Dark Exorcist

Part 2

Kasuke made his way to the exosagin arena where the exams were taken place. Naiomi watched from the sidelines s Kasuke stood on the left side of the arena. Where one of the exosagains sitting next to the others on a balcony above him began to explain the exam. "Alright Kasuke, your captain and a fellow exorcist suggested you be promoted to a B-rank exorcist. In order to be promoted, you must beat a B-rank or higher in a duel to prove yourself. Hisoko has requested to be your opponent"

Kasuke watched as Hisoko stepped up onto the stage facing him with a smirk on her face. The man looked at his arm and hand that was still bandaged hiding the corroding. "Alright then, let's go Hisoko" She blew a kiss towards him that formed into a violet bubble with a mist of spiritual energy within it. Instead of going back, the exorcist charged towards the projectile swiftly moving straight ahead when he suddenly slid across the bubble, evading it by mere inches.

His opponent was taken by surprise when Kasuke side-flipped over her pulling out a kunai in mid-air, filling it with Akunomi's energy. "You think you're so skilled?" With another smirk she quickly pulled out a dagger turning around only to see the shinobi throw the kunai right for her. She evaded it just in time as it struck the stage, but didn't explode. "Come on Akunomi, where was all that power you had when going up the demons? Are you afraid of hurting me? As much as I find that cute, you should be fighting as if I were a demon"

"Very well, I'll show you just how strong I can be when I'm serious" Everyone watched as Akunomi's demonic aura swarmed around Kasuke's body like dark-red flames as he disappeared from everyone's view except the exosagins. (Where did he-" Just then she felt an immense force of pain in her gut as she was launched back. Just as she caught her balance, she realized the kunai he had thrown was right between her legs. That's when it abruptly erupted in a fierce burst of red light.

The exosagins were getting suspicious of the young exorcist. How could a mere C-rank ninja be this strong and powerful. One of them thought about stopping the match but decided to let it proceed for the time being. Hisoko was on her hands and knees covered in bruises and shaking in pain but knew she shouldn't give up so easily.

"Hehe, alright Kasuke...you want to get serious? Fine, I'll get serious too!" She stretched both arms out in opposite directions as she focused her energy. Secret Art: Seishin blades!" Large violet circular spinning blades formed by her hands as she made a crossing motion with her hands sending them right for the ninja. Mashida let Akunomi's power flow through his body as he side flipped in between the coming blades just missing them by a mere inch. All stared in shock as the two seinshin blew up behind him with a fierce explosion causing his hair to blow in the wind.

"Any other tricks up your sleeve Hisoko? I don't want to make this longer than it needs to be"

(Damn it, he really is strong, what is it...what makes him so strong? Either way, I only know one last technique that could give me the advantage I need to win this duel)

"Spiritual thread bines!" She focused her energy into her fingers shooting thread-like energy right for Kasuke from each finger. The target managed to catch the threads as it wrapped around his palm. She prepared to send a wave of electricity through her treads when they randomly wrapped around her instead with Mashida still grasping the other end.

"What the hell!? Why are my own threads putting me in a bind!?"

"It's simple, I'm capable of manipulating your thread so long as I keep physical contact on it. So in the end, you didn't have a chance in beating me" He let go off the flow of energy as it shattered into wisps of violet light as she landed on her back out of breath.

"Seems as though Kasuke Mashida has won the examination duel, therefore he will be promoted to B-rank exorcist"

"Yaay! Way to go Kasuke!" Naiomi cheered clapping excitedly. He gave her a smile before leaving the stage. One of the exosagains stood up, they were dressed in a white hooded robe. "All of you leave, we must speak with the exorcist alone" Naiomi looked at him but he gave her a nod waiting for her and Hisoko to leave. Just then the exosagain in white launched a chain made of green energy right for him attempting to trap him. The young shinobi threw his arm up as the chain wrapped around his left and uncorroded arm.

"Kasuke Mashida, do not take us for fools, we can sense demonic energy coming from you. Tell us why that is, or be destroyed here" Kasuke focused Akunomi's power into his bound arm, causing the chains to break apart freeing him.

"I don't have to tell you anything, exosagains or not"

"Very well, you've made your choice, a foolish one at that" The three other exosagains stood up, each wearing a different color; blue, gold and green. "We gave you a chance, but seems you wish death upon yourself" All four of them vanished before reappearing around him on every corner of the arena.

(Kasuke, you can't handle them all by yourself, let me take control) Akunomi said within the ninja's mind. (Only if you promise not to kill anyone in the process) Kasuke responded still not trusting the demon king but seeing no other way out of the situation. His eyes lit up, glowing red as a fierce surge of demonic power erupted from his body.

"Contain the boy now!" The white robed exosagain cried out as he aimed both palms out towards the possessed exorcist, trapping him within a cube-shaped barrier of green spiritual energy. A sadistic grin grew on Kasuke's face as Akunomi took over and the symbol on his neck appeared. The others created a 2nd barrier around the cube, the green cube was now floating inside a large ball of blue energy.

"Give it up Mashida, no devil could escape such a prison!" One of them cried out. "Hehe, I'm no mere devil...I'm the demon king!" The green cube began to turn red as it cracked apart as if made of glass before the blue ball of light began to crack apart as well.

"This can't be, no mere demon has been capable of such power! We may need to have him exorcist of his demon before we can stop him!"

"Stop me? Don't make me laugh, I've lived longer than any other demon of my era, what makes you think it'll be that easy?" The white part of his eye became purple. "Demonic eye!" He became absorbing the energy of the barrier inside himself until it finally shattered. "Thanks for your immense power, I might not be near my full power, but with all this spiritual energy you supplied me, I'm capable of using this! Forbidden art: Void Replication!"

His eye began to bleed as if a tear as all four assailants were struck in the gut by an invisible force, sending them all staggering back. "Void replication!? What is that technique? I've studied dozens of skills of both devils and exorcists but have never heard of such a technique!" The white robe one commented in shock. The others were also unsure of the ability.

"Think of it as a duplication of me, but you can't hear or see it, it's in a void that can't be sensed or perceived by any mere mortal. However, being in a mortal vessel and not as strong as I could be, it takes a large toll on this body to use it for just one void duplication. Though...it should be enough to stall you four. It may be a copy, but it's equal to my power. Since Kasuke said not to kill you, then I'll be on my way, have fun trying to survive one mere void clone" Akunomi controlling Kasuke ascended into the air soaring through the air like a shooting star. It didn't take him long to be miles from the village.

