Single Combat

(An extra update, 4/5, thanks to the Magician of Flowers for the tip.)

The next day, at dusk, the sun sank red as blood.

At Kyoto's main gate stood a massive barbican. Behind the main wall, a second wall provided another layer of defense.

The barbican not only made the city harder to storm, but could also serve as a base for an attack.

Soldiers could gather inside it, then fling open the gates and charge out to catch the enemy off guard.

The demons had smashed through the main gate, leaving it wide open.

Inside the city, soldiers had worked through the night to rebuild the barbican gate with wood and steel.

The battered gate opened, and a tall samurai strode forward. He wore black armor and an iron mask; everything but his eyes was covered.

The moment he entered the barbican, the gate slammed shut behind him, leaving him alone inside.

The black-armored samurai spread a white cloth on the ground and knelt upon it.

He sat perfectly upright, observing the forms of Bushido, as still as a great bell.

His eyes fixed on the open gate, sharp as blades!

He listened to the clamor around him.

He heard the tremors as the Big Monsters descended Peach Blossom Mountain and marched toward Kyoto.

He heard the samurai on the walls gulp with fear.

And behind the barbican wall, he heard the captured children crying and their parents screaming their hearts out.

The black-armored samurai listened to the children's sobs and sighed.

He lowered his head, which he had held straight until now, and looked at the earth beneath him.

When he raised it again, a hideous, six-meter-tall Giant Monster stood before him, golden club in hand, the Demon Horde at his back!

The Big Monsters around the Giant