Dazzling Star

It was an incredibly simple swing, yet incomparably beautiful at the same time. There were no special magical abilities, Ryu just calmly swung his sword, and-

*Swish*

-Tokugawa's arm was cut off.

Tokugawa's eyes widened at the scene. He could clearly visualize his arm falling to the ground due to hearing the sound of blood from within, as well as the tendons.

Still, Tokugawa felt no pain and wasted no time. With his newfound freedom, Tokugawa took a single step and appeared 20 meters away from Ryu. Despite just losing his arm, Tokugawa had a calm expression.

In truth, Ryu knew he could've done a better job and just unleashed a massive flurry of attacks at Tokugawa while he held his arm, but he decided against it.

'I already have three tries,' Ryu thought, his smile not changing one bit, 'And...'

He pointed his sword in Tokugawa's direction, 'This guy is a jackpot for me. I can feel that I'm improving massively by just fighting this guy!'

Tokugawa was like the lottery to Ryu. Every time Tokugawa attacked or moved, Ryu felt like he was improving by just getting hit, or visualizing where Tokugawa was.

Noticing Tokugawa not moving despite the massive amount of blood leaking from his wound, Ryu was a bit startled. Upon gazing at Tokugawa's wound, Ryu glanced at his own sword.

The previously crystal-clean sword had now been tainted with blood, with almost half of the blade being covered in it.

Blood.

This was the first time he had seen such a large amount of blood that was not from his own, and furthermore, he was the cause of this. Unlike Comby, Tokugawa had real blood inside of his body.

Ryu's mind raced for a few seconds, and his fighting spirit dwindled a bit. However, he quickly shook his head, and his fighting spirit returned. He returned his gaze towards Tokugawa, the flame within his eyes still shining brightly.

Ryu was only momentarily shocked, but that was only for a moment. For a split second, he had forgotten he was in this world and thought that he was back on earth. He had thought he had injured or even killed another human being. But, upon coming back to his senses, Ryu believed he was acting silly. To think he had slipped into a trance in the middle of a fight, Ryu felt glad that Tokugawa didn't attack him at that moment.

This world was cruel, and he could die at any moment. He knew that if Tokugawa was just a tiny bit stronger, then he would've already killed Ryu with no remorse. As such, Ryu decided to act the same. He held no remorse towards Tokugawa, and would gladly kill him in the end.

Suddenly, Tokugawa's body twitched. Ryu strengthened his grip on the sword, and his gaze was entirely focused on Tokugawa.

To his surprise, Tokugawa didn't attack him. Instead, he had slowly risen up his arm- or what was left of his arm- and then...

*Squash!*

Ryu's eyes widened at the sight. The wound that Tokugawa had sustained, the same wound that caused a massive amount of blood to gush out, has suddenly been closed! It was done in a split second, and the previously open wound has been entirely closed, as Tokugawa's flesh around his wound disgustingly changed its form to close the wound.

'Is this his magical ability?' Ryu initially thought, 'Or is it his exceptional Body Control? The system had mentioned this demon having great control over his body. I thought it was due to that reason that he was able to move, but is it possible it can close his wounds instantly, too?'

Ryu wasn't sure if this scene in front of him was due to Tokugawa's magical ability, or Body Control. Matter of fact, Ryu still didn't entirely know what Tokugawa's magical ability was. He had many thoughts on what it possibly was, such as him being able to control his body, being able to predict his movements despite not being able to see, being able to possibly see through his skin and at his insides or if it was the ability to close his wounds.

Even then, Ryu wasn't entirely convinced of these possibilities. His intuition told him that wasn't the case, and he even had a small doubt that Tokugawa hadn't unleashed his full power, a scary thought that perhaps, Tokugawa's magical ability hasn't even been shown yet.

'There are many possibilities and too little evidence. I can't be entirely sure on what-'

Before Ryu could finish his thoughts, Tokugawa suddenly spoke;

"...You remind me of my nephew," Tokugawa said, his voice empty of all emotions. Ryu suddenly felt chills all over his body and had a bad feeling about this whole situation.

