The Noble Squire felt the tail tighten.
His leg was violently yanked sideways, balance ripped out from under him. Before he could react, Merun surged forward and slammed into him.
Sand exploded as Noritsugu hit the ground.
"What—!"
Merun's right hand clamped down on Noritsugu's left arm, fingers digging into muscle and bone.
Noritsugu felt the danger. He twisted and yanked, trying to slip free. His instinct screamed at him to evade, to flow away, to turn mist and motion.
But he couldn't.
The tail cinched tighter around his leg. The hand on his arm didn't budge even a bit.
Impossible.
Merun raised his bloodied fist.
THUD.
Noritsugu gasped as the impact drove the air out of Noritsugu's lungs. Sweat burst from his skin like mist, sprayed away by the force of the blow.
What power???
THUD.
Another crushing, heavy punch slammed into his ribs.
THUD.
And another.
Noritsugu snarled and struck back, his free hand flashing like a blade. Air screamed. Cuts opened along Merun's shoulder and side.
THUD.
THUD.
Noritsugu's head snapped to the side, dodging another blow and crushing the rocks beneath him but another devastating blow came, this time at his shoulder.
"What—why—!"
He twisted, barely dodging another a punch meant for his face. Another carved line across Merun's chest burst as Noritsugu desperately kept swinging his arm and leaving deep cuts into his opponent's gripped arm.
Still, the blows landed again and again.
THUD.
This time, Noritsugu aimed for his eyes, however Merun had simply turned his head away, causing his cheeks to burst with cuts.
THUD.
THUD.
Giving up on the head, Noritsugu then started to target his neck. A vulnerable part... however all attacks ended up too shallow. And attacks never stopped coming his way.
THUD.
Each strike carried no flair, no flourish. Just speed and mass, delivered again and again with terrifying consistency.
Noritsugu felt it then.
Fear.
His attacks just… didn't matter.
Pain wasn't stopping him.
He shifted fully to defense, arms crossing to shield his body as the barrage continued.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
Bone rattled. Breath came out in wet gasps. His arm couldn't hold on anymore, leaving his face vulnerable.
"Stop—!" Noritsugu choked on his blood. "Enough! You win!"
THUD.
"I'll give you anything! I'll even let you joi—"
THUD.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
THUD.
"Please—!"
The crowd had gone silent.
The Squires watched with tight jaws. Apprentices stared in disbelief.
Is this still the same guy as before?
This wasn't a duel anymore.
It was an execution. A brutal, slow, and painful execution.
"You... fucking peasant," Noritsugu spat through broken teeth. "Do you know what happens if you kill me?!"
THUD.
THUD.
He screamed towards the crowd.
"HELP!"
The sound was ugly. Desperate.
Pathetic.
"HELP ME!"
Disdain rippled through the onlookers. Begging like this during a duel was disgraceful, especially since he was a Noble.
THUD.
THUD.
He saw their disgusted expressions. He felt powerless. Humiliated. His pride had crumbled.
THUD.
A little more and he would've truly wished for death.
Merun wasn't tired anymore.
He barely even registered the sound of his own fists.
What he felt wasn't anger. It wasn't even satisfaction.
It was a strange, steady calm.
Each punch didn't just hurt—it took something away. Not flesh, not bone. Something less tangible... Noritsugu's confidence drained first. Then his timing. Then his will to even try.
His techniques were still there. His speed and power hadn't vanished.
But none of it mattered.
Merun realized it wasn't because he was faster or stronger. It was because his opponent had nowhere to go.
The space around them felt smaller. Not physically—but functionally. Like the fight itself was shrunk into a tiny world...
And in that world. The noble was at his absolute mercy.
That was when Merun understood.
This was how he fought.
Not just by outplaying his opponent, but by collapsing the fight until only one outcome remained.
The opponent's resistance is a welcome struggle—it makes the moment of their despair even better.
The more the noble struggled, the heavier Merun blows felt, as if the world itself was leaning into his blows.
Merun smiled.
He felt inevitable... .
It felt like... Overwhelming Suppression.
He froze at the thought.
Unfortunately for him, the noble's Apprentices lackeys had woken up.
They saw their lord on the ground and immediately moved.
"M-My lord!"
Noritsugu's saber flew through the air.
The instant Noritsugu's fingers closed around the hilt, everything changed.
Killing intent erupted outward, thick and suffocating.
Merun's tail shivered and stiffened, warning of danger.
Too late.
Noritsugu slashed with a swift saber technique.
SLICE.
All of a sudden, a deadly wall of air appeared in front of him, separating him from Merun.
For a heartbeat, it looked like Merun's arm and tail were severed clean off.
The crowd gasped.
But Merun had already let go.
His arm was ripped free just in time. The sharp gale had passed where it had been.
He had to make a sacrifice though.
Blood sprayed from his tail as it was cleaved, the severed end hitting the sand with a wet thud.
Merun staggered back, teeth clenched, vision flashing white.
Noritsugu leapt away, dragging himself upright, saber raised. The wall of air dissipated.
Blood streamed down his beaten face. His heavily bruised body shook.
