The Legend's Behind the Mask "Swordsman's Era"

Chapter 9: War

Agatsuma Hit and Katrina jumped up again and touched down the big vine as they glanced down and saw the giant dark monstrous terrible creature rise from the ground to the top. 

It suddenly destroyed the enormous vine that stood there. They both flew up and landed on a massive tree branch. They are both enraged, holding their swords menacingly in their right hand as they glance down.

"War has gone out! The fifth army and the fourth army are moving to every exit or entrance inside the village! Thousands of civilians are also being evacuated, and we don't see the heads of the north wind!" she said as she looked down and the air began to vibrate around them. 

He looked to his right and saw Agatsuma Hit closing his eyes and prepare to fly down. It was suddenly cut short when the wind blew at them both from behind. 

That caused them both to spin around in the middle of the air, where they saw Kiroshuku and the Red Dark Shira Swordsmen fighting in the air with blazing eyes. By just swinging his sword at Red, Kiroshuku was releasing a piercing wind blade. It was a fierce battle.

"Leave them!" Agatsuma Hit said as he turned around and flew down. Katrina pursued him from behind, and they both fell and collided with the massive vine. They both kneel as they witness more Giant Gigantic creatures in the distance all over the land.

"We must defend this village at all costs... Kill everything you see, including these monsters! Don't show mercy," Agatsuma Hit stated calmly as he stood and began to walk.

The air around Agatsuma Hit began to quiver, and a red thunderbolt particle surrounded him as he began to walk menacingly. Katrina was right behind him. 

They both trod on the ground with their left foot at the same time, and the ground they stepped on was obliterated, and they both flew away. Agatsuma Hit and Katrina flew apart as they annihilated the big gigantic monsters destroying the grounds in seconds. Agatsuma Hit was surprised to hear sword fighting to his left.

That caused him to whirl around, and behind him was a massive creature that had been cut into many pieces. It crumbles into dust, and he casts a glimpse into the distance. He sees an army battling a group of the Dark Legion. In the distance, dark crowds battle soldiers from the fourth army. It was in a different area of town, away from the big vines. He started running on top of the massive vine. He was stepping on the massive vine while holding his sword in his right hand. 

"Finally! I thought they wouldn't come! Now war has occurred, I hope we can get this through," he muttered as he was about to fall when a sword slice came towards him from his left.

It flew passed him, miraculously not hitting him, but went away. He smacked against a massive tree behind him, grunting and falling to the side of the massive tree. He walks on the brick walkway after touching the ground. He cast another gaze into the distance, and another slash appeared from his left. 

He looks to his left and sees Hashibira Kosuke and Hashibira Komoto fighting an unknown in the distance while evading slashes at high speeds. They were encircling the unknown when an unknown touched the ground behind him. He detects it and swiftly turns around, swinging his blade sideways.

It reaches the unknown's left arm and abruptly passes through it as the unknown gently reaches for him with his left hand.

"It goes through him?! Is this an afterimage? No! This is a real body, how could he?!" he wondered as he jumped backwards to seek some distance from the unknown. Agatsuma Hit felt goosebumps when he touched the ground. He was a distance away from him as he noticed the unknown, who was dressed in a hood, a red cape, and a red dazzling sword on his left waist. He takes a menacing stance as he notices the stranger peering down and slowly raising its head a couple of inches. 

"You know... I always wonder why every kind of you wears a kimono or a cape... It made me wonder and wear one, but now I realize that is just for the look cools, you know you look cool of what you're wearing after all your a red thunder swordsman but not near a God except for the Legend Behind the Mask which made me wonder are you even trying? Are you fake? Are you just showing off your mighty words? Try to use those brain cells of yours...! Don't only put on those fancy outfits, kimonos, capes, masks, and so forth. Pants! When it comes to Kimono, there's always pants, seems strange that I'm talking even though I'm just a living being but has a longer lifespan and more advancement and enhancement, sorry this is a long line of mine I made you angry, I apologize for that," the unknown apologized as he saw Agatsuma Hit suddenly smiling with his blade pointed at him.

