Chapter 7: Core Link?! Tenchi vs. Tsuno!

The light that hit the forest floor through the leaves bathed everything in a green glow. The trees in the Great Forest were extremely big, but at ground level it was quite easy to navigate through the trunks. Low vegetation was rare, as most of the light was blocked by the massive trees.

The Farland River ran in a relatively straight line through the forest, supplying the trees with water. Tenchi followed the river downstream to find his way in the forest. Even when he’d leave the forest behind him he would continue to follow the river, which eventually ended in the ocean, flowing through Azure Harbor, a coastal city where the largest shipyards of West were located. That was Tenchi’s destination.

He’d take a boat to South and from there travel to East, where Lord DarkSoul was said to be. Tenchi wasn’t too eager to meet that evil bastard, knowing that his power was still nowhere near DarkSoul’s. But he was confident that he could do it. He had to, or the whole world was doomed.

Tenchi reached a clearing in the forest. The river ran through the clearing, bordered on one side with trees, and on the other side with grass. Tenchi started to cross the clearing, squinting a little against the sudden light.

When he was halfway, he heard a rustling behind him. “Slash of Decay!”

Tenchi was just in time to turn around and draw the Light Blade to block the attack. His agressor jumped back and faced him.

It was the crimson-eyed Gladiator who had stolen the Light Blade from the dojo.

Tenchi frowned. “You again,” he said angrily. He was pissed that the Gladiator had surprised him.

The man grinned. “So you’ve won the Continental Tournament, huh? I applaud you. Now, though, I’d advise you to hand over the Light Blade. Maybe if you do that I’ll let you live.”

Tenchi activated his Spirit Link. “I’m sick of you following me around all the time. I’m not giving you the Light Blade, so fuck off or I’ll rip you to shreds, whoever you may be.”

The Gladiator grinned again. “I am a Demon Hunter known as Tsuno. And this...” he made a gesture with his sword, “...is the original Demon Blade. The third Ancient. I’m going to use it to cut you up and then I’ll take your Light Blade from you.”

Tenchi scowled. “Like hell. It’s time to settle this, Tsuno.”

A crimson glow appeared around Tsuno. “Indeed. Slash of Decay!” Tsuno lunged with blinding speed, but Tenchi blocked the strike.

“Light Claw!”

Tsuno jumped back and dodged the strike.

“Wrath of the Hunter!” Tsuno pointed his sword at Tenchi and fired a crimson beam.

“Light Shield!” Tenchi’s shield caught the blast and dissipated the energy.

“Heh, you’ve certainly improved since our last battle,” Tsuno said. “But you’re still a long way from defeating me.” He fired a ball of flames from his hand and Tenchi jumped aside.

“Light Fang!”

Tsuno blocked the stabbing move by swinging his blade upward, causing Tenchi’s attack to over him.

“Slash of Decay!”

Tenchi jumped back, but he felt the graze of the blade on his forearm. Instantly, his arm felt like it was on fire. Tenchi winced.

“What...”

Tsuno lunged again before Tenchi had recovered and intended to finish the battle by decapitating Tenchi.

“Light Shield!” Tenchi blocked the blow and rolled backward.

He ignored the pain in his arm and swung the Light Blade. “Light Crescent!” A crescent of light powerful enough to cut through layers of rock with ease shot at Tsuno. He couldn’t dodge in time and raised the Demon Blade to block it. He strained to deflect the blow, but he was pushed back.

Tenchi followed his instinct and expanded the energy that formed the crescent, causing it to explode. Tsuno was blown back by the force, and Tenchi raised the Light Blade, waiting for the smoke to clear.

“Wrath of the Hunter!”

A crimson beam shot right at Tenchi, who reacted immediately.

“Light Crescent!”

Tenchi’s attack hit the beam head on and split it down the middle, moving forward as if Tsuno’s magic wasn’t there. Tsuno jumped from the smoke cloud, landing before it. He had dodged Tenchi’s second Light Crescent.

“That move...I have to admit, I had not expected you to be so powerful. Your Spirit Link seems to overpower mine. Not strange for the Light Blade, but with a kid like you as its wielder...”

Tenchi put on a cocky grin and said, “It’s your own fault. You’re the one who told me how to use a Spirit Link.”

Tsuno shook his head, seemingly amused now. “Did you really think I’d tell you what to do if I wasn’t sure I could defeat you? You see, Spirit Link is not the only connection with your sword. It’s merely the first step to total ‘synchronization’ with your weapon. The true connection between a Gladiator and his demon blade is called Core Link. The very essence of the two is fused to create that bond. While Spirit Link is similar for all weapons, Core Link is unique. Every weapon has its own way of reaching it. Now, the Light Blade in Spirit Link might be able to overpower a regular Core Link, but not another Ancient. And most certainly not an Ancient wielded by one who knows its true power better than anyone else. It’s been a while since I last used my Core Link, so you should feel honored. You’ll die by my true power.”

