With Tobio
In a more remote region, after being transported to another dimensional space, the Grigori agent, SlashDog Tobio Ikuse, faces the giant demon Gressil in an open forest area.
Gressil grins and speaks to Tobio, who confronts him.
"I wanted to be the one to face the wielder of the Holy Spear. If my body could remember that power... doesn't that mean I'd be getting closer to the strongest?"
Tobio hears this and shrugs.
"You got lucky. If you'd been sent to face Cao Cao, you'd have turned to dust instantly."
Knowing Gressil's special ability, Tobio understands that Cao Cao, a genuine Technique-Type fighter, would likely aim to end the fight quickly with precise attacks.
Gressil's special ability is called [Resistance] among his peers, and Tobio is well aware of it.
A large black-furred dog, Jin, stands beside Tobio, glaring at Gressil. Jin is Tobio's Sacred Gear, the Longinus [Canis Lykaon] itself, his partner and clone.
Tobio says, "I don't intend to play around with you for long."
Immediately, he begins chanting a powerful incantation.
"Howl at the slaughter of a thousand mortals."
A dark mist, like darkness itself, envelops Tobio and Jin, spreading across the entire area.
"Sing at the slaughter of ten thousand goblins."
His arms and legs are consumed by the darkness, transforming into a supernatural form.
"My name, immersed in the deepest darkness, is the Imitation God traversing the Polar Night."
The darkness clings to Tobio's entire body, assimilating him.
"You shall perish by my black blade."
While his body retains a human shape, it becomes something different from human...
"O fool, God, Creator of the deformed."
As Tobio utters the final verse of the chant, the black dog Jin lets out a clear, prolonged howl.
*Oooooooooooooooooooooooon…*
What appears is a false blade god in human form, cloaked in darkness.
Tobio, having chanted and transformed, takes on a dog-like appearance with six tails, continuously emanating a dark aura from his entire body.
Beside him, his [dog], Jin, spews darkness from its mouth.
Balance Breaker: [Night Celestial Slash Dogs].
Tobio, now a hunter of darkness, draws a weapon longer than his own shadow.
A large black scythe filled with dark aura.
The Longinus [Canis Lykaon] is an independent-type Sacred Gear, even among others, acting as another body for its wielder (Jin, in Tobio's case) with its own consciousness, able to be remotely controlled under the master's direction.
It can also create blades of any shape from shadows and darkness. The large scythe Tobio wields is a product of this ability.
At the same time, Jin makes a sword appear from its own shadow, gripping it sideways in its mouth. A mysterious pattern glows on the blade.
Forbidden spells are etched there.
As he spins the large scythe, Tobio walks slowly toward Gressil.
Tobio says, "You're really lucky. Not facing Cao Cao counts as luck, and not fighting Gilgamesh counts too."
Gressil grins. "The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, right? Oh, that's someone I'd love to fight. If my body could remember his attacks, I could become even stronger. True Maou-class. No, one day I'll surpass Balberith and Verrine, you know."
"…What will you do after becoming stronger? What are you seeking by growing stronger?"
"Who knows? I was just born, man. I've got no choice but to get stronger and cause chaos. Bal and Verrine seem interested in things other than battles, but I can't understand them at all right now. But, man…"
Gressil clenches his fist, showing a malicious grin.
"It's just as fun to crush the strong as it is the weak. That's what they call natural overwhelming violence. Causing chaos is great."
Observing Gressil's behavior, SlashDog sighs.
"I see. Your malice could reach my precious person. So, I'll have to cut you down seriously."
Tobio begins chanting additional verses.
"We are beasts that cut through the principles and signs of evil."
An eternal darkness forms around Tobio and Jin, spreading across the entire area.
"In the endless, distant abyss, we shall deceive the midnight sun."
Even the ground is swallowed by darkness, and the faintly lit sky of the pseudo-space darkens, where no light can reach.
"I am a demonic blade. We are demonic beasts. To become an irregular blade of the endless night at the limits of the dark and distant."
The same black beast as Jin is produced near Tobio and Jin. Increasing one by one, they become a large pack.
Moreover, countless dark Jins emerge from the ground, swallowed by the darkness.
In the pack of black beasts, the aura of Tobio, wielding a demonic blade, and Jin, holding a sword in its mouth, surges explosively.
This is the refined form of the Balance Breaker [Night Celestial Slash Dogs], brought to the surface through further honing.
Balance Breaker Abyss Side: [Perfectus Tenebrae Lykaon et Fortis Densus Laelaps].
