Basara leaped up and threw Sinners-Slayer, and Minazuki Zankuro raised his sword to block, holding Red Steel Grudge-Alms in the characteristic cross-handed grip of the Mugenryu sword style.
The "Demon" Minazuki Zankuro, who had slaughtered countless villages, and Basara, who had died with deep resentment and turned into a ghost—the battle between these two was so intense from the very start that no bystander could intervene.
Cyan leaned against a tree, watching the fight between Basara and Minazuki Zankuro without blinking. She was involuntarily drawn to Minazuki Zankuro's swordsmanship and subconsciously began to memorize the moves he used.
Minazuki Zankuro's Mugenryu was a self-taught style built on years of combat experience, focusing on steady parries and waiting for the right moment to counterattack. In contrast, Basara relied on his instincts, fighting Zankuro with raw predatory drive.
Basara's bizarre attack methods initially gave Minazuki Zankuro a fair amount of trouble, leaving several wounds on his body. However, after adapting to his style, Minazuki Zankuro began his counterattack!
Erni watched the struggle between Basara and Minazuki Zankuro with intense anxiety, her heart torn. She wanted Basara to win, yet she feared the consequences, worried he would return to that state of madness if he did.
Now that Cyan was seriously injured, Basara was the only one who could protect her and Kagaribi. If Basara lost, they might all be killed by this mad samurai.
Hundreds of meters away in a tree, Leo watched the situation through binoculars, muttering to himself.
"Kubikiri Basara and Minazuki Zankuro... why are these two plot characters fighting? They shouldn't be meeting at this point!"
Could the newcomers and that senior have changed the plot? Leo's gaze locked onto Cyan, who was propped against the large tree, and the anxious-looking Erni.
"Little Lin, what do you see?"
Rex was eating bread and drinking hot cola, looking up at Leo who was perched on a branch with his binoculars.
This kid Leo was like a monkey; the moment you looked away, he'd climbed a tree.
"Two plot characters are fighting. We might be able to step in. Once they've fought to the point of mutual exhaustion and that senior boy is incapacitated, we can take them all out at once!"
Leo looked at Rex with excitement.
A chance to scavenge like this was a rare opportunity!
"That's perfect! It's a great chance to get plot character equipment!" Rex said excitedly, wondering what kind of items he could get from that senior.
Plot character equipment only dropped when specific characters were killed by survivors. Such equipment often carried the character's special skills and provided a massive boost to a survivor's strength.
Of course, obtaining plot character equipment was extremely difficult. The higher a survivor's strength, the more dangerous the worlds they visited. Moreover, if a survivor didn't understand the world they were in, messing around could easily cost them their lives.
"Damn it! Let's do it!"
Rex finished his cola in one gulp. He was still fuming over having to waste life-saving items when he was chased by Minazuki Zankuro earlier.
"What's the situation now?"
"The fight is deadlocked. I think we can move closer," Leo climbed down from the tree. "After Minazuki Zankuro finishes off Kubikiri Basara, we'll take out the wounded Zankuro, and we can spend the rest of our days here however we want."
...
Basara swung Sinners-Slayer frantically, moving through shadows and staking everything to stop Minazuki Zankuro from hurting Kagaribi.
"Is this all the strength you have?"
After understanding Basara's power, Minazuki Zankuro lost interest in him.
"A demon's strength is nothing more than this! I shall become a demon, a being that transcends demons!!! Haaaaaa!!!"
Minazuki Zankuro roared, lightning flickering across his body as he slammed into Basara. Then, like a sumo wrestler, he stood and stomped the ground, causing it to vibrate.
"Mugenryu Secret! Muso-ken!!!"
As the Mugenryu Secret: Muso-ken was activated, Basara was locked down by Zankuro's sword intent, which felt like a mountain towering into the clouds. The heavy pressure suppressed not only his body but his very soul.
