In one instant, that oppressive sensation. That feeling of every last one of his organs being squeezed and forced to know their place in the world. That illusory image of his smiling grandmother, that cold steel pressed firmly against his throat. Like a specter of death was hovering just over his shoulder, all was swept away with a singular blackened blade.
Coming from the corner of his eyes, a mass of darkness elongated and thinned, before darting out across him to strike at something...other. He could feel it slice not just through air but through something tangible. Something of substance, leaving a small oasis for the parched man in a desert he'd become, he nearly collapsed under the sensation of existing once more. And greedily gulped in oxygen through ragged desperate breathes.
Ikuse could feel the effects leaving his body, that hold being cut away with ruthless and systemic efficiency that wasn't entirely his own.
'GET UP!' His old companion, the one person in this world that would always have his back in the end, barked with more desperation than he'd ever heard in the canine. Shadows flickered and morphed, blades striking out with force and precision. 'It's not done yet!'
Indeed, even in this brief moment of calm, he could easily sense that pressure sweeping back into place. Like water, it swirled and retracted, a wave ready to coming crashing back onto him. Small ripples tried to lazily strike at him as they passed, but automatic blades of inky darkness cut through them with some minute effect.
'Focus.' His mind felt foggy, thoughts slow and sluggish but with a shake of his head, he could feel distant thoughts come knocking. He had no idea of how the plan was going so far, but it was safe to say whatever plot or scheme those priests had cooked up wasn't enough. But he'd been paid for a job, and he couldn't get the full amount if he died here, could he?
With an effort of will, inky tendrils formed at the very corner of his vision. From the trees, from the every blade of grass from even beneath him. Before they all wriggled and morphed, straightening and tapering off into a hundreds of edges. Each appearing razor sharp to the touch.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!SLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASHSLASH!
Innumerable blades swung out wildly into the air, cutting through reality itself, slicing through this endless ocean of pride and oppression. Cuts, matching that bottomless wave, swung out with every bit of control and power he could muster. A stalemate, through and through. Even though he felt like he could do this all day, what he heard next made sweat begin to pool down his temple.
Far off in the instance, through the whirlwind of cuts and chaos, he could hear a soft nearly inaudible sound of wheezing. A croaked sob, bodies collapsing to the ground in boneless heaps. Cries snatched straight out from human throats.
He might've hated how stuck up the members of the Five Principle Clans were, how they sneered and jeered at him. How even now, they sought to use him to their own gain and the likely hood of them turning on him even if he could somehow get this monster to stand down...But that didn't mean he wanted to see them dead, especially not like that.
"JIN!"
'ON IT!'
Holding his hand out stretched, a hound composed of writhing shadows slunk out from the endless tides of blades. It's form massive, large enough to stand taller than he was. With large crimson eyes that glowed ominously, killing intent imbued directly into that gaze. A maw of gleaming fangs, which snapped out wildly. Sinking deep into Ikuse's forearm, but instead of flicnching at the pain, he swung in a large arch. The canine dissolving and collapsing, forming into a single black sword. Despite not appearing any different from the endless blades, it just felt more 'real' more tangible. Heavier in a way that completely overshadowed a small portion of reality it inhabited. An inkblot on the fabric of the world itself.
Setting his feet, he swung from with his all. A single, stroke coming from the side and falling down with the force of thunder strike. Form smooth, teeth grit, the mercenary SLASH! Connecting with something soft. Something beyond just this pressure and for a split moment, his momentum paused and actually began to reverse. Feet sliding visibly in the dirt Memories flashed through his mind. Friends he wanted to see once more, people who genuinely care about his existence and safety. Sae, Natsume, Lavina...and even Suzaku but he would never dare admit it in fear of egging on her antics. The list went on, invisible hands pressed firmly against his spine halting his unwilling retreat.
Digging in deep, Ikuse tightening his grip and with a howl ripping from his throat, they swept through the soft surface. The wind parting, sending out a visible wave of force to rustle the leaves. To flatten the grass and cause his air to go flying back.
The world was silent for an instant in it's wake, that pressure frozen.
"It's good to know you can actually fight back." It was a bored voice and just as suddenly, that oppressive feeling from all around was 'sucked' right back from whence it came. Looking up, he could see that same old man just sitting there. Leaned back and resting his chin in the palm of his hand. Like an emperor looking down at some unruly peasant that dared to speak out of turn. And he would've appeared to be completely unaffected by that strike...but his 'face' was hanging nearly halfway off. Like a paper mask barely held in place, it exposed the truth underneath. A very, very chilling truth. From underneath, youthful skin was revealed. Wrinkles nothing more than a facade. "Turns out this generation isn't entirely without teeth."
"Now that you've seen my power," Ikuse stood tall, shaking the off putting image out of mind before pointing the plain black blade at the monster before him. Pointed spikes forming out of the corner of his eyes, just waiting for the mental command to fill this creature full of holes. If his offer of surrender wasn't accepted, then he would truly have no choice. This Ancient Senjutsu Practitioner hadn't even moved and had already shown exactly how dangerous he was. Elimination would be the only option. "I offer this last chance, step out of the way. Or I will cut you down where you stand."
"I must applaud you." The Heavenly Demon rose languidly to his feet with a grace and fluidity that the image of a massive feline momentarily overlapped his appearance. Pristine kimono rustling in an unseen breeze. That 'face' stitching itself back into place, youth replaced by nothing but the appearance of a kindly grandfather which in turned smiled widely. Showcasing two rows of pearly white, uncannily perfect teeth. "You act like a cultivator, but a naive one at that. Back in my day, someone like you would've been found dead in a ditch after allowing a bandit go free. The fate of dreamers. Take this as your second lesson."
Yamato Iori didn't perform some advanced movement, didn't rip through time and space nor did he explode forward. In one moment, he was standing there and in the next Tobio found himself eating dirt. Cheek pressed firmly into the ground, body slumped. The sound of ribs cracking not registering for a solid few seconds and pain flared to life through his core.
His blurry vision catching a pair of legs standing right before him. A voice distantly called his name, but the world..his mind was slow to react. The taste of copper growing with the pool of of crimson leaking from his jaws. Even just breathing just then took a massive effort, and it felt like he was inhaling shards of glass and exhaling pure fire.
"Never give an enemy a second chance. The moment you pull out your weapon, the time for talking or mercy is over. Blood must be shed, for the weak, that is the way of the world. Ingrain this lesson deeply onto your soul, it might save your life one day."