"Sir Sakumura, could we switch places?"
"I have one last question I want to ask Lord Inshun—no, Lancer Purgatorio."
After a moment of silence, Musashi raised her head and spoke to Sakumura.
Sakumura furrowed his brow slightly.
But he still rose to his feet.
"Be my guest."
Keeping one foot on Lancer Purgatorio's lower body, he did not look at Musashi.
Perhaps through the exchange between sword and sword, he and Musashi had both sensed something—each other's ideals, and the very foundation of their swords.
"Hand over your lives, Shinmen Musashi!"
Even without his arms, even without his legs, Lancer Purgatorio still roared, filled with murderous intent and killing aura. The red light in his eyes seemed to reflect the blood moon in the sky, yet—
The bloody tears at the corners of his eyes seemed to reveal the last trace of humanity he still retained.
"Why did things turn out like this?"
Standing to one side, Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke in a trembling voice.
Inshun had clearly been like that—so gentle and kind. Why had he become like this now?
"I do not know."
Inshun stopped struggling for a moment and answered Fujimaru Ritsuka's question.
"Did those people do something to you?"
Still unwilling to give up, Fujimaru Ritsuka pressed on.
"I do not know."
Inshun gave the same answer.
".So there's no way to turn you back into the Inshun you once were after all."
After a moment of silence, Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed to let go of his hope as well.
"Correct."
Lancer Purgatorio opened his eyes.
Bzzzz—
Boom!!!
A surge of bloodlust forced both Musashi and Sakumura back. Blood poured from Lancer Purgatorio's five orifices as he gritted his teeth and thrust his cross-shaped spear forward.
"Hozoin Inshun—is dead!"
"What remains here is merely a corpse, an automaton