"What the hell are you talking about? Quit talking old man, but I'd say that's quite the speech, but I'm not that kind of swordsman wearing such garments for such popularity, and... I will not let any people die from now on, I've seen many people and children die from war and they all regret living, but living can be enjoyed if life was fair, but it wasn't... It's because of some disagreements, devastation, and more that I can't remember, and I'm done with it, which is why I'm here to pass it on and make sure that no one else suffers the same fate that I did!" He yelled fiercely as he charged at the unknown, who looked at him seriously as he charged, his blade suddenly pointing backward. 

He approaches the unknown, and as soon as he does, he draws his sword quickly and collides with his. They had a significant impact, which damaged the ground they were standing on. As the unknown saw Agatsuma Hit, there were large fissures on the ground. 

"Poor soul... I didn't expect you to have encountered so many, I guess I should end your sufferings," the mystery man stated as his blade burst into red flames and pierces his blade.

His eyes startled as he noticed his sword had snapped in half in the middle. He sees the mysterious sword approaching his kimono and burns him. Suddenly, Red particles flowed around him, and he vanished in front of him. The unknown was perplexed and swiftly looked around, swinging his blade in the air. He heard Agatsuma Hit groan behind him.

He then turned to his left and was ready to turn back when he notices Agatsuma Hit completely unfazed. As he sees him swing down his blade, the unknown instantly swings his sword upwards toward him.

"This man. Who is he?!" he exclaimed angrily as their blades were ready to collide again. When his red blade suddenly lighted up even brighter, their blades collided. It caused the flames to burst and sent them both flying behind. 

"Despite having his sword snapped, his still fighting?!" The mysterious unknown thought again furiously as he got sent.

The unknown collided with a massive wall, and Agatsuma Hit flew away. He then collided into a standing massive home. He broke into the house and collapsed on the floor. When the unknown slammed with the wall, he passed through it and vanished. 

Agatsuma Hit takes a step forward, stabs the ground with his blade, and looks around. He looks up and notices a roof. He started walking and felt his back aching. 

A hand came beneath him out of nowhere. Both of his feet were gripped and he went through it. He was transported to an unknown dimension. He looked around and saw nothing but blackness except for a dome-shaped sky. He was stepping on dark fluid while his sword flared up red, providing him with enough light to see. 

"Let's fight here... You're in a dark dimension in a small part of the stronghold, don't die. I have my throne room, fight my Mobs first before you fight me," the unknown man said as Agatsuma Hit looked in the distance in front of him and saw the unknown sitting on a king's chair with an upstairs. 

Down the stairs, five unknowns stood menacingly, blood spilling from their jaws. They turned around to face him. Agatsuma senses something in the distance behind the unknown. Behind its back, he notices a replica twin blades. 

"If you don't defeat me or these soldiers of mine, you won't be able to leave this dimensional stronghold, Agatsuma Hit... Be one of my soldiers, I will grant you power and a long lifespan, and there you can make your own Dark Dimension and build a home or a stronghold like this, isn't that awesome?" the unknown man asks as he smiles and giggles as he closes his eyes and feels the sudden silence. 

He opened his eyes to see a massive rock approaching him. He shifted his gaze to the right, avoiding the rock, and he glanced. He sees Agatsuma Hit in the distance and has his blade pointed down and strongly gripped in his right hand. The air began to tremble around him, and he felt a wrath within him that he wanted to express.

"These soldiers of mine are humans in the past, there new in my stronghold... Accept this offer of mine, become a soldier... You're no longer going to lose something because by always returning to this stronghold you can live for eternity or die whenever you want, sleep for a thousand years, or watch the new generation of humanity. These warriors of my are also special, in my information they've been termed special swordsman's, they utilized Whip katana, try to dodge, moreover try to avoid there whip katana's while in the air," the unknown man whispered menacingly from afar. 

The five unknowns started walking toward him. They haven't drawn their blades yet. He sees five people laughing and giggling as black and dark particles move around their bodies and hands. They were dressed in kimonos, and the Dark particle was around them from the outside. They have dark-ish skin and vivid black eyes.

"Whip katanas?! Then... This must be them, the five swordsmen who used Whip katana and the Shira's thought they got wipeout and erased from existence but the real answer is that this unknown turn them into the dark... Or I guess mobs, but their katanas in their left waist are still straight what does he mean by whip katanas?" Agatsuma Hit pondered as he stood on his ground. 

He was quite a bit away. The five stops came to a halt when he raised his blade. He reinserted his sword into his left waist and stood up straight, watching them approach him again. 

