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Aiden sneered from atop the stairs, his gaze fixed on Kenshiro. “You, too, huh?”
Dagon chuckled, his voice booming as he glanced at Aiden. “You know him or something?”
Aiden looked at Kenshiro coldly. “Just a weakling from the past.”
Kenshiro’s eyes narrowed. “Aiden, you still have time to prove Master Zanbutsa wrong. This is just a misunderstanding. There’s no way you bent the knee willingly to Arion.”
Aiden’s face darkened, and he shouted, his voice layered with emotion—anger, frustration, and a hint of pain. “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! You haven’t felt it… the feeling of weakness in a pit of darkness… The fear you face when The Eclipse Sovereignty surrounds you, leaving you the last one standing. The journey back to the Requiem Universe after the battle—that terror was something else entirely.”
Kenshiro’s tone softened, though his aura of strength remained. “Then that’s all the more reason to stay with us. We understand your pain—but you sought power over unity. That’s the opposite of what we were taught.” He paused before adding, “I can only assume this is a misunderstanding—”
Kael sighed heavily, cutting him off. “It’s no use, Kenshiro.”
Kael’s tone darkened as he gripped his sword. “His mind isn’t clear, and his heart isn’t pure. Conflict is unavoidable. As Master Zanbutsa said, power alone does not determine the outcome.” His eyes locked onto Aiden. “We’ll just have to remind him of that principle.”
Dagon burst out laughing, his voice shaking the ground. “What nonsense are they talking about?”
Garran’s voice rumbled as he spoke for the first time, his stony presence radiating menace. “Sir Aiden, are you going to entertain their drivel, or shall we end this?”
Aiden’s expression hardened. “You handle them. I’ll report this to the King.”
Without another glance, Aiden turned and began walking toward the sealed portal, his Omnistron Sword glowing faintly with malevolent energy.
Dagon’s grin widened as his aura exploded outward. “ALRIGHT!”
The air around Dagon crackled with power as he leaped into action, while Aiden reached the hardened mud sealing the portal. With a casual tap of his sword’s edge, the mud instantly evaporated into nothingness.
He paused briefly, the glow of the open portal illuminating his figure.
In that moment, Aiden’s status was revealed:
Commander Aiden25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5L6GK57Ujh
Title: The Cosmic Blade Sovereign25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVrc9Dw9je
Magic: Transcendent Tactical Bladecraft25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70B7ecey66
Generation: Third Generation Sentient
The passive ability he wielded through his blade—the Absolute Erasure Edge—was a horrifying display of his metamorphosis. With a mere touch, his blade could erase constructs, enemies, and even concepts from every timeline and reality.
Kenshiro, standing near Kael, narrowed his eyes, his aura flaring with renewed resolve. As Aiden prepared to step into the portal, Kenshiro vanished from his spot in a blur of motion.
In an instant, Kenshiro reappeared in front of the portal, his Bushido Aura radiating with conviction. His hand rested lightly on his katana, his expression calm but resolute.
Aiden stopped, his lips curling into a smirk.
“Please move, little Kenshiro,” Aiden said, raising his sword. “I don’t want to have to put you on your back like old times.”
Kenshiro’s voice was low and steady, his aura of honor and resolve engulfing the battlefield. “This isn’t like the old times.”
The tension between them was broken as Garran and Dagon leaped into the air, their combined power shaking the ground beneath them.
Dagon’s Suffocating Grasp erupted from the earth, tendrils of mud lashing out, while Garran activated Terra Titan Form, his body growing into a monolithic behemoth of stone.
Kael sighed, his shadow aura flaring menacingly. “I don’t have time for this…”
Kael raised his blade, holding it horizontally as his aura surged to its peak. “Divine Edge.”
In a flash, Kael speed-blitzed both Garran and Dagon, his sword slashing with deadly precision. The impact sent them crashing into the ground with devastating force, the earth quaking beneath them.
Valae moved to intervene, but before she could react, her vision split. Kael’s Divine Edge had already struck, cutting her down with terrifying speed.
Kael turned his attention to Sylvaine, who knelt amidst her defensive cocoon of roots. Her Worldbinding Roots were 90% complete, threatening the planet itself.
Kael’s voice was calm, almost dismissive. “How about we stop this before you destroy the planet… though that might not be such a bad idea.”
Raising his blade, Kael’s shadow aura erupted into the form of a massive dragon. “Bōkyaku no Ryūgeki.”
The attack vaporized Sylvaine in an instant, obliterating her entirely. The shockwave rippled through the planet, leaving nothing of the Worldbinding Roots.
Kael stood amidst the rubble with an aura of quiet menace, his form radiating power. The battlefield had become eerily silent after his devastating display—four Sentients fallen with overwhelming ease. The shadows from the collapsing roots of Sylvaine’s Worldbinding Roots spiraled into nothingness.
To his side, Kenshiro and Commander Aiden stood face to face, locked in a silent standoff. Kenshiro’s katana glimmered faintly in the fractured light as he unsheathed it, revealing its name: Hikari no Kiba (Fang of Light).
Kael glanced toward them briefly, his piercing violet gaze narrowing as he judged the tension between the two warriors. But before he could intervene, a massive force collided with his side.
CRUNCH!
Kael was sent flying into a nearby tree, the impact snapping its trunk like a twig. Standing where Kael had been was Dagon Mirelock, already recovered, his massive form glowing with a fierce aura of violent energy.