He landed in the middle of the forest sitting down up against a tree with his left eye closed with blood still running down his face like a tear. "Ugh, to think it took that much out of me to summon avoid duplication. In my prime I'd just be a little drained but not noticeable. In this state I feel like I've been fighting for hours and my left eye is blurred so I can't see out of it for the time being and don't have enough power to heal it"

Meanwhile...

The exosagains were struggling against the void duplication. The white robed exorcist ordered two of the others to search for Kasuke while he and one other fought off the void clone. "Alright, we'll find him quickly" The blue exorcist responded as he and the green exosagain took off into the forest at immense speed.

"This is ridiculous, to think a demon has the capability of such an overpowered ability! We're the exosagain! We should be able to counter all things demonic! Forgive me Arther...Eye of the demon!" The white robed exorcist's face came into view beneath the hood as his aqua-blue eye slowly became red as if corrupted. His veins in his eyes could be seen as blood ran down his face. That's when the clone's silhouette came into view. "Stay back, I'll face this mere shadow head on"

"That's foolish! What makes you think you can handle it alone!? The gold hooded man responded. "Only I can see it Arther, so either stay back or risk being killed in the process" The exosagain removed his white robe tossing it aside reveling a black sleeveless shirt, black pants, wrist guards and strange marks on his wrists. "Forgive me, though this is a mere clone, I'd rather stop it then let it run loose"

The man had short-brown hair with one red eye and an aqua-blue eye. "If I don't take this seriously...how can I call myself an exosagain!" The clone came into view knowing it could be seen, it looked like Kasuke but pale-like a ghost. Both eyes were red with a sadistic grin on it's face. Hisoko and Naiomi came rushing in the moment the duplication charged the high-ranked exorcist.

"Get out of here it isn't safe!" The golden hooded man shouted moving right for the pair at instantaneous speed, the moment his palms made contact with their shoulders they were transported in a flash of gold light far away from the fight. While the clone threw his palm forward like a dagger right for his target's face missing by an inch. The warrior could feel such power brushing across his face just from the sheer force of the strike.

(Something off, the clone doesn't seem as level-headed anymore, it's not acting calm like it's user, could the link between it and the user have been broken? But if that's the case, then why hasn't it vanished!? Does it have so much power it can maintain itself!?)

"Either way, I won't let your creator have his way!" Throwing his palm up into the air with his fingers close together he shouted: "Holy art: Light of hope!" Golden lightning struck his body as it surged around his body. "If I don't survive this battle...then I'm not fit to be an exorcist any longer!"

Advancing near light speed, he focused the holy power into his fist preparing to end it in one strike. The clone watched as the exosagain moved at speeds far greater than any mortal, preparing to end it when the clone jumped back as a purple aura swarmed around his index and middle fingers.

His target caught up with the fake, striking it with overwhelming power. At the same time, the clone struck the man in the center of his skull with his index and middle finger before both were sent soaring in opposite directions. The clone was sent soaring as the wall surrounding the arena was completely destroyed by the attack before the clone faded, meanwhile the exosagain landed in the center of what was left of the arena. He slowly stood up looking around.

"Good, this fight may've been quick, but I'm glad I was strong enough to stop that shadow of that so called: "Demon king" However, if a clone was that strong even for a few minutes, I can't imagine just how strong he's going to be in person when he's actually trying" His bleeding demon eye faded back to blue before he hit the ground out cold...

Chapter 2 My Humanity

Naiomi and Hisoko found themselves in a large cave with crystals illuminating the area. "Where are we!? Where's Kasuke!?" She cried out in both confusion and worry. Hisoko put her hand on Naiomi's shoulder telling her this was a secret location that was normally used to keep certain people safe from demons. "Think of this place like a protection facility, I've only been here once a few years ago, people aren't normally sent here unless there's a world threat demon the exosagains weren't sure about defeating. Which could only mean that's the case"

The gold exorcist looked at then still only his mouth visible beneath his hood as he responded: "That's right, sadly we've found that your ally Kasuke Mashida has a demon sealed inside him and because of this, he must be located and killed. The evil spirit within him is just too dangerous to have in this world. We will do all we can to stop him before he can do any traumatic damage. But he's far stronger than any demon we've seen before. He could be even stronger than a world-tier demon...one that could endanger all life You both are to remain here until we capture him"

"Yes sir" Hisoko answered. Naiomi tried to rebel but Hisoko covered her mouth as the exosagain took off out into the night sky. The girl let go of her teammate's mouth when Naiomi cried out: "Why aren't we helping Kasuke!? I won't let them kill him!" Tears ran down her face as she shook clinching her fist. Her friend wiped the tears from her eyes telling her: "We will help him, we just had to wait for him to leave. We're no match for someone like the exosagains. Now that he's gone, we need to find Kasuke before any of them do"

Both of them made it outside the cave looking out over the dark forest before gliding across the sky in search of their friend...

Meanwhile Kasuke awoke still in great pain unable to see out of his damaged eye and could barely move so remained up against the tree. "W-what happened? How did I get like this? Was it the elder exorcists? No...if it was, I'm sure I would've been killed or at least taken somewhere secure" He closed his eyes focusing what little strength he had as he entered his subconscious where Akunomi sat on his throne with an annoyed look on his face.

"We're running out of time Kasuke, we must either heal and summon the demon world heart in this world by using the demonic eye or find a way into the demon realm. There's not much time until someone finds us. Unless we can regain more energy I won't be able to heal our wounds"

"Fine, how do we create the demon heart?" Just then a figure stepped into view. It was a man dressed in white with a samurai sword and long white hair. He slowly pulled his katana out pointing it towards the injured exorcist as Kasuke snapped back to reality.

"I can sense demonic power within you. It's my sworn duty to kill evil unholy creatures like you" Kasuke pulled himself up with the tree barley able to stand, looking his assailant in the eye with his one opened eye. "If you think I'm nothing more than a mere devil, than go ahead and kill me" The man gripped his blade tightly with a swift movement of his sword.