But he was smiling again, showing his missing teeth and the bloody mess that's left.
Breathing hard, he said, "… I underestimated you."
His stance settled. Martial intent sharpened to a razor's edge.
"You will pay with your life."
SLICE.
Noritsugu swung.
The silver saber moved at such a blinding speed that it didn't seem to move at all.
The air shrieked as a horizontal line tore through the it.
Through sheer luck, Merun dropped to one knee as the shock hit him—blood loss, pain screaming from where his tail had been severed, his balance had changed.
The strike passed where his torso had just been and the air behind him detonated.
A peasant's hut exploded, roof beams sheared apart, collapsing in a storm of splinters and dust.
Another hut behind it crumpled, its front wall carved away like paper.
Screams erupted from within.
Noritsugu slashed again.
This time, this was meant to end it.
However.
CLANG.
The strike was stopped, and the devastating air slash was diffused like it was nothing.
A massive hammer intercepted the blade, shockwaves rattling the ground. Beside it, a halberd's shaft locked against the saber, forcing it aside.
Two Squires stood between Noritsugu and Merun.
One broad-shouldered, hammer resting on the sand like a judgment.The other tall and rigid, halberd angled forward, eyes cold.
Merun was shielded.
"Noritsugu," Niwa said flatly. "That's enough."
Noritsugu's breathing came ragged. His face was swollen, blood pouring from his mouth, words slurring through broken teeth.
"N–Nagahide?" he snarled. "Kasumasu? HOW DARE YOU?"
"MOVE ASIDE!"
Niwa didn't.
"You've already broken the rules," he said. "An outsider interfered with the duel."
"So what?!" Noritsugu shouted, spit flying. "Look what this peasant did to me! This—this will damage our noble prestige!"
Takigawa Kasumasu turned slowly.
He spat into the sand.
"You've already damaged our noble prestige, you pathetic weasel."
Noritsugu stiffened.
Takigawa's voice sharpened, cutting deeper than any blade. "You declared a duel to the death. Then you disgraced it. Begging. Screaming. Even so far as to ask a Martial Apprentice for help?"
His grip tightened on his hammer.
"Don't lump us in with you, you disgraceful fuck."
Silence spread like a stain.
Noritsugu looked around at the crowd.
There was no longer admiration.
No loyalty.
Only disgust.
Some stared openly. Others turned away. A few shook their heads.
Noritsugu's chest heaved as rage twisted his face.
How dare they look at him like that.
How dare they judge him.
He clenched his saber, shaking.
He was Yamaguchi Noritsugu.
They were nothing.
And yet—
Not one of them met his eyes with respect.
Not anymore.
"..."
Noritsugu went quiet.
Niwa exhaled slowly. Takigawa loosened his grip.
"…Go back to camp, Noritsugu," Niwa said. "We're done here."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the ground trembled.
A chill rolled outward, crawling over skin like frost. The torchlight warped as something dense and oppressive flooded the clearing.
Orange light bled from Noritsugu's body.
A deep, and rich aura.
Niwa's eyes widened. "You fool…" His voice dropped. "You would use your Divine Arsenal for this?"
The aura thickened. Noritsugu's saber glowed a deep, molten red, the metal warping as power poured into it. It looked as if it were close to melting.
"You know the consequences of using that," Niwa said sharply.
Takigawa's face twisted with fury, veins bulging along his temple. "You pitiful fucking idiot. You dishonor yourself even more?"
His Hammer shook in his grip.
Niwa reached out and caught Takigawa's arm. "Calm down," he said under his breath. "We're already on thin ice."
Takigawa clenched his jaw.
He knew Niwa was right.
However, at their level, as mid-rank Squires, the only way to stop someone wielding a Divine Arsenal was to answer with one of their own. Without it, their precious weapons would break and become useless slag... clashes would no doubt result in their weapon's destruction.
It's happened before, it will definitely happen again now.
...Ironic how a Martial Art made to empower wielded weapons also made it easier to destroy them.
His eyes flicked to Merun.
He was bleeding with cuts all over his body. One knee in the dirt. Even his tail was gone.
Where the hell is Hideyoshi? Save your brother yourself!
Noritsugu lifted his saber and pointed it at them.
The blade hummed. The air screamed. His blade looked like molten metal.
"Last chance," he shouted, voice warped by broken teeth and killing intent. "Get the fuck out of the way."
Takigawa swallowed. "Bastard… what do we do, Niwa?"
Niwa stared at Merun, shut his eyes and decided.
"…So be it," Niwa muttered. "I still hate that brat Hideyoshi but... I'd be trash if I didn't save his brother."
He inhaled, preparing to call forth his own arsenal—
A hand grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't," Merun said.
Niwa turned. "Merun, it'll be fine. Just rest. Well don—"
"…Don't interfere."
Niwa froze.
Merun forced himself upright, shaking, breath ragged. His eyes burned with something terrifyingly steady. Fueled by his recent epiphany.
Within him, nothing changed. But at the same time, it felt like everything changed.
I'm sorry, Brother... I'm going to break our promise this one time...