Arthur and Kagekawa stood in the middle of a forest.
"It's about time you get your weapon," Kagekawa spoke with determination in his voice.
"My weapon...right, how do I get it again?"
Kagekawa smirked, "Arthur...haven't I already said to you before? You gotta die first." The tension in the air immediately thickened. Arthur stared at the fierce glare on Kagekawa's face. It was as if he was gazing into the eyes of a completely focused beast that was starving and ready to slaughter its prey.
Kagekawa rushed towards Arthur and immediately swung a sword at Arthur's throat.
"Goddammit! Where did that sword even come from?!" Arthur exclaimed as he swiftly leapt away whilst instinctually parrying the sword with his own. However, his sword had chipped slightly, unlike Kagekawa's blade.
"You're defending yourself? No matter." Kagekawa stretched out his hand, manifesting a large axe. His other blade disappeared. "It's only natural for someone to live as long as they can..." Kagekawa spoke in a calming voice as he looked down while stepping forward.
"An axe?! Wait, what happened to the sword?! What happened-"
Kagekawa then rushed forward, leading with an impactful vertical swing, which narrowly missed Arthur by a hair as he dodged. It planted itself into the ground, cracking it with sheer force.
"Fool! Your enemy won't talk with you."
"Shit! Are you seriously thinking about killing me?! If that hit me, I would've been-"
Kagekawa's eyes locked on Arthur, and he closed the distance instantaneously. Arthur almost lost track of Kagekawa even though he was right in front of him. His eyes resembled those of a starving tiger spotting an unsuspecting deer.
"Shit! He's seriously going to kill me." Arthur became fully aware of this apex predator that was trying to feast on him.
Arthur took out his sword and clashed with Kagekawa's axe. His hands were shaking at the impact, just barely being able to parry and create distance once again.
Kagekawa instantaneously closed the gap, leaving no margin for Arthur to rest.
"Shit! He's right in front of my face again."
Kagekawa swung horizontally, grazing Arthur's stomach. Undoubtedly, if Arthur hadn't barely escaped Kagekawa's attack just now, he would've had his stomach cut open.
"You crazy old man!" Arthur held his gut with his hand and glanced at his palm. "Blood?! Shit...he's planning to kill me."
Arthur firmly stanced himself.
"Do you finally get it, Arthur?! You'll die right here and now!"
Kagekawa rushed in, letting out a flurry of attacks. No matter the weapon—sword, spear, or axe—he was nothing short of a master when wielding any of them. Each swing was skillfully executed with such brilliance. However, Arthur couldn't take a moment to admire his technique, as any moment of admiration or lack of focus would surely lead to his death.
Arthur had been getting shallow cuts all around his body, unable to keep up with Kagekawa's attacks, which seemed to be simultaneous with his next move.
"My eyes can't keep up. He's aiming for my tendons, and these cuts are making my whole body weak. Shit! Shit! What can I do?! At this rate, I'll lose too much blood."
"Let me take over for a bit, will you?!" Arthur felt a hand on his shoulder, yet no one was there. "You're humiliating both of us! Give me control, Arthur!"
Arthur's eyes turned completely yellow, and just then, sparks appeared as Kagekawa's attack was parried.
"Tch!...Something's strange about him." Kagekawa thought to himself while he lunged backwards to gain distance.
Just then, Arthur clutched his hand tightly onto his face and ripped off its skin. Fire burst out from his face and then quickly faded, leaving black smoke trailing behind his head, unveiling a fierce monster-like mask.
Arthur wore a stark mask that covered the entirety of his face. It looked like all the facial features of Arthur's face were integrated into it, only everything was white and the teeth looked much sharper. His hair grew longer than before with ashen streaks. Arthur's attire completely changed to full-body black and crimson armour that tightly fit him. Each reptilian-looking plate was smooth and polished.
"Shit! That feels good!" Arthur's voice sounded distorted and strangely more feminine.
"You're not Arthur...are you?" Kagekawa's mouth straightened and his eyes pierced this masked-up Arthur.
"Of course I'm Arthur. Who else would I be?! As a matter of fact, who the hell are you? Were you the one who gave me all these fucking scars?!! That shit really hurts, you know! I'll kill you!"
Arthur dashed forward at Kagekawa; his fighting style had changed to something more monstrous and untamed. He barraged Kagekawa with an onslaught of vicious attacks! Kagekawa deflected every single attack. However, Arthur didn't waver.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Just hurry up and die already!"
Amidst the back and forth of attacks and parries, Arthur's weapon was gradually chipped and whittled down.
"Die! Die! Die!"
"What ferocity! Arthur, get ahold of yourself!"
"I am Arthur! Now hurry up and die already!"
With one great swing, Kagekawa destroyed Arthur's blade completely.
"Goddammit! Shit! Shit! You broke my blade! Hah! Forget it, I don't need a blade!"
Kagekawa swung once more with his mighty axe, breaking through the chest piece of the armour and leaving a trail of blood across Arthur's chest and a permanent scar. Arthur then fell onto both his knees. Defeated...
"Arthur! Have you come to your senses?" Kagekawa reached out his arm, gesturing for him to grab it and get up.
Just then, like a cornered wild beast, Arthur pounced on Kagekawa, baring his large serrated fangs.
"What a troublesome form you've taken, Arthur!"
Arthur opened his mouth wide, and a bright glow could be seen from inside. Immediately, Kagekawa kicked Arthur far away while quickly getting up and stancing himself. "Come to your senses already, Arthur!"
Arthur sprawled on four limbs like a predator sizing up his prey. "I'll fucking murde—already huh? Shit! Let me kill him! I'm so clo-"
"—Get the hell out of my body! Haah! Haah!" Arthur grabbed tightly onto his face, tore off the white mask, and panted heavily. The white mask shattered, and his face seemed normal while his clothes reverted back, though his wounds had not.
"Arthur? Are you okay?" Kagekawa questioned with a worried look even though just moments ago it looked like he was ready to kill Arthur.
Arthur then laid flat on his back out of exhaustion. "Haaah! Haaah! W-Was that my weapon...?" he quietly asked before then immediately passing out.
Kagekawa crouched down to the floor and thought briefly for a moment before speaking. "No...that wasn't your weapon at all, Arthur...after all, you haven't even died...I wonder what that vicious form of yours was?" Kagekawa asked himself while sitting down on the ground. He then let out a sigh. "Let's leave it for today then, shall we?" Kagekawa asked as he turned his attention to the knocked-out Arthur.