Kasuke waited for the pain of death when he realized his attacker had halted his blade mere inches from his throat. "You...I can sense more than one life force within you. One filled with good and the other, with dark demonic power. Just who are you? Never have I sensed two life forces within one body"

"M-my name is Kasuke Mashida, B-rank exorcist. I made a promise to myself...no matter what happens to me, I will eliminate all demons of this world...even if I had to seal a powerful demon within me to give me the power I need to accomplish my goal"

The swordsmen pointed his blade towards the exorcist's chest with one hand responding: "So that's why you give off such demonic power, you're keeping a demon inside you. Although it is my goal as well to kill all demons, you seem sincere with your explanation, so I'll allow you to live and keep the demon inside you, but once this is all over...I'm extracting your demon and erasing him from existence. Now then, since you've told me your name, it's only fair I introduce myself as well. My name is Tenkai Sinoku, one of the holy white swordsmen of the seinshin. From your immense level of power I can tell you are also a seinshin"

Kasuke looked at him with a confused look. Seinshin? What is that?" Tenkai put his blade away telling him: "A seinshin are humans or beings with high spiritual energy. As I've said I'm a holy seinshin since my spiritual energy is filled with holy energy, I have a great advantage over most demons while you're a semi-demonic seinshin which you rely on the sheer force of your power and strength to surpass your opponent. Observe"

A large buff demon lunged out of the trees when Tenkai spun around, striking the devil with his gloved palm surging with golden holy power sending the creature soaring back as it began to decay into ashes from the holy power. "As you can see, holy power is more effective than sheer force. Think of it like the elements, fire can't really affect other fire, but water can either slow it down or put it completely"

Just then Tenkai side stepped in front of the exorcist as the area erupted in a burst of green light. Kasuke looked to see his new ally defending him as Tenkai held his blade sideways with his left hand while his right palm was near the tip of his sword. Both looked to see the green exosagain crouched down on a tree branch looking down at them.

"Hmph, a new face. Leave while you still can boy, this is between Mashida and the exosagain"

"Ah, the exosagain, I've heard of you. You created the organization of exorcists. Though, if you're all so powerful, then why not go out and rid this flawed world of the demons yourselves instead of sitting on your asses all day telling others to do your jobs for you? There are four of you in total, correct? Then why not send two of your exosagains out on missions?"

"You little bastard" The green robed man clapped his hands together manifesting shurikens made of green spiritual energy all around them keeping them in place. "One last chance boy...stand down"

Tenkai filled his katana with golden power, launching it straight for the hooded man at fierce speed, at the same time, their foe sent the dozens of spiritual shurikens right for them while ascending into the air with Tenkai's blade locked onto his spiritual source. "Holy barrier!" Throwing his hand up a golden dome of light manifested around the pair, protecting them from the incoming projectiles. They were all coming from all directions at high-velocity leaving cracks on the barrier but unable to actually break through.

"Impossible, we exosagain were unsurpassed by all for years until now. Where are all these powerful beings coming from!?" He soared through the bright sky with his robe blowing in the wind but unable to escape the sword's trace.

Tenkai looked up in the direction of his blade. "...Sword split" His blade lit up brighter as multiple duplications of his blade made of spiritual energy manifested aligned beside the flying blade. The three duplications launched faster than the real sword going in different routes to distract the target as he attempted to move in random directions in order to shake them off but was useless.

Just as he was planning to just use a teleportation technique, one of the blades slashed through his shoulder as blood gushed from his right shoulder, causing him to fall from the sky towards an old a banded village where roots and vines had taken over. The green exorcist hit a stone house before landing on his face on an old worn-out stone path.

Meanwhile Tenkai called his katana back before walking over to his injured ally. "Forgive me for not doing this before. "Essence Of Healing" Aiming his white-gloved palm towards his friend while holding his weapon in his opposite hand, a green light emanated from his palm as Kasuke's eye and injuries were healed. "There, I've healed your injuries, now let's go, these may be a tough battle"

The swordsmen dressed in white put his hand on Mashida's shoulder as they teleported in a ray of yellow light. The pair reappeared on the roof of a church in the old village where the green exosagain had landed. Just then a massive sphere of blue energy descended down upon them. Sinoku abruptly struck the ball of blue light with the tip of his blade as the entire village began to shake violently from it's fierce power.

"Don't worry...you don't have to be alone in this now, Tenkai...Demonic eye!" Activating his ability his began syphoning all the spiritual power of the massive sphere through his eye converting it into extra power. Tenkai could feel it become smaller and weaker before finally getting sent into the sky before erupting in a blinding ray of light.

He looked over at Kasuke who breathed heavily, blue surges of electricity swarming around his eye. That's when the blue exorcist landed beside his fellow hooded-exorcist. "This game of cat and mouse has gone on long enough, we should've used this ability from before, but most of thought we could handle you Kasuke, but now that someone has stepped in, we no longer have a choice. Behold, you'll be the first ones to see this forbidden technique"

(Akunomi, do you know what they're talking about?)

(Unfortunately no, but from hat it sounds like, I know what they plan to do...)

Both exosagain stood beside each other as their auras manifested around their bodies like flames. "Forbidden Art: Souls As One!" Both shouted simultaneously. Tenkai and Kasuke watched as both exorcists were pulled together as light filled the dusk sky. As the light cleared, there stood a single man dressed in a cyan-colored robe. The pair could feel tremendous spiritual energy radiating from him.

"So then...shall we begin?" The fused being said before moving at new levels of speed. Tenkai and Kasuke could barely keep up with the merged exosagain as Tenkai quicky raised his blade up to deflect the coming attack before getting sent staggering back by the immense force of their target kicking his blade.

"Looks like I'll have to use both the store power and my demonic power together if I'm going to have any chance at defeating this guy" Mashida's eyes glistened with red light as his body surged with blue electricity. "Let's go!" Using both sources of power he launched himself right for the fused being attempting to throw an all-out blow to their face when their foe moved so fast, it was as if time slowed down.

He moved over to Kasuke, sending a quick but powerful strike to his gut. The blow was so strong a fierce burst of wind was sent through his body, out his back blowing everything I that direction away. The boy spat out blood before crashing through the weakened roof of a small house laying in the vine covered floor.

"E-enough...Akunomi...I don't care the risk, step in and kill the exosagain" The white in his eyes became black as the symbol on his neck manifested. Akunomi now in control, wiped the blood from his face, bursting out from the house, going straight for his assailant.

"I can sense pure evil coming from you now, have you lost your humanity along with your mind Kasuke?" The fused exorcist created a dome of pure darkness around him and the possessed exorcist. On the outside Tenkai just saw a massive ball of darkness. "Damn, I need to help him somehow. I know I can sense demonic power coming from him, but I promised to keep him alive"

Meanwhile inside the sphere of darkness, "So then, what will you do demon? Inside this dome you're at a great disadvantage, an attack could come from anywhere"

"I'm not worried, I'm the demon lord...even if you kill me, I will always find a way back. How else did I survive for 5,000 years!" Akunomi focused his demonic power into his palms before clapping them together, sending a powerful shockwave of red energy throughout the dome. "You're stronger than I thought...very well, seems I have no choice but to play my backup card in case things go wrong"

The purple aura manifested on his fingers as he snapped them activating his technique. "Yet another pointless ability I see" The possessed warrior smirked ripping off his torso reveling his muscular body. "If I can just reach it, I may be able to win this fight" He moved full speed right for his powerful target.