Green, flame-like sword qi burned fiercely on Red Steel Grudge-Alms. With a brief charge and an overwhelming aura of slaughter, Minazuki Zankuro's clothes whipped in the wind before he swung the blade down. In that split second, everything in the world seemed to lose its color. A blinding light engulfed Basara and shot into the distance, disintegrating everything in its path.
"It ends here!"
Minazuki Zankuro looked at Basara lying motionless on the ground and began walking toward Kagaribi and Erni, who were paralyzed with fear by his killing intent.
"I won't... I absolutely won't let you hurt Kagaribi!!!"
Basara's intense love for Kagaribi forced his broken body, which shouldn't have been able to move, to stir once more.
Sinners-Slayer left a deep, bone-chilling wound on Minazuki Zankuro, blood spraying out. As Basara yanked the chain to retrieve the weapon, Sinners-Slayer left another massive gash on Zankuro's body.
"A demon... to still be able to move after taking my Mugenryu Secret..."
Minazuki Zankuro looked at Basara in shock. He hadn't expected a demon to have any strength left to attack after being hit by his strongest secret technique.
Cyan forced herself to stand, looking to the right as she sensed someone there.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Rex and Leo walked out from the forest, clapping their hands.
It was them!
Erni's eyes widened when she saw Rex and Leo, a hint of terror flashing in them.
Compared to Cyan, these two were the kind who wouldn't hesitate to send them to their deaths!
Erni thought of the survivors who had died brutally under Minazuki Zankuro's blade and hesitated, wondering if she should take the chance to run away in the chaos.
"What a wonderful battle."
"Do it!"
Rex shouted and rushed to Minazuki Zankuro's side, grabbing him with both arms to perform a powerful backdrop. This skill was the one used by the man in red, Mustapha, from Cadillacs and Dinosaurs.
"You forced us to use several items, time to pay us back!"
Despite being more than two heads shorter than the giant Zankuro, Rex lifted him over his head and slammed him heavily into the ground.
Immediately after, the muscles in Rex's right arm bulged strangely, turning a purplish-blue as the veins throbbed. He roughly grabbed the blood-spitting Minazuki Zankuro and slammed him repeatedly into the ground!
Violent Slam!
This was a skill from the special infected, the Charger, in Left 4 Dead 2. It allowed for up to three follow-up attacks on a downed enemy—simple and brutal!
However, after three strikes, the right arm that had mutated to use the skill would be unable to move freely for a short time.
On the other side, Leo approached Basara, his cheeks bulging like a toad as he spat a searing fireball at him.
Yoga Fire—the signature skill of Dhalsim from Street Fighter, aside from his stretching limbs. The more mental energy consumed when activating it, the greater the power.
"Is... is this magic?"
Erni, who had never encountered Street Fighter, thought the Yoga Fire Leo spat was magic, and her heart filled with even more anticipation for the Survival Space.
If she survived in the Survival Space, she could obtain supernatural power too!
"Basara!"
Seeing this, Kagaribi let out a cry. She recognized these two as people who had attended her wedding to Basara; she hadn't expected them to suddenly attack him.
Basara suddenly moved, and Sinners-Slayer vanished into the shadow beneath him, appearing eerily from Leo's side. It was blocked by an invisible barrier, sparks flying as the spinning blade of Sinners-Slayer hit the invisible shield.
Basara flicked the chain, and Sinners-Slayer traced a series of sparks across the invisible barrier until the sound of shattering glass rang out and the barrier broke.
[Damage-Bearing Pendant]
[Type: Accessory]
[Attribute: Absorbs damage taken by the wearer. Breaks after accumulating 300 points of damage. Damage absorption is not reduced by defense.]
[Requirement: None]
[Note: A good accessory can often save your life at a critical moment.]
Damn it!
After the Damage-Bearing Pendant broke, Leo quickly retreated. The Yoga Fire exploded on Basara's body, reducing his already extremely low health bar a bit more. Unfortunately, it failed to trigger a burning effect.