The Voice in the Dark
Saikyō stood in the middle of the dark road. His black eyes looked at the two shadow twins. His body had a lot of red aura around it. The sky was still red like blood. The ground was shaking because of his big power.
Zazame was still sitting on the ground. He was holding Momonoshuke's cut head in his hands. He was bleeding from his mouth and his broken neck. He looked up at Saikyō with big fear.
The first twin shadow was named Ren. The second twin shadow was named Ran. They were both wearing black clothes and black masks over their faces. They held long curved swords in their hands. The swords had purple poison on the metal.
Ren looked at Ran and said, "This boy is crazy. He wants to die. He wants his Boron to destroy the world."
Ran said, "Yes, he is crazy. But Master Lucifer told us to kill him. We must cut his head off right now."
Ren said, "Wait, look at his aura. His aura is too big. If we go near him, his aura will push us away. We must be very smart. We cannot fight him face to face."
Ran said, "You are right. Let us use our shadow power. We can hide in the ground and strike from behind."
Saikyō did not move. He stood like a stone statue. He looked at the two twins and spoke in a very quiet voice, "You talk too much. Just like Zazame. People who talk too much always die first."
Ren got very angry. He raised his dark sword and yelled, "You are just a 15 year old boy! You do not know how strong we are! We have killed one hundred warriors for Master Lucifer!"
Ren ran forward very fast. He did not run on the dirt. He jumped into his own shadow on the ground. He disappeared into the dark ground like water.
Ran jumped into the shadows too. Both twins vanished from the road.
Everything became very quiet. The wind stopped blowing. The air was very heavy.
Zazame looked at the ground near his feet. He saw black shadow lines moving on the dirt. The lines were moving like two snakes under the ground. They were heading straight toward Saikyō's back.
Zazame wanted to shout. He wanted to say, "Saikyō, look behind you!" But Zazame could not speak. Black blood came out of his throat when he tried to open his mouth. He was too weak to help anyone.
Saikyō did not turn around. He did not look down at the dirt. He closed his dark eyes. He used his ears to hear the sound of the wind and the dirt.
Suddenly, the black ground behind Saikyō split open!
Ren came out of the ground like a sharp spear. His dark sword was aimed right at Saikyō's heart from behind. At the exact same second, Ran came out of the ground in front of Saikyō. His dark sword was aimed at Saikyō's throat.
They attacked from the front and the back at the exact same time. It was a double shadow trap. No ordinary warrior could dodge this move.
Ren laughed behind his black mask and yelled, "Die now, boy!"
Saikyō did not jump. He did not use a sword. He opened his dark eyes. He raised both of his hands into the air. He put his left hand toward the front blade and his right hand toward the back blade.
He caught both of the sharp swords with his bare fingers!
Ren's sword stopped in the air. Ran's sword stopped in the air too.
Saikyō held the sharp metal blades between his bare thumb and forefinger. The purple poison touched his skin, but it did not hurt him. His red aura was so strong that it burned the poison away instantly.
Ren's eyes went wide behind his black mask. He tried to pull his sword back, but he could not move it an inch. Saikyō's grip was like iron.
Ren said in a scared voice, "How... how did you catch my blade? My blade moves faster than the wind!"
Saikyō looked at Ren and said, "Your blade is slow. Your body is weak."
Saikyō squeezed his fingers hard. CRACK! Both of the dark shadow swords broke into many small pieces like cheap glass. The sharp metal pieces fell onto the dirt.
Ran gasped in big shock. "He broke our master's shadow swords with his bare hands! This is impossible!"
Before Ran could run away, Saikyō moved his left leg. He kicked Ran hard in the stomach. The kick was so fast that no one saw it move.
BOOM!
Ran flew backward through the air like a rock. He crashed into a big mountain of rocks two hundred meters away. The stone mountain collapsed on top of Ran, burying him completely under heavy stones.
Now only Ren was left standing near Saikyō. Ren was trembling from head to toe. His heart was beating very fast because of big terror. He had never seen a human with this kind of physical strength.
