Shadow Bug

A sword is crafted to kill people

It should serve no other purpose

Or Should it?

As Joshua struggled to break free from the grip of the eels, Gaki snapped his fingers, producing a sound that warped Joshua's vision and hearing. Disoriented, he couldn't concentrate, leaving him vulnerable as Zero fired another water bullet aimed straight for his heart.

Even in his muddled state, Joshua sensed the water bullet's approach. He summoned more lighter energy, forcing his right hand free to catch the bullet barehanded. The effort came at a cost, but he tore himself from the eels' grip, ripping them apart with his hands.

Lorra: [BLACK: FOREST EMERGENCE, ROSE THORNS]

Without giving him a moment to breathe, Lorra unleashed her shadow technique, "Forest Emergence," summoning thorns from her shadow to pierce Joshua's body. Zero, Lokk, and Jokita charged through the lake's waters, launching a barrage of blows. Despite his scrambled mind, Joshua countered most attacks but couldn't evade them all. Meanwhile, Gaki's sound manipulation continued to disorient him.

Joshua: [WHITE: SPINNING VORTEX]

Joshua controlled the wind with his lighter energy, blowing Zero, Lokk, and Jokita away from him to buy some time to strategize. He began removing the thorns Lorra had shot into his body and used Harmonic Restoration to heal himself.

Lokk: Damn. He's healing from all that damage we just inflicted.

Desmond: Harmonic Restoration is a piece of work huh?

Joshua: (to himself): What is going on? My mind is all over the place. I can't seem to see or think straight, and it's all because of him. (He looks at Gaki.) His technique must involve some kind of sound looping. But why am I the only one hearing it? (He glances at everyone's ears and sees that they've blocked them with pods.) I see. Their plan is to keep attacking me while my mind is mush. As long as I keep hearing that tune coming from his left hand, my mind will remain disoriented. (He looks at the thorns Lorra stabbed him with.) I have a crazy idea that's going to hurt.

Zero and the others were planning to attack Joshua when, all of a sudden, he did something that shocked them. Joshua picked up two thorn bullets that Lorra had thrown at him earlier and stabbed his ears, destroying his own eardrums.

Desmond: (cartoonish face) Huh??

Lorra: (to herself) He destroyed his own ears to block out Gaki's sound technique?

Zero: (to himself) I didn't think you'd go that far, Joshua. But that means…

Joshua: [WHITE: CRESCENT AURA]

Joshua Egoshin's lighter technique is called "Divergent Moon." It is a wind-style technique that allows him to manipulate wind currents, aiding him in using his katana more efficiently. Though he's learned to use this technique against shadow monsters, he seldom employs it on people due to his fear of killing them. Crescent Aura, a skill embedded in the Divergent Moon technique, cloaks Joshua's body with wind and lighter energy, making his movements faster.

Zero saw this and assumed Joshua's plan was to take out Gaki first before dealing with them. In haste to stop Joshua, Zero fired another water bullet at him, trying to interrupt his movement. However, Zero misread Joshua's intentions. The moment he fired the water bullet, Joshua rushed toward him, closing the distance between them.

Zero: (to himself) Shit! I totally misread his intentions! I have to activate the ghost technique before—.

Joshua: (placing his hand on Zero's stomach) [WHITE: STRIKING PALM]

Joshua hit Zero with his Striking Palm attack, sending him flying across the lake, but Lorra quickly came to his aid, preventing him from going too far.

Zero: (coughs blood)

Lorra: ZERO!!!!!

In a fit of anger, Lorra attempted to hold Joshua down with her plant vines while Lokk, Jokita, and Desmond moved in to attack him. Joshua, still using "CRESCENT AURA," employed his "STRIKING PALM" technique and struck all three of them with insane speed. After dealing with them, he moved to Lorra and hit her with the same attack. Gaki, watching from across the lake, was amazed and frightened by the amount of power a level 1+ hunter possessed.

Gaki: He knocked them down in an instant.

Striking Palm is another skill from the Divergent Moon technique, gathering a substantial amount of rotating wind and lighter energy in the user's hand and focusing it at a singular point. The user then strikes the opponent with their hand, causing them to be blown away. The opponent takes severe damage because the wind surrounding them reacts to the wind in the user's hand, amplifying the impact upon contact.

Gaki realized he could not outrun Joshua. As Joshua approached, he decided to use Harmonic Mantle Essence to protect himself from Joshua's Striking Palm. At least that would reduce the damage he would take.

A flawed plan.

As Joshua closed in, Gaki realized his plan was futile. He had assumed Joshua would use Striking Palm on him as he did with the others. But as Joshua neared Gaki, he drew out his sword.

Joshua: [WHITE: CRESCENT MOON SLASH]

Joshua sliced Gaki's chest and severed his left hand simultaneously. Gaki's left hand was the source of the sound affecting Joshua's brain and vision. By cutting off his hand, Gaki could no longer use his sound technique. Joshua then used Harmonic Restoration to heal his ears and regain his hearing. Gaki fell and collapsed onto the lake.

The rest of Kaimi Daja regained their footing as Zero and Lorra, knowing Harmonic Restoration, healed the others. They all saw what Joshua had done to Gaki and thought he had killed him.

Lokk: GAKI!!!!!! Is he…..?

