Black Sun: Nadir

Part 1
Hell, the Fifth Circle.

Seated on his massive throne immersed in the dense darkness of the throne room, Kōken'nin was waiting patiently for his would-be opponent to come. Hikari Maebure, a rogue who had since become a mock-Yōkai, an entity known as Tsumikami, had disposed of the Warden's subordinates and after a while began approaching the immense fortress. Sensing that, Kōken'nin calmed his Reiatsu, and the building ceased quaking due to its ungodly might. However, the air was still thick with hot, overwhelming power.

All of a sudden there was a strong tremor, and one of the walls of the throne room exploded violently. Dust and debris showered the brimstone floor, and a cloud of smoke concealed the brand new opening in the wall of the castle. Soon afterward a large silhouette flickered among the dust, and then Hikari Maebure casually walked inside.

"It seems that good manners are not one of your qualities", stated Kōken'nin, his incredibly low voice reverberating across the spacious room.

"Good manners?", said Hikari, halting abruptly. "You shouldn't lecture me about good manners, Daemon."

"Oh?", replied the Warden with mock surprise, but there was also a hint of threat present.

Maebure fixed the stare of his faintly gleaming scarlet eyes on the interlocutor. Most of the latter's bulky body was obscured by tar-like darkness, but an actual collar of flames outlined the Yōkai's elongated, oval head. Two small, but very bright vermillion lights were deep-set in his otherwise empty eye sockets.

"You'd offered me a challenge, and then set up a trap with the use of your underlings once I came to your realm", said Hikari. "Astonishingly underhanded for someone of your status."

"We do not care about pride and honour", retorted Kōken'nin gravely. "As long as our duties are fulfilled, all means are justified."

Maebure smirked. His fleshy wings flapped, dispersing the streaks of dust that had started accumulating around him.

"Fair enough", he said. "Still, since your underlings have failed, it appears you'll have to take matters into your own hands."

Kōken'nin stood up, and the pair of glowing eyes shot toward the ceiling, nearly reaching it. Then, he took a few steps forward, descending on a couple of stairs before reaching the floor. He walked toward Hikari in a slow, measured manner, and eventually stopped a few metres from the intruder. At last his form was distinguishable, thanks to the ambient light of the volcanic realm seeping in through the clearing made by Maebure.

He was an immense, humanoid being towering over Hikari even in his transformed state. Broad-shouldered and inhumanly muscular, he had rough, grey skin. The gleaming vermillion eyes gazed from the elongated, exposed skull that constituted his head, small collar of flames almost encircling it. He donned a heavy set of white and black plate armour adorned with numerous skull and skeletal motifs. There were several oily, rusty chains wrapped around his chest, waist and limbs.

"You will regret slaying my subordinates. You will regret everything you have done so far", he declared in a severe tone.

Subsequently, he reached over his shoulder and grabbed a bar protruding from behind his back, which turned out to be the hilt of a massive, cleaver-like blade. In the meantime, the chains wrapped around his left arm elongated without a warning, their ends dropping to the floor with a clatter.

"Chains...", murmured Hikari with a grimace on his face.

Suddenly, there was a loud hiss. Nearly caught off-guard, he barely managed to dodge a broad slash of Kōken'nin's blade, which would have certainly bifurcated him otherwise. Whilst still on the move, he then noticed the bundle of heavy chains lashing toward him like a bone-shattering whip, and escaped being crushed with the use of Shunpo. The chains crashed into the floor, smashing the brimstone with alarming strength.