Tokugawa slowly moved his remaining arm and formed a grip. However, it wasn't entirely closed, and although he could barely see it, it looked like Tokugawa was holding something.

"I had a nephew that I once cherished... It was at the time when my disease was at its initial stages, and I still had my other senses, albeit they were weakened."

Tokugawa slowly pointed its hand in Ryu's direction, his fist angled at a degree that looked like he was pointing a sword at Ryu.

"...My nephew was the light of my life. When I felt my senses were weakening due to the disease, I felt like I was losing grip on myself, slowly losing the will to live. But, my nephew, he was a glorious light."

Ryu suddenly heard a ringing sound in his head, and his instincts instantly screamed one thing;

DANGER!

"My nephew, shining ever bright, dispersed the darkness that clouded my mind and heart. I realized that I might not be able to embark on the journey of martial arts anymore, but I thought I could at least train him, and turn him from a small flame into a dazzling star. That was my last wish. I had abandoned any hope of continuing my journey, and focused entirely on witnessing my bright nephew."

Veins started appearing on Tokugawa's arm, and his muscles bulged, threatening to burst out. Ryu's mind was in a panic, and he tried analyzing everything about Tokugawa's current state. He prepared to anticipate Tokugawa's movements, but for some reason, the longer Tokugawa talked, the less Ryu felt like he could read him.

"However... Just a year later, the Koishi clan attacked my village and slaughtered anyone that came in their way. I managed to kill the ones that tried to kill me, but due to my worsening senses, I wasn't as strong as before. I searched through the rubble of my village, hoping to find my nephew, my dazzling star. And, I eventually did."

A sudden glint suddenly shined in Tokugawa's eyes, and his previously dull eyes suddenly gained light, as if there was a flame inside of them.

"There, he was laying down on the ground. His eyes open, and lifeless. In his hand was the previous sword that I entrusted to him before. I felt empty, at first, before a surge of emotions welled up inside of me. That moment, was the first time I have ever cried since I was a child. I thought of many things, of how the heavens were unfair, of why it should've been me, of why he was so young and had an amazing future in front of him. At that moment, all thoughts of martial arts disappeared from my hand."

Tokugawa took a small breath, and a small bit of red dripped from his eyes- it was blood.

"I no longer wanted to learn him my martial arts, I no longer wanted him to continue my dream, I no longer wanted him to become a martial artist. I just..."

Tokugawa took a small step forward, and Ryu felt like his entire body was being pierced by needles and pins. He wanted to move forward, to attack Tokugawa at this moment, but Ryu felt that if he moved right now, he would die.

"...Wanted to see my nephew again."

Ryu suddenly felt the air around getting colder, sharper. He felt the speed of the air turning faster and faster until he felt like he was in the middle of a tornado. He could even hear the sound of the air whistling.

"From that moment, I swore to slaughter the ones who did this, I swore to take revenge against the heavens. My mind was clouded with vicious thoughts, and before I knew it, in just a few days, my sense of sight, touch, smell, and taste had disappeared. Only my hearing remained, and even then it was dulled to the extreme. However, I didn't falter. My hatred, my will soared through the heavens, and I lost my mind. I swore on revenge, and I swore I would take the heads of those who did it. In just a few hours, I felt my sense of hearing becoming better. 10 meters, 20, then eventually to whole kilometers. In the span of a few hours, my sense of hearing far surpassed my prime. Then, In a few more hours, I was able to move my body again by willing it, and I could tell by visualizing it, by hearing the blood flow in my body, my tendons, my veins, everything."

Ryu gulped as Tokugawa continued talking, he had thought that Tokugawa was able to predict him due to his outstanding hearing sense, and it seems he wasn't wrong. However, based on what he had just said, that also meant this... probably wasn't his magical ability.

