Devil's Eye Reborn - Shadow Angel Awakens - Chapter 48

Chapter 46：The Spirit Flute fight Japanese sword
 

“Using the eyes to see the world leads to confusion by worldly distractions. It’s better to return everything to darkness and see with the ‘heart,'” Miyamoto Musashi said, placing his hand back on the short sword. “Enough talk, let’s fight.”

I sneered, lunging forward with the flute aimed at Musashi’s face.

Musashi’s blade moved before he did, his killing intent surging. With a “clang,” his short sword deflected the flute.

Instantly, the air was filled with the sound of clashing metal once more.

Seeing that we were evenly matched, I subtly infused the “Spirit Flute” with a small amount of demonic energy, causing it to extend slightly.

Though the change didn’t immediately alter the situation, the slight difference was enough to disrupt Musashi’s rhythm.

He paused, sensing the flute’s transformation, and his chest inadvertently exposed a fatal flaw.

“Ha!” I shouted, changing my attack trajectory, thrusting the flute at his vital point.

But Musashi had anticipated this, intentionally exposing his weakness. As the flute neared him, his right hand moved like a snake, grabbing my wrist.

“Leave this hand behind!” Musashi shouted, his left hand swinging the short sword at my arm.

“Too bad, I expected this,” I sneered, twisting my wrist and channeling a surge of demonic energy into the flute.

With a “whoosh,” the flute extended rapidly, striking Musashi’s solid jaw.

The force of the sudden extension shattered his jawbone, sending him flying into the air.

Seeing my surprise attack succeed, I was overjoyed. But the “Spirit Flute” continued to extend, so I quickly retracted some of the demonic energy, shortening the flute to a staff length.

Musashi flipped twice in the air before landing lightly.

“Unexpectedly, this flute has hidden depths,” Musashi said, licking the blood from his lips, his eyes cold. “Using only the short sword would be disrespectful.”

With that, Musashi slowly drew his long sword. Holding one sword high and the other low, his killing intent rolled out unchecked, causing his clothes to billow.

“Let’s see how formidable your ‘Niten Ichi-ryu’ swordsmanship is,” I said, twirling the flute and holding it horizontally at my waist, beckoning him to attack.

With a loud shout, Musashi charged at me with lightning speed. When he was ten steps away, he suddenly vanished.

I immediately heightened my senses with demonic energy, scanning my surroundings, but couldn’t detect Musashi’s presence.

Suddenly.

“Die!”

Musashi appeared above me, his long and short swords crossed, descending with overwhelming killing intent!

I raised my arms to block, the screech of grinding metal ringing out as sparks flew from the clash.

Musashi’s descending strike carried immense force. I diverted some of the impact to the train roof, but my left leg broke through the iron, and my arms were numbed, barely holding onto the flute!

I refused to let Miyamoto Musashi press his advantage. With a slight backward lean, I swiftly kicked my right leg towards his lower body.

But Musashi was incredibly quick to react. With a twist of his right wrist, he pointed his long sword downward, blocking the path of my right leg. His left hand, wielding the short sword, suddenly circled around the “Spirit Flute,” aiming for my throat.

I arched my body back urgently, and the short sword narrowly grazed the skin on my throat, a hair’s breadth from a fatal cut.

I quickly exerted force, spinning the “Spirit Flute” in a circle to deflect the short sword, then thrust it forward, forcing Musashi to retreat a few meters.

Seizing the moment before his feet touched the ground, I channeled demonic energy through my hands, causing the “Spirit Flute” to extend instantly, its tip darting towards his left knee.

“Tricks of a child!” Musashi sneered, slashing the short sword downwards with great force, driving the tip of the “Spirit Flute” into the carriage. He then spun his sword and charged at me.

I quickly retracted my energy, returning the “Spirit Flute” to its staff size, but the flashing blades were already upon me.

“Clang, clang, clang, clang!” Another flurry of dazzling combat ensued.

Though Musashi’s dual-wielding technique wasn’t as fast as his single-sword style, the combination of his long and short swords was far more powerful and versatile.

The long sword’s strikes were broad and forceful, while the short sword’s movements were swift and precise, always attacking from unexpected angles.

The dual swords complemented each other perfectly, creating an ever-changing and formidable offense.

Musashi’s ferocity was like that of a tiger, his dual swords whirling and striking with relentless speed and precision, his killing intent fully manifesting through his blades.

In terms of hand-to-hand combat and agility, I might have been able to outmaneuver Musashi with my full effort. But in a sword fight, perhaps no one in the world could surpass him.

