown far away, like a projectile. He cuts through the air with a terrifying whistle, crushing trees that stand in his path.
The earth through which he flies is torn apart, forming a deep, jagged canyon, its line stretching far into the forest like a scar burned by the very force of the strike.
Mafin returns to a combat stance. His chest rises and falls with the rhythm of heavy breaths. Mafin still stands ready to fight.
After a moment, from the depths of the gaping chasm, in the direction where Muzabori was thrown, a deep, terrifying roar echoes. Muzabori's roar becomes louder and louder, as if fueled by rage and despair, as if he were charging with anger.
Eventually, the roar is so loud it feels like Muzabori is in a state of absolute rage.
A powerful wind rises in his direction, and the ground trembles slightly.
To the fissure caused by Mafin as a result of the blow to Muzabori approaches the Being with the Eye.
It looks in the direction Muzabori flew.
*Being with the Eye: Oopsie.
Muzabori, driven by unimaginable rage, moves at a speed that surpasses all limits of perception. His movements are lightning-fast, as if he becomes a pure wave of energy colliding with reality.
In his path stands his companion, the being with the eye. The companion's body is torn apart as it meets the unstoppable wave. The particles of the body explode in all directions, scattering into atoms, and from the place where it stood a moment ago, nothing remains except glowing remnants flashing in the air.
Mafin, seeing the oncoming danger, has no other choice. He raises his arms, crossing them in front of himself in a desperate attempt to block the blow.
Muzabori is right in front of him like a destructive soundwave tearing through space in a way no one has ever experienced. The ground beneath his feet trembles to the rhythm of his unstoppable speed, and the air around pulses, as if unable to keep up with the pace of his movement. His entire being focuses on one thing... on Mafin. He sees nothing else. Only him.
Muzabori's strike comes with a force that pierces through everything – the body, the ground, reality itself. At the moment of contact, a shockwave explodes, shaking the space. Dust and leaves are swept away in a radius of hundreds of meters, the air literally collapses, and the world around seems to fall silent for a split second in pure shock.
During the impact on Mafin, Jigoku suddenly feels an icy gust, falling on him like a whip of pure ice. At the same moment, the ground beneath everything around, including under him, begins to shake violently, as if nature itself responded to the incomprehensible energy spreading throughout the area. The vibrations are so strong that stones break away from the ground, and trees sway dangerously as if they're about to fall. Jigoku stands nearby and feels the ground beneath his feet slipping out of control. Every step is a struggle, he has to tense his muscles not to lose balance, as if space itself was trying to throw him off.
Mafin's aura is not enough. Taking Muzabori's powerful blow on the block, Mafin feels the incredible force piercing through his arms. In an instant, he loses connection with his own body, as if everything that was his begins to blur. He flies backward like a limp mannequin, crashing through waves of trees, breaking branches with dull cracks. During the flight, his eyelids fall, he loses consciousness. Moments later, his body hits a large rock, which finally stops him. Silence.
His arms are completely broken, bones stick out of them and drip with blood.
Jigoku charges at the monster, meanwhile Desu exits the tavern with a cigarette in his mouth.
*Desu: Jigoku no! – He screams terrified.
Jigoku, full of anger, runs toward Muzabori. He's already close enough, makes a powerful leap, rising into the air with clenched fists to add force to his strike.
With full strength, he kicks Muzabori in the back.
However, the effect is almost zero. Muzabori didn't even flinch.
Muzabori spins around instantly, at a speed nearly impossible for the human eye to catch. Before Jigoku can even think of his next move, Muzabori grabs him by the neck with his massive, terrifying hand. His grip is so strong it seems like he could crush Jigoku's neck at any moment.
Holding Jigoku high above the ground, Muzabori looks at him with an expression of pure, sadistic satisfaction.
*Muzabori: And what now, you human pile of shit? – he says with a smile.
Muzabori's other hand slowly rises. With cold precision, Muzabori drives his index finger, tipped with a horrifying claw, into Jigoku's right eye. The sound of tissue being pierced and Jigoku's scream of pain are nearly impossible to ignore. Blood immediately streams down Jigoku's face. The monster savors the sight, continuing to laugh. Jigoku thrashes, but he doesn't stand a chance.
Desu grabs the sheathed katana with both hands, holding it horizontally in front of him, and slightly draws a bit of the blade from its scabbard. He's facing Muzabori.
Suddenly, the hand holding Jigoku is sliced off, and Jigoku falls along with it.
Desu then slides the slightly drawn katana back into its sheath.
*Muzabori: Hmm? – he says in a deep, surprised voice.
Muzabori turns to face Desu, who stands before him.
Desu carries six katanas, all sheathed — four on his back and two at his sides near his legs.
