Clay?
Ryousuke blinked. Was this demon some kind of twisted "artist" like that freak Gyokko? If so, this was going to be a headache. To make matters worse, Shota was still recovering from a previous injury, meaning it was just him and Uzui Tengen on this one.
Tsk, rough.
Before Ryousuke could even finish a thought, Tengen had already packed his gear. Seeing the flash of hunger for battle in the silver-haired man's eyes, Ryousuke gave up on grumbling. After bidding farewell to Jigoro and Rika, they set off.
Outside the safety of the mountain, Tengen actually showed some restraint, pulling a hood over his striking silver hair. His height and physique were still dead giveaways, but at least he wasn't shouting.
Days later, they arrived at a fishing village shrouded in a depressing, gray mist. It was evening—the time when fishing boats should be returning and dinner fires should be lit—but the village was deathly silent. Doors were bolted shut. The air tasted of sea salt mixed with the scorched, metallic scent of a kiln.
"Split up. Be careful," Ryousuke whispered.
"Don't worry," Tengen nodded, vanishing like a silver streak toward the western houses.
Ryousuke headed toward the shore where the scent was thickest. The hummingbird on his shoulder gave an uneasy chirp-chirp. Rounding a cluster of jagged, sea-worn rocks, he found a cleared patch of sand.
Standing there were dozens of life-sized figures. Ryousuke reflexively gripped his hilt, but as he drew closer, he realized they weren't people. They were clay dolls.
The rough terracotta had been molded into human shapes—men and women in stiff, agonizing poses. Most retained expressions of pure terror, as if they had been encased in wet clay while still alive. Under the pale moon, they stood lopsided, staring blankly into the dark like a gallery from hell.
The stench of burnt earth and deep-seated malice radiated from this very spot.
Ryousuke stepped into the center of the doll field, his boots crunching on the sand. Suddenly, he heard a rustle behind him. He spun around. Nothing but the whistling sea wind.
He frowned, his grip tightening. He hadn't misheard. These dolls... they seemed to have shifted.
BOOM!
An explosion rocked the distance. Fire lit up the sky. Explosives—Tengen's work.
"Ryousuke! Get out of there! Move!" Tengen's voice thundered from the village.
Ryousuke turned to run, but the dozens of clay dolls suddenly jerked to life. With guttural, hollow roars, they lunged at him like a tide!
"Ryousuke!" Tengen arrived just in time to see Ryousuke submerged under a mountain of clay limbs.
CRACK-BOOM!
A violent surge of electricity erupted from the pile.
"Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Thunder Swarm!"
Waves of lightning spiraled outward, shredding the dolls into a cloud of terracotta shards. Ryousuke emerged, breathing hard as Tengen skidded to a halt beside him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Ryousuke nodded grimly.
In the distance, more dark silhouettes emerged from the houses. Hundreds of villagers, or what was left of them, were staggering toward them with jerky, mechanical movements.
"Damn it!" Tengen gripped his dual blades. "I got jumped by these things in the village. They're everywhere."
"It's a Blood Demon Art," Ryousuke concluded. "I'm afraid the whole village has been taken."
He stood his ground, blade leveled. "Clear the small fry, find the main body!"
"Got it!" Tengen roared, diving in.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
The two were like tigers among sheep, their blades singing with thunder. Clay shattered into dust wherever they passed. But as Ryousuke decapitated one doll, the ceramic mask fell away, revealing a human face beneath that shifted from numbness to absolute terror.
The severed clay head hit the ground and let out a whimpering, muffled cry.
"Help... save... me..."
Ryousuke froze. He looked closer—most of the dolls were crying. Real tears were muddying the clay on their cheeks. Tengen noticed it too, his back against Ryousuke's.
"These... these dolls are wrong!"
Ryousuke felt a chill run down his spine. "They are the villagers. The demon used its art to seal them inside clay shells to control them—and likely to slow-feed on their life force!"
"That filthy piece of trash!" Tengen snarled, kicking back a group of dolls. He couldn't bring himself to shatter them now. "What do we do? If we break them, we kill them!"
"I'll hold them off! You find the main body!" Ryousuke leaped into the air, drawing the attention of the clay horde. He knew Tengen's hearing was superior; he was the better tracker.
Tengen didn't argue. He broke through the circle and vaulted onto a roof, closing his eyes. Focus, Tengen! You're the God of Flashiness!
He pressed his ear toward the ground. Within the rhythm of the battle, he filtered out the wind and the crashing waves.
There.
Deep underground, near the forest edge—a wet, disgusting snicker. Tengen's eyes turned cold. He vanished, reappearing over a patch of earth and slamming his twin blades down with the force of a falling star.
"GET! OUT! HERE!"
KABOOM!
The earth erupted. A shriveled, yellowish-brown demon with long, spindly fingers and jagged teeth scurried out of the crater.
"How... how did you find me?!" the demon, Mōmenbō, shrieked.
Tengen answered with a whirlwind of steel. Slash!
The blades were blindingly fast. Mōmenbō tried to retreat but was slashed across the chest. Tengen followed up by pinning the demon's limbs with poisoned kunai, followed by several small black spheres.
BANG! BANG!
The mini-bombs detonated. Mōmenbō stumbled back, his body scorched and tattered. Tengen stood tall, his blades gleaming. "Your filthy aura and that laugh... they're absolutely unflashy!"
"Heh... hearing, is it?" Mōmenbō sneered. He snapped his fingers.
Back at the shore, three clay dolls suddenly disintegrated into dust. A stream of red essence flew across the clearing and merged into the demon's body. His wounds closed instantly.