NIGHT – HIDDEN BIO-WEAPONS FACILITY – SECTOR C-3
Bakuto walked with deliberate steps, boots echoing against the soaked concrete as he passed the shattered remnants of test chambers and deactivated containnt cells. His sword was already drawn—a wicked, black-forged blade wreathed in dark Chi, the corrupted essence flickering like obsidian fire.
The shadows recoiled from him.
At the far end of the corridor, frad by broken halogen lights and mist from exposed coolant pipes, stood Alex. Cloaked in a mantle of demonic energy, his red eyes glowed like twin embers from hell.
"You ca," Bakuto said with a cruel smirk. "Just as I hoped."
Alex said nothing.
Bakuto raised his blade and pointed it toward him. "Tell where she is, Alex. Give Sue, or I’ll carve the answer from your corpse."
Alex calmly reached behind his back and drew his Silver Devil Cane, the air warping slightly around it. With a pulse of will, the cane shifted—tal groaning, reshaping—until it beca a sleek, curved silver-bladed sword. Its surface pulsed with demonic sigils, thrumming with raw power.
"I’m not here to talk," Alex said flatly. "I’m here to end this."
The ground shuddered.
From the shadows behind him, Shadow Fury—Cypher erged, wrapping around Alex like a living cloak before unfurling into its full, terrifying form. The humanoid beast lood tall and unnatural—black as the void, its body rippling like smoke, claws long and curved like scythes forged from the abyss.
Bakuto hesitated for a mont, eyes narrowing at the creature. Even for a Master of Dark Chi, this was unnatural. Those claws... just looking at them made his limbs feel heavy.
"It seems the rumors were true," Bakuto muttered. "You wield sothing monstrous."
But he quickly steeled himself. He was no ordinary warrior—he was one of the Hand’s elite Fingers, a master of forbidden Dark Chi, and wielder of the Sword of Manshio. With it, he could slice through reinforced walls—let alone a shadow.
"Let’s end this," Alex said, then rushed forward, his blade glowing with demonic heat.
"Co and try!" Bakuto barked, as dozens of hidden Hand assassins suddenly dropped from the ceiling, walls, and vents—encircling Alex from all sides.
"Kill him if you can," Bakuto ordered coldly.
Alex smirked. "Go ahead. et your end."
Cypher dissolved into pure shadow, weaving through the air before solidifying into battle form again—blades and claws sparking red as they tore through the first wave of ninjas with terrifying speed. Blood hit the walls before most even realized they were dead.
Bakuto drew his sword, clashing directly with Cypher. The impact sent out a shockwave of sparks and cracked the floor beneath them.
"Impressive," Bakuto muttered, drawing on his Dark Chi. The ground around him trembled as black flas licked up the edge of his blade.
But as he struck again—Cypher caught the blade with his bare claws.
The beast didn’t flinch.
In that mont, Bakuto saw it—not just a demonic entity, but sothing far worse.
This was evolution.
Cypher’s face, still mostly hidden in shadow, twisted slightly. His eyes flared—red on one side, void-black on the other. He responded in kind, drawing forth his own reserve of Dark Chi.
Because after devouring Madam Gao, Cypher had changed.
Not only had he absorbed her dark teachings—he had inherited her twisted mastery.
He now wielded both Demonic Essence and the forbidden techniques of the Hand’s most ancient branch, refined into sothing even Bakuto hadn’t seen before.
"How do you know Dark Chi?" Bakuto demanded, his voice edged with growing fear. His sword trembled slightly in his grip as he eyed Cypher.
He took a cautious step back, glancing past the towering beast to where Alex was still locked in his brutal rhythm—cutting through the Hand’s elite assassins one by one. Each swing of his demonic blade didn’t just kill—it corroded, devoured. The slain bodies shriveled into ash and black sludge, their spirits twisted and unfit for resurrection.
Bakuto’s eyes widened.
"You... don’t tell ..." he muttered, stunned. "Are you a failed experint? One of ours... now back for revenge?"
Cypher gave no answer.
He only stared.
A slow, hungry growl echoed from within his hollow chest as his body tensed like a coiled spring.
Then he lunged.
Bakuto raised his blade just in ti to block the oncoming strike—but Cypher’s montum was monstrous. The sheer force of impact sent Bakuto skidding back across the floor, tal screeching beneath his boots. Sparks flew as their weapons clashed again, but this ti, Cypher pressed in, slashing with clawed fury.
Bakuto parried a strike, twisted, and delivered a powerful kick to Cypher’s side—but it barely fazed the shadow-beast.
Their duel carried them crashing into a massive rusted iron gas chamber embedded in the wall—one of the old holding units the Hand had used for failed biological tests. The chamber buckled as Cypher slamd Bakuto into it, his claws tearing gouges in the reinforced plating.
Bakuto grunted, his blade glowing with Dark Chi as he unleashed a wide arc—"Dark Spiral Slash!"
A surge of corrupted energy erupted, forcing Cypher back and leaving a long gash across his side—but no blood spilled. Instead, smoke hissed from the wound, and it sealed itself almost instantly.
Bakuto’s eyes widened. "That... that’s not possible."
From behind him, Cypher’s voice—low, distorted, and deep—finally spoke.
"I have no form," Cypher said at last, voice like wind through shattered glass—and oddly feminine. A spectral echo layered beneath the demonic growl. The voice of Madam Gao, still clinging to the hollow soul that devoured her. "And now, with Dark Chi... you are nothing."
Bakuto’s grip tightened. That voice—it made his blood run cold.
Before he could react, Cypher’s shadow-flesh rippled, contracting in on itself. His towering, beastly body condensed, becoming sleek, refined—like a nightmare forged into a predator’s form. The bulk vanished, replaced by a form both agile and terrifying: a lean, panther-like silhouette with elongated limbs and a serpentine spine. Twin blade-claws extended like living razors from his arms, twitching with anticipation.
Cypher raised a claw, pointing it straight at Bakuto.
"Soon..." the voice whispered again, silk and death interwoven, "you will be my food too."
And then—
He vanished.
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