Facing Ryker

I pushed open the door and rushed down a set of stairs. There were lights crafted into the walls on the sides. The area quickly opened up to a huge space. Here, light came in through openings in the sky. But the light was diffused and it was not much. We were somewhere underground. Not very deep, but still some depth down. The ground was stone and there were weird brown marks and a distinct smell in the air.

"Hmm? Did something happen?" a voice came from the front. Footsteps followed as a man in the attire of a vice-captain, barely visible, walked up.

"You..." I muttered.

"Don't 'you' me, you vulgar dog! Do you know who feeds you and your mob? I do! So, show me the respect I deserve," Ryker shouted.

But I was not really listening. For my attention was on the child he was dragging with him. A boy, somewhere around the age of 8. The boy had a huge slap mark on his face. The scream from earlier must have come from Ryker hitting the boy.

Anger brewed inside me. "You..." I said slowly, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Huh? Is that how you talk to your employer?" said Ryker as he tossed the little kid aside. It shocked me. How could someone treat a defenseless child like that? Ryker held his hand to his side as a sword formed on his waist. A translucent purple blade showed as he slowly pulled it from the sheath. "I'll have to teach you manners by killing you," said Ryker in anger.

Once again, when he said he would kill me, the cursed sword reacted. As if I was a beast, the thoughts of completely annihilating Ryker, ripping him from limb to limb, head separated from his body, legs sprawled across the ground, and more rose in my mind. There was a desire for his blood on my hands.

"Hmm? You're a little weird," said Ryker as he felt the intense bloodlust come from Rin. "What criteria does Benson employ to hire you people?" Ryker started walking forward. He held his sword to the side.

"You'll have to ask Benson in the afterlife," I said as the black sword shined. My bloodlust was reaching higher levels. The air became still, the environment brightened, and Ryker became slower. I lunged forward into a sword thrust, aiming directly for his heart.

Ryker's eyebrows raised as he swiftly moved his sword to deflect my incoming sword hit. I spotted a tiny surprised smile on the edge of his mouth. As the swords clanged, Ryker moved fast to make a cut on my body with a second attack. The sword nicked my body on the shoulder, leaving a tear in my short-sleeved shirt but avoiding contact with the skin.

"Oh? You were able to avoid that?" said Ryker. It had been a close call, but I was able to shift my body to avoid the edge.

I slid across the ground after that quick clash. When I regained my balance, I saw Ryker's sword coming down on my head. With no time to even breath, I jumped back as the sword hit the stone floor. But I was given no time to rest or adjust my footing as Ryker launched his attacks again and again.

I must have dodged at least 20 sword swings by a small margin. Ryker stopped his swings as he stood there motionless. He was barely out of breath, while I was already sweating.

"You're not one of Benson's thugs, are you?" he asked me.

"Heh. I never said I was," I said with a disdainful smile. The sword swings were many, but I was getting used to it. If this went on, I would be able to strike back with my own attack. It was getting easier to read his sword's trajectory and the speed was slowing down.

"I see. Then I will swiftly deal with you as an intruder," said Ryker as he held his sword higher than before. It was a stance. His previous slightly playful tone disappeared as a seriousness set in. I recognized that pose he was making. That was the best swordsmanship technique in the whole kingdom.

The swordsmanship of the royal court, the Sun-seeking Sword Techniques. But...how did Ryker know this technique? He was not part of the royal family, not even a distant relative.

"You'll be the first to witness my new divine technique," said Ryker. His sword moved. A golden red light streaked across the room as Ryker traveled at a really fast speed. He was much faster than before. I had no time to react. If I had not already known the attack pattern of the sword technique, I would have lost my life. But the one wielding the technique was not very familiar with it, so there was some flaw in the motion. And that flaw lead to my left side abdomen being cut. It wasn't a deep cut but it hurt nonetheless.

"Hmm? Did you dodge before I swung?" said Ryker. He held his sword vertically, pointed towards me. "Who are you, really? A random nobody should not have the capability to dodge that strike."

I laughed. "Why? Are you feeling scared now?" I said.

"Scared? Of what? Don't tell me you believe I'm scared of you? Because why should I be scared of you when my sword has already made contact with you," Ryker grinned.

"The sword?" I asked.

"As every sword has an ability, mine only comes into effect when it makes a cut on the body," said Ryker as he observed his translucent purple sword. A wicked delightful expression on his face.

"What?" I gasped. What was his sword's ability? I don't remember hearing about it in the past. This could be really dangerous. As I was racking my brain to remember it, Ryker attacked again.

I quickly raised the cursed sword to block, but I got hit anyways. What? I know I blocked it. Maybe I had been too slow. I got a nasty sword wound on my shoulder as a result. The power behind Ryker's sword was too much, but the sharpness of the sword cut through the flesh as if a hot knife through butter. Was he holding back his power? If that strike just now had been backed by strength, I would have lost an arm.

Ryker continued to attack, and the same thing kept happening. I would block or parry with my sword, but the sword hit me still. So, I resorted to avoiding the blade entirely as jumping away seemed like the best option.

The barrage of attacks continued. I had to figure out what his blade's power was, or I would lose my life here. Think! I can't block the sword. I can't parry it. For some reason, the blade would still hit my body. Could it not be blocked entirely? Do I just need to dodge it? But then I can't attack back.

I need to find out the secret of his sword. Instead of dodging, I blocked and parried instead to learn how it worked. But it was difficult to understand, or rather I couldn't understand it. I was hit maybe 15 more times before my body was ready to fall down. As I reached my limit, the power of the cursed sword started coursing through my veins more than ever.

"Had enough fun?" asked the laughing Ryker as he attacked once again. He had meant to mock me as he continued his barrage of attacks, but he made a mistake. As he had been talking, his sword slowed down by a small amount. This finally gave me a chance to figure out what he did for his attacks to not be able to be blocked.

I was hit again with that attack, but it allowed me to figure out his attack. When he swung his sword once again, I counterattacked. I moved with all my force. I had never been this fast in my life. The sudden turn of attack worked well as Ryker had a huge gash on his leg. It was too bad that because of the way I had to counterattack him, I had to aim for his lower half. Otherwise, I would have aimed for his head to separate it entirely. I spotted a faint blue glow on his body. He must have used his aura power to generate a shield. But as it had been a hurriedly made shield, it was not too effective.

"You...wretched dog! How dare you harm my body?!" shouted Ryker. He increased the energy traveling through his sword and rushed at me.