"Wh… when did you-"
"Kirito‑kun!!"
Tenten's eyes widened in disbelief.
Standing behind the enemy, the blade still buried through his back and piercing out of his chest, was Kirito.
"Shadow Clone? No… that's not it."
With a quick glance toward the corpse that had been riddled with kunai earlier, Tenten froze. The blood was still on the ground… but the body was gone.
If it had been a clone, it would've vanished instantly, there wouldn't be a puddle of real blood left behind.
"Hrrgh…!" The enemy shuddered in agony, but his willpower was frighteningly strong. He grabbed the blade embedded in him with one hand. Murderous fury burst forth from his eyes as he forcibly twisted his body and reached his hand toward Kirito's throat.
"…"
Kirito realized instantly that he couldn't pull the blade free, it was jammed between bone and flesh. Without hesitation, he released the sword and leaped back several steps, avoiding the dying man's desperate counterattack. Then, in a fluid movement, he circled around the enemy and sprinted toward Tenten.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him.
"Stay back, Tenten." Kirito said in a low voice. "That strike pierced his heart cleanly. At this point, it's enough. Be ready for a dying beast's counterattack."
"R‑right… I understand."
Tenten nodded quickly. She knew Kirito was right, cornered beasts were always the most dangerous, and shinobi even more so. She still couldn't understand how he snuck up unnoticed or stabbed a jōnin clean through the heart, but now wasn't the time to question it.
"Kh… khhh!"
The enemy spat out a mouthful of blood. His skin was rapidly losing color. From the gaping wound in his left chest, blood gushed out in terrifying volume.
But suddenly, he slammed his hand onto the blade still stuck through his body.
The sword sank deeper.
And the bleeding… stopped.
Tenten's face paled.
"H‑he… sealed the blood flow? For a normal wound, sure, lowering internal pressure works… but that's the heart! No one can!"
Kirito's gaze sharpened. He looked at the pulsing, unnatural threads writhing around the wound on the ground.
"He's using those strange blood‑vessel strings to forcibly plug the heart wound. It won't last long, but he can keep fighting for a short period."
Kirito's brows tightened. He called out to Tenten:
"Tenten! Take your teammates and the convoy and leave immediately. I'll hold him off."
"No!" Tenten shook her head fiercely. "He's a jōnin! Even if you got one lucky strike in, you still-"
"Relax. With his injury, he can't exert full jōnin strength anymore. Taking down a severely weakened jōnin… that's still within my ability. Trust me, Tenten."
"…"
She bit her lip, then finally nodded.
"Fine! I'll get everyone to safety, then I'll rush back to help!"
Without further hesitation, she turned and began moving the civilians.
"You little brat… I'll kill you!!"
Enraged at being ambushed, bleeding, and mocked, the enemy unleashed a murderous killing intent. His speed surged despite his wound, and he burst toward Kirito in a sharp S‑shaped assault pattern.
Kirito stood perfectly still.
He didn't raise a weapon.
He didn't shift his stance.
His eyes didn't even waver.
"…!"
As the enemy closed in, a faint whistling sound brushed past his ear. His body tensed instinctively, halting his charge for a split second.
Clang‑clang‑clang‑clang!
Kunai and daggers rained down in his path, clattering across the ground.
"Tch!"
He stomped and deftly sidestepped, trying to regain his approach angle.
Shff! shff!
More projectiles flew from the darkness.
Even heavily injured, he was still a jōnin. His movements were far sharper than any chūnin's. He flipped, spun, and slid, dodging most of the incoming blades with frightening instinct.
Between dodges, he snatched one kunai out of the air and used it to deflect the next wave of thrown weapons.
Clang! Clang!
He slashed, deflected, and pressed forward, slowly but surely closing the distance.
His pupils contracted sharply. He had found the perfect opening.
He deflected a blade on his left.
He flung the kunai upward to block the one descending from above.
He marked Kirito's position.
This is the moment. Only two projectiles left, from behind and from the right. I can take them with my arm. Once I break through, he dies!
With the reckless resolve of sacrificing flesh to kill the enemy, he thrust his arm out. Two daggers plunged into his thick forearm, but he didn't flinch.
His body blurred with a burst of speed.
He reached Kirito.
And then…
Thunk.
He collapsed face‑first at Kirito's feet.
"…my… body… won't move…"
His muscles trembled. He had the strength to fight, but something was wrong. Something was paralyzing him.
He glanced at his shoulder.
A small knife was embedded there.
Barely a shallow wound.
But the blood trickling out was an unnatural, metallic purple‑red.
He froze.
"Nerve‑paralysis… poison?!"
Shing!
A clean, sharp blade appeared in Kirito's hand.
"For an assassin," Kirito murmured calmly, "poison is just another tool."
He leveled the sword at the man's throat.
"This is the end."
Kirito thrust downward,
Clack!
The dying enemy suddenly raised his left hand and grabbed the blade, the steel slicing through his palm, but he held on with the savage strength of a cornered monster.
His grip was so strong Kirito couldn't push the sword down.
"You can still exert that much strength while paralyzed?" Kirito narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll stop holding back."
"S‑sto-"
His pupils widened.
Dozens of black silhouettes appeared above him.
They descended.
THUD‑THUD‑THUD‑THUD‑THUD!
Ten… twenty… countless blades pierced his body.
Even the strongest will cannot resist when every vital organ is destroyed. His final breath died in silence.
His struggle ended without a sound.