"You seemed calm for a normal swordsman," says a dark swordsman, one of the five who is leading the way. With his right hand, he reaches for his left waist and gently draws out his Katana. As he pointed it down, it squirmed and became longer. It was a gloomy blade. 

"Dark Swordsmen? So Dark Swordsmen were once humans?" Agatsuma Hit inquired as he sat on the black goo on the ground. He extends since he doesn't see any difficulty or danger in the distance.

"Ah, no! They were now known as Dark Swordsmens because they possessed an incredible amount of power within them, they have blood in their mouths because they are spitting the red blood cells inside them to turn it into black blood which is more healthy and powerful, I know it's black and black in your world means dirty but here it means power... This Dark blood is unlike any other black you'll see in the planets or universes," the unknown man who was sitting on his throne said, his voice considerably stronger than his. 

"You have the nerve to sit down?! You'll regret it!" exclaimed the unknown black swordsman leading the way. He vanished from where he was and reappeared in front of Agatsuma Hit. He smiles as he swings his blade down towards his neck

He was about to reach his neck when all of a sudden Agatsuma Hit smiled menacingly and he got slashed and cut. He let go of his whip sword and his head falls the black fluid. He still has a grip on himself and was confused and doesn't know what happened.

His head rolled again, revealing Agatsuma Hit, who was still seated on the black fluid and was now smirking at the other four unknown Dark Swordsmen. They were standing, and the one behind the three of them was trembling. 

"He seems full of himself! Tell me is this what they can only do? His not fading, meaningly his not yet like you? Dark Red Shira Swordsmen... They're not a dimensional being like you, once a dimensional being is killed they fade away or turn into dust or probably suddenly.. disappeared," Agatsuma Hit said menacingly as he slowly stands up. But before he stands up he grabs the unknown swordsman whipped katana with his left hand. 

"Don't worry about him, his eyesight will gradually fade and he will die later on, he won't even realize it... This stronghold will absorb him... Starting from the insides... I could revive him but that doesn't seem worth it when I saw him fight, he was useless and I guess the same as the four," the unknown man said as he rose from his throne and walked down the stairs. He slowly raised his head and glared menacingly at the four. 

He reaches the ground by stepping on the black fluid. He looked at Agatsuma Hit, who was slowly rising and preparing to draw his sword when the four burst into flames. The same as the swordsman he slaughtered in front of him. As his kimono was about to catch fire, he leaped back. He steps onto the black fluid with both feet. He notices that five of his guys have died. They were destroyed by fire and absorbed by the fortress grounds. 

"What a waste, I should've picked better soldiers from now on like you... But I still have more soldiers in my sleeves and also use a whipped katana and you. I bet you can't beat him, nor can I, but I'm his creator so I won, and also my name is Kuraku one of the Dark Legends," he said menacingly as he came to a halt and stood a distance away from Agatsuma Hit. 

He raises both hands and reaches behind his back for his proplica dual blade. The chain was 4 feet long and was fastened to the end of the handle before the proplica double blade was attached. He yanked it from his back and stood, threateningly pointing it down on the black fluid. He noticed Agatsuma Hit standing menacingly and prepared to draw his sword in the distance.

He made an X with his proplica twin blades. He rushed towards Agatsuma Hit as red thunder erupted from his insides, and he flew towards him as the air around him continued to quiver. 

They were ready to collide when they noticed red thunder Boltz encircling Agatsuma Hit and in his blade. Lightning flashed through his blade. They got to one other, and their swords met, creating a powerful force that cleaned out the black fluid where they were standing. There seemed to be a vacuum in the ground. They both flew back and swiftly soared to watch each other again.

They reach each other and trade violent blows with their blades while they both hover. Agatsuma Hit was striking his proplica dual blade with strong strikes. Kuraku was suddenly pushed back and slightly bowed.

"How can this man compete with my power?! His blade is snapped and I can't... This is unacceptable!!" He screamed violently as a red glow flashed around him. His replica twin blades explode into flames, and he swings it in the air as he sees Agatsuma Hit about to touch down. 

He swings his proplica dual blades through the air, sending flame cuts his way. Agatsuma Hit touches down and looks around. He deflected a fiery slash with his blade, which flew to his left. He notices more coming and his eyes widen.

He suddenly pointed down his snap blade and gripped it with both hands. The air surrounding him began to vibrate even more, and he vanished from where he was standing in the blink of an eye. Kuraku notices something after a loud thunderclap. He notices a thunder particle moving to his left. 

