20 Spirit of Ruin

Ryouma didn't know much about what Arata was talking about, but he knew that he had accomplished something big seeing how excited Arata was. Hearing the details of the Sempiternal Art: Shadow Awareness, he understood why everything seemed clearer now and how he was able to see through the Phantom Fox's movements so easily.

He could tell that him learning it like this was a big feat, but he just wasn't sure how big of a feat it was. Regardless, he nodded happily knowing that he was impressing Arata to this degree. After meeting Azrail and seeing how powerful Arata and the Sato Clan was, he wanted to grow stronger to be worthy as a servant for Arata. He would continue to cultivate this Art and improve it. Arata said he unlocked the first level, he wondered how many levels there were and how far he could go. Ryouma was already fascinated with becoming stronger, but that was increasing the longer he spent time with Arata.

Arata smiled seeing the desire and passion in Ryouma's eyes. He could tell that he wanted to become stronger and prove himself. Arata looked down the cave. He could sense that there were strong energies coming from within the cave.

"We'll need to be careful as we go in. You will still lead us. Trust the shadows and let them guide you."

"Yes, Master."

Ryouma was about to walk into the cave when Arata stopped him with a smile.

"I don't like the Master thing, but since you are going to join the Clan anyway, you might as well use the proper term. You will address my Father as Master as he is the head of the Clan. But you will be my Shadow Guard. So until I become the head of the clan, the proper way to refer to me will be Captain."

Ryouma's eyes lit up seeing Arata willing to accept him.

"Yes Captain!"

Ryouma paused again.

"Captain. What is a Shadowguard?"

Arata looked at Ryouma.

"We should keep moving. I'll explain as we go."

Ryouma nodded and entered the cave. Arata began explaining.

"The head and the heir of the Sato Clan select warriors to follow and protect them. They are a team of powerful individuals that work with the heir or the head of the Clan and are used as a tool for them to operate to their fullest abilities. These warriors are called our Shadowguards. Each one is handpicked and will follow the heir as they become the head of the clan up until they die. They are scattered around doing various things for the head and the heir to the clan. They fight beside their Master, doing all they can to help their Master reach his goal. The two you met earlier, Hyosuke amd Masahiro, are two of my Father's Shadowguards. If you are to truly be one of my Shadowguards, you should know learn how strong they are and that you should also aim to, not only be able to fight on their level, but also surpass them. Well I hope you can at least surpass Hyosuke, ya know? Beat him senseless for me haha."

Arata chuckled to himself as they continued to walk down the cave. Ryouma was vigilant to his surroundings but he was also listening to every detail of what Arata was saying. Arata continued.

"Shadowguards are precisely that, protectors in the shadows. Some protect openly, like Hyosuke and Masahiro. Some fight and carry out missions away from their Master. And then there are those that protect completely hidden. How many people would you say were in the Shadow Chamber before we entered the portal?"

Ryouma thought back to the room they were in.

"Me, you, your Father, Akari and Oishi, Mr Hyosuke and Mr Masahiro. 7 people."

Arata smirked.

"That's what most would think. And you would be wrong?"

Akari and Oishi frowned. They turned to Azrail, Hyosuke and Masahiro. Hyosuke grinned at their confused faces. Azrail raised his hand. There was a rush of wind by Oishi and Akari. It unsettled them slightly as they looked around confused. They then looked at Azrail's hand. He was holding a white bracelet and a belt. Oishi's widened as he realized his pants were loose around his waist. He quickly checked and found his belt was gone. Akari checked her wrist and her bracelet was indeed gone. Hyosuke laughed at the two youth's confused faces.

"Oh I love watching people's reactions to you haha."

"I'm not here for your entertainment."

A low voice echoed in the room. Oishi and Arata could feel a cold power from the voice alone. And yet, in the same moment, the aura vanished and it felt exactly how it was a moment ago. Masahiro grabbed the belt and bracelet from Azrail and handed them back to their owners.

"Just because a room seems empty, doesn't mean it is."

Back in the Shadow Realm, Arata was laughing at Ryouma's shocked face at hearing there was another person in the room that he didn't see or even sense.

"So there was another Shadowguard there as well?"

Arata thought about it.

"Well there wasn't a Shadowguard, per say. Pretty sure there wasn't one, ya know? Plus not everyone in the room was a Shadowguard. But I also couldn't sense everyome that was there, so I don't really know haha."

Ryouma was shocked to find that there was actually multiple people it seems like. And he sensed none of them. The Shadowguards and the Sato Clan intrigued him more and more. They truly deserved their reputation as one of the top Clan's in the Kingdom of Kakuso.

"So there is all of that responsibility and commitment that comes with being a Shadowguard. Your life will no longer be your own as it becomes dedicated to the Clan. To my Father. To me. There are other things as well, like the rules, etiquette and all that boring stuff but I'll leave those details for old man Masahiro."

Arata put his hand on Ryouma's shoulder.

"You still sure you want to serve me?"

Ryouma continued walking.

"That is my wish, Captain."

Arata nodded. They came to a fork in the road as the cave split off into two paths. Without stopping, Ryouma went down the left road and continued walking. As they continued walking he stopped and got low.

"Stay back Captain, there's something ahead."

Arata stood beside him.

"You are to be my Shadowguard. That doesn't mean you treat me as a defenceless puppy. We fight as one. Side by side. Understood?"

Ryouma glanced at Arata before looking back down the cave with a grin.

