Leyocan deflected the one sword strike with his own sword, while ducking underneath the other one.
"Don't like friendly banter either I see?!" Exclaimed Leyocan.
"..."
"Your silence is just as annoying!" Said Leyocan.
"..."
Leyocan kicked his opponent in the chest in order to force a separation from him, before twisting his sword by his side.
He stabbed forward with his sword, intended to stab him right through his chest, but the specter easily deflected the blow, before striking him with the hilt of one of his swords.
The blow knocked the wind out of him and he fell down on one knee while clutching his chest.
He expected his opponent to be on him at a moment's notice and rolled to the side to dodge a blow that he was sure was coming down at him.
But the expected blow never came.
He looked up puzzled to find his opponent standing across from him, staring at his opponent.
Waiting for him to get up again.
Leyocan growled in annoyance and got to his feet.
"Not taking me seriously, are you?!
You're going to regret that!" He exclaimed Leyocan through gritted teeth.
"..."
He got to his feet, then quickly fired his grapple, hoping he could catch his opponent by suprise.
It did not work. His opponent easily sidesteped the kunai, before suddenly reaching out and grabbing the chain out of the air.
He spun around through the air, using his momentum and body weight to tie up the chain and yank Leyocan towards him.
Before he could do anything else, the specter delivered a roundhouse kick to his jaw that sent him flying away at high speed.
The specter pulled the chain suddenly and Leyocan's backwards flight stopped and he fell facedown to the ground.
With a quick cut from one of his swords, the specter broke the chain connecting the kunai to his bracelet.
He then tossed the kunai back to his opponent and gestured for him to get to his feet again.
Leyocan groaned as he slowly got to his feet.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Growled Leyocan.
"..."
The specter gave no reply, but the wide grin on his face was all the proof Leyocan needed.
He grabbed the kunai in his left hand and prepared to close on his opponent again.
Before he could do so however, his opponent stepped back into the shadows and disappeared from sight.
A blur at the edge of his vision caused him to instinctively raise his sword and he just barely managed to block the strike aimed at him.
Before he could retaliate, a tap on his shoulder caused him to twist around but he saw nothing behind him.
He realized that he had been duped a moment before a hard blow struck the back of his head and sent him falling face first on the ground.
Leyocan laid on the ground dazed but it wasn't the blow that left him in this state.
It was due to the fact that his opponent did something that should have been impossible.
As a Nogitsune, Leyocan knew about 'shadow jumping ' like all Nogitsune, it was a technique he learned at a young age.
To a skilled shadow weaver, any shadow was like a doorway. By using their magic to weave two distant shadows together, on could jump from one shadow to another in the blink of an eye.
There were severe limitations to this ability however. Nogitsune have only been able to use the ability while in animal form.
It was often used as a way to speed up travel, but it had limited use in combat situations.
No Nogitsune had been able to shadow jump while in their more combat suited hybrid forms.
Until now it seems.
"How did you do that!?" Exclaimed Leyocan.
"..."
His opponent demonstrated the technique by jumping a few times between shadows again.
Leyocan eyed his opponent's many tails.
Could this be something unique to Nine Tails Nogitsune? If he truly was one, could he do it too?
He eyed a distant shadow, intending for it to be his exit point, before rushing at a closer one.
He dove at the shadow, but all he managed to do was dive headfirst into the ground.
His shadowy instructor shook his head in disappointment.
"Damn it, What am I doing wrong!?" Thought Leyocan.
Something suddenly occurred to him.
He still didn't believe!
Some part of him was still doubting his father's claim. Could this be what was holding him back?
Leyocan always knew he was special, even from a young age.He did thing that no other Nogitsune had managed to do.
He was the first to scale the clifface in Northburg.
He freed several prisoners from the King's Peak prison, a prison that most people through was impossible to overtake.
It gave him a cocky, arrogant attitude in his youth.
He made mistakes though, and each one stung his pride and made him doubt himself.
He realized that he still bore some small part of self-loathing to himself for what happened in Northburg with the inquisitor, And it was this that was causing him to doubt himself.
Due to this, when his father revealed his origin, he immediately recoiled from it.
" I am not perfect, no one is! But I know I am capable of this! And I trust my father!
If he says I'm a Nine Tails, then I believe him!" Thought Leyocan.
An aura of purple energy formed around his body and new senses began to form.
His body shifted and 4 additional tails grew from his back, giving him a total of 9 tails.
He rushed at another shadow again and dove into it.Instead of hitting the ground like before, he landed on his feet a short distance away.
"I Did it!!!" Exclaimed Leyocan excitedly.
It was hard to tell his opponent's facial expressions, but the specter almost seemed to be smiling with pride.
"All right then!! Let's see what else I can do!" Exclaimed Leyocan as he faced the specter again.
The specter nodded his head in approval.
They rushed at each other again and their duel continued. Leyocan lost track of time as he and the shadow fought.
Despite how quick Leyocan was learning, the specter was still a highly formidable opponent with centuries of experience.
It soon dawned on him that the specter was still holding back even with Leyocan using all his newfound abilities.
"Is this how strong Nine Tails can get?" Thought Leyocan.
After what felt like hours, exhausted finally bested him. Leyocan was kneeling on the ground while panting like a dog.
With his power spent, he reverted to his normal form and his additional tails had vanished.
His opponent meanwhile seemed unfazed.
As Leyocan looked up at the specter's face, it nodded it's head in approval before everything shifted.
"Son? Are you all right?" Asked his father.
Leyocan realized that he was back in his father's cellar, kneeling in front of the shrine of Lupinos.
"How long was I like this?" Asked Leyocan.
"About 10 minutes, you were staring ahead unresponsive for that entire time." Explained his father.
"Had a lot to think about. " said Leyocan in response.
"Are you better now?" Asked his father with concern.
"I believe I will be." Replied Leyocan.