He turned to his left and placed his other sword in his left hand, and Agatsuma Hit appeared, followed by red thunder that faded away. He swung his blade down and met with Kuraku's blade, which he had placed to his left. 

"Can you believe that our fearless moves only happened for 2 minutes? Surprised or do you feel the excitement? Good thing I snapped your blade a while ago or else, you already have my hand if I didn't," he remarked as he thrust his sword, and Agatsuma Hit was pushed back and kicked in the gut. He spits and looks down as he is kicked. Kuraku's left leg kicks him in the gut. He was sent up as his blade blazed and the red lightning in his blade faded.

HHe swung his blade in the air, extinguishing the flame and resuming the flow of red lightning in his blade. There was lightning rushing from his arm towards his blade. It was red power that was turning his snap blade into lightning. He was falling and managed to stabilize himself by swinging his blade in the air.

He lands. He instantly exhales and kneels. In the distance, he notices Kuraku approaching him. He closes his left eye and takes a breath. 

"Having breathing problems swordsman? I told you that you should just accept my offer or accept your fate of dying here... But I guess I can't just do that, I gotta beat you, and your lightning was unfathomable, unbelievable, and powerful. Believe me, I've never seen anyone use thunder things like that, you can use thunder because of your strange bloodline but I got to say, your bloodline can compete with the Gakure's," Kuraku said menacingly as he fades away in the distance suddenly appeared Infront of him. 

He solely uses his left hand to grip his proplica dual blades. He kneels and, with his right hand, grabs for Agatsuma Hit's neck. He was about to reach his neck with his right hand when his fingers went through it, causing his eyes to widen as he realized. 

"Tsk...! Afterimage? In his condition?!" he screamed, looking left and right and not seeing or sensing Agatsuma Hit. When he looked up, Agatsuma Hit emerged, prepared to swing down his blade. 

Kuraku used his left hand to block his snap blade with his blade. Agatsuma Hit cannot pierce through his blade because he lacks the pointing blade. He was pressing down Kuraku when Agatsuma Hit lost his footing and fell back. 

"In my entire life, I've never used such great speed with my red thunder, making an afterimage is sure hard but it always seems to be worth it," Agatsuma Hit stated as he touched down and moved away from him. 

As he sees Kuraku, he suddenly sees both of his swords burst into red flames, steps on his left foot, and vanishes. He flew towards Agatsuma Hit and materialized underneath him. 

He raises both of his proplica twin blades and aims for his neck. Agatsuma Hit sprang up and kicked him in the face, and he was kicked in the nose and flung back. He didn't cut his neck, but he still got hurt. He was slashed on the top of his arm, and blood dripped down. 

He swiftly got back to his feet after seeing Kuraku slam his face and slide. As his nose heals, he stands menacingly. He notices that his left hand has been sliced. He laughed as it regenerated at lightening speed. 

"I didn't even realize that! Haha! You really are worth killing!" Kuraku said excitedly as he noticed Agatsuma Hit gathering his breath and looking at him menacingly. 

"You won't survive whatever you do, I have my flame and this stronghold belongs to me, in fact, I can kill you inside here anytime, I can even suffocate you here but I decided not to, I decided to play with you... So be grateful, swordsman," Kuraku said, holding his proplica twin blade in both hands. He spreads it out and has his other blade pointing backward, which is his left hand, and his other blade pointed forward, which is his right hand. They aimed their blades menacingly.

"War...! Is happening in my world! And you kidnapped me and said play with you?! You have the nerve to say that to me?! I'm furious because I can't save people in that village and... If I win here, I'm going to find the heads of the north wind village and cut their heads off, you wanna know why? Because they were fools, cowards, trash, useless, corruption, and stole the position of the heads for their own cause, now they're gone!" Agatsuma Hit said furiously as he pointed up his blade.

He suddenly flew towards him at high speed. He strikes his snap blade furiously at him. Kuraku defended himself as he took hard hits from his blade. He continues to defend as flames burst forth from the ground and encircle them both just as Agatsuma Hit was about to swing down his blade.

He notices him grinning as he blocks his blade with his proplica dual blades. He attempts to push it down by putting it above him and above him. They both grunt as the ground under them fractures and their surrounds begin to heat up.