SHADOWLANDZ SEASON ONE

Shink asked, "So, do you still have those four techniques now that your other three are dead?"

Genjo sneered, "Does it matter? You will die here."

A purple sword materialized as Genjo assumed a fighting stance. Shink broke a holy oil vial over his blade and recited the scripture, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper." His sword slowly ignited with a blue flame.

Scene switches to kyll and cyro

Cyro inquired, "Brother, what bothers you?"

Kyll expressed his concerns, "I've never seen Genjo look overwhelmed by a mere human. Watching those three fight was a wake-up call for me. It motivates me to get stronger and eliminate anyone who could become as skilled as these four."

"I had an encounter that troubled me," Kyll continued. "When you were sleeping in the training chamber, I ran into two warriors, Gavon and Tega, who had no Anointing. They possessed exceptional skill, but not like these four. It made me wonder, if the Anointed are supposed to be our rivals, why are these regular people close to us in strength?"

Kyll recalled, "The two I fought gave me trouble, but they also had an Anointed fighting alongside them with Master Vojim."But now I'm thinking what if they get close to these guys in skill?

Cyro advised, "Brother, you must study the history of the Shadowlandz more. I know you love fighting, but the key is studying. You would know exactly why Shink and his men are powerful. They fought alongside Ezon in the Great Disciple War. They trained day in, day out, learning specifically how to banish demons."

"Everything we've seen these four do is mastery of demon slaying," Cyro continued. "Their techniques are geared toward taking out demons. Now, those techniques aren't great against the Cursed, so the standing is still true. When people made the brackets of who was strong against who and who was weak against whom, they were determining that based on what people can learn and master."

"There are Anointed who have great counterparts to the Cursed," Cyro explained, "but someone like the four would have a hard time defeating someone like us. This is the terrifying part about Genjo: he's the only demon we know of who has both Cursed power and demonic power."

"This means that while he's fighting them, he must be testing how far his demonic abilities have gone," Cyro observed. "This is technically his training. I've observed what he's done this whole fight; he's trying to see what the limits of the four are. By doing that, he can enhance himself and us, and better prepare to deal with people who learn techniques to counter us."

"This is just advanced training for him," Cyro concluded. "He'll take his data from the fight and figure out more ways to deal with threats."

Kyll asked, "So, technically, we could beat these guys right now, you and me? They're crafted for demons, not Cursed, right?"

Cyro replied, "I wouldn't say we wouldn't have to run from or avoid the majority of their attacks. However, they are also a lot more trained and skilled with their weaponry and skills."

Cyro continued, "The blue fire attacks are difficult for Genjo because they're attacks that can literally petrify a demon. They may affect Genjo slightly, like we saw his clone's hair turn to stone, but that's not going to really work on him. It will probably take a lot more..."?

Cyro smiled, "What's this? You're writing now, brother? I'm glad to see this."

Kyll nodded, "Yes, just writing down my observations."

Scene moves back to Shink and Genjo

Shink, wielding a blue fire blade, clashed with Genjo, who brandished a purple blade, in a frenzied sword fight. Genjo's evil laughter echoed through the air, "Hahaja! Remarkable! You're a true fighter, possibly the best swordsman! It's unfortunate you have no Anointing; you'd be nearly unbeatable."

Genjo's purple blade glowed red and purple as he swung it, unleashing two waves: one red, one purple. Shink, shocked but focused, blocked the purple wave, but the red one struck his blade, shattering it in half. The onlookers gasped in shock.

Genjo sneered, "See? You're powerful, but you only have swordsmanship; nothing else. The red wave is cursed energy, whereas demonic is purple. Your sword countered my demonic force but not my Cursed moves. How do you deal with both?"

Shink sighed, "This isn't good. His power is off the charts. Time to use some of my main techniques." He pulled his sword from his back sheath and placed it in the front sheath.

Shink activated Silent Reflection, and a swift wind passed Genjo, who slid under it and swung his blade, releasing three red waves. Three invincible counters materialized, blocking the waves with a resounding "Clinggggggg!"

Genjo's eyes widened, "What?! How did you create a barrier?"

Shink retorted, "No explanation needed. Just die!" Genjo charged again, and Shink repeated Silent Reflection. A rapid sword air fight ensued, with Genjo sending wave after wave and Shink air-blocking repeatedly.

Shink sought an opening and spotted one. He stepped back, breathed in and out, and yelled, "Slash Breaker!" A massive blade emerged from nowhere, striking Genjo. Genjo retaliated by throwing a sword at Shink, hitting his left arm.

As Genjo closed in for the kill, Shink uttered, "Silent Pierce!" A sharp slice of air came from nowhere, striking Genjo with a slash of air and cutting his stomach, causing him to bleed profusely.

Everyone watched in shock. Kyll exclaimed, "No way!"

Cyro observed, "It seems this Shink guy can actually slash air, making it solid, almost like air blades. I've noticed that every time he's done it, though, he's needed to put his sword in that sheath."

Kyll's eyes widened, "Ahhh, I see! There's holy oil inside the sheath! That's his technique."

Cyro cautioned, "We mustn't tell Genjo, brother. Like I said, this battle has already been decided. I believe Master Genjo will end him here."

Genjo roared, "Haaaaaaahahgdhgfhhhh! You are truly remarkable, cutting me with your blade. This should be an honor for you. Whoever thought that little poor fisherman way back then would become only the fifth person to cut me in history? This is unbelievable."

