Today marks February 25^th, approximately one week and a day since Akuma first arrived in Gaia. So far, the group has experienced just a taste of what is to come on their journey. That goes for even Shibo, who is currently battling an opponent capable of besting both Arthur and Rin and even Alice, despite her newfound power.


    I say battle, but honestly, this could hardly be called one. It was an overwhelming display of not only power but technique and combat experience. The only real leeway he had was that Arboria had been in a vastly weakened state after her last battle. Her strength had all but diminished, and her soul was at the brink of exhaustion. And yet, Shibo remains utterly defenseless, his head repeatedly slammed against the remnants of a destroyed building.


    “What’s wrong, boy? A moment ago you were so confident. But now, I can’t hear anything but your pitiful squeals.”


    Up till now Aamil did her best to stay quiet, even biting her lip to the point of blood leaking. It was impressive that she had held in her protest for almost five minutes. But now, she''d reached her limit. She had to say it.


    “I’m sorry, but we have to help him!”


    Tenshi turned to her, a bit annoyed.


    “You did hear everything that we said to each other, right?”


    “I did. I really did. But c’mon man, he’s literally getting beat to death! He’s really gonna die if we don’t help him. Are you so heartless that you’d just watch as he dies? …Look, I don’t know you guys. I just met you today. But he does. Aren’t the three of you supposed to be friends?”


    “Three? …Oh, you mean Akuma. Believe it or not, all of us kinda met for the first time yesterday. Well, I guess except for Akuma. That’s my brother… Oh and there’s actually six of us on this island. We split off from the other three.”


    “S-Six?! Wait-! You guys just met yesterday?! How can you fight for each other so intently?”


    “Hm...? What do you mean?”


    “Oh right. You were asleep… When you and your brother were asleep in the dungeon, this cloaked figure showed up to kill you guys, man. Believe it or not, it was Shibo who ran him off. And I guess your brother too. Who knows what would’ve happened if he hadn’t done that!”


    “Really now... Huh… Look, it isn’t as if I want him to die. But when two men make a promise, they keep it. And that’s really all there is to it.”


    “Tch! I guess you don’t care if your promise is with a damn corpse, huh?!”


    Aamil got up and readied herself to join Shibo’s fight. But as she did, an intense pressure sent a shiver down her spine. Her knees trembled as she shifted her gaze back to Tenshi. For a moment, she could’ve sworn she saw the cold glare of an apex predator. She looked down at the ground, and instead of grass and dirt, she saw a black sea riddled with bones. One step. That’s all it would take for the thing beside her to take her life. At least, that''s the feeling she was getting.


    “Sit back down, Aamil. There’s still five minutes left.”


    An answer couldn’t find its way out of her. Nor could the resolve to watch as Shibo died. So she found herself just standing there, quacking as she contemplated her life thus far.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    “I won’t repeat myself again. Sit. Back. Down.”


    She gulped as she steeled herself for what was to come. Would she really have to fight him? No, there’s no way she could touch him, much less fight him. Then was this just suicide? Was it even worth it? It’s not like she could beat Arboria anyways. Thoughts like those raced through her mind, adding to the tension of the moment.


    Until the image of a familiar back suddenly appeared before her. It was about as large as last time, but it had a slightly different feel to it. They were both warm, but unlike the last, this warmth felt more specific to her.


    “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were about to kill this girl… But you wouldn’t do that, right?”


    It was Arthur. He’d spotted the two in a heated tension and raced over to cover Aamil. The other two girls accompanying him (Rin and Alice) were only just now catching up to him.


    “Better question. Why is no one helping Shibo fight that fake chief?! Can you not see that he needs our help? Is your brain as fried as our surroundings, barbarian? Or are you too scared of death to even move?! …That’s it isn’t it? You’re scared. So scared that all you can do is sit on your ass! Am I wrong?!”


    “L-Let’s all calm down for a moment.” Rin commented, trying to ease the tension. “I’m sure he has a reason. Maybe Shibo wanted this.”


    Alice opted to blend in with the background, her legs shaking from the events.


    “It doesn’t matter if he did! This meat head should know better than to just take his word for it! Or are you so incompetent that you can’t even realize when someone secretly begging to be stopped?! …You think he really wanted to fight alone?”


    Tenshi didn’t answer him. He just continued to watch the fight.


    “YOU DAMN COWARD!”


    His lack of an answer angered Arthur to the point that he unsheathed his sword. But strangely, he couldn’t feel its grip. He was able to grab the sheath just fine, but the blade was nowhere to be found. He soon realized that the very blade he was looking for was now pointed against him, threatening to pierce his own neck. Tenshi had not only got up from the ground but unsheathed his blade and poised it against him. All before anyone could even blink.


    (Such speed! …Was he always this strong? No. There’s no doubt in my mind. Yesterday, I was the third strongest fighter on that ship. The only two who should’ve been able to best me was that self-proclaimed god, and that sleeping old man. I’m certain of it… So how?! How is this barbarian suddenly so much stronger?!)


    “All of you will sit down and watch this fight. In the next five minutes, I’ll be fighting next. This isn’t up for discussion… And Arthur. If your sword is really that itchy, then I’ll happily be your opponent. Are we clear?”


    “…”


    “That wasn’t rhetorical.”


    “Y-yes…”


    Tenshi returned his sword to him and sat back down. After a brief pause, the others soon followed.


    Tenshi sighed as a slight red blush came over him.


    “Sorry about that. I don’t know why I got so worked up. Let’s all try and relax… In the first place, you all should have more faith in our Shibo. He’s stronger than you give him credit for… There’s something dangerous inside him. I can smell it.”


    “…?”


    Their confused expressions would be intensified as they bared witness to the events that soon followed.


    His body had gone limp, and he was on the verge of dying. His face had been brutally assaulted to the point of caving in, evident by the swamp of blood and flesh that was his face. And yet he never once gave up. That infuriating fire in his eyes aggravated Arboria to no end, prompting her to continue her assault even now. It was clear as day that she had zero intentions of stopping.


    Which is why the air suddenly felt stiff after her wrist was parried. In the brief pause that followed, the beaten boy muttered, “Connection Arts: Spiritual Link… Musashi.”


    Instantly, a pillar of raw power erupted from his body.


    Arboria leaped back out of caution, but when she landed her body collapsed from a lack of balance. Her right leg had gone missing. Actually, it was left in the very position she leapt from, just standing there as if it were still connected to a body.


    A chill ran down the onlookers as they held their breaths in anticipation. The boy stepped out of the pillar with a rather strange look to him. His body had gone white, and his form looked as if it were somehow moving with the wind. He was a lot slimmer, slightly taller and his features were hard to make out. In a way, he almost looked like humanoid mist.


    He held a long blade in his right hand, but that too was just mist. Though, if that was the weapon he used to cleave Arboria’s leg, then it’s clear this was no illusion.


    For a moment, the onlookers questioned if this was the same boy as before. The chubby boy that they labeled as a weakling. All but Tenshi, who grinned maniacally in anticipation. He knew without a doubt that this was the same boy. The very same boy he trusted to survive ten minutes against this mighty foe.


    His name is… Shibo.