Back outside Tenkai was slashing the barrier with all his might but couldn't even scratch it. "Damn it! How could I let this happen, my ally is fighting inside without help and I'm too weak to do anything. Just then Hisoko and Naiomi landed nearby looking up at the massive ball of darkness.

"There, Kasuke's in there, I can sense his power! But...there's someone with even more power in there with him!" Naiomi shouted pointing up at it. Tenkai noticed them and dropped down. "You two, I need your help, transfer your energy to me, maybe it'll be enough to break the sphere and free Kasuke"

"Why should we trust you?" Hisoko commented. Tenkai gripped his blade in frustration. "We have to help Kasuke! Will you help me or not!?"

"The girls looked at one another before placing their hands on the swordsmen's shoulders as his body began to manifest blue spiritual energy. Gripping his blade tightly, the seinshin ascended back into the air towards the sphere of darkness. "Sword art: 1,000 spiritual slashes!" As his katana was engulfed by a blue flame-like aura, he unleashed dozens of slashes in mere seconds before sliding his sword back to it's side with a small flash.

The moment his blade slid back to it's holster, the orb of darkness began to crack apart with light illuminating the growing cracks. All watched as the barrier finally shattered apart revealing Akunomi fighting the fused Exosagain up close.

"Kasuke!" Naiomi cried out as the warrior evaded coming strikes from the powerful foe. Just then they landed a blow right through Akunomi's abdomen. Naiomi and the others watched as Akunomi controlling Kasuke's body spat out blood with a hole in his stomach as he fell from the sky towards the group of fighters. Tenkai quickly caught him before laying him on his back as blood ran from his body.

"If I can do this in time! Holy healing: Max power!" Tenkai aimed his hands down at the wounded warrior as his injuries were quickly healed. Kasuke opened his eyes looking up at Tenkai and the others.

"Kasuke you're ok!" The two women cried with joy. Mashida looked at Tenkai before standing up, part of his chest now covered in the dark corrosion. "Tenkai...we need to use their ability against them. Even Akunomi was no match against them. We have to use...Souls as one!"

"Haha! You fool, it takes full concentration and power control to complete the technique souls as one, how can you possibly hope to use it!?" The exosagain mocked still floating above them.

"As much as I hate demons, I think this may be the only way. Let's do this" Both stood beside one another as they focused their power simultaneously. Then at the same time they cried out: Souls as one!" They began to fuse when both were sent back in opposite directions. Tenkai hit a tree while Kasuke landed in a lake as small drips of blood ran from his bottom lip. "Damn it! How could we fail!?"

"Haha! Maybe it's because of your demonic power attempting to fuse with a holy warrior. It rejected you, as will the world!" The fused exosagain moved right for Mashida reaching for the man's throat when Tenkai teleported in between them, blocking the incoming strike with his blade getting sent smashing through a large tree.

"What do we do!? We gave him all our spiritual energy so we can't use any techniques and his capabilities are on a far greater level than any demon...

Meanwhile the white exosagain was back at their organization as he walked down the hallway, the halls were white with a black carpeted floor. He could feel himself growing dizzy and weak as he held onto the wall making his way into his bedroom as he walked over to the mirror on his dresser.

His hair was becoming gray and long while his eyes became red. "What blasphemy is this? Am I becoming a demonic creature!? How could this be, I defeated that worthless-" He remembered the clone making contact with his forehead with their fingers. "So, they used some kind of curse on me without my knowledge. Never the less, no mere curse will be enough to stop me"

Just then an abrupt pain struck through his body as he gripped the dresser growing more pale as his breath grew heavy. A sudden voice could be heard within his subconscious: "Seems my curse is taking affect, not long before your body completely belongs to me"

Back on the battlefield the cyan-hooded exorcist pointed his index finger toward the sky as a sphere of blue energy began to build up. It Began to expand growing larger every second. Just then the others finally showed up.

"Kenjiro, Asura what are you doing here!?" Kasuke responded walking over to them gripping his shoulder still soaked from landing in the water moments ago.

"We could easily feel the high level of spiritual energy. Once Kenjiro was finally up we quickly raced over here"

"What about unit three's captain where are they? We're going to need all the help we can get" Kasuke responded. Asura told him that the captain was in a different country aiding a different crisis and couldn't help. Kasuke looked over at Tenkai who had been knocked out by the impact.

"Captain Asura, I'd rather you not interfere in this matter, unless you'd rather lose your title as captain and be killed by me"

"Who are you exactly? You don't look familiar"

"Fool, I am the unification of two of the exosagain. I plan to rid this world of all demons, starting with the one inside Kasuke" Before anyone could do anything, the fused warrior moved right up to Kasuke placing his hand against the man's chest. "paralysis crest" A red symbol appeared upon the boy's chest causing him to hit the ground unable to move. "it's time to extract the putrid devil from your body and destroy it"

"Kasuke!" Naiomi cried out charging right for him with the rest all advancing toward the exosagain in all directions. The moment they got within melee range an immense golden explosion erupted from their target sending them all scattering back. Both Asura and Kenjiro landed on a tree branch, throwing spiritual shurikens and a kunai charged with spiritual energy right for their assailant.

However, the man easily caught the shurikens made of green energy, throwing them right back at Kenjiro while evading the coming kunai as it landed beside Kasuke. "Your attempts at stopping this is pointless, your duty as exorcists is to kill all demons"

"We also have a responsibility to protect our comrades" Asura argued. "Enough of your meaningless talk...it's time to begin the extraction" The hooded man placed his palm on the target's chest. "Soul extract" A golden aura surrounded them as Akunomi's demonic soul was being pulled out from the boy's abdomen with a beam of light emanating from the point of extraction. Kasuke let out cries of despair from the immense pain of the demon leaving his body.

Once the extraction was complete, Akunomi's dark essence faded into the dark sky while it's former vessel laid unconscious at the brink of death. "The extraction is finished. I shall return to headquarters to decide your punishments later" Without another word the exosagin flew off into the night.

Kasuke was carried by Asura while Tenkai was carried by Kenjiro as they made their way up a large mountain over to the entrance of a large cave where both warriors were laid beside each other. "What do we do? Tenkai is the only one who knows how to use healing arts but is out cold" Naiomi asked placing her hand on the man's forehead.

"I can sense Kasuke's spiritual energy, it's faint...since the demon was connected to him for so long, it must've put a great strain on his body once it was ripped from his spiritual core by force. He's lucky to even be alive after such an experience. However, I can sense his lifeforce slowly growing weaker. If we don't find a way to sustain his life energy...he'll surely die"

"No don't say that! He's already been through so much in such a short amount of time! I-I won't let this be the end. I-I'll give him as much of my life force as I can!"