Shink yelled, "As I said, you'll die here, demon!"

Genjo sneered, "Time to show you true demonic power!" Genjo charged up, causing the entire room to shake. A black and red aura created a heavy, menacing feeling.

Shink yelled over the wind, "Hit the bell, now's the chance!" Hazai shot an arrow at the bell, but Kyll grabbed it mid-air.

Kyll scolded, "No, no, no! This is a fair fight. Plus, where did you get an arrow?"

Hazai smiled weakly, "I always got one in the chamber, heh..." before fainting.

Genjo finished charging and transformed into his demonic form. "Well, you got me to use my demonic form. You should be happy about achieving such a goal."

Shink retorted, "How did I know you wouldn't honor your word? Earlier, when you said you would drop this fight if we made you resort to your higher state..."

Genjo sneered, "Well, that's because, although I acknowledge your skill, I only had to use 1 cm, 2 DMS - that's nothing from me. I was hoping I could use maybe my 2nd-tier attacks."

Shink's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

Genjo explained, "You see, there's Tier 3, Tier 2, Tier 1 - that's for DMS, SMS, TMS, CMS, etc. Every ability used on you has been Tier 3 moves, even splitting into four versions of myself."

Everyone watched in shock. Kyll stammered, "Wait, you mean to tell me Genjo had only been using Tier 3 moves, and he's now going to use one Tier 2 move?"

Cyro nodded, "Yes, as I've said, this battle has already been decided. It's insane because he hasn't even used any Tier 2 moves, ever - not even during training with us.

Cyro analyzed, "Plus, this form is a lot different from our Cursed forms. He looks completely different, and his presence is groundbreaking. His demonic level is at least Level 40, and his SG is at least 250. Master Genjo will kill this man."

Genjo declared, "Well, let us finish, Captain Shink, shall we?" He vanished, leaving behind a trail of purple fire.

Shink lifted his blade to parry, but Genjo punched through the blade with his bare fist, breaking the sword and crushing Shink's chest plate.

Soz jumped in, swinging a blue flame slash that hit Genjo directly at his neck. However, the attack merely broke upon Genjo's neck. Genjo retaliated by grabbing Soz and dragging his face across the ground while running. Then, he threw Soz into the air and opened his palm, unleashing "Demonic Spear." A huge, glowing spear shot out, piercing Soz's stomach and causing him to pass out. He landed hard on the ground.

Heku lifted holy wires to trap Genjo and cut him. Genjo lifted one leg and kicked rapidly, twirling all the wires around his foot. He then summoned a purple flame that melted the wires. Next, he teleported behind Heku and elbowed his face, breaking the entire left side.

Shink jumped up, pulling out two blades that charged at Genjo. They lit up with blue flames as he swung. However, Genjo dodged the attacks with ease. Shink threw one blade at Genjo, who jumped to grab it. Then, he teleported behind Shink and backflip-stabbed him right through his collarbone.

Hazai attempted to pick up his bow and fire old, used arrows. Genjo charged him, sweep-kicking him and then stomping him with multiple stomps (bang, bang, bang). He kicked Hazai far, sliding him across the floor.

Genjo landed and powered down. "Well, that was fun. They're all done now."

Kyll laughed, "Hahahahahha, that was amazing, Master Genjo!"

Cyro agreed, "Indeed, but Master, why didn't you just start with that? You could have defeated them that quickly."

Genjo smiled, "Because I love to make people believe in something. I love them to get excited and happy, thinking they'd have a chance to defeat me. I'll say, because they were formidable, I'll leave them here to die."

Kyll suggested, "We should kill them now, Master Genjo."

Genjo refused, "No, this is the worst suffering for them. One has a broken face, another no longer has a liver, the third has broken ribs and punctured lungs, and their leader has a broken chest plate and collarbone."

Kyll nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I just want to kill someone."

Just then, a sword flew toward the bell. Everyone watched in shock as Shink used his last bit of energy to throw the sword. He passed out, and the sword was about to hit the bell.

A huge, ghostly hand appeared from Cyro's back, holding the sword. Cyro scolded, "You talk too much, brother. We could have failed the mission. Look how close he was to hitting the bell."

Kyll apologized, "Sorry, I got distracted."

Genjo announced, "Our goal now is to put on their clothes and gain access to the arena."

Cyro revealed, "I discovered while you were fighting that there's another door hidden right there." He threw Shink's sword at the door, shattering it. The room transformed into solid stone.

Genjo chuckled, "These people have really gone all in on security."

The trio put on the four's clothes and armor. Genjo placed his hands on their backs and created a barrier around them. "This will keep us protected from being tracked. It's an air barrier. Trust me, without these, you both would be sensed immediately."

They walked through the door and beheld New Babylon. Cyro marveled, "Wow, what a beautiful location."

Kyll agreed, "Indeed."

Genjo sneered, "Well, we're going to paint these streets with blood soon. Hmm, they have a full-on arena now. This is perfect. Let's get up top to take a look. Keep your faces covered, people will think we're the four as long as they see uniform. I'll send three imps to look for a spot safe up top." Genjo summons little shadow rats as he puts barriers on them to be undetectable. 

CHAPTER ENDS

NEXT THURSDAY SPIRIT TRIALS CONTINUE WITH DAY 3