The monster's severed hand returns to him, and the tissues reconnect — the arm is whole again, as if nothing had happened.
Muzabori stares at Desu and growls quietly. Meanwhile, Jigoku loses consciousness. Muzabori pulls a large two-handed katana from his back, which he wields with one hand. Their eyes meet — as if neither of them knows what's about to happen.
Muzabori moves first. His katana slices through the air with such speed that the ground beneath his feet erupts in a geyser of rubble and stone.
In the exact same fraction of a second, Desu disappears — he melts into shadow before the blade can reach him.
Silence. For a moment.
And then... a cut. Muzabori's arm and leg fall off, as if the shadow itself had ripped him apart. The blood doesn't even have time to spill; the limbs return to his body, as if reversing time. They fuse back together silently, painlessly, without a trace.
Muzabori stands still, turning his head in every direction. Muzabori stands and scans the surroundings, searching for him. Searching. Searching where there is nothing... except shadow.
Muzabori lets out a deafening, heavy roar in all directions, like the sounds of the devil himself, angrier than ever before.
Suddenly... a flash of steel. Muzabori's hand — the one free from the sword — is severed. The blood doesn't even have time to fall before Desu appears next to him, literally emerging from the shadow, so fast it looks as if he teleported in a fraction of a second.
He doesn't waste time. He swings, aiming to slash Muzabori's throat in one decisive cut.
But Muzabori, despite the fresh loss of a limb, reacts. He turns with a speed that more than doubles Desu's attack. His two-handed katana whistles through the air, cutting through the path of the incoming strike and easily parrying it. Sparks fly from the point of contact, as if two bolts of lightning had collided.
The fight erupts instantly.
Desu moves first — precise, lightning-fast. His strikes rain down one after another like hail from the sky. With each movement, invisible shadows slash at the enemy's body, striking where his katana does not reach. Their blades are silent, merciless.
Muzabori parries every strike with an almost inhuman grace. His katana whistles through the air, becoming an extension of himself, slicing the space around him as if it were a storm. The gusts of wind tear apart the surroundings.
Desu's shadows do not relent. Invisible, immaterial blades slash Muzabori from all sides. Blood sprays from the wounds, cuts ripping into his body in a brutal dance of destruction. But Muzabori doesn't retreat.
He regenerates instantly. Every wound disappears as if it never existed. Skin seals shut, muscles tighten, and the katana moves again, cutting through everything in its path.
During Desu's attacks, Muzabori protects his head at all costs. Every strike from Desu aimed at it is met with an immediate, almost instinctive reaction.
Desu appears around Muzabori like a shadow, his figure emerging from different directions one after another — almost simultaneously — in a rhythm of intense attacks. And yet Muzabori parries each blow with crushing precision. His two-handed katana, though held in just one hand, seems weightless. His rapid regeneration is like an endless stream of energy, defying the laws of nature. Each invisible cut that passes through his body, each severed limb or wound, seems like nothing more than entertainment to him. The regeneration not only restores his lost parts but seems to strengthen his speed.
Muzabori, despite being under constant assault, becomes increasingly deadly. Instead of slowing down under the barrage of Desu's strikes, his speed grows, as if his body were adapting to the situation. The monster's movements are now even smoother and more precise — terrifyingly perfect.
Desu doesn't relent. His body becomes faster, nearly invisible, and the katanas in his hands cut through the air with such speed that shockwaves ripple around them. With every second, he increases the pace. The shadows multiply, creating a chaotic vortex of attacks surrounding Muzabori from every direction.
Suddenly, in a nearly imperceptible burst of speed, Desu appears behind Muzabori. His katana is raised high, blade pointed upward, ready to split the monster's head in half from top to bottom. Desu, full of determination, delivers the strike.
But Muzabori — he had already foreseen this move. He accelerates in a way that seems to break the very laws of reality.
*Muzabori: Too slow, he says in a demonic voice.
In one moment, Muzabori has his back turned, and in the next, he's already facing Desu with a raised fist, ready to deliver a devastating blow.
Desu, still descending with his blade aimed at Muzabori, doesn't even have time to react when the monster spins and strikes with all his monstrous strength. Muzabori's fist hits Desu square in the torso with tremendous force.
The impact is so immense that a shockwave spreads in all directions. Desu is thrown backward, and his flying body whistles through the air with a terrifying screech. The wind around Desu's airborne form destroys everything within several meters.
Desu finally crashes into a tree deep in the forest, his whole body slamming against it.
Desu: I'm not going to beat this fucker like this.
Desu quickly gets up, as if sensing what's coming, wounded and exhausted. Four black arms appear on his back, each grabbing a katana. Darkness begins to emanate from his body — an aura so black he now looks like a shadow himself.