"It felt like my disease has suddenly disappeared, and with each passing day, my hearing became better and better. 3 days after the battle that took my nephew, I waged into the Koishi clan, and as hundreds of martial artists came to kill him, none of them were able to touch the seams of my clothes. I was able to anticipate every attack they made, every move, and was able to cleanly slice all of their heads off."

Ryu immediately summoned his shield, forgetting any thoughts he had about gaining experience from Tokugawa. The flame in his eyes had dimmed down and was filled to the brim with anxiety.

"In the span of a single hour, I took down every single martial artist in the Koishi clan and sliced all the limbs of their leader. However..." Tokugawa's tone suddenly changed to one that was filled with anger, "That wasn't enough. My hatred increased with each passing day, and any other emotion I felt became duller and duller, to the point that I only wanted to kill anything in my sight, In order to vent out my anger. I swore I would take revenge for my nephew, and I swore I would destroy the heavens themselves for taking him away from me."

"Then, before I knew it, I embarked on the journey to become an Asura. As I killed more people, their blood tainted my skin, their vitality seeping into my bones. My skin became red in color, horns started appearing on my head, and my hair had all fallen. The more I killed, the crazier I became, to the point I started caring about nothing but fighting. The road of Asura distorted and corrupted the minds of those who followed it, and I am no exception."

At that moment, Ryu's eyes widened, as his heartbeat started to quicken. Something horrible was going to happen, he felt it.

'Why can't I see any gaps?' Ryu's thoughts raced. At the beginning, Ryu could anticipate Tokugawa's movements, and find gaps at the end of the previous fight. But now, as Tokugawa continued talking, the gaps gradually began to decrease, until he could no longer find any gaps!

"Despite that all I wanted was to fight, there was still another emotion, hidden deep within my heart. Occasionally, I could hear a whisper, not from the fallen martial artists, no, but... from my nephew. Sometimes he called my name, and sometimes, he told me to stop. But no matter how much I tried to communicate or sense him, I couldn't achieve anything. He wasn't there, yet I could hear him."

"And I... hated it. I couldn't focus on fighting, and this demon in my heart started to gradually grow, until it became a thorn in my side, hindering my path to become an asura."

*Ding!*

Suddenly, the system appeared in front of Ryu, causing him to lose focus for a split second. It had a notification, and it read;

[The All-Hearing (Tokugawa) had used the magical ability <The Wind is the Weapon: Level 5>]

Just as this notification appeared before Ryu could even be shocked about it, he felt as if the air was pushing him towards Tokugawa, and he found it a bit hard to even move.

"...You are just like him. Filled with energy, filled with excitement to learn, and find powerful opponents. You are a dazzling star..."

Tokugawa's entire stance suddenly changed, and Ryu's eyes widened as he saw a small tornado appear around Tokugawa's body, covering him.

'What the-'

"Hoshi," Tokugawa muttered, and yet the voice reached the entirety of the arena, "I'm sorry, but..."

Tokugawa's eyes were opened to the extreme, as a waterfall of blood tears began to fall from his eyes,

"Your uncle will end this demon in his heart, and will no longer be able to hear you."

An image suddenly appeared in Ryu's head, a disgustingly clear image of him...

...Being cut in half.

His instincts all screamed simultaneously, and before his mind could even register it, Ryu's body suddenly ducked on its own.

In that same instant, Tokugawa suddenly disappeared and appeared 20 meters behind Ryu.

There was no sound for a split-second before a violent sonic boom could be heard. Tokugawa's speed reached the extreme, and now, it had even surpassed the speed of sound!

Ryu's mind was filled with confusion, and he couldn't even register what was happening. He slowly glanced at his back and saw Tokugawa 20 meters away, his back turned to Ryu. He simply stood there, motionless.

As Ryu's mind began to process what was happening, the time around him suddenly slowed down, as he saw small drops of something red falling in front of him. Instinctively, Ryu glanced upward and saw...

His arm, which held the shield, was currently falling through the air slowly.

