"Come on, my friend Tarkus, don't be shy; I assume you've learned a lot over two hundred years! Show me what you've learned all this time! Or it would be better if you tell me everything that happened…"
He didn't move an inch; Tarkus sat on a barrel, with Eva bound hand and foot nearby. "I told you everything you need to know this morning, or are you the type who doesn't grasp the truth until he's killed?"
Damn it, man! That's exactly what I'm looking forward to…!
Tarkus pulled out his knife and began to untie Eva, who appeared surprised by his action!
"I wasn't expecting much from you anyway… so there's no need to cry more. I've worked on this for many years, but to no avail… I haven't found a way to facilitate the transfer of these snakes."
"Hey Brando! All I want to achieve is to make this curse of immortality a plague that affects everyone, people like us. You can call it Haruto… one day I will make that happen."
Eva crawled on her knees toward Brando…
"I'm sorry, my friend, I don't want to flood this world with immortal humanity…"
"Look at these bruises, little girl, just look at that!"
Unconcerned about her condition, the first thing she said was, "Brando! That woman?"
"If you mean that woman who looks like the old witch, she's outside; she went to meet her maker…"
"No… no…" Eva began to cry.
As for the crying infant, he's still fine, I believe. If you're worried about him, go get him; I don't want him to drown in the rice field.
"But… I don't want to see the sight…"
What, are you now afraid of seeing blood, girl? If you stay here, you'll see something far worse than blood!
"But…!" she hesitated to go.
Go now!
Eva hurried out of the cabin toward the infant, hoping to reach him before it was too late…
"Since you arrived, you've been leaning against the wall; you can't move! Why?" Tarkus said.
Ha ha ha, astute observation… I've been weighed down by the shame of the chicken my mother made!
"You're trying to be funny, but you're not succeeding… all those rare plants we used to bring the poison; no one can stop the effect of those crushed snakes."
"Alright, that doesn't matter now… if we are both immortal, I don't know how I can kill you! Are you ready, Tarkus? I've prepared something special for you… the taste of pain!
I will make you taste something no one from humanity has ever experienced, not even in their dreams!"
"And that's exactly what I crave! Draw your sword!"
As the battle between Brando and Tarkus erupted, Eva reached the rice field, the infant's cries cutting down the time it took to find him…
She held the child for a moment, apologizing to him for what happened to his mother… then hurried back to the cabin where she left Brando…
Blood splatters and stains from Brando and Tarkus were everywhere surrounding the cabin, both inside and outside. Unable to gather her strength, Eva placed the infant in one of the barrels, away from the fighting.
"This isn't how you use a sword… it's not even called fighting!"
In front of the wooden cabin, a horrific bloody scene unfolded, characterized by intense violence: Brando was thrown to the ground, and above him stood a bent Tarkus, a mutual stabbing between them…
Tarkus buried his short spear in Brando's body while the latter succeeded in making his bloody sword pierce Tarkus's body to emerge from the other side…
Puddles of blood turned the grass a deep red.
"Death… shouldn't be this difficult; this pain pierces my heart directly! How many times must I taste it?" Tarkus said, blood spilling from his mouth onto my face…!
Hmm! I think we both have taken our share of the pain, Tarkus.
They moved away from each other, lying on the ground as if a round of their battle had ended…
Tarkus extended his hand to the cylindrical box where he kept the poison he had concocted…!
He opened the box and emptied it completely onto his sword; steam rose from the sharp blade, and tiny bubbles formed on it…
"I'm sorry that we couldn't reach an agreement between us. When it comes to the Golden Hawk Squad, you're now just a threat!"
Standing tall before me, with sharp features, in his narrowed eyes, I could see the final dance within them… He extended his left arm, confidently gripping the sword in his hand.
"Shhhh!" The sound of the poison reacting with the blade of the sword.
"From now on, I expect you to put your life on the line!"
I grasped the sodegarami, as it offered defensive power unlike my other weapons, especially since he had sprayed poison on his sword.
Hah! I bet my life, how humane of you…?
Tarkus positioned his sword horizontally near his face. "I'll give you one more chance to change your mind."
When a true fighter makes a decision, he commits to it, isn't that the honor of warriors, my friend?
Tarkus realized that my decision was irreversible and began his attack, moving left and right, trying to create an opening for himself where he could strike me…
As he attacked with great speed, I caught a glimpse of his left hand holding sharp blades and launching them at me like bullets…
He had stolen them from Eva, and I knew this when he released her, but what he didn't know was that I too had taken a means of defense from her, the sharp cylinder…
The battle was at its peak, and Eva screamed Tarkus's name…
From behind him, with the sharp blades between her fingers, she intended to join the fight…
"Girl! You won't be able to harm me no matter how hard you try!"
"Tarkus, please! Just die! If you've lived for 200 years and throughout those years you haven't surpassed anyone, like a coward relying on making poison… then you're just a worm, Tarkus; you'll remain an insect forever!" Eva said, her voice rising.
"Death Star!!!" Eva unleashed a barrage of sharp blades at Tarkus…
While he was busy deflecting them with his hands alone, I noticed that this was my chance, and it might not come again…
Tarkus turned around, not finding me. "Damn it! Where did he go?"
I climbed the tree and dropped down onto him with the bloody sword of Ares, using all my weight. He noticed me too late…
I succeeded in splitting his body in half…
I will tear you apart, old man!
With Susano's swords in my hands, I launched my attack, leaving him no room to think about what was happening…
I succeeded in severing his active limbs—his arms and legs—and plunged both Susano swords just beneath his neck, each sword pointing in the opposite direction…
His head rolled away…!
I felt a severe dizziness that dropped me to the ground…
Eva ran toward me and began, as usual, to scream, "Brando! You always push yourself to the limit!"
Please don't shout in my ear… it hurts my head… I think the effects of the poison are still in my body…
"Your blood pressure hasn't returned to normal yet… take this!" she indicated toward the pill.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Even though his head was severed from his body, Tarkus was still present…
"Look at what the frozen time snakes can do… Brando! The body you possess is the same one I carry…" A cough mixed with blood hindered Tarkus from speaking fluently…
"I've lived enough in this vile world… I want to meet my mother and my loyal friends… I want you to bury me in pieces so that these snakes cannot interfere in rescuing me again."