"Naiomi, you're not recovered from the fight, you need to rest first and hope his body can hold out long enough"

"There's no time...Kasuke! I won't let you die!" She focused her blue spiritual energy into her palms as she began compressing his chest while sending waves of her energy to his heart with each pump...

Deep within his subconscious...

Kasuke stood on the white platform he usually did when speaking with Akunomi. However, he was nowhere to be seen, all was quiet. Though he was a demon, Kasuke felt a little sad about losing the demon king. He saw the throne sitting there, empty...Mashida slowly walked over, sitting in Akunomi's place. "He's gone...he was a demon with dark intentions...so why is it, I feel as though I've lost a part of myself? Akunomi gave me the power to break human boundaries between exorcists and demons. With him gone, what can I do? I'm back to my weak C-rank self"

Just then he heard a faint voice from the darkness around him. "Kasuke, wake up! I won't lose you! Though your power is gone...you still have me and the allies you've gained through your short journey as an exorcist. So please...come back!" Naiomi did one final compression using all of her power as Kasuke took a deep breath opening his eyes.

"Kasuke! You're ok!" She hugged him tightly with tears running down her face. The man looked around to see Kenjiro, Asura and Hisoko standing around him with smiles on their face. "Glad to have you back Kasuke" Asura responded placing his hand on the teammates shoulder before they stood up.

Mashida looked over at Tenkai who was still out-cold. He walked over to him, placing his hand upon the swordsmen's chest. A slit flash of green light emanated from his palm as the man in white weakly opened his eyes to see his friend standing over him.

"Kasuke? Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, but my friends got us here and saved me from succumbing to my extraction. Looks like I've lost the power of the demon king. Now I'm nothing more than a low-rank exorcist again"

"Don't be so hard on yourself my friend, I've seen power corrupted people, especially demonic power. You were the first I've seen to use demonic power for a good cause. You wanted to turn their power against them and make this world a better place instead of letting the remaining humans of this world die. With that kind of will-power and determination, I believe you have what it takes to save this world. A man with a demon-half but a pure heart that can endure a demon's influence, that's something only few can manage. Truly, your heart is fare purer than any other"

Tenkai used his katana to lift himself up to his feet looking at the others than back at Kasuke. "You may have lost him, but I know something that can help you. There is a place I used to spend time at, it was beautiful and untouched by the demons. We must go there and help restore your power. I pray for a god named Kaisu, he is a god that believes all should love one's self. That they shouldn't let the cruel world make you lose sight on the love you feel for yourself and those who stand behind you. I've believed in him all these years, through the harsh times I went through as a child up till now. My father told me once...those who accept their sins and only move forward for those they love will truly be at peace. My father told me I'd have a purpose in this life, that I'd protect those who needed it. My father was right...I have a purpose...to stop the demons and save as many humans as I can. That is my goal"

All looked at the swordsmen who had a look of determination on his face. "We must head to Isanu, there is where we will find the valley that was untouched by these devils. The faith there was so strong, no demon could go near it" Tenkai held his sword close to his face closing his eyes as a golden symbol appeared underneath all of them. Just as they were about to teleport, a lesser-demon jumped out from the dark outside the cave.

"Tenkai!" Kasuke called out as the swordsmen lost focus, causing them all to travel half-way there before being separated into projectiles of golden light like shooting stars. Kasuke and Naiomi landed in the middle of a forest with a clear path leading north towards Isanu. The warrior slowly got to his feet, his body sore from the impact already being hurt from the extraction not long ago. Naiomi managed to get up with minor bruises.

"Oh no we lost the others during the teleportation!"

"D-don't worry Naiomi, I have faith that Tenkai either landed with the others or isn't that far from them" Meanwhile Tenkai and Hisoko landed in a random part of the Isanu forest far off the path. He perfectly landed on his feet on a tree branch before landing onto the soil below. He looked at Hisoko who got her shirt caught in a tree limb as she hung upside down waving her hands franticly.

"Hey you, Tenkai, come help me down!"

"Don't be so loud, I can sense a dark essence nearby. We must've landed further off the path then I thought"

"I'll be as loud as I want, only Kasuke can tell me what to do! Now get me down!" Hisoko shouted with an annoyed look on her face. Tenkai walked over to the tree where his ally hung upside down when a sudden feeling of chills ran through his body, that's when he realized it was becoming colder at a fast rate, he could see his breath as it began to snow.

"What is this!? It's never snowed before, and after all the damage the demons caused it shouldn't even be able to snow this much or even at all!" He looked behind himself to see a silhouette in the growing snow. A demon stood motionless holding up a lantern. It's face was concealed by the snow with only it's blue skin and gray coat could be seen.

"A demon that can control the weather? Strange, I've never heard of a demon with frost abilities before. Never the less, I have to find the others which mean I need to kill this demon quickly. The area around them formed into an all-out blizzard with Tenkai unable to see more than a few feet ahead of him with his white cloak blowing in the intense wind. Just then a shard of ice went past him, piercing the side of his cheek causing blood to run down his face.

"You frozen bitch..." (I'm still weakened from our last fight, but should have enough power to use one or two techniques...Spiritual art: Aura sense) Gripping his blade tightly he closed his eyes. He could see a trail of red demonic essence in front of him in the darkness as he kept his eyes closed. Moving at half his normal speed, he slashed his blade in an instant, only to see the red demonic aura had moved behind him. He took a deep breath, the cold air hurting his lungs, (1,000 spiritual slashes!)

Blue rays of light surrounded him like a barrier from him moving his blade at near-instantaneous speed. Tenkai managed to decapitate the demon behind him before sliding his blade back to his side. Hisoko watched as the snow began to melt. Tenkai felt light-headed but knew with it being night and they were in a part of the forest that radiated evil, he couldn't afford for them to stay there much longer.

Quickly he cut her down as she landed in her arms. Without putting her down he focused as much spiritual energy as he could as his body glowed with a golden aura, moving through the forest at great speed.

Meanwhile Kenjiro and Asura also landed in a random part of the forest but didn't take long for them to find the path towards the Isanu valley. "Hope the others are ok" The unit captain commented as they walked through the path towards their target location. Just then a golem-like demon stepped out onto their path. It was a demon made out of rock that was seven feet tall with red eyes.

"Well then, first time I've seen a demon made of rock. However, rock is easily broken" Kenjiro responded pulling out a thin needle made of metal. "Let's see how many you can take" He said in a calm tone. Asura watched as the exorcist threw the single needle right for the demon's forehead. The projectile pierced the demonic creature's head but it seemed unaffected by the hit.