Dagon laughed as he turned toward Kenshiro and Aiden, his gravelly voice booming. “Shouldn’t leave me out of the fun, should you?”
Dagon leaped toward Kenshiro, his colossal fist raised to strike. But before he could land the blow, Kenshiro struck with precision, unleashing Fūjin Geki (Wind Cutter Strike).
A wave of slicing wind erupted from Kenshiro’s blade, striking Dagon midair and sending him flying back, his massive form crashing into the dirt.
Kenshiro’s eyes flicked back toward Aiden—only to find that Aiden had vanished.
The samurai closed his eyes, focusing all his senses as he steadied his breath.
“Behind me.”
Aiden appeared in a blur of motion, his Omnistron Sword descending toward Kenshiro’s neck in a lethal arc. Kenshiro’s eyes snapped open as he raised his katana, deflecting the strike with perfect timing. The clash of their blades sent a shockwave rippling through the air, forcing Aiden to retreat several paces.
For a moment, Aiden’s cold arrogance faltered as he studied Kenshiro’s blade. His voice, tinged with confusion, broke the silence: “My blade was supposed to erase yours. How did you block me?”
Kenshiro’s stance remained firm as he raised his katana. His voice was calm and resolute. “Fukutsu no Ukenagashi (Unyielding Parry).”
Kenshiro’s mastery of parrying allowed him to nullify even the most powerful attacks, redirecting their energy back toward the attacker. Aiden’s Absolute Erasure Edge had failed to touch Kenshiro’s blade, its immense power rendered meaningless by Kenshiro’s technique.
Without hesitation, Kenshiro lunged forward, their blades clashing once again in a flurry of strikes. The two warriors danced across the battlefield, each swing of their swords precise, calculated, and devastating.
Kenshiro’s Bushido Aura radiated around him, an unyielding beacon of honor and conviction, while Aiden’s overwhelming power and cold precision turned every clash into a spectacle of skill and ferocity.
The symphony of their duel was breathtaking—blades flashing like lightning, shockwaves rippling with every strike. But as the battle progressed, Aiden’s speed and adaptability began to wear down Kenshiro’s defenses.
Finally, Aiden found an opening. His blade came down in a devastating arc toward Kenshiro, but once again, Kenshiro used Fukutsu no Ukenagashi to deflect the attack.
However, before Kenshiro could counter, he was struck from the side by a second attack—one that seemed to come from nowhere.
SLASH!
The force of the blow sent Kenshiro staggering, coughing up blood as he fell to one knee. His vision blurred as pain surged through his body, and in that moment, his life flashed before his eyes.
“How…? With what blade was I cut?”
He clutched his side, trying to steady himself, but the strength was draining from his body. Aiden began walking toward him, his cold gaze locked on the fallen samurai.
“You never stood a chance,” Aiden said, his tone cruel and final. “My powers are limitless. There’s no point in named attacks when one slice is enough to kill.”
Aiden stood over Kenshiro, raising his blade as he smirked. “Kael! This is the punishment for Sylvaine’s death. A kill for a kill.”
Aiden’s sword descended toward Kenshiro, but as it neared him, it stopped abruptly.
An invisible barrier seemed to surround Kenshiro, repelling the blade and sending Aiden flying back. It was his Bushido Aura, burning brightly even in the face of near-certain death.
Kenshiro’s voice was quiet but resolute as he began to rise, his breathing labored but steady. “I’ve always been the weaker between you two. But I thank my master for teaching me the way of the Samurai. Because of those teachings, my life has been saved in this moment.”
His aura flared, burning with renewed strength. “Aiden, you know as well as I do… the power of Bushido. The power of the Samurai is keeping me alive.”
With a sudden burst of energy, Kenshiro unsheathed his blade in a flash of light and unleashed Tenken Battō: Iai. The strike landed squarely on Aiden, the force of the blow knocking his head back as Kenshiro appeared behind him, already sheathing his katana.
For a brief moment, Aiden stood still, but then, with terrifying speed, he recovered. He appeared beside Kenshiro, swinging his blade. Kenshiro turned and blocked with Fukutsu no Ukenagashi before countering with Fūjin Geki, but the attack did little to faze Aiden.
Aiden let out a cold laugh. “Is that all you’ve got? Time’s up.”
In an instant, Aiden vanished, reappearing directly in front of Kenshiro. Kenshiro leaped back to avoid the strike, but to his shock, Aiden was already behind him.
SLASH!
Kenshiro staggered forward, a deep wound running across his back. He fell to the ground again, his hands trembling as he tried to push himself up.
“How?” Kenshiro thought, his vision flickering. “It’s almost as if he knew I would jump back… Could he really…? No, that would be impossible.”
As he struggled to process what had happened, Aiden’s laughter echoed across the battlefield.
“The look on your face—confusion. It’s the exact same I saw.”
Kenshiro stared up at Aiden, his breathing shallow as his mind raced.
Aiden’s smirk widened as he raised his blade, the glow of his Omnistron Sword radiating malevolent energy. “I know what you’re thinking.”
He paused, letting the tension build before delivering the truth.
“Yes… I now hold the power to see the future in all battles.”
As he spoke, his voice sent a chill through Kenshiro’s soul.
ns 15.158.61.46da2
