Fight with Ghost Sweeper

"......a ghost sweeper?" I said in surprise.

Jay sharpened his eyes, "I see. So, you are a ghost sweeper. I heard of you guys, but this is my first time seeing one." Jay said.

"That's wonderful then. I'm glad I can be the first." Mr. Eric joked, he seemed to be enjoying talking to Jay.

"Ghost sweeper, I only ask you once. Why are you here?" Jay questioned.

"I'm here for work, of course. Protecting others from ghosts is the job of ghost sweepers."

"I see that you are grabbing your host, I'll be glad if you can let go of that boy," said Mr. Eric. Jay alerted his senses. He gripped me harder as if he was scared that I would be taken away. My head lent against his shoulders, his temperature was as cold as usual.

"I refuse." Jay barked, "Who knows what you will do to him?"

Mr. Eric made a short laugh, "Don't worry, I only harm ghosts. Hurting people is not my style. Besides, if I hurt a little kid, I will be fired." Mr. Eric put down his sword and took back a few steps, he maintained a short distance from Jay, showing that he had no intention of harming humans.

"I am here to help Alfie," he said.

"Huh? Help me?" I asked.

"That's right. There is something important I need to say to you. So can you come here and listen to me for a few minutes?" Mr. Eric asked.

"Err....." I didn't know how to reply to him, before I could say something, Jay replied first.

"Don't be kidding. You just pointed your sword towards Alfie. How can I hand him over to you if I know you are going to hurt him?" Jay questioned.

"I wasn't going to hurt Alfie. You think I was hurting Alfie because-----"

"That's enough." Jay interrupted Mr. Eric, "No matter what you are going to say, it doesn't change the fact you are going to hunt a ghost. I need to stay with Alfie and you are trying to break us apart and that reason is enough for me to fight against you." Jay let go of me and pushed me aside and lifted his sword.

"Alfie, this man's aim is me. I'll take care of him, go now." said Jay as he swung his sword.

"No, I can't do that! He is a ghost sweeper, right? He is an expert who kills ghosts!" I argued, feeling more anxious. I couldn't let Jay be alone here. He will be killed by Mr. Eric!

Jay patted my head and tried to comfort me. "Don't worry. After I finish, I'll go back home as soon as possible. If you are not safe, it will be hard for me to fight."

"But Jay.....!"

"Alfie!" Jay called my name suddenly and stopped me from talking. His voice startled me, it was the first time I saw Jay speak in such a loud voice. He tried to calm himself down and spoke more gently.

"Listen to me, ok? Remember that promise I made with you before?"

"That promise when I was just a kid?"

"That's right. I promised I will always be with you. So you don't have to worry about me. I promise you I will keep my promise." Jay stated.

Jay is always so cruel. He always knows what kind of words to say to me to make me agree. I just can't say 'no' to him.

"Alright. I'll go, Jay. But you must come back, ok? If you don't, I won't forgive you!" I shouted.

I left him and ran.

"WAIT, ALFIE!" Mr. Eric shouted, "You gotta listen to me!"

"I don't think you have time to look elsewhere. Your opponent is ME!" Jay shouted and ran towards Mr. Eric.

He aimed at Mr. Eric's chest and slashed his sword out wild, his jade-colored eyes seemed to be sparkling. Sweating, Mr. Eric was a bit shocked by the sudden attack, he raised his arm and crashed his sword against Jay's to defend himself. Two swords clanged against each other again and again, creating massive metal sounds. Looking at Jay, Mr. Eric opened his mouth.

"Ghost. I need to find Alfie and talk to him. Why don't you let me pass?" He asked.

"Why don't you say it to me first and I will consider whether I should tell it to Alfie or not!" Jay suggested. Hearing Jay, Mr. Eric sighed, he had no choice but to use the hard way.

"Well......if you don't let me pass, I will just have to defeat you!" declared Mr. Eric as he aimed on Jay's right shoulder. Jay pointed his sword to the opposite side to maintain balance, blocking Mr. Eric's attack. He held back his sword and tried to slice Mr. Eric's stomach. Mr. Eric noticed Jay's eyes moving and placed his sword in front of his stomach and made a perfect defense.

As Jay kept on swinging his sword left and right, none of his attacks seemed to work against Mr. Eric. The ghost sweeper was able to block all his attacks using the slightest movement. To Mr. Eric, Jay's attacks were predictable, his eyes started to get used to the attack pattern of Jay. He waited for the best timing and slashed his sword harder, Jay was shocked by the sudden increase of power and didn't defend himself well. The blade of the sword went closer to him. Jay swallowed his saliva, he tried to let the blade get away from him. But Mr. Eric was much stronger in strength than him, he could barely push back.

"So, this is all you got?" Mr. Eric tensed, looking down at Jay. Feeling anxious, Jay knew he couldn't lose in this battle. If he lost, he would not be able to see Alfie anymore.

"I'm not over yet!" Jay shouted, he wanted to resist but clearly Mr. Eric had better fight skills than him. No matter how he struggled, the blade just went nearer and nearer to him. The closer the blade, the more anxious he became.

Argh!

I can't lose.

If I lose here, Alfie will be alone again.

I can't let that happen!

I had made a promise that I would be with him no matter what happens!

If I break it, then why should I appear in his room in the first place?!

Responding to his emotions, amazingly, a gust of black flame appeared near his hand and sparked out brightly.

The bright flame twisted and twirled around Jay's Chinese sword and gave power to it. Surprisingly, Jay felt the sword become lighter. The flame burned beautifully in the color black and dark green, helping Jay to push back Mr. Eric's white sword. Jay didn't know what was going on but he knew this was his chance. He held on to his black flame sword and swung it diagonally. Mr. Eric wasn't able to withstand the attack, the strong force pushed him backwards, allowing his feet to slide away, creating a deep foot trail on the ground.

"What was that?" Jay asked as he stared at Mr. Eric who was a few miles away from him. Jay looked at his sword. Thanks to the flame, he had escaped from Mr. Eric's attack. Slowly, the flame on the sword went off and vanished.

"What? Bet rank?! Unbelievable! It was just Gimel rank earlier." cried Mr. Eric, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Hearing Mr. Eric, Jay felt strange, "Bet rank? I have no idea what you were saying. But I feel like I can defeat you now."

Ignoring the words, Jay ran forward and stabbed mercilessly at the man's shoulders. Mr. Eric bent his elbow and slid his sword to emerge back to defend himself, each of Jay's attacks was faster and stronger than before. While he was battling, he observed the black sword, the blade glittered under the sunlight, allowing the sword to look sharper than before.

"That's amazing." He praised as he stared at Jay, "It takes years to have such a massive amount of Tav. How long have you lived? Twenty years? thirty years?"

"How about I say ten?!" Jay laughed at him and made another powerful slash.

"Argh.....I shouldn't ask." Mr. Eric regretted it. He leaped back and dodged the attack. The blade missed Mr. Eric and sliced the air in half, ripping everything like the wind. The jade-colored eyes were glaring at him like prey, Mr. Eric started to sweat, Jay was stronger than he thought. He wanted to stop a while to catch his breath, Jay didn't allow it and dashed closer.