Sasaki and his two Special Darkside Spirit lookalikes used Switch Mode.
They appeared closer to the Ultra Darkside Spirit, surrounding him from three different directions.
Without wasting a second, they attacked.
Sasaki came from the front.
One Special Darkside Spirit lookalike attacked from the left.
The other came from the right.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit remained in the same spot.
His bone sword moved with incredible speed.
CLANG!
He blocked Sasaki's attack.
He immediately turned his wrist.
CLANG!
He intercepted the attack coming from the left.
Then he swung in the opposite direction.
CLANG!
The third attack was blocked.
His feet never moved.
He was fighting all three with only one sword.
The battle continued.
Sasaki and the two Special Darkside Spirit lookalikes kept changing their positions, attacking from different angles.
But the Ultra Darkside Spirit continued deflecting every attack.
Minutes passed.
Sasaki's expression became serious.
This isn't working.
He gritted his teeth.
I can't win this battle like this.
---
A short distance away, Jackson slowly crawled toward Alfie.
Alfie was still standing completely still.
His eyes remained open, but there was no response from him.
Jackson stopped beside him.
"Hey... Alfie."
He struggled to breathe.
"If you can hear me..."
He placed a hand against the ground and tried to pull himself closer.
"You need to get the hell back here right now."
He looked toward Sasaki.
"Things are not looking too good."
Jackson coughed.
"Mr. Sasaki is never going to beat this guy without you."
He looked down at his injured body.
"I can't do anything useful right now."
He touched his side.
"I've got a broken leg... and a rib as well."
He coughed again.
"Please..."
His voice became more emotional.
"You need to get yourself together now."
Jackson looked at Alfie.
"Why does it always get to this point?"
His voice became quieter.
"Why does it always get to the point where we're going to lose everything..."
He lowered himself onto the ground and lay on his back.
"But..."
He took a deep breath.
"We still find a way to come out of it."
Jackson coughed again.
He slowly pushed himself back up.
"I just hope this time..."
He looked toward the battlefield.
"We find a way out of this."
---
Sasaki was still fighting.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit had barely changed his position.
He wasn't even trying yet.
"You see..."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit calmly blocked another attack.
"I find you really interesting."
He pushed Sasaki's sword aside.
"That's why I haven't killed you yet."
Sasaki attacked again and again and again.
Faster and faster.
"Don't think you're fighting me off because of those kids."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit continues blocking strike after strike.
"I can kill all of you right here and right now if I wanted."
He smiled.
"That's just all bluff."
Sasaki keeps swinging.
"You know you can't."
"Stop acting tough."
Sasaki continued attacking relentlessly.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit's expression suddenly changed.
His patience was running out.
He stopped blocking.
He simply stood there.
Sasaki's sword struck his body.
Then another.
Then the third.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit allowed every attack to land.
Sasaki's blade remained lodged in his shoulder.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit looked down at it.
Then he looked at Sasaki.
"You happy now?"
Sasaki's eyes narrowed.
"You thought you could kill me with that level of attack?"
Sasaki immediately pulled his sword out of the Ultra Darkside Spirit's shoulder.
He didn't hesitate.
He swung again.
His sword became covered in concentrated Renshi.
He aimed directly for the Ultra Darkside Spirit's neck.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit didn't move.
He didn't resist.
The sword made contact.
But....
Nothing happened.
Sasaki's eyes widened.
The blade didn't cut through.
His two Special Darkside Spirit lookalikes attacked immediately from both sides.
Their swords struck the Ultra Darkside Spirit as well.
But their blades didn't penetrate either.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit smiled.
"You see..."
He looked at Sasaki.
"I figured something out just by studying how your Renshi works."
He calmly looked at the three of them.
"And I finally came to a conclusion."
He raised his sword.
"You don't own anything."
Sasaki's expression changed.
"All this..."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit pointed at Sasaki.
"All this Renshi..."
His smile widened.
"It's all from the Darkside Spirits you devoured."
His eyes narrowed.
"Sasaki the Reaper."
Sasaki immediately used Switch Mode.
He disappeared and reappeared several meters away.
The two Special Darkside Spirit lookalikes also returned beside him.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit laughed.
"Don't be surprised now..."
He slowly spread his arms.
"Reaper."
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"The whole Darkside Spirit population in this country knows about you."
His smile became wider.
"And they all want you dead."
He laughed.
"To be honest, they're more scared of you."
Sasaki stared at him.
"They want you dead..."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit chuckled.
"But they're too scared to even confront you."
He tilted his head.
"Because they can't win."
He laughed again.
"Can they?"
Sasaki remained silent.
"How can they possibly win against a man who devours Darkside Spirits for fun?"
The Ultra Darkside Spirit continued.
"Betas..."
He raised one finger.
"Alphas..."