He sheathes his two katanas in his real hands. In one of his hands, a large katana formed entirely of shadows appears. The katana radiates the same aura as Desu himself. Both the katana and Desu leave a trail of black light behind them.
A nearly-burned cigarette falls from his mouth.
At the same time, Muzabori watches from a distance — finally recognizing a threat he hadn't accounted for before.
Muzabori's eyes begin to glow with a scarlet light, leaving a luminous trace behind. Bright red markings start to form on his body like tattoos. A red aura bursts out from him.
In the palm of his hand — the one not holding the sword — an opening appears, capable of absorbing and releasing elements.
At this moment, both Desu and Muzabori surpass their limits.
Muzabori and Desu launch at each other with unimaginable speed, and their katanas clash with a sound like a thunderclap explosion. Each strike of their blades causes shockwaves to ripple through the air, destroying everything within dozens of meters.
Desu bursts from the shadows, attacking with a quick, precise upward slash. Muzabori parries the blade with such force that the ground beneath them cracks.
Muzabori swings downward at Desu's head. Desu dodges by tilting to the side and counters with an arcing slash toward Muzabori's torso. The katanas collide with immense power, and both warriors leap back several meters — only to immediately rush into battle again.
Desu, using the shadows, teleports behind Muzabori and makes a wide slash at his back. Muzabori turns with a speed beyond human comprehension and blocks the blow at the last second.
Their blades move so fast, they're almost invisible.
Desu attacks with all his strength, with precision and intensity aiming to cut Muzabori in half at the waist.
To his astonishment, his shadow katana slices through Muzabori's blade like butter — and cuts the monster in half at the waist along with his katana.
The sliced Muzabori, looking at his destroyed weapon, erupts in wild, inhuman rage. Instantly, his legs reattach to his torso. His aura explodes, and the ground around him begins to shatter, as if it can no longer withstand the weight of his power. His body practically embeds itself into the earth from the overwhelming force. Desu is thrown back.
*Muzabori: You fucker! he roars, his voice echoing through the entire forest like thunder.
His aura detonates with unimaginable might — the world around him seems to vanish, consumed by the all-powerful, pulsing energy of Muzabori. A red glow surrounds his body, as if he were the ruler of Hell itself, and the space around trembles, as though reality itself can no longer endure the weight of his existence.
Muzabori raises one hand in a gesture of absolute dominance, from which red flames burst forth, and the sky above them darkens. The air thickens with energy that seems to crush everything around.
At a speed that defies all comprehension, he charges at Desu. At the moment of impact, there's no time to react.
Muzabori's strike lands with the force of a meteor colliding with the earth. A blinding flash cuts through space, and the resulting shockwave instantly annihilates everything within the strike's radius. The ground splits open, unable to withstand the unleashed power — tearing apart as if the very structure of the world is crumbling under the pressure.
Rocks explode into dust. The air vibrates with a terrifying noise, like an incoming tornado — only louder, deeper, more primal.
Everything within a kilometer is turned to ashes.
Before Desu can take the hit, Jigoku vanishes like a shadow, dissolving into darkness.
Desu takes the full brunt of the blow. He manages to absorb part of the energy, blocking it with invisible shadows, which is the only reason he's still alive at all. The entire right side of his body, however, literally ceases to exist — his arm and leg vanish without a trace, and from his torn torso, jagged ribs protrude.
The shadow around him trembles, pulses, as if barely keeping him alive.
Desu kneels on his left knee, supporting himself with his left hand on the ground. Barely alive after taking the blow.
Muzabori stands above Desu and smirks mockingly, looking straight down at him.
Desu: This is the end. I have no choice, he thinks.
With the last of his strength, Desu wobbles on his knee, grabs his katana with his barely functioning left hand, and stabs it into his own torso — piercing his heart. Then he utters the word:
"HARAKIRI."
Muzabori receives the exact same wound as Desu — a hole appears in his chest, identical to the one in Desu's, and blood begins to flow from it.
Muzabori: You think this will kill me? You humans really are pathetic, stupid, and inept, he says in a mocking tone.
While Muzabori's attention is distracted by his own speech and overconfidence, an invisible shadow blade from Desu slices off Muzabori's head. His head is simply severed.
Then, Muzabori's head drops to the ground with a thud, as if it weighed a ton, and the sound of it hitting the earth fills the dead silence around them.
Muzabori's headless body begins to tremble, as if still trying to regenerate. Then, his body turns to ash and is carried away by the wind.
Desu: You're the one who's stupid.
Desu smiles, then collapses to the side with the katana still piercing his chest — and dies.