"Spare me those pretty excuses after the fact, old man."
"You make it sound like... you could actually have stopped me from leaving back then."
"Save it, baldy."
"Heh..." Nusjuro finally let out a cold chuckle.
"It seems negotiations truly are pointless now."
The instant his words fell-
BOOM!!!
An aura of death and ill omen poured from Saint Nusjuro's body.
His form began changing rapidly, swelling!
Crack, crack... Amid bone-popping sounds that set teeth on edge, the bones of his lower body frantically lengthened and warped, flesh growing over them only to turn pale in an instant!
In the blink of an eye, his entire lower body had become the monstrous torso of a skeletal horse several meters tall, armored in bone and burning with dark flames!
Four pale bone hooves planted themselves on the ground, black mist swirling beneath them.
His upper body, however, retained its human form, its muscles even more knotted and bulging.
The First Generation Kitetsu gripped tightly in his hand shone with an even stronger sinister light, growing along with its wielder.
In a heartbeat, Nusjuro transformed into his Horse Bones centaur form!
Awakened black flames, thick as ink, coiled between his skeletal horse torso and human upper body!
His already formidable presence surged to many times its former strength!
"Gern Reginald Sigma!"
Transformed into a skeletal centaur, Nusjuro's voice echoed above the Deserted Island, carrying the haughtiness of a deity looking down upon mortals.
"I still vividly recall crossing blades with you in the Holy Land all those years ago!
Over the years, for the sake of the Navy's role in maintaining stability, we have temporarily tolerated your many acts of 'recklessness'..."
A skeletal hoof stepped forward, shaking the ground as black flames burned.
"But do not think too highly of yourself!"
"Before