Originally, it shifts from a normal human state through a dedicated chant, but additional chants can further transform it from the [Night Celestial Slash Dogs] state.
Azazel, the former Governor-General of Grigori, had outlined several possibilities for Sacred Gear Balance Breakers.
[Crest Side] involves simple enhancement and normal evolution, including Balance Breakers and subspecies.
By continuously refining and pursuing the path of both the wielder and the Sacred Gear to the point of obsession, merging the two, the [Abyss Side] manifests.
There's also a mutation that defies classification into these two types, known as [Ex Side].
Tobio's form is the Abyss Side.
Seeing this, Gressil's expression changes completely. He trembles with excitement.
"As expected, Longinus wielders are insane! It's well said that you're the avatars of god destruction! But, man!"
Gressil explosively boosts his strength.
"Hah!"
As he exclaims with a burst of spirit, the aura cloaking his body becomes extreme. Tobio judges that his limiter has been released. In terms of aura quantity alone, it's definitely Maou-class.
Gressil says, positioning his fists, "That's exactly why it's great! I feel aliveeeee!"
Gressil charges, radiating aura. The darkness covering the ground is momentarily dispelled by the force of his momentum.
With a dash faster than what he showed before, Gressil throws a punch. The fist carries an impressive amount of aura.
Tobio and Jin dodge at high speed, and Tobio swings his large scythe from the side. Matching his partner, Jin also attacks Gressil with the black sword in its mouth.
Gressil leaps into the sky, dodging Tobio's scythe. As Jin attacks with the sword, Gressil grabs the blade in midair. After seizing Jin's sword, he lands and hurls it violently. Jin repositions itself in the air and lands without difficulty.
It seems his physical ability improves with every fight.
Tobio assesses Gressil in his mind. After observing the coordination between Tobio and Jin, Gressil shows he can dodge perfectly.
Tobio quickly points his index and middle fingers at Gressil. In response, a pack of black beasts, identical to Jin, leap toward Gressil. These black beasts also carry swords with patterns in their mouths, just like Jin.
"Hah! Interesting!"
Gressil faces the high-speed black beasts head-on. He sends them flying with aura-coated punches and kicks. The defeated black beasts melt and vanish into the darkness but immediately reemerge from it to attack Gressil again.
Even so, Gressil swiftly dodges their attacks with perfect body movements, adapting to their patterns and destroying the black beasts, leaping to take the lead.
"Raaaagh!"
Gressil strikes the ground, coated in extreme aura.
The immense power dispels the darkness and destroys the ground on a large scale. Tobio and Jin leap into the air to avoid it. A tremendous earthquake shakes the area.
A gigantic hole forms beneath their eyes.
He merely threw an aura-charged punch, yet it created such power. If he does this multiple times, the terrain could easily change.
Tobio and Jin land and vanish silently, charging toward Gressil. Tobio lowers his stance close to the ground and swings his large scythe. Jin instantly approaches from behind Gressil, launching a horizontal sword strike.
Gressil, with an aura-coated fist, first repels Tobio upward, then twists his body to dodge Jin's sword attack perfectly. Following up, Gressil throws a left punch at Tobio, but Tobio quickly retreats and vanishes into the darkness. Jin, too, dives into the darkness before Gressil can react.
Gressil widens his field of vision, scanning the area for the two vanished beasts.
From Gressil's blind spot behind him, Jin leaps at tremendous speed like a black bullet.
Did Gressil sense the faint presence? He twists his body, attempting to strike Jin behind him with a backhand punch while turning. However, as Tobio commands from within the darkness, a massive, distorted blade appears between Gressil and Jin, momentarily blocking Gressil's line of sight.
"Something like this!"
Gressil crushes the blade with a punch, but Jin is already gone. The moment the blade appeared, Jin slipped into the darkness spread beneath.
"Then explode with this!"
Gressil gathers extreme aura in his fist and punches the darkness-covered ground beneath him.
Like his earlier massive punch, the darkness is dispelled at once, and the ground is extensively destroyed. The sound of the earth trembling echoes. Another massive hole is carved by Gressil.
Gressil senses something and looks to the sky.
The black beast Tobio descends, wielding his large scythe!
Gressil attempts an uppercut to meet him. However, the darkness of Tobio's beastly body disperses, splitting apart. The divided darkness reconstructs into multiple Jins.
Each Jin, of course, holds a sword with a forbidden spell etched on it in its mouth.
As Tobio's body splits into multiple Jins, Gressil's uppercut hits empty air.
The Jins slash, slash, slash, slash, and slash Gressil with their swords.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!"
Gressil can only scream as the unexpected Jins and their barrage of sword attacks overwhelm him.