"I assume you can't feel pain, lucky you" Snapping his fingers the needle blew up, blowing off the demon's head leaving pieces of smaller rocks all around it's feet. Just then the rocks floated back up to the demon's neck reforming it's head.

"Fine, you want to play that game, let's see you handle this, Asura step in" Kenjiro pulled out a dozen needles in between his finger throwing them all towards the demon as it began to charge them. Multiple needles struck the demon's rock body as Asura tossed two kunai in the center path between them and the rock creature. The needles ignited simultaneously blowing the creature to pieces. Right before it could rebuild itself Asura activated his two kunai, completely destroying the creature entirely.

"There, I'm surprised how simple that was considering the high feeling of demon energy in this forest. Gives me chills the more I focus on it. We should hurry" Kenjiro commented as they raced through the forest towards an entrance with bamboo that was tall and aligned like a gate. They waited there as Tenkai and the others finally arrived.

"Strange how the forest is radiating dark spiritual energy yet rarely any demons have appeared. Anyway, here's Isanu valley, here no demon has been able to enter. This is where we'll be able to give you the strength you need to take on the exosagin and the god-like demons that may appear" Kasuke and the others followed the white swordsmen past the bamboo gates as they walked down a large path with hundreds of pink peddles floating all around them. Kasuke could feel a sense of relief around them, as if they took away his stress.

They reached the end of the path where a large statue stood in the center made of gold. "This is the statue of Kaisu. Place your palm on the statue and think very hard about what it is you want. It is said that if your wish is pure, he will grand you the one wish you want most"

"I'll give it a try" Kasuke said unsure. He walked over to the tall statue, slowly placing his hand upon it. He closed his thinking really hard about what he wanted... (Please...give me the power I need to save this world from the demons that plague it) All watched as a golden aura transferred from the statue to the man's neck where the demonic symbol with the three triangles appeared. One of them slowly faded before his symbol faded.

"Whoa, I feel...strange, like a surge of power rushing through me" They all sensed his power and could feel a strange power emanating from within him. "Hmm, I can't tell what happened, but something does feel different about your aura" Asura responded.

"Kaisu deemed you worthy and granted you some of his power. Now you've regained some of the power you lost"

After a day of rest, they found a village of people who seemed to be unaffected by the demons around them. They walked through town where it looked like your average medieval town with rows of stone houses and small stores.

"Hello travels, I can tell from most of your uniforms that you must be exorcists" An elderly man dressed in a red robe with a long beard stood before them holding a cane with both hands. "I am the chief of this village, how may we help you?"

"Hi, I was here years ago and don't remember seeing a village around here" Tenkai commented. The old man walked up to him looking closely at him. "Ah yes, I remember you're the young man who saved our village years ago. You're Tenkai the white swordsmen correct?"

"Yes, but I don't remember anything like that happening"

"Yes, it's only fair that you would think that. This forest has something dark about it. For some reason, when humans leave this forest, they seem to forget all that's happened until they've returned"

"That can't be-" Just then mental images began flowing into Tenkai at an intense rate. Sweat began to run down as his face as the memories came back. He saw hundreds of bodies all over the forest, blood covering most of the forest. He stood in the forest with his clothes and blade covered in blood.

"T-this forest was swarming with demons, bodies of innocent humans all over the forest. I...I managed to kill them all, but the horrible and gruesome deaths all the innocent humans endured cursed this forest with an immense level of demonic energy. That can only mean...this forest is one of the main sources that's drawing the demons to this world!"

"Are you saying this forest has the most concentration of demonic power!?" Kasuke responded in shock.

"Yea, this is where another powerful demon could appear soon"

Meanwhile...

The white exosagain walked through the halls of the headquarters outside. His eyes glowing red with a purple aura swarming around his body. "Hehe, I'm back...now to pay Kasuke a visit" With a smirk the possessed exosagin flew off into the sky headed for the others. With a smirk the possessed exosagin flew off into the sky headed for the others, a smirk on his face as he reached their location, touching down in front of them.

“Kasuke, it’s time I take back the rest of my soul from within you and reign over this world as the true demon lord”

“T-that voice..Akunomi!?” A feeling of fear washed over him as Tenkai and Hisoko stood in front of their ally to protect him when the demon lord aimed his index finger towards them. “Time fraction” All but Kasuke were sealed with blood-red bubbles that froze them in time.

“You bastard!” Just then the possessed exosagain moved right up to him, placing his hand in the center of the man’s chest. A magical symbol formed on his chest as purple energy was extracted from his body. As the rest of the demon lord’s soul was absorbed into his new vessel, he reformed his old appearance over the body as Akunomi stood before Kasuke in his real appearance.

The power radiating from Akunomi was far stronger than anything Mashida had sensed while sealed inside the exorcist. “N-no, I-I won’t let you get away with this!” Kasuke weakly said shaking from the trauma of having so much power extracted from him.

“You should rest and not do anything rash, your body is under a lot of stress from having my soul and power ripped out of you. You’re lucky you didn’t die. Most humans wouldn’t even survive such an experience. Now then, I have a world to rule over, you can sit there and watch as I kill both demons and humans of this world” The demon lord soared into the sky like a purple shooting star while the bubbles of blood-red energy cracked open with all the warriors shaking their head in confusion while the weakened exorcist collapsed out cold...

He awoke half an hour later up against a tree with Hisoko and Naiomi sitting beside him while the others stood around the area watching for any possible demons who may try to attack them. Kasuke looked up at them still weak looking at Naiomi Whispering: “I-I need to be taken to a-a demon heart”

She looked at him in confusion then at Hisoko who understood the man’s plan. Hisoko lifted Mashida up telling everyone: “We need to find a demonic heart nearby. That’s what Kasuke just told me and Naiomi!”

“Why!? That’s where most demons spawn near, we’d be putting his life in danger” Asuma argued. Hisoko gave him an annoyed look before turning to her partner Kenjiro who sighed closing his eyes before responding: “Fine, let’s get this over with. I don’t know what he’s planning but if any demons appear we’ll easily take them out" All but Asuma took off towards the strongest source of demonic spiritual energy while Asuma stood there, his arms crossed with an annoyed look on his face.

“Tsk! Fine, the only reason I’m coming is because I’m your unit captain and have to watch over you! That reminds me, why hasn’t their unit captain returned? He’d been gone for quite awhile, I might need to try and contact him soon unless something’s happened”

He caught up with the others with Kasuke still in Hisoko’s arms with Tenkai and Naiomi on both sides of her as they moved through the trees drawing closer to the dark essence flowing through the endless forest.

They reached the demonic heart, though this one felt different, it was bigger with a stronger essence of evil. Hisoko laid her friend by the heart as he crawled over to it still dizzy and weak as he reached his hand out, making contact with the corroded bloody heart emanating demonic energy.