"Understood, Captain."

They heard growling coming from up ahead. There were multiple growls. More Phantom Fox's. Although there were more of them this time, they were smaller and the boys could see that they only had two tails. Arata could see 7 of them.

"First one to defeat four Foxes wins."

Arata charged in. Ryouma smirked and charged in after. Arata reached a Fox and activated his Shadow Awareness. The Fox looked confused as Arata seemed to merge with the darkness and disappear. The fox was suddenly thrown to the side, hitting the wall hard and landed with a loud thud. Arata reappeared beside another fox. The fox leaped and tried to bite Arata, in response he swiftly grabbed underneath its jaw and used Vitality Bestowal to convert its force before hitting it and sending the fox flying.

"That's two. Catch up!"

As Arata said that, Ryouma charged at a fox. He threw a fist covered in flames in its direction, causing an explosion that blew it away. He then grabbed the fox next to it and tossed it above him before sending another fist upwards. Another explosion.

"Two all, Captain."

They each charged and got rid of a fox each leaving one remaining. They both were like vicious predators to the remaining fox that it was easily handled by the two warriors.

"I think that was my win."

"No way, Captain. I got the last hit on it!"

"No it was my kick that weakened it so it was practically defeated. You just kicked it while it was down."

They continued to laugh and bicker as they continued walking down the cave. They saw an opening coming up. They walked into a large area. There was a deep canyon beneath, dropping down so far that even with their Shadow Awareness, they couldn't see the bottom. As they looked further down the path the saw a large black and silver crystal sticking out of the wall. Arata looked at it excitedly.

"There it is, let's get it and get out of here."

As Arata started walking forward he stopped. He noticed that Ryouma was just standing there with a strange look on his face.

"Not yet."

Arata looked curiously at Ryouma. It clicked that he must be listening to his instincts. The Shadows were speaking to him.

"What is it?"

Ryouma looked to the left. There were many paths branching off and heading to different areas over the canyon. The one to the right seemed to take them to the crystal and Ryouma was facing the opposite way.

"There is something calling me this way."

Arata looked up curiously and looked back at the crystal. He glanced at Ryouma and nodded.

"This is your test. We will trust your instincts. Let the shadows guide you."

Ryouma looked at Arata and gratefully nodded, he thanked him for trusting him. They walked up the pathway. The ground beneath them wasn't stable but they were both agile enough to continue with no problems. As they reached the top they entered a small room. It was completely empty. A dead end.

Ryouma frowned. He sighed.

"Sorry Captain. I was wrong."

Arata felt something strange about this room.

"Don't give up just yet. There is something strange about this cave. Look around."

Ryouma nodded. He went in while Arata stayed at the entrance. Ryouma ran his hands on the wall looking and feeling for something out of the ordinary. As he walked past a certain part of the wall, his instincts screamed at him. Wide eyed he instantly jumped back as the wall blew up. Debris went flying at the two boys who reflexively dodged the incoming pieces of rock.

Out of the hole in the wall came a giant serpent. It was a dark purple colour and hissed viciously at the two young boys.

Oishi gasped. Akari panicked seeing the giant serpent through the orb. Even Hyosuke and Masahiro were slightly alarmed.

"My Lord, that's a Spirit of Ruin. One that has taken the form of a snake. And a large one at that. They are in trouble."

Hyosuke agreed.

"Can we just leave them in their? Young Master is in danger my Lord!"

A Spirit of Ruin was a corrupted soul of beings that couldn't handle the power of Darkness. They would wander lost within the Shadow Realm causing havoc until they evolved into Spirits of Ruin. Those that reached higher levels would take the form of different beasts. This one had taken the form of a snake. But instead of becoming fearful like the others, Azrail had lit up with excitement.

"The shadows actually led him to it. He might be the one."

"My Lord, what are you talking about?"

Azrail pointed at the serpent.

"Look just behind the snakes head."

Hyosuke looked over confused.

"Is that the hilt of a sword?"

There was a hilt and handle of a sword sticking out of the snake, and it looked like it had been there for a while. As Masahiro looked closely his eyes went wide.

"That hilt! It's..."

He looked over to Azrail who was grinning widely.

"Let's see if he can get it."

Arata and Ryouma stood and stared in shock at the huge serpent. Arata shouted at Ryouma.

"Go around and find a weak point to strike. I'll distract it."

"But Captain.."

"I can redirect its energy and force so I can stall for a while. But not long. I doubt I can withstand all of its power. So be quick. Move."

Ryouma hesitated but then firmly nodded.

"Yes Captain."

Ryouma rushed around as Arata charged forward. The large serpent charged at Arata. It charged up dark energy in its mouth and Arata sensed it instantly. He managed to move to the side as the serpent shot forward a beam of dark energy. Arata managed to dodge and continued charging at it. The serpent moved forward and sent its huge head flying at Arata. Arata entered the Vitality Bestowal stance mid charge and braced for the impacts of the snake.

He raised his hands and stopped the large serpent. However the snake's force continued to push it forward. Arata was sweating as he struggled to contain all of the snake's power. He had to discharge the energy into the ground to stop him from reaching his limit. He converted the energy as quick as he could and sent it out but there was still so much energy left. The snake continued to push Arata back. Meanwhile Ryouma had managed to come from the side of the snake. As he rushed forward, charging his flames on his arms, he got distracted as he felt the shadows calling to him again. He looked up and saw something shiny on the back of the snake.

'Is that a sword?'