"My... arm..." Ryu muttered, his mind blank. He couldn't comprehend what was going on. In less than 2 seconds, Tokugawa suddenly teleported 20 meters behind him, and now he was seeing his arm in the air, its grip still on the shield.

Then, like a truck, Ryu suddenly felt an excruciating pain coming from where his arm once was, and he let out a blood-curdling scream that echoed throughout the arena.

"I'm sorry, Hoshi," Tokugawa muttered, "This old man... will achieve his revenge, regardless of what it takes."

'Shit! What the hell?!' Ryu's thoughts were in complete shamble as he tried to stop the bleeding from his arm, the pain causing him to almost faint. As his hand gripped on the wound, Ryu stared in complete shock and fear at Tokugawa.

'What the hell was that?!' He was sure of it, just a moment ago, he heard a sonic boom. That meant that Tokugawa's speed had surpassed the speed of sound itself! Ryu felt all hopes he had of killing Tokugawa suddenly disappear.

'Faster than sound? Than sound?!' No matter how much he tried to wrap his head around it, Ryu thought that this being in front of him was an inconceivable existence. He knew Tokugawa was faster, by quite a large margin. But now? This demon had surpassed the speed of sound, something that was far, far faster than him. Even if Ryu was as fast as the fastest human on earth, this demon was leagues ahead of him now in terms of speed. It was such a large margin that comparing them was simply laughable.

Ryu finally turned his gaze towards Tokugawa, his eyes filled with utter despair. He could see Tokugawa was covered in a small tornado, not paying even a single glance toward Ryu, simply muttering to himself.

'How did he cut off my arm so cleanly?' Ryu immediately glanced at his arm. It was cut perfectly as if a sharp blade had cut it off, 'He couldn't do this with mere punches or kicks, it was only possible if-'

Ryu's thoughts suddenly stopped, and he returned his attention to Tokugawa, more specifically, his hand. Although the tornado and the pain made it quite hard for him to focus on Tokugawa's hand, he could faintly see it, his hand seemed like it was gripping something-

'A sword...' Ryu felt like his heart was about to explode. Of course, the name of Tokugawa's magical ability was 'The Wind is The Weapon', and considering this tornado that covered his body, it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that Tokugawa could use a sword that was made out of the wind. But, it was incredibly sharp.

Despite the pain, Ryu immediately focused, barely letting it interrupt his thoughts. Had it been Ryu when he first came to the tower, then he probably would've killed himself before Tokugawa could do it. But now, that was different.

He racked his brain, trying to find a method to even have a chance against this monster, even an infinitesimally small chance was good enough for him! As Tokugawa was rambling, Ryu took advantage of that moment and drew several battles in his head, trying to think of a way to win. However, in all of those imaginary battles, he died in all of them!

Eventually, he drew a battle he had a sliver of a chance, although his chance of victory was still incomparably low, and still had many holes in them.

'State of Instincts!' Ryu immediately remembered his ability and thought that this ability was the only chance he had to do anything at all, or at least to survive the next move of Tokugawa, as impossible as that sounded.

'One of the conditions was extreme pain, but I'd already lost my arm and yet it didn't activate. How much pain do I need to be in order for this ability to activate?!' Ryu thought that he already fulfilled two conditions of the ability; Near-Death and Extreme Pain. And yet, the ability still didn't activate.

'Forget it, the only chance I have now is becoming unconsciou-'

*Swish!*

*Bang!*

Ryu's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as he saw himself suddenly dozens of meters above the ground. Then, the world slowly started to spin, causing a massive amount of confusion to well up inside of him.

'What the-' Before he could finish his thoughts, Ryu suddenly saw the ground, and then Tokugawa, as well as the tornado that engulfed him. And finally...

He saw his own body, lacking his head.

[You have died.

You have failed the <Hearing Enhancement> test, and have lost one of your three chances.

You now only have 2 tries remaining for the <Hearing Enhancement> match.

Restoring the body...

Returning to the resting room...]