As the purple aura began flowing into him, outlining his body in a purple aura, demons began spawning around them. “D-damn it! You have to keep them away from me so I can siphon all the spiritual power of the demon heart!” Tenkai moved from across the area, appearing beside Hisoko and Naiomi as four of the demons burst into splatters of blood, with blood dripping from the end of the swordsmen’s blade.

“You demonic bastards won’t touch Kasuke while I'm here” Tenkai snapped. Just then a crack in reality formed as if the forest itself was made of glass. They watched as a purple rift formed with a demon in red armor riding on a horse made out of shadow-like flames entered their realm. He took one look at Mashida who’s veins could be seen throughout his face and neck as if he were dying, but continued to absorb every ounce of demonic essence within the anomaly.

The demonic horsemen charged right for the heart passing Asuma and Kenjiro with Hisoko to the left of Mashida and Naiomi on his right. “Kasuke!” His unit member cried out attempting to step between him and the coming demon. That’s when Tenkai appeared instantly in front of it as the demon pulled out a dark sword, attempting to stab them.

Their blades clashed with the horsemen stabbing the surface of Tenkai’s blade with sparks flying out. “Y-you won’t reach him!” He shouted before his assailant aimed his other hand towards the warrior, sending him staggering across the forest with a shockwave of force that shook the forest.

“Bastard!” Hisoko shouted as she and Kenjiro went right for him on both sides. Hisoko created spiritual threads, wrapping them around the demon with Kenjiro pulling out a kunai, flowing with his energy before stabbing it right into the demon’s shoulder armor. He jumped back as it erupted in a fierce explosion of blue light. Asuma wasn’t sure what to do anymore, so much was happening so fast and wasn’t even sure if he was strong enough to even fight the demon. He could only stand and watch as his feet were frozen and wouldn’t flinch.

As the light and smoke faded. They saw the left side of the demon’s red armor had been blow off, revealing a dark-black skeleton face with red eyes. “You mortals...I've had quite enough of your feeble attempts” His voice was deep and menacing that sent a chill up Naiomi’s spine.

(W-what do we do!? It's as if the demons are getting stronger each time they spawn!) Their foe got of the devil horse as it vanished. The armored demon pulled his blade out preparing to attack once more when the ground shook, all looked to see the demon heart wrinkle up and fall over before bursting into pieces of dust.

There stood Kasuke, an immense aura of demonic power flowing around him like flames as his injuries slowly healed. “Kasuke!” Naiomi cried in both surprise and happiness as her friend placed his hand on her shoulder. “All of you stay back, me and Tenkai will handle this. I may not be as strong as I was with the demon lord inside me, but I've definitely regained a lot of power not far from that level”

Naiomi saw Kasuke's eyes were black with purple glowing irises and his hair slightly floating up as if wind were blowing it upward. All watched in shook as the man calmly approached the armored demon as they stood just five feet from each other, the tall devil looking down at him. The others got out of the way, watching from a few meters away when the demon suddenly swung his blade down right for it’s target.

Kasuke caught it with one hand as the force of the slash, shook the forest with cracks forming beneath his feet. “I may not be as strong as I once was, but the experience and near mastery of demonic power has helped me greatly improve my capabilities. Especially with the amount of power the demonic heart has just given me. I am no longer a mere human anymore; I no longer need Akunomi’s help to unleash my true power”

With an instantaneous strike, Mashida struck the assailant in the abdomen, shattering it’s armor. Shards of the chest plate shooting off in random directions. The demon took a few steps back clutching it’s chest as it spat out blood.

“You foolish mortal! You’ve destroyed the balance of this world. It is a great sin for humans like you to possess such strength. Stealing our power just to make yourself stronger!” He lowered his hand from the gaping hole in his armor. “Hehe, you think you’re so strong? Then why don’t we test that?” A black rift formed behind the demon as it was about to pull them in.

“Kasuke!” Tenkai cried out soaring through the trees reaching his hand out to grab his ally but new he wouldn’t reach him in time. Quickly he filled his blade with all his power, throwing it as hard as he could as the rift closed almost instantly just as his blade passed through the rift with them.

The pair reappeared within a large red field that seemed like a dessert. The sky was blood-red with flames surrounding the outer-parts of the area like a wall of flames miles away in all directions. “Welcome Kasuke Mashida...to the demon realm! If you really think you’re so strong, then let’s test that. In the demon realm, our power is 10 times stronger than on earth!”

Kasuke saw Tenkai’s blade falling towards him as he caught it with his left hand pointing toward his opponent. “You want a challenge? You’ll get one” The man could feel his demonic power reacting to the demonic environment. As if demonic power was flowing into him from the air around him.

Kasuke advanced his target, pushing off with his foot leaving a crack in the dry ground as a purple aura swarmed around him and his blade. Feeling both energized and lighter, the fueled warrior swung his blade right for the armored demon who deflected his attack with his own sword just in time, with their power amplified 10 times, the shockwave sent the blowing sand blowing in all directions away from them as the ground began to crack apart.

Both began unleashing a barrage of sword strikes at immense speed, it felt as though the entire realm was vibrating by the force of their strikes. Suddenly his foe managed to knock his blade aside, kicking Kasuke in the ribs, sending him sailing across the sand filled sky before landing on the hard-boiling rocky terrain.

“You think you’re so powerful just because you can handle demonic power? Then let’s see you face this” The demon raised his armored clawed hand up into the air as demons all around the area became small spheres of purple light, flowing into the assailant's body. Just as Mashida dashed toward the demon attempting to stop him, an immense burst of power forced him back as the armor on the demon broke off falling to the ground.

“Behold mortal, power like this is either equal to or even stronger than that of the legendary demon lord Akunomi!” The exorcist stared in shock at the demon that was no longer a mere skeleton. It was a buff black demon with a purple glowing sphere in the center of it’s head with sharp tentacles coming from it’s body.

“I’ll let you have the first hit human, since I'm sure it’ll have no effect on me in this new semi-demon-god form” Sweat ran down Kasuke’s face he began to doubt if he could even win anymore, but knew he had to try. Taking a deep breath, he went straight for the demonic being, throwing a full force punch. “Haagh!” The exorcist struck them in the face with every ounce of power he had, sending a shockwave of force across the realm like an invisible bullet.

When it had no effect, Mashida stood there frozen in fear. He felt a punch strike his abdomen as he spat out large amounts of blood, soaring miles away before landing in a small village where human-like demons saw him and backed up in fear. The y looked up to see the demonic being headed right for them and they all screamed, running away in fear.