Ren stepped backward slowly. He said, "What kind of monster are you? You are not a human being. You are a devil!"
Saikyō took one slow step toward Ren. He raised his hand and pointed one finger at Ren's forehead.
Saikyō said, "Tell me where Lucifer is keeping my sister Hanako. If you tell me the truth, I will kill you fast. If you lie to me, I will make you suffer for a long time."
Ren remembered Master Lucifer's trust seal inside his heart. He knew that if he told the secret, his head would explode. But if he did not speak, this 15 year old boy would crush him into dust.
Ren was trapped between two deaths. He looked at Saikyō's black eyes and felt like he was looking into a deep, dark hole with no bottom.
Ren slowly opened his mouth to speak. He said, "She is... she is inside..."
Before Ren could finish his words, the ground beneath them started to shake violently again. A loud, terrible voice came from deep inside the main hall. It was the voice of Master Lucifer himself.
"Foolish shadow," Lucifer's voice boomed across the entire ruined village. "You were going to betray your master to save your own miserable life."
Suddenly, Ren's body turned completely black. Black flames came out of his eyes and his mouth. Ren screamed in terrible pain as his own shadow body began to melt like hot wax.
"No! Master Lucifer, please! Forgive me!" Ren screamed as he fell to his knees.
In just three seconds, Ren melted completely into a pool of dark black liquid on the dirt. His life was finished by his own master's seal.
Saikyō looked down at the black liquid on the ground. His face did not change. He was not sad, and he was not happy. He turned his head and looked toward the giant wooden doors of the main hall.
Zazame was still on the dirt, breathing very slowly. Saikyō walked past Zazame without looking at him. He walked straight toward the main hall doors.
Inside the dark hall, Master Lucifer sat on a big stone throne. He was holding a glass of red drink in his hand. His eyes were glowing in the dark room like two red stars.
Lucifer smiled and said, "Welcome, Sekai Saikyō. I have been waiting for you for a very long time."
Saikyō walked to the big door. The door was made of wood. It was very big and heavy. Saikyō pushed the door with his hand. The door opened.
Inside, the room was very big. It was very dark too. There were small lights on the wall. A man sat on a big chair. The man was Lucifer.
Lucifer had red eyes. He held a glass cup. He looked at Saikyō and smiled.
Lucifer said, "Hello, Saikyō. You came here."
Saikyō did not smile. He stood still. He looked at Lucifer.
Saikyō said, "Where is Hanako? Give me my sister."
Lucifer took a sip from his cup. He set the cup down.
Lucifer said, "Hanako is here. But you cannot take her. You must fight me first."
Saikyō raised his hand. His red light came back. The red light was bright. The floor began to shake.
Lucifer stood up from his big chair. He was tall. He wore a long black coat.
Lucifer said, "You are a strong boy. But I am a king. My shadow power is bigger than your power."
Lucifer snapped his fingers. Snap!
The dark shadows on the floor began to move. Three big shadow monsters came out of the floor. The monsters had big teeth and red eyes. They roared loud.
Lucifer said, "Kill him."
The three shadow monsters ran at Saikyō. They ran fast.
Saikyō did not run away. He did not step back. He jumped high into the air. He swung his hand down. His red light hit the first shadow monster.
BOOM!
The first monster broke into black smoke. It vanished.
The second monster jumped at Saikyō. It tried to bite Saikyō with its big teeth. Saikyō punched the monster hard in the face.
CRASH!
The second monster fell down. It turned into black smoke too.
Now only the third monster was left. It was bigger than the other two. It had long sharp arms. It swung its arm at Saikyō.
Saikyō grabbed the sharp arm with his hand. He pulled the monster close. He hit the monster with his knee. The third monster turned into smoke and went away.
Lucifer clapped his hands. He smiled again.
Lucifer said, "Good. Very good. You beat my monsters. But now you fight me."
Lucifer raised his hand. Black shadow blades came out of his fingers. He ran at Saikyō fast.
Saikyō put up his hands to block. The fight inside the big hall started.