Chapter 5: Arrival of Rin Kurogane
Moonlight barely touched Zenin City.
Thick smoke curled into the night sky as flames consumed broken buildings, their dying light flickering against shattered stone. The air was heavy—burnt wood, scorched earth, and blood mixed into a suffocating haze. What was once a protected city now stood on the brink of ruin.
At the center of the devastation, Aiken knelt.
His sword trembled in his grasp. Blood streamed from the wound in his chest, dripping onto the cracked ground below. Each breath felt heavier than the last.
Before him stood Darka, her shadow stretching unnaturally long beneath the faint moonlight.
"Pathetic…" she said, her voice dripping with mockery.
"What an absolute weakling."
Her lips curved into a cruel smile.
"Why are you even alive?"
Aiken clenched his teeth. Pain tore through his body, but something deeper surged within him—desperation, rage, defiance.
"Reaper's…" he gasped.
"Sixth Stage — Wraith."
His body moved on instinct.
Aiken lunged forward.
His blade pierced straight through Darka's chest.
The impact sent a violent shock through both of them. Blood spilled freely—dark against the pale moonlight, warm against cold stone.
Darka staggered back, snarling as blood spilled from her lips.
"I'll kill you… brat…"
Her shadow writhed violently, rising like a living entity.
It coiled around Aiken's neck.
"Shadow Suffocation."
The air was ripped from his lungs.
Aiken clawed at the tightening darkness, his vision blurring as strength drained from his body. His knees struck the ground once more.
"Tch…" he rasped weakly.
"Can't… breathe…"
His body gave out.
Aiken collapsed as Darka loomed over him, blood still dripping from her wound, her expression filled with twisted satisfaction.
"You fought well," she said quietly.
"But this is the end."
The moonlight dimmed further as smoke thickened the sky. Flames reflected in Darka's eyes as she raised her clawed hand, dark aura rippling outward like a black tide.
"Die."
A sudden flash of blue light split the darkness.
Water—compressed, sharp, and precise—sliced through the air.
Darka's arm was deflected mid-strike.
The impact shook the ground.
Aiken's fading vision sharpened just enough to recognize the figure before him.
"Rin…?"
A woman stood between them, sword lowered, cloak fluttering in the heated wind.
"Stay down," she said calmly.
"You've done enough… Aiken-senpai."
Her eyes hardened—focused, cold, unwavering.
"You monsters," Rin Kurogane said.
"What do you want?"
Darka laughed softly, shadows swirling around her.
"Oh? Another little savior?"
Her smile widened.
"Fine. I'll add your corpse beside his."
They clashed.
Water and darkness spiraled violently, colliding and exploding outward in waves of raw pressure. The streets cracked beneath their feet as the night itself seemed to distort.
---
At the gates of Zenin City, the air suddenly froze.
Shadows bowed.
Diablo stepped forward, his mere presence warping the atmosphere.
"It seems we must step inside, Ryu."
Ryu tilted his head lazily.
"Huh? Why?"
"Doumar and Darka are already inside."
"Yes," Diablo replied.
"But they are taking too much time."
He paused.
"And rumors speak of someone stronger than ordinary demons—someone they cannot face."
Ryu grinned.
"Oh… interesting."
"Then I'll go."
---
Back in the ruined streets—
"Samurai's Fifth Stage — Silence."
Rin vanished.
Darka's eyes widened.
"Where did she go—?!"
Strikes came from every direction.
Invisible waves of water sliced through the air. Darka staggered as wounds appeared across her body, unable to track Rin's movements.
"Tch…" Darka snarled.
"Darkness Shield!"
A dome of shadow erupted around her.
Rin halted.
"Darkness shield… huh…"
Her breathing steadied.
I have to break it, she thought.
But I'm only Zetsu rank… I don't know more than six stages…
Her eyes sharpened.
No.
I do.
"Samurai's Sixth Stage — Clarity."
Her mind became perfectly still.
Fear, anger, doubt—erased.
Rin stepped forward without hesitation.
Darka smirked.
"Is she insane?"
"Charging straight at the shield—?"
Rin struck.
The shield shattered.
Her blade pierced through Darka's body.
Blood spilled as Darka coughed violently, eyes wide with disbelief.
How… is this possible…?
Tch… Corruption.
Dark energy surged outward.
Rin staggered.
Her vision spun.
"What's happening…?"
"I—I…"
Her body collapsed to the ground.
Darka straightened slowly, blood dripping as she smiled coldly.
"Your mind has been corrupted by my special technique," she said.
"Corruption."
She extended her nails toward Rin's fallen body.
"Now die."
---
End of Chapter 5