Jokita: He's still alive. I can sense life in him. But that slash should've killed him. Why didn't it?

Desmond: Why?

They were all shocked when they saw Joshua using Harmonic Restoration to stop Gaki from bleeding to death.

Lorra: I don't think he intends to kill any of us. He wants to incapacitate us and capture us.

Lokk: For real??

Zero: That seems to be the case. He won't kill us, but he won't hesitate to hurt us until we can't fight anymore. The only way we can beat him is…

Joshua stood over Gaki's unconscious body and noticed some of Gaki's blood had splattered onto his face, staining his glasses. He quickly removed his glasses and began cleaning the blood off.

Joshua had blood on his face, reminding him of the day he killed a kid's family because they were shadows. He looked at his sword, stained with Gaki's blood, and used the water beneath them to wash it off.

Joshua began to recall the words his father had told him at the academy a few years back:

Chapter 34: The Broken Sword

"You are like a sword. Your only purpose is to slaughter your enemies. You have no other purpose"

Joshua: (recalling those words he said to himself) A sword is meant to kill the enemy. But that can't be its only purpose, can it? Here I am, facing opponents who want to kill me and take my power. And I can't kill them because I can't bring myself to do it. (He remembers the kid's face.) I guess that makes me a broken sword, huh?

Lorra: [BLACK: FOREST EMERGENCE, INFESTING APHIDS]

Lorra sent a swarm of aphid insects at Joshua. He drew his sword with his right hand and began cutting them down, but there were too many. So, he used his Crescent Moon Slash to clear them all in one fell swoop. Just then, Zero appeared from Joshua's left side, but when Joshua attempted to attack Zero with a Striking Palm—

Zero: [GHOST TRANSFORMATION]

Joshua's attack went through him as Zero moved behind him, trying to seize his sword. Joshua noticed this and immediately activated his Spinning Vortex to push Zero away.

Joshua sensed Jokita coming from above. Jokita threw small pillars that were the size of ants, filled with shadow energy at Joshua. As they fell—

Jokita: [BLACK: SCALE SHIFTING,ENLARGE]

The pillars grew in size and fell toward Joshua. He realized it wouldn't be easy to blow them away with his Spinning Vortex, so he opted to run out of their range. The pillars created a massive shockwave as they crashed into the lake. Just as Joshua evaded the pillars, Desmond rushed in to attack him.

Desmond: [WHITE: FALSE REALITY, SWORD]

Desmond crafted a sword with his technique and engaged Joshua in a sword fight. Joshua smiled because apart from Haruto, there was no one else he could have a sword fight with.

Joshua: You sure you can keep up with me?

Desmond: Don't underestimate me brat. Despite my looks I know how to use a sword.

Desmond's skill in sword fighting had Joshua on edge as they clashed, each strike pushing Joshua to stay on his toes. But after an intense exchange, Joshua managed to overpower Desmond. Just as he prepared to land a finishing blow, Lorra intervened, firing a thorn spike at Joshua's left hand, which held his sword. The thorns quickly began to spread across his skin, but instead of severing his arm to stop them, Joshua forcefully uprooted the thorns. He feared that cutting off his arm would jeopardize his connection to his Heir power. Once the thorns were removed, he took a moment to heal his hand.

Joshua: (to himself) This is getting troublesome. There's her—she keeps firing these thorns at me. Is that Forest Emergence? Or maybe it's just flower thorns? And she can use Harmonic Restoration, same as me. Plus, the bugs she sent earlier… They almost resemble Sorin Hashido's shadow bugs from 500 years ago. Could there be a connection? Maybe it explains the shadow bugs used in the mass shadowfication. (looks at Desmond) Then there's him—he has that illusion technique. (glances at Jokita) And he shrinks objects. Scale Shifting. (observes Lokk) He hasn't shown any techniques, but he's skilled in hand-to-hand. (finally looks at Zero) And then there's him. He has a copying technique that gives him Sanito's ghost technique and a water ability. No doubt, he's the most dangerous here. With two techniques, he could probably steal more. I can't let him get my Divergent Moon Technique or the Luminary Sword, or else…

In the next instant, Zero suddenly closed the distance between them, catching both Joshua and the rest of the Kaimi Daja off guard. Reacting quickly, Joshua swung his sword down, determined to take Zero out for good. But as the blade descended, Zero caught it with his right hand, stopping the sword dead in its path. Joshua struggled to free it, but Zero's grip was immovable.

Joshua: WHAT!?

Zero: I've got quite the grip, don't I? I can't have you waving this thing around, so…

Channeling a surge of NEXUS energy into his hand, Zero shattered Joshua's katana, snapping it in half. Joshua was left in shock, having reinforced his sword with Lighter energy specifically to prevent it from breaking. But just as the blade fractured, Zero seized the opening.

Zero: [WATER MANIPULATION: PISTOL]

He unleashed a water bullet at close range, striking Joshua square in the chest and sending him flying across the lake. Using his Harmonic Mantle Essence, Joshua managed to reduce the damage of the attack, but as he landed, he looked down at his broken sword, a dark reminder of his earlier words.

"I guess that makes me a broken sword huh?"

Zero: (calling to Joshua) "Now, tell me, what can you do with a broken sword?