Chapitre 10

  After Giyu intervened in an epic way, clearly tipping the scales back in favor of the corps, the battle had become a three-way confrontation against a single demon—one of the strongest demons, an Upper Rank—and the csh was seconds from starting. Suddenly, Jack stepped forward toward Giyu and whispered in his ear:

  “Hashira Giyu, there’s only half an hour left until sunrise. For me, we need to stall until then.”

  Giyu looked at Jack in surprise and said:

  “You mean we should let him escape? Leaving this demon alive will endanger the innocents. He must die in this battle.”

  Jack whispered back:

  “Do you think I want him to live? I’m the one who wants him dead the most, but not today. Hashira Rengoku is exhausted from the fight and cannot continue. I want him to rest and stay alive.”

  Everything Jack said to Giyu at that moment wasn’t out of fear, but he didn’t want to risk facing the same fate again. He knew that if they combined their full strength to fight Akaza, there would be a great chance of defeating him, but he didn’t want to gamble with the life of the Fme Hashira.

  Giyu responded in a raised voice:

  “In that case, I will fight him alone. No one will intervene.”

  Jack, with a serious expression this time, said:

  “I will fight with you.”

  Akaza watched them with a cold smile, the Guiding Compass technique circle spinning slowly under his feet, waiting for them to advance. Then he spoke in a calm voice:

  “You decide my fate in front of me? Interesting.”

  And suddenly—

  Water Breathing – Form Two: Water Wheel

  Giyu lunged in a sharp rotation, cutting the distance with lightning speed, but Akaza immediately countered:

  “Destructive Combat Style – Air Strike!”

  A bst of force collided with the water forming around Giyu’s bde, splitting the air between them. At the same moment, Jack moved from the side:

  Hinokami Kagura – Dance Two: Sunlit Sky

  A snted fiery arc shot toward Akaza’s neck, but he bent backward smoothly and appeared suddenly in front of Jack.

  “Destructive Combat Style – Chaos!”

  A terrifying barrage of strikes surged toward him. Giyu tried to intervene:

  Water Breathing – Form Four: Striking Tide

  But Akaza was faster this time. A concentrated demonic punch aimed straight at Jack’s chest, his eyes watching the incoming strike. Jack couldn’t fully evade, and at the moment the fist was about to pierce his body, a sharp sound split the ground:

  Hinokami Kagura – Dance Five: Fme Tiger!

  A side fiery explosion collided with Akaza’s fist, deflecting its path completely. Akaza leapt backward, the smoke cleared, and there stood—his cloak flying in the air—Rengoku Kyojuro. He raised his sword to the sky, his eyes full of determination and certainty, and shouted angrily:

  “Did you think I couldn’t fight? Did you doubt my strength? I am the Fme Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, and I will not allow myself to stop fighting until my st breath!”

  Blood ran down his side, but his stance was as solid as a mountain. Jack looked at him with slight shock. Giyu said nothing but took a new position. And in a fleeting moment, Rengoku raised his sword high:

  Fme Breathing – Form One: Roaring Fme

  He dashed forward in a straight line like a meteor. At the same moment, Giyu came from the opposite side:

  Water Breathing – Form Eight: Waterfall Basin

  A vertical crushing attack to force Akaza to stabilize. Jack was not idle either, moving forward from the rear:

  Hinokami Kagura – Dance One: Dance of the Fire God

  Three angles, three speeds, synchronized pressure. Akaza’s smile widened.

  “Destructive Combat Style – Guiding Compass, Destructive Chaos, Blue Chaos!”

  A massive explosion countered the three attacks, but for the first time, Akaza was forced to retreat two full steps. The ground beneath him shattered, and he looked at them with genuine seriousness.

  “Water Hashira, Fme Hashira, and that boy there—do you think you can defeat me? Enough pying around.”

  His veins protruded clearly, he raised his arms, and his energy gathered violently.

  “Destructive Combat Style – Blue Chaos!”

  A massive circur explosion surged in all directions. Giyu tried to advance, but the pressure was terrifying. Rengoku rushed to protect Jack:

  Fme Breathing – Form Four: Fme Wheel

  A spiral of fire surrounded them, but it couldn’t hold. The pressure broke through the defense. Rengoku took a blow to his shoulder and chest, blood spilling, colpsing to his knees. Jack tried to steady himself:

  Hinokami Kagura – Dance of the Fire God

  But a shockwave struck him directly and threw him to the ground violently. The ground cracked beneath their bodies. Then Akaza appeared in the dust, his eyes shining with malice:

  “You will die here.”

  He lunged at Rengoku first, a deadly punch toward his head. Jack almost faced the same fate again, but suddenly—a complete calm.

  Giyu moved with perfect precision.

  Water Breathing – Form Eleven: Dead Calm

  The sword passed with such speed and force that even Jack didn’t see it. Then a moment of silence. A blue line of blood split across Akaza’s neck, half of it severed, his head tilting to the side. His body froze for a fraction of a second. It seemed the Upper Rank Three would fall. Jack, half-crouched, looked up in astonishment. Rengoku, despite his injuries, smiled, thinking it was over.

  But Akaza’s body didn’t fall. It trembled. His eyes widened. His anger exploded. He felt a rage unlike anything before. The wound began healing slowly. Then he said in a terrifyingly dark voice:

  “You… you tried to cut off my head, you scoundrels! I will not forgive you.”

  It was not a mocking tone this time—it was pure menace. In a fsh, he dashed forward faster than ever:

  Destructive Combat Style – Ultimate Annihition!

  The air itself tore apart. Giyu braced himself. Rengoku tried to stand despite the pain. Jack pressed on his sword, attempting to rise, but before the blow could reach them…

  A long shadow stretched across the ground. Akaza froze for a moment. Then a faint burning sound. His skin began to smolder. He looked slowly toward the horizon. The sky had turned bright orange.

  The sun… had begun to rise.

  His face filled with raging anger.

  “Not… now!”

  He tried to advance again—but the light intensified, and his arm began visibly burning. He retreated, gring at the three of them, eyes full of a deadly promise:

  “Do not think you have defeated me with your strength, scoundrels. I will return… I swear I will return.”

  After a final terrifying gre, he leapt away at incredible speed, disappearing into the fading shadows.

  Sunlight bathed the battlefield completely. Silence finally settled. Rengoku breathed slowly, leaning on his sword. Giyu lowered his bde calmly. Jack looked toward the sun and thought to himself:

  “This time… there was no death. I did it… I really did it.”

  Jack had succeeded at st. It was not just an ordinary sunrise—it was a sunrise that completely altered the course of fate. Rengoku was alive thanks to Jack’s preemptive pn. But would Akaza’s rage and wounded pride make them truly safe next time? The sun saved them today… but what will happen when there is no sun?