Tsuno held the Demon Blade in front of him, seemingly in a salute. He closed his eyes and focused briefly. A crimson glow surrounded the sword, emanating from the crystal on the hilt. The ancient weapon seemed to disintegrate into crimson light. The light formed a ball and floated before Tsuno briefly, before enveloping him. He shuddered as his body began to change. His skin turned crimson, fangs began to grow in his mouth and he grew. He was already tall, but now he became even taller. Also he became much more muscular. On his hands, fingers melted together so that he gained three fingered hands. Claws grew from the fingers. From his wrists, spikes rose like grisly bracelets.

Tenchi stared in awe. Tsuno had become a Crimson Demon. The most feared demon species that ever existed. Tsuno growled.

Tenchi had a flashback of the painting in Kimito’s manor that depicted a Crimson Demon facing a horde of others. He knew he was in trouble.

Tsuno raised one of his claws and shot a fireball. This fireball was much bigger and faster than the previous one he had fired, and Tenchi could barely avoid it.

“Light Crescent!”

Tenchi watched in awe how Tsuno stretched his arm and caught the attack. He squeezed his claw and the energy dissipated.

Tsuno lunged. “Demon Earthquake!” he bellowed. His voice wasn’t human, but demonic. A low voice that might have been a roar of a tiger.

Tenchi raised the Light Blade and yelled, “Light Shield!”

Tsuno struck the shield and broke it instantly, clashing directly against the Light Blade. Tenchi flew backwards and he felt the enormous force of the blow rattle his bones. He coughed up blood and realized the shockwave of the attack had caused internal damage.

“Light Crescent!”

Tenchi knew it wouldn’t have much effect, but it was his only hope.

Tsuno simply avoided the Light Crescent this time, and fired another fireball.

Tenchi rolled out of the way, but he knew this couldn’t take much longer. Suddenly he had an idea. He would try to create a beam just like Tsuno’s, but faster. Maybe that could stop him. Tenchi pointed the Light Blade at Tsuno and gathered his magic. Tsuno dashed to him head on, confident he’d finish Tenchi this time. Tenchi focused and shot the energy forward, using elements from both the Light Fang and the Light Crescent.

“Light Spear!”

The beam of light raced toward Tsuno, too fast to track. Tsuno, however, jumped aside and avoided it.

Tenchi lowered the Light Blade a little. His one shot had failed, it seemed.

“You know about Flash Response, I hope?” Tsuno mocked.

Tenchi frowned. “Of course...” he muttered.

“Now then, let’s end this. This time I’ll turn your insides into mush! Demon Earthquake!” Tsuno lunged.

Tenchi sped up his thoughts using the Light Blade, and as he watched Tsuno fly at him in seeming slow motion it hit him. Flash Response could block any attack from any direction, but would that go for a last second counter attack as well? Tenchi raised the Light Blade and pointed at Tsuno. At the last possible moment he released all the energy that was still within him.

“Light Spear!”

Tsuno was only five centimeters away when Tenchi fired his attack. Even with his Flash Response he barely managed to cross his arms in a blocking position. He was shot upward and made a backflip, landing on his feet. He was panting heavily. Blocking the attack had been hard.

But Tenchi couldn’t profit from Tsuno’s weakness, as he was close to collapsing himself. ‘Damn...I didn’t stop him...I have to finish this or he’ll destroy me...’ he thought as he struggled to raise his sword.

“Impressive,” Tsuno said, “It has been an honor battling a tough opponent like you. I had not realized that you’re such a powerful Gladiator. Farewell, Tenchi!”

He dashed, gathering crimson energy at his claw. “Claw of Blood!”

As soon as Tsuno swung his claw, Tenchi dropped himself to one knee and lashed out.

“Light Crescent!”

Tenchi felt Tsuno’s claw on his collarbone, followed by a white hot pain as the bone cracked, but then Tsuno’s claw was blown back by the Light Crescent.

Tsuno roared and flew back, rolling to a stop at the edge of the clearing.

Tenchi treid to rise but fell to his knees again. He wouldn’t be able to fight anymore. He looked over at Tsuno, who lay on the ground writhing.

Tsuno sat up, a deep cut over his chest. He looked at Tenchi with hatred in his eyes, and fell back down. A crimson glow surrounded him and he became human again. Once the transformation was done, he sat up and hung his sword on his back. His wound had stopped bleeding, but it was far from being fine.

Tsuno walked over to Tenchi and Tenchi struggeld to rise and look his death in the eye, but he couldn’t.

Tsuno stood before Tenchi, looking down at him. “Congratulations, Tenchi. You’ve won,” Tsuno said.

Tenchi looked at him in amazement. “What do you mean? I can’t even stand anymore. I’m at your mercy,” he said.

