Sureiyazu

Episode 11: Master vs. Students

Akuma felt helpless. She felt a hate growing for the feeling.

Meanwhile, her teammates began the fight.

Aya, without flinching, attacked her own master, catapulting into the air and coming down on Shi. He deflected her attack with his hand.

Kasai followed Aya, with Yuri by her side. They came in from both sides and swung their weapons in a powerful effort before Jinsoku, the master's legendary weapon, struck them both down. The team was soon back up, though, and it seemed that they hadn't sustained any injuries except for scrapes from the rock of the Domain.

But Kasai was up the fastest. She rushed forward and slashed with Inochi, more determined than ever, a growl stuck in her throat. The master only dodged, once, twice, three times. He then used the end of his scythe to knock her down again.

Aya and Yuri were ready. Aya raised her bo staff at an angle, pointing at Yuri, who took a flying leap off of it and cam crashing down on top of the master. He didn't falter for a second as he moved out of the way and Yuri's eyes grew wide before she hit the ground with a crash.

But that was part of the plan. A very experienced girl, wielding her bo staff, took the diversion as the perfect opportunity to attack, and landed the first hit on Shi, which she congratulated herself on, even if it didn't affect him at all.

Akuma only sat back, hoping that no one would notice her. At the same time, she was angry with herself for being unprepared. She vowed to herself that if she lived, she would never be without her kyoketsu shoge again. If she lived, that was. Which wasn't likely, at the rate things were going.

"Ahhhhhhh!" what had become of their calm master screamed. He looked at them with his wild eyes - or, one eye - and raised his scythe high into the air. His entire fighting style changed. Before he had only been defending, but now he was attacking.

Kasai, using her speed, was only barely able to escape the master's scythe with a cut on her arm. Akuma looked away when she saw a red liquid dripping down Kasai's arm that almost matched the color of her dress.

Akuma's eyes drifted to Yuri, who was looking, surprisingly, angry. And somehow she looked different - was it the color of her eyes that were suddenly redder than they should have been? Her teeth that looked almost fang-like? Maybe she was just imagining things. She told herself to look away.

Aya was going against the master, and keeping up fairly well. It was only when he swung his scythe in a final deadly motion that Akuma realized the severity of the situation. The right side of Aya's face was, in one instant, looking determined, and the next, covered in blood.

Aya fell to the ground with a wail of pain, clutching her eye. More drops of the evil ruby liquid fell through her fingers and Akuma felt both sick and angry.

Kasai and Yuri were still both in fighting condition, and that, it seemed, was what they wanted to do. Yuri charged first, and as she brought down her tetsubo -

Suddenly a burst of energy pulsed out from the master, and Yuri sent flying through the air. To Akuma's surprise, she used the rock wall she was thrown at as a foundation to spring back off and back in the direction of her opponent. She attacked again, and a scarily animal-esque sound escaped her throat.

Yuri, this time, was able to hit their master.

He faltered, and Kasai rushed forward with Inochi.

Together, they did enough damage that even Aya, with her one hurt eye, could see the blood pulsing out of the wound in Shi's chest.

But he only laughed. A sick, twisted laugh that was so inhuman that it didn't even belong in the demon world. A sound like that shouldn't exist.

Kasai and Yuri exchanged glances, coming towards the master to end things once and for all. But he wasn't ready for things to end. He stood up and swung his legendary weapon desperately.

Akuma discovered that, when someone has over a hundred years of experience in demonslaying, desperation isn't that different from any other attack. Both of her teammates stood, shocked, and crumpled to the ground.

Master Shi and Akuma were the only ones left.

Akuma trembled in fear.

Master Shi raised Jinsoku, which was covered in blood, and walked slowly over to the newest demonslayer. Why couldn't he end it quickly? Why did he have to drag it out?

He stopped nearly a foot away from her.

Akuma balled her trembling fist and blinked away tears. She didn't want to die like this - if she had to die, she wanted to do it fighting, like any of the other Sureiyazu would have. With a lump in her throat, she looked her master in the eye.

And punched him in the face.

Her weak attack had a startling effect on him. He howled and fell to the ground, screaming words that Akuma had learned as a child never to repeat.

Finally he took his hands off of his cheek, and Akuma saw Shi's face. The entire left side of his face was red and she could see purple veins under his skin.

"AAArrrggg!" the master screeched. "Why?! WHY?!"

Akuma cringed and felt tears welling up again. She looked away from the writhing creature she had once called "master". What had she done? What was wrong with him?

When the screaming subsided, Akuma forced herself to look at him again, and was both relieved and terrified at what she saw. Shi lay still on the ground, looking peaceful at last.

Too peaceful.