The man coughed out blood stuck in his throat as his attacker landed in front of him while the mortal laid on his back in pain. “Hehe, how easy it was to defeat such an opponent, this is where arrogance gets you human. I, Soulacar...a once mere demon captain have absorbed the power of hundreds of mindless demons along with the amplification of the demon world. I have more than enough power to defeat someone as insignificant as you. Once I kill you, I'm going to kill the rest of your puny friends”

Kasuke’s eyes widened as he thought about all the friends he’s made since he became an exorcist...That’s when he heard a deep demonic voice within him as he found himself back within his subconscious. There on the throne sat a dark figure with a pentagram on it’s chest with horns and glowing purple eyes.

“This-this can’t be, I was only able to come here when Akunomi was sealed inside me, what’s going on!?”

“Kasuke...do you know where demonic power truly comes from? You’ve used demonic hearts and demons as your power...but why take something that’s already inside you? Demonic energy is from all the negativity of humans, their negative feelings and emotions is what creates such dark essence. If you wish to truly save the world from demons, even Akunomi himself, you need to give up fighting against the demonic power. All this time you forced it through your body, instead of letting it flow through you and let it build up inside”

“Why should I listen to you? Just who are you!?”

“I am your inner-demon, the manifestation of all the demonic essence you’ve kept hidden inside yourself, not letting it flow freely. You have a choice...let your body flow with complete demon energy, no longer fighting it, or lose your life, your friends and what’s left of this world”

“Lose myself...or lose everything else...?” Back outside his body, Soulacar gripped his blade tightly, preparing for the final strike to Kasuke’s skull when immense demonic energy erupted from the mortal’s body. His body floated into the air as a sphere of purple demonic energy that looked like a star wrapped around him...

“What is this, he can’t be doing what I think he is...no...I won’t allow this!”

Meanwhile Akunomi stood on the top of a building looking over the city when he sensed the spike in demonic power. “Well, well...seems that brat ascended without my help...what is he planning...?” A smirk grew on his face...

Back in the demon world, Soulacar manifested a staff made out of purple energy, stabbing the sphere of spiritual energy. That’s when the ball of energy began to crack before bursting in a ray of light. The powered-up demon watched as another demon touched down in front of him, the demon looked as though it was made of red flames wearing a cloak that was also made of the red flames. Horns were on it’s head with what looked like a core glowing in the center of it’s chest like a sun...

CHAPTER 3 A New Tier Of Power

Soulacar was uneasy, but was sure he could defeat the transformed being. That’s when Kasuke let out a demonic scream, aiming his clawed palm towards the dark demon, sending a god-like force in the devil’s direction, causing Soulacar to get launched back like a missile, the entire area cracking apart. creating a massive canyon. Soulacar was moving so fast, the force was keeping him from moving freely.

The demonic Kasuke moved at near light speed, reaching his target in an instant, punching them in the back with a devastating amount of force, sending him shooting in the opposite direction. With the force of the demon getting launched away, with the rebelling force of Mashida’s punches struck the enemy’s body simultaneously as if getting attacked in both directions. Kasuke continued to send a fierce blow to Soulacar’s stomach launching him away before moving behind him sending him in the opposite direction by striking him in the back.

“Enough!” Soulacar released all his power at once, knocking the demonized Mashida back, impacting the flaming barrier miles from the small town. “I’ve had enough of this useless battle. It’s time to end this” The dark demon raised his hand up into the air, converting as much of his spiritual energy as he could, Soulacar formed a massive flowing sphere of purple energy. “I’m impressed you managed to awaken your demonic power, however...this is the end!”

He sent the massive ball right for Kasuke who was on all fours looking up at the slowly approaching projectile as immense force pushed all the sand aside as it descended towards it’s target. Kasuke let out another demonic scream as he kept his mouth open, firing a dark-red blast back out of his mouth. His blast hit the sphere, ultimately slowing it down but it still continued towards him.

“Hehe, seems your new form just isn’t strong enough to beat me!” The sphere landed on him, slowly impacting the ground as the demon realm shook violently. “Heh, too bad, that bastard had a lot of potential for a mere human” Just then, the massive sphere began to rise from it’s large crater as Kasuke rose up from the hole, holding the massive sphere with one looking up at his target.

“Impossible! Rrr-die!” Firing a purple beam from his index finger, the sphere erupted in a blinding flash of light. The barrier of flames went out as the dessert-like sand fell to the ground revealing more than just their area and the small town.

“T-the flame barrier is down!?” That means those useless demons are free from this wasteland, but it’s not like it matters to me” Soulacar looked down at the colossal crater left from the powerful attack. The hole was so deep it seemed bottomless. “I can’t sense his essence, hopefully he’s finally finished-” Just then he felt a fist strike scrapping across his jaw as he was launched past the area they were sealed inside, flying across the blood-red air before he stopped himself, landing near the black forest, it was a forest with trees that look so black it was as if they were burned.

Back On Earth...

“Do you guys think Kasuke’s ok? It's been a while since that bastard demon dragged him into the rift!” Naiomi said getting worried. Tenkai walked over to her placing his hand on her shoulder. I can sense Kasuke’s spiritual energy, it’s faint, but the fact I can sense it from here means he’s fine and possibly gotten even stronger” She looked at him still worried while Tenkai gave her a smile...

In The Demon Realm...

Soulacar looked up only to not find his target once more. Just then, He felt a shirring pain in his back as Kasuke appeared behind him with his clawed fist piercing right through the demon's body reaching his core. “Bastard!” The assailant sent all of his sharp tentacles right for his target who jumped back landing on a tree with purple energy flowing from Soulacar’s back to Kasuke’s palm as he absorbed the immense demonic energy.

“Rrrr! I won’t lose to you! I’m going to blow myself up and take you along with me!” Crossing his hands like an “X” He prepared to blow his entire body up when demonized Mashida moved right up to the demon’s face, placing his index and middle finger in the center of his target’s forehead. In a demonic voice Kasuke uttered: “Spiritual essence seal”

“What!?” The demon watched as his body began to break apart into pure wisps of purple energy as it entered Kasuke’s chest. The amount of power was almost too much for the demonized human to handle as he fell to his hands and knees as a purple aura burst out of his body like a massive torch. Several meters in the air with electricity swarming around his body. Taking a deep breath clinching his fists, the demonic aura began to go down as he continued to keep himself calm with the flaming transformation withering away leaving him in just his underwear.

Mashida felt as though his heart was going to burst but as he breathed slowly in a pattern, the stress on his body slowly went down...

Back On Earth...

Hisoko had just fallen asleep up against a tree when a purple rift opened up with Kasuke falling out with the rift quickly closing behind him...

(TO BE CONTINUED...)