Tsuno shook his head and sighed. “No. To you, I may look fine, but that’s all show. We Demon Hunters are trained to ignore our pain, no matter what. I can barely stand anymore, and it will take me a long time to heal, even with my demon blood. Right now, I cannot hurt you. To try would be to seal my own death sentence.”

Tenchi lay on his back. “Why are you so intent on getting the Light Blade?”

Since Tsuno wasn’t a threat at the moment, Tenchi hoped to find out more about him.

Tsuno sat down to conserve his energy and said, “I want the Light Blade and its powers to destroy Lord DarkSoul. He killed my whole family and all my friends. Most people hate DarkSoul and have lost someone to him, but with the original Demon Blade and the Light Blade, I would stand a pretty good chance against him. If I can get into Core Link with two Ancients at once, even DarkSoul wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

Tenchi thought for a moment and said, “So why don’t you come with me? Not as my enemy, but as an ally. The two of us have a better chance of beating DarkSoul than each of us apart. We can help each other out.”

Tsuno scowled. “Working together with a human? I don’t know...no one from my clan has ever done that.”

Tenchi sighed. “Look, with just the Demon Blade you can’t beat DarkSoul, and I’m not giving you the Light Blade. But if you go with me you’ll be able to fight him. Trust me, he won’t get away without suffering. I’m sure you agree,” Tenchi said, feeling his blood boil just thinking about DarkSoul.

“Alright, then. For the time being I’ll join you. I’ll make that bastard suffer for everything he’s done. But first I have to heal from these injuries, and that might take some time,” Tsuno said, laying back.

Tenchi grinned. “It won’t. I’ll heal myself using the Light Blade. I’m sure I can help you afterward,” he said, focusing.

Tsuno sat up. “You can heal? Why didn’t you do that in our battle?” he asked, confused.

“Healing takes a lot of focus and energy. It’s not safe to use in a battle.”

An hour later, Tenchi dropped his focus. “What is this? Why won’t these wounds heal further?” he asked in frustration. He had mostly healed his broken bone and concussed organs, but the cuts in his arm and collarbone wouldn’t go away.

“They’re demonic wounds. It takes some time to heal them. The Crimson Demon aura will vanish in time, but it’ll hurt for a while,” Tsuno replied.

Tenchi made an impatient sound and said, “Oh well, it’s not like I haven’t endured stuff like this before. It’s better than it was, anyway. I’m going to get some rest and heal you afterward; be patient until then, okay?”

Tsuno looked at Tenchi sideways. “I’ll manage. Pain is a part of my life.”

“Hey Tsuno, what’s up with your name anyway? Why are you called ‘horn’?” Tenchi asked. He had been curious as to Tsuno’s name before, but in a battle you don’t ask questions to your enemy.

Tsuno laughed. “That’s normal in our clan. My dad was called Kiba. My uncle’s name was Tsume and the chieftain’s name was simply Oni,” he explained.

“Ah, that figures, I guess,” Tenchi said. A couple of hours later Tenchi had healed Tsuno as well, and after he had recovered enough energy the two of them started walking again.

“So, where are we going?” Tsuno asked.

“We’re headed for Azure Harbor. From there we’ll take the boat to South and travel over the Raider Highlands to the east coast. Our final destination is in East,” Tenchi replied, massaging his still aching arm.

Tsuno cocked an eyebrow. “What will we find there?” he asked.

Tenchi looked in his eyes and said, “Lord DarkSoul. According to the King he’s been seen there.”

“You want to fight him in your current state? That’s suicidal!” Tsuno yelled.

Tenchi grinned mischievously. “So maybe you can help me reach Core Link before we get there,” he said.

Tsuno nearly fell over. “I’ve been trying to reach Core Link since I was ten. It took me eight years to reach it and when I had just reached it, DarkSoul destroyed my clan. That was only a year ago.”

Tenchi shrugged his shoulders. “So? I got my Spirit Link fast enough, what’s the problem?”

“A Core Link is much more advanced! Tenchi, reaching it will take a lot of time, you can’t learn it on the fly,” Tsuno said, shaking his head.

Tenchi sighed and looked at Tsuno solemnly. “I know it will take time, but that’s a luxury we don’t exactly have. So let’s just do whatever can on the way to East and deal with DarkSoul when the time comes,” he said, shifting his gaze from Tsuno to the sky.

Tsuno sighed and said, “Fine. We’ll see how we end up. Let’s go, then.”

Tenchi nodded and the two of them walked off, already preparing mentally for the fierce battle that awaited in East.

(A/N I know this was a fairly short chap. I decided to lower my minimum limit from 5 pages to 3, in effect it enables me to write relevant stuff only and keep the bullshit to a minimum. Also I'm aware that there's a lot of dialogue, but that's my favorite way of writing. Again, R&R Plz. I'm not a fanatic on it but I'd appreciate it. See ya next time!)