Kaito leaped, his hand wrapping around the burning, brilliant crystal. The pure light seared his palm, causing black smoke to billow from his hand, but he held on. Channeling his own dark energy into the stone, he forced the two opposing powers to stabilize. A pulse of neutral, gray energy exploded outward.
The general stood at the altar, holding a glowing, brilliant white crystal that seemed to hum with pure energy. It burned Kaito's eyes just to look at it. Aragami 2 [0100787018198800][v65536][US].nsp.rar
As the general raised his heavy sword for a crushing overhead strike, Kaito didn't dodge. Instead, he dashed directly forward, dematerializing into shadow at the exact moment of impact. He passed right through the general's body and materialized behind him. Kaito leaped, his hand wrapping around the burning,
He was losing his grip. The dark essence inside him clawed to get out, begging him to unleash lethal, uncontrollable chaos. Kaito closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, centering himself. I control the shadow. The shadow does not control me. A pulse of neutral, gray energy exploded outward
Moving like a whisper, Kaito navigated the compound. He shadow-dashed from the silhouette of a stone lantern to the underside of a bridge, evading the blazing torches. When a heavy-armored elite guard blocked the pagoda's entrance, Kaito tossed a small smoke pebble. As the area filled with thick, obscuring fog, Kaito slipped past the coughing guard and phased through the heavy wooden doors.
He focused his mind, drawing on the cursed blood in his veins. Shadow Leap. He blinked from the roof directly into the tall grass behind a patrolling guard. With a swift, practiced motion, Kaito grabbed the soldier from behind. He didn't use his blade. He struck a precise pressure point on the soldier's neck, rendering him unconscious before dragging his body into the brush. A non-lethal approach was harder, but Kaito refused to let the bloodlust accelerate his curse.
He leaped from the precipice, dissolving into a cloud of black smoke mid-air. He materialized soundlessly on the tiled roof of an enemy barracks. Below him, the Akatsuchi soldiers, fire-worshippers who had enslaved his people, marched with torches that cut aggressively through the night.