Seeing Giyū's confident look, even Marcus himself almost believed it.
…Almost.
It's not that I can't move. It's that I can't be bothered to move, alright? If you attack me, I have to defend myself, and obviously I can't go around running while I'm blocking. Those are two different things.
The words reached his lips… and he swallowed them back down. If Giyū wanted to believe he'd figured out his weakness, let him believe it.
"And so what if you know? Can you break through my Crimson Curtain?"
And Giyū, to Marcus's surprise, shook his head honestly. "It's impenetrable."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. That he hadn't seen coming.
"Good… so you get it. You can't break my defense, and I'd rather postpone our fight to the death for another day."
"Let's make a deal: you turn a blind eye, I take these people, and we each go our own way. What do you say?"
"…"
Giyū stayed silent, looking at each of those present.
A few seconds later, he shook his head.
"I'm not convinced."
Marcus's face darkened, "Then what the hell do you want, exactly?"
"My intention was to settle this peacefully."
As he said this, Giyū unsheathed his sword again.
Swish
The stones under his feet shattered and his figure shot forward like a bolt of lightning. But he didn't charge at Marcus.
He charged at Ivy and Pearl.
!!!
The alarms went off in Marcus's head.
He quickly controlled the Arrows and yanked Ivy and Pearl, who had moved away earlier, back toward him.
But fast as his reaction was, Giyū was faster.
A pale blue blur shot across the clearing like lightning, lunging at the two demonesses.
His speed surpassed that of the Arrows.
Seeing Giyū's blade heading straight for Ivy's neck, Marcus had no choice.
"Desire Breathing, Third Form: Flower Crossing!"
Swish
A ghostly pink trail tore through the air, and in the next instant Marcus was there, planted in front of Ivy, both swords crossed overhead.
CLANG!
The clash of the three steels tore out a screech that hurt the eardrums of everyone present.
The force of the attack pushed Marcus backward, as his feet plowed two deep trenches into the dirt.
But he didn't give up another step.
Behind him, Ivy and Pearl trembled with their eyes shut, unharmed.
Giyū pulled back immediately after missing the strike.
After landing several meters away, he looked at Marcus, with a hint of surprise on his face.
"You moved."
Rolling his wrists, Marcus glared at him in irritation.
"Obviously I moved, genius!"
"But you said you couldn't move."
"WHEN THE HELL DID I SAY THAT?! You made that up all on your own!"
He was so furious he was about ready to rip his own hair out.
He flexed his fingers with a grimace — the impact from blocking that slash by sheer force had left his palms numb.
This bastard had swung to kill, for real!
However, just as he was taking a deep breath to adjust his stance, a faint floral scent slipped into his nose.
That smell… his pupils contracted all at once!
SHIT!
His body reacted before his mind did, lunging forward.
But it was already too late.
The very instant his feet left the ground, a cheerful greeting brushed his ear, so close he felt the warm breath on his skin.
"Moshi Moshi~"
It was a sweet, gentle voice. Something that reached the soul.
And along with the voice, the cold, piercing pain of a blade running through his back.
Followed by a small apology, just as sweet.
"Sumimasen~"
Growling through his teeth, Marcus spun on the spot and unleashed a backhand slash with every ounce of his strength.
Swish
The pinkish-purple light of the blade swept through the air behind him, but it didn't cut a thing.
And then he saw her.
The scent of wisterias floated to him before the image did… It was a figure resembling a butterfly.
A violet butterfly dancing under the moonlight.
She landed a few meters in front of him with a unique elegance. A delicate figure, wrapped in a multicolored haori that swayed in the night breeze. Violet hair, violet eyes, body leaned slightly forward with her left hand on the scabbard and her right holding a thin, elongated Nichirin sword.
And on the tip of the blade, a drop of fresh blood — his blood — glistened under the moon.
She lifted her gaze to Marcus, and the corners of her lips curved into a small arc.
"Good evening~"
…Shinobu Kochō.
And yet, Marcus didn't feel the slightest bit of joy.
He had fantasized many times about the scene of his first encounter with Shinobu… and in none of his fantasies did she stab a sword into his back!
"You little—!" He pointed at her, his finger trembling with indignation, "Did you just stab me in the ass?!"
"Ara ara~…"
Wearing a beautiful apologetic expression, Shinobu stuck out her tongue, "I'm so sorry. As a Pillar, I shouldn't be resorting to sneak attacks, you're absolutely right… But don't get so worked up. It was just a tiny little poke, barely any force behind it~"
She tilted her head with an angelic smile.
"I'm sure I only grazed the skin~"
"Bullshit!"
Marcus covered his left butt cheek with his hand, red with fury, "The tip of your sword has at least three centimeters of blood on it! Do you know a single person with skin three centimeters thick?!"
Shinobu lowered her gaze toward the tip of her sword.
She observed the blood for a moment. Then, with the utmost casualness in the world, she slipped the blade behind her back to hide it, "I don't think so~"
"…You just hid it! You think I didn't see?! I saw EVERYTHING!"
"You saw wrong~"
Marcus opened his mouth to keep arguing, but the words didn't come.
A sudden dizziness clouded his vision. His legs buckled and he had to drive his sword into the ground to keep from collapsing.
Wait.
'This feeling…'
He slowly raised his head and stared at Shinobu in disbelief.
"…Did you just poison me?"
"Fufu~…"
Shinobu returned his gaze with the sweetest smile in the world.
"You figured me out."
She gave a few little hops, as if this were a game between friends.
"Don't you worry, I only used a tiny amount of sleeping draught. Someone capable of fighting Tomioka face to face would be a real headache for me if they were awake~"
She stepped closer one step at a time, in no rush at all, her voice still soft as silk.
"But you can rest easy. I'm not going to kill you."
She stopped five meters from Marcus and her eyes curved.
"Someone who has reached this level and possesses such strange abilities… the way to deal with you should be decided by our Master."
Her smile stayed intact, but her tone dropped half a degree, "You just need to stay quiet while I take care of those two demons at your side~"
The instant she finished the sentence, her body had already moved.
Swish
A violet streak shot across the clearing like a flash, heading straight for Ivy and Pearl.
But Marcus, having just gone through the exact same thing with Giyū, gritted his teeth, swallowed down the dizziness, and planted himself between them.
_______
😏 Lesson of the chapter: when you smell wisteria… run.
—
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