The Inoue

- 07 -

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BLACK CLAWS

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Izumi and Baji were still making their way along the vacant and dilapidated second floor of the abandoned orphanage building, navigating the desolate surroundings that had been left unchanged and untouched for years. The entire interior was shrouded in darkness and quietness, which added to the sinister and tragic atmosphere of the location. The two individuals were left to their own thoughts as they tread along the desolate and depressing path, the only sound that of their footsteps echoing off the walls.

The reason why Izumi and Baji ventured into the abandoned and desolate building was because of the rumors and reports of a dark creature lurking within. There was an unfortunate incident that took place years ago when the children were trapped inside the building while it was ablaze. The dark "creature" was the manifestation of sadness, suffering, and negativity caused by the fire and the subsequent tragic deaths of the children trapped inside.

Izumi and Baji had decided to investigate the abandoned orphanage they had chanced upon for a little longer, their curiosity taking over in the face of a strange and unsettling atmosphere. Izumi had sensed a lingering feeling of something being wrong with the location, an impression that continued to persist and grow in intensity the deeper they ventured into the desolate and silent surroundings.

"What happened to this orphanage?" Izumi inquired curiously, directing the question towards Baji who had more knowledge on the subject. "The villagers said it was engulfed by fire and some of the children inside didn't survive," Baji answered solemnly, reminiscing back to the unfortunate incidents that had occurred years before. He felt a deep sadness and emptiness as he recalled the tragic death of innocent individuals who were left trapped inside the burning building.

After confirming their suspicion of a dark creature lurking in the dilapidated and deserted orphanage, Izumi and Baji exchanged glances and smirked. The former couldn't help but make a playful jab towards Baji, who had always prided himself on being the taller one between the two of them.
"Looks like you're not the tallest one this time, Izumi," Baji joked, a smirk evident on his face.

However, the playful banter was cut short when the dark creature let out a deafening scream and launched a sudden attack towards the pair.

Izumi managed to grab the dark creature's arm and punched it, launching it back through the wall into the adjacent room. But it didn't take much time for another dark creature to emerge, pouncing on Baji in an effort to attack and ambush him.

Baji calmly uttered the phrase "Torture Strings" as a circle of yellow color quickly appeared underneath the dark creature from the abyss. The strings rapidly began to wrap themselves tightly around the creature's body, their razor-sharp edges piercing the flesh and causing blood to spatter everywhere.

Baji stood over the vanquished and dead dark creature, wiping the blood off his face. "I can't believe I'm using it," he uttered, sounding a little exhausted at the exhaustion brought upon him by the usage of his powerful attack. He was feeling quite fatigued and drained from having resorted to using his ultimate "Torture Strings" technique to defeat the monstrous creature while in the abandoned orphanage.

Meanwhile, Izumi was struggling to gain the upper hand against the dark creature, having trouble landing a hit on its critical weak point. The dark creature continued to avoid his efforts to land a damaging blow, remaining elusive and dodging the attacks with great dexterity and speed.

Izumi was becoming increasingly irritated and frustrated by his struggle to land an effective blow on the elusive dark creature. When his patience eventually ran out, he decided to switch tactics and announce that he was going to take the fight to the creature on its own terms. "Fine then, let's play," he declared, his tone suggestive of his intent to engage in a more aggressive style of combat.

The blue energy started to radiate and envelop Izumi's fists, indicating that he was about to unleash a powerful technique. He charged towards the dark creature with all his might, propelling himself forward with tremendous speed and force. With one swift motion, he drove his fist directly into the creature's chest, punching a gaping hole through it and causing tremendous damage to the creature's body.

Izumi swiftly retracted his fist and observed the creature's reaction. The creature staggered and fell to its knees, and then proceeded to disintegrate and implode into tiny particles. The dark creature had been defeated by Izumi's devastating blow, disintegrating into nothingness, leaving Izumi as the victor in this encounter.

Izumi turned to Baji beside him, who had joined him at the site of the defeated dark creature. "It's a Nuru, just a normal negative energy form creature," Baji explained, referring to the dark entity and its origin.

The Nuru was a type of creature that was composed purely of a negative energy source, which gave it its dark and ominous appearance and allowed it to cause great harm to others should it choose to do so. Despite its fearsome nature, the Nuru was not the most powerful of creatures, which was what made it relatively easy to take down.

After the two individuals had neutralized the threat from the Nuru, Izumi decided to wrap up the expedition and return home. The search for the mysterious individual in the village had yielded no results thus far, leaving the duo a bit unnerved and uncertain of the situation and whether the person they were searching for actually existed or not.