The blinding flurry of blades, combined with Musashi’s deliberate avoidance of my gaze, rendered my “Eye of Illusions” useless.

I inwardly cursed my predicament. If not for the “Spirit Flute” being a divine artifact, impervious to mundane weapons, his immense strength would have already shattered both me and my weapon.

Even so, my arms were growing increasingly sore from the relentless vibrations. If this continued, I would surely lose my grip on the flute.

Just as I began to feel desperate, a seductive and enchanting song suddenly floated from behind me.

The song was soft and alluring, its melody rising and falling in a way that mimicked the sounds of a woman’s pleasure, incredibly enticing.

I recognized the voice as Yan’er’s. It seemed she was trying to help by using her charm to distract Musashi.

I had thought that in the heat of our fierce battle, neither of us would be swayed by the song, no matter how alluring. But to my surprise, Musashi’s body trembled at the sound of Yaner’s voice, and his attack faltered.

Seeing this, I was overjoyed and swung my staff to strike. Unfortunately, Musashi’s hesitation lasted only a moment. Just as I was about to land a hit, he snapped out of it and blocked the “Spirit Flute” with his long sword.

Yan’er, aware of her success, intensified her charm, but no matter how seductive her song, Musashi remained unaffected.

Though I couldn’t exploit the opening, Yan’er’s song sparked an idea in my mind.

As I refined my plan, Musashi attacked again, his long and short swords aimed at my left shoulder and face. Ignoring the dual blades, I focused my energy, gripping the “Spirit Flute” tightly and thrusting it at his heart!

Having experienced the power of the “Spirit Flute” when it extended, Musashi knew its force was no small matter. He quickly drew back his swords to block. With a “clang,” the crossed blades barely stopped the flute’s sudden extension.

But this time, I used the momentum to retreat. As soon as the flute struck the crossed swords, I relaxed my stance, letting the extending “Spirit Flute” propel me backward, landing on the train’s engine.

“Stop, you scoundrel!” Musashi roared, his square face contorted with rage, veins bulging. He reached for the flute, but I retracted it to its normal length, forcing him to chase me towards the engine.

Laughing heartily at his fury, I saw him closing in and quickly channeled energy into my legs, breaking through the iron roof and dropping into the driver’s cabin.

The two Japanese engineers were startled by my sudden appearance, crying out for mercy.

Before I could speak, Musashi’s voice echoed from above.

“Rise!” I shouted, using the “Spirit Flute” to lift the engineers by their waists, sending them flying through the hole in the roof, blocking it.

I intended to use them to slow Musashi’s advance. But as I leapt out of the cabin, a flash of blades filled my vision, and the air turned a vivid red.

To my horror, I saw the front half of the carriage filled with headless passengers, blood gushing from their necks like fountains, creating a rain of blood that left the remaining passengers in shock.

Musashi stood ten steps away, his face grim, his killing intent palpable. Behind him, the cabin was a bloody mess, the engineers reduced to minced meat in an instant.

“Prepare to die,” Musashi said coldly, pointing his long sword at me. The killing intent was so intense it seemed to pierce the air, leaving me momentarily breathless.

With a wave of the “Spirit Flute,” I dispelled the oppressive aura and said with a smile, “You claim to be here to kill demons, yet you slaughter innocents so easily. How are you any different from me? If you were to turn your blade on yourself, you’d be killing an evil demon too.”

“Those who achieve greatness do not concern themselves with details. The innocents who die in my quest to destroy demons are far fewer than those harmed by your kind. If I let you go today, the future victims would far outnumber today’s casualties. Therefore, I cannot allow you to live,” Musashi said calmly. “Besides, these people died because of you. If you weren’t here, they wouldn’t have died in vain.”

“Such senseless death. Even if you abandon all demonic energy, your Devil eye still leads you down a dark path,” I mocked.

“I’m nothing like you soul-devouring beasts,” Musashi glared at me, gripping his short sword in reverse, raising his long sword with a bent arm. “Let me end this battle with one strike. This time, you won’t escape.”

With that, Musashi’s killing intent split into two streams, converging on his dual swords, causing the blades to tremble.

“One strike to end it? Sounds like a deadly move. Too bad, I’m not planning to take it,” I said with a smile, holding the “Spirit Flute” before me.

“You think you can evade my ‘Thousand Slashes’?” Musashi sneered. The blades vibrated more intensely, forming a fan shape, the sword bodies disappearing due to the rapid oscillation.