"Hrggkkh?"

Youmu sheathes her blade. Shards of bone and chunks of flesh fly into the air. Screams of soulless anguish. And then, silence. The ghouls who stood in her path are reduced to a bloody mess. But behind her, even more of them are coming.

"These ghouls are endless!" she mutters.

The half-ghost tightens the grip on her weapons. Momentarily, she closes her eyes. The ghouls continue advancing. But before they can reach her, she vanishes.

She reappears only a few feet from Vincent. She swings her longer blade, first. As she expected, the bandaged swordsman easily blocks it with his weapon. Then, she aims for his head with the shorter blade.

"Eh!?"

Youmu blinks in surprise as the Hakurouken is knocked away. In the swordsman's other hand is his scabbard, which he used to counter her attack. Her eyes widen in horror as she realizes that her left side is completely defenseless.

"..."

But instead of taking advantage of the opening, Vincent pushes her back with his blade and takes a huge leap backward. The delusion terminating sword lands a few feet away. He slowly lowers his blade. Seems like he is waiting for her to retrieve her weapon.

Was there still something human left?

Youmu shakes away the thought of trying to reason with him. It is already too late. She quickly recovers the Hakurouken and prepares her stance. She must bring him back with the technique that is passed along the Konpaku line. Her sword shall cleave away this madness.

She rushes straight at him. Their swords glint brightly in the morning sun as they meet. She doesn't hold back as she makes each strike, moving at inhuman speeds. However, he blocks each of her attacks just as quickly. No matter how she attacks, she can't find at opening.

"... haaa... haaa.."

Youmu pauses to catch her breath. None of her techniques seem effective against this swordsman. His skill is far beyond what she has seen during their duels. In fact, it rivals that of her master. Her imperfect sword skills are a poor match for his speed and power. She cannot win this fight like this.

Then, she realizes something odd.

The bandaged swordsman blocked and dodged each of her attacks, but he never tried to attack her back.

"Vincent?" she whispers. "Are you holding back?"

He doesn't answer. Then, without another word, he dashes deep into the mist behind him, taking the same path as the mysterious cloaked figure from before.

[ ] Follow him into the mist. You can't afford to lose him!
[ ] Assist the others. They might be having trouble.
[ ] Custom