I don't know what that demon's skill is, and I don't even know its name, but I'll let Kato think he has the advantage. After all, water demons are known to be especially strong against fire demons, Yoichi thought, beginning to take deep breaths.

I'm sure Kato somehow knows that I also have an Inoshuma, which is a grass-type demon. However, he believed from the first moment that I chose to use my 'Nekage'. This guy had premeditated to face me since before coming here! He was hoping to find me in the arena!

​​

When Yoichi finally realized that he had taken the bait for his next opponent's plan, he kept going over in his head his fighting style weaknesses, knowing that he could not be unprepared.

After their two fights, the score between them was one to one. This match would be the final one for a while: if Kato won, he would never stop bothering anyone who stood in his way; if Yoichi walked off the tatami as a winner, the relationship between the Heralds and the Nightblades might have changed slightly.

Takamori himself had advised him to teach Kato a lesson, due to his still open dispute with his guild master. Yoichi recalled that, during their last meeting, Yozo and Takamori had acted like two kids, insulting each other and reliving emotions that belonged to the past.

The young tamer's long breath filled his lungs as the audience around the tatami looked at him curiously. "Ildriss!" he shouted, summoning Kenji and fulfilling Kato's implicit call.

Shioko, paying attention to every detail, noticed that a mocking smile appeared under that wisp of blue hair. Although Kato only had the illusion of an advantage, Yoichi had to be careful not to overdo Kenji's draconic powers.

The little dragon took shape in front of its tamer, skreecking and raising its tail. The scales on its back rose slightly and the black horns tilted backward, following the opening of its roaring mouth.

"Uh... so this is the famous demon you told me about, Takamori-Sensei?" Nobunaga asked under his breath, standing next to the Nightblades guild master.

Takamori had already told his first warrior about Kenji's 'special' skills but had never told him that it was actually Lumya's last dragon demon. Focused on the fight that would begin in a few seconds, he merely replied with a nod of his head.

"Hahah! Are you really that stupid to think you have a chance, kid?" Kato defied, knowing he had the eyes of the crowd on him. "My Yokusuta will tear you and your stupid demon to pieces! I will show no mercy this time! Aargh!" - Without waiting a moment longer, knowing that he had victory in his grasp, Kato dashed towards his opponent.

The blue-haired warrior drew his nunchaku from the back of his armor, running at his top speed. Despite the armor being heavier than Yoichi's, his feet seemed to hardly touch the stone floor.

"Kenji, go!" Yoichi boomed, standing firmly in place and activating his Oracle's enhancement skill. Black scales wrapped around his arms and shoulders, covering both of his upper limbs.

The last parts to receive the enhancement, as always, were his hands. The black claws, in fact, took a few more seconds to fully develop.

*swishh* - waving an arm forward and jumping towards Yoichi, Kato attempted to reach his head with the nunchaku. The Heralds warrior already seemed to be blinded by rage, as if he wanted that victory more than anything else.

Yoichi bent down on his knees and dodged the blow, moving his feet sideways and getting out of the reach of Kato, who landed back to the ground without hitting his target. The blond-haired warrior dodged the first attack with ease, without the slightest effort.

After the nunchaku, however, Yoichi felt a sudden sensation of danger in the back of his head. He turned around, but there was no one behind him.

Frantically, he shifted his gaze to Kenji, realizing that the strange and sudden sensation had been transmitted to him from a distance: while he was busy dodging Kato's blow, his lobster demon had sprung toward Kenji and tried to strike it with one of its sharp claws.

The dragon demon promptly managed to dodge the claw that impacted against the stone floor, making a metallic sound. Like two large, sharp scissors, the natural weapons the Yokusuta had at its disposal were bigger than Kenji's entire body.

"Oh, fuck!" Yoichi gasped, turning his head towards Kato, aware that he had spent too much time looking at Kenji.

*swish* - thanks to a small stroke of luck and also to his well-trained reflexes from Nobunaga, Yoichi managed to dodge the second blow as well. His torso leaned back and one of his enhanced hands rested on the floor, making him keep his balance.

The crowd let out a shout followed by cheers for the two fighters. Around them, almost everyone present was cheering for one of the two. Though shyly, this time Yoichi's supporters matched Kato's.

"A little too slow, don't you think?" Yoichi spoke, getting back to his feet propelled by his scaled arm as if someone had installed springs on his legs.

Kato, confident that his diversion had been enough to hit his inexperienced opponent, failed to anticipate Yoichi's counterattack. A strong headbutt struck him in the center of his forehead, just above his eyes.

*boom* - a thud similar to two pieces of wood impacting on each other echoed through the crowd. Taking advantage of the momentum of his draconic arm and knowing that an overly articulated blow would give Kato time to dodge, Yoichi decided to use his hard head to counterattack.

Kato took two steps back, touching his forehead with his free hand. A trickle of blood fell on his nose and then on his chin, increasing the anger in his eyes.

When Yoichi returned to his fighting stance, similar to that of a boxer, he continued to think about Nobunaga's techniques. Shift and counterattack, change direction, and counterattack again. That was the right technique to channel Kato's wrath against him.