Another finger.
"And even Specials."
He grinned.
Sasaki looked at him with confusion.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit noticed.
"Now don't go acting surprised."
His smile became mocking.
"I know all about you."
He laughed.
"That Kingdom Special Darkside Knight actually thought you devoured only one Special Darkside Spirit, didn't he?"
Sasaki's eyes narrowed.
"He had no idea you devoured more than five of them."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit chuckled.
"And the sixth one was about to break through to the next level."
He paused.
"Hmm..."
He thought for a moment.
"What was it again?"
His eyes suddenly widened.
"Yeah."
"The Darkside Demon."
Sasaki remained silent.
"But you know what really surprises me?"
The Ultra Darkside Spirit looked him up and down.
"How are you still so..."
He laughed.
"So weak?"
He pointed at Sasaki.
"You have all that Renshi inside you."
He spread his arms.
"You even have your original Renshi."
"And you're still this weak?"
Sasaki narrowed his eyes.
"It looks like you did your homework."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit shook his head.
"I didn't actually."
He smiled.
"I care less about you."
"But rumors..."
He shrugged.
"Rumors spread like wildfire."
"And when something spreads far enough..."
"It eventually reaches everyone's ears."
Sasaki tightened his grip on his sword.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit's smile disappeared.
"I really want to see your limit, Sasaki."
He lowered his body slightly.
"So I'm going to force you to it."
Before Sasaki could respond.....
The Ultra Darkside Spirit used Switch Mode.
He appeared directly in front of Sasaki.
His sword came down immediately.
Sasaki raised his own sword.
CLANG!
He blocked the attack.
But the force behind it was overwhelming.
BOOM!
Sasaki was sent flying backward.
As he recovered, his two Special Darkside Spirit lookalikes disappeared back inside his body.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit immediately chased after him.
He attacked again.
Then again.
And again.
His sword came from every direction.
Sasaki tried to block.
He barely managed to stop some of the strikes.
Others slipped past his guard.
Each hit left another injury across his body.
But something was wrong.
His wounds weren't healing.
Sasaki's expression changed.
Why aren't they healing?
The Ultra Darkside Spirit continued attacking without giving him time to recover.
Sasaki tried to move backward.
A kick slammed into his chest.
BOOM!
He was sent flying across the battlefield.
He crashed into the ground.
Blood covered his body.
Sasaki slowly tried to stand.
"My..."
He coughed.
"My body..."
He looked at his injuries.
"Why am I not healing?"
The Ultra Darkside Spirit suddenly appeared in front of him.
"You want to know why?"
He grabbed Sasaki by the head.
He lifted him off the ground until they were face-to-face.
"It's because you're living on borrowed power."
Sasaki struggled.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit smiled.
"Those Darkside Spirits inside you..."
He tightened his grip.
"They're my underlings."
Sasaki's eyes widened.
"I can command them."
He looked directly into Sasaki's eyes.
"I can tell them what to do."
"And what not to do."
Sasaki struggled to breathe.
"That healing trick you think you have?"
The Ultra Darkside Spirit laughed.
"It's not from you, loser."
He leaned closer.
"It's from the Darkside Spirit Renshi inside you."
Sasaki's expression became serious.
"I'm going to enjoy this."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit raised his sword.
"I'm going to reap you limb by limb."
He suddenly drove the sword into Sasaki's stomach.
Sasaki's teeth clenched.
He groaned in pain.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit pulled the sword out.
Then stabbed him again.
Sasaki's body trembled.
"You know..."
He struggled to speak.
"Sometimes..."
He coughed.
"You need to do your homework about someone..."
He looked directly at the Ultra Darkside Spirit.
"To the very end."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit paused.
"Oh?"
A mocking smile appeared.
"Did I hear something?"
Sasaki's breathing became heavier.
"I never..."
He struggled against the Ultra Darkside Spirit's grip.
"Go... down..."
His eyes sharpened.
"Without a fight."
The Ultra Darkside Spirit's expression changed slightly.
Sasaki continued.
"Never."
Suddenly....
Several shurikens formed in mid-air beside the Ultra Darkside Spirit's hand.
They flew directly toward his wrist.
SLASH!
The shurikens cut through his hand.
His grip released.
Sasaki dropped.
But he immediately grabbed the Ultra Darkside Spirit by the head.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit barely had time to react.
Sasaki bit down on his neck and tore away a large portion of it.
The attack happened so quickly that the Ultra Darkside Spirit didn't expect it.
"AHHH!"
He screamed in pain.
He bent toward the ground, clutching his damaged neck.
Sasaki immediately used Switch Mode.
He reappeared several meters away.
His body dropped onto one knee.
He struggled to breathe.
His injuries were no longer healing.
But Sasaki slowly tried to stand.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit remained bent over, holding his neck.