However, Gressil quickly steels himself for a counterattack, attempting to land an aura-charged right punch on the Jins slashing him relentlessly.
Suddenly, the black beast Tobio leaps from the darkness beside Gressil. Catching Gressil completely off-guard, Tobio spins at high speed while jumping, slicing Gressil's body in a spiral.
On top of the Jins' slashes, Gressil is cut spirally across his body by Tobio. Blood erupts from within.
"Damn it!"
Suppressing the damage, Gressil delivers a sharp, aura-coated kick at Tobio, but his body disperses into darkness again, preventing a decisive blow.
"Damn, no attack works!"
Gressil's face twists with rage and frustration. He's gradually losing his composure, unable to land a single hit. Even when he does, Tobio turns into darkness, spreading out and taking no damage.
The darkness gathers and reforms Tobio's figure.
Tobio says, spinning his scythe, "If I'm to be hit by an attack, it'd need to be truly Maou-class or above, or God-class. Anything below that can't pierce my darkness."
"...!!!"
Gressil's face pulses with a blue vein at Tobio's provocation.
But Gressil sighs and regains his calm. Smiling, he says to Tobio, "But, man, my body's memorized your blade, huh? It won't work again!"
Gressil's wounds are forcibly sealed by his muscles, and the bleeding stops.
"Hah!"
After emanating aura from his body, Gressil leaps from the spot with immense momentum.
Tobio draws another scythe from the darkness below and faces him in a dual-wielding nitōryū style.
Gressil throws a powerful punch.
Tobio sidesteps, letting Gressil pass, but the aura's aftershock from the punch explodes the trees and darkness behind. Gressil follows with a kick, but Tobio leans nearly to the ground to dodge. Gressil then slams a downward punch as if to crush the ground. Tobio spins aside, dodging even this, and slashes Gressil with both scythes as he rises.
With his [Resistance] ability, Gressil, who should have memorized Tobio's blade, takes the hit head-on with a composed expression. However, a deep "X" mark appears on Gressil's chest from the damage of the two large scythes. Blood gushes from the wound.
"Ah, gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Gressil cries out in intense pain, clutching his chest as blood pours out, his face showing shock.
"W-What…?! Why do the blades work!?"
Tobio stabs one scythe into the ground and traces the blade of the other with his hand. The aura's quality is different from before.
Tobio says, "My blade has many wavelengths of aura. The one you memorized is just one of them."
Holding both scythes again, Tobio walks slowly forward. Behind him, a pack of Jins follows.
Tobio says with sharp eyes, "I've figured out the condition for my blade to work on you."
Gressil isn't the only one who can memorize an opponent's attacks and characteristics.
Tobio can also alter the blade's quality as needed, depending on the opponent. After all, his blade is said to be capable of cutting even gods, or [cutting all things, everything].
Tobio's large scythe emits dark red cursed flames. [Canis Lykaon] originates from the werewolf, King Lykaon, the king of the paradise [Arcadia] in Greek mythology, considered the true ancestor, and the divine sword [Ame-no-Ohabari] from Japanese mythology. These two were intricately distorted and fused into a Sacred Gear, becoming a Longinus.
Due to this distortion, it's not a wolf but a dog. An imitation of a god.
The dark red cursed flames now dwelling in the large scythe come from when [Ame-no-Ohabari] cut the fire god, Hi-no-Kagutsuchi Kami—a byproduct.
As Tobio approaches Gressil, the pack of Jins become bullets, leaping forward to attack.
Gressil crushes them one by one with punches and kicks, but he's gradually overwhelmed by the pack's assault, finally taking direct hits from multiple Jins. His body is covered in cuts.
And the attack of the two large scythes, cloaked in dense cursed flames, aims to fully capture Gressil.
"Your [special ability] is truly remarkable. However…"
The two scythes slash Gressil's body countless times at imperceptible speed.
Moreover, the black dog Jin descends at high speed, slicing straight down from above, cutting Gressil's body in half!
After a single beat, countless cuts appear across Gressil's body.
"Our blade cuts everything."
Gressil vomits his final words.
"…I… couldn't be… like Bal and Verrine…?"
Gressil's body burns with the cursed flames, falls to pieces from the countless cuts, and disintegrates.
Tobio, watching Gressil's end, says, "If it's just about strength, you did become strong, you know. But demonic power and strength alone won't reach the strongest."
Concluding the battle, Tobio releases the dark space dominating the area, returning it to the original forest landscape.
As he pets Jin, SlashDog watches the dimension fade and decides to return to aid his comrades.