Yakedo Teki

Yakedo Teki (剔火傷, Teki Yakedo) is a being of Hell-Spawn, and the sole user of Hell God Slayer Magic. With this form of magic, Yakedo is able to devastate battlefields in mere seconds, this form of magic being able to cultivate the Flames of Hell, allowing for Yakedo's feared moniker of the Silver King (銀王者, Gin Ouja) to be created and spread across all Nine Worlds. Across the Nine Worlds, Yakedo's name is one that causes fear to emenate within those who hear it, and Yakedo's mere name is able to cause for villages to evacuate the area. After Yakedo's ability to use his Yggdrasil spell was confirmed, Yakedo began to experiment, and it was due to these experiments that Yakedo's manipulative skills began to become more visible.

Along with his manipulative skills came the Royal Flush spell, a highly powerful magic which almost always has won Yakedo the battle, despite it not being the more common form of victory, it is still classified as one. This spell was inspired by Yakedo's love for and. Yakedo is able to seamlessly combine these abilities with his powerful spells to create unorthodox methods of combat, one which almost none have survived to tell the tale.

Once Yakedo had become the emperor of Jotunheim, he was granted his most powerful spell from the Hell Slayer Magic; Silver Sword of Damocles. As with any ruler of one of the Nine Worlds, Yakedo had his own variation of the Sword of Damocles, his being a silver colour in nature. With this spell, Yakedo has taken over many alternate realms, which only grants him more strength. Currently, his goal as emperor is to take over the realm of Midgard, and to absorb the emperor of the Midgards' Damocles technique.

Background
Born within the second week of September, Yakedo was brought into this plagued existence. Yakedo is one of the sole users of the Hell God Slayer Magic, a Slayer-type magic form which allowed its user to have the abilities of a Hell God Slayer. Signs of this magic were seen from a young age, ever since his birth. The child showed the ability to create devastating flames, flames which were inextinguishable.

Upon the discovery of this highly powerful magic dwelling within Yakedo, many were sent into a state of shock and disbelief, and they wondered how Yakedo's peasant parents had such a potent magical ability, and had passed it down to their child. The initial confusion eventually passed upon the discovery that Yakedo's father was not his biological father, and Yakedo's birth was indeed the result of an affair between his biological mother and an unnamed traveller. This revelation did not sink in well with Yakedo's father, and his father slowly shifted into a drunken individual, with a heavy alcoholic issue. This transformation occurred when the ever-so-young Yakedo was merely six, and the change frightened him.

As Yakedo's father transformed into a drunken man, Yakedo found himself leaving his house more often, and observing the children of wealthier families attending a swordplay academy. He would observe their fights, seeing the forms of swordsmenship they utilized, the rythym, and the forms which the students utilized. On his own time, he would practise the techniques he had observed, eventually mastering these useful assets. However, as time went on, Yakedo soon found himself easily bored when he viewed the academy students, as he had already mastered the needed techniques.

One day, a group of Mages came storming into his minor village, and these warriors had soon herded most of the citizens to the town square. One of them, the one Yakedo presumed was the leader, began a speech. He spoke about the Mage Creed, and their skills in the art of magic. The speech enchanted the young Yakedo, and soon, he wished to become one of these skilled practitioners in the magical art. After a display of their mastery in magic, the young seven-year-old Yakedo was enchanted by the Mages, and had made up his mind to become one of them.

The Mages had announced that they would stay the night, and would occupy one of the village's inns. Yakedo observed the Mages as they entered their inn, leaving their carriage and valuables out in the open. Once it was midnight, Yakedo made his move. Yakedo packed up all of his belongings, spare clothes, and a small blade. As he carefully exited his household, he had a moment of hesitation. Would he ever meet his mother again? The young Yakedo dismissed the thought and made his way over to the inn, where the Mages had left all of their belongings. Yakedo carefully hopped into the back of a carriage, and covered himself in hay to disguise himself from being found. As he adjusted his body, he slowly began to doze off.

Yakedo woke to the impact of his body being thrown against a rough surface, before he face-planted into a white surface. He slowly stood up, unused to the cold, and was able to feel the snow against his feet. Yakedo looked up, and saw he was surrounded by a group of Mages. They began to question him, asking him how Yakedo had made his way to their secret base. Yakedo answered all of their questions, telling them how he had snuck out of his home and how he made his way into the carriage. When Yakedo was asked why he had snuck into one of their carriages. Yakedo told them that he had done so as he wanted to master the art of magic. The Mages were at first confused at such an answer. They began to laugh, thinking that Yakedo was lying. Soon, they realized that the young child was not lying, and the Head Mage began to scold Yakedo. Saying that Yakedo's request to join the exalted Mage Creed was an insult to they stood for. As the leader was prepared to decapitate Yakedo, Yakedo pulled out a sack of gold coins, coins which he had stolen from home, begging for the Mages to teach him. Greed proved to be much more powerful than the 'exalted' mage creed, and the mages decided to take Yakedo under his wing.

Yakedo's training began almost instantly. He was forced to practise a single magical spell a thousand times every hour if he wished to truly master the art of the Magical Arts. With every spell cast, thousands of mistakes were found. The angling, the speed, the power put into the spell were all factors in the failure of a young Yakedo. He trained constantly, often depriving himself of sleep in order to master the art at a quicker rate. After years upon years, Yakedo had improved, to such an extent where his master did not find faults in Yakedo’s technique. However, Yakedo began to find faults with his magical prowess. He often blamed himself if he missed the target by a mere millimeter.

Yakedo kept training and training, until he was somewhat satisfied with his magical skill. The once seven-year-old Yakedo had now shifted into a twenty-seven-year-old, and was regarded as the best mages in all of the village. Yakedo however, was far too humble, and would still belittle his magical prowess. Yakedo was soon made Head Mage, following the death of his former master. At first overcome with grief, Yakedo was forced to endure the pain, and took on the responsibilities which came with being a Head Mage.

A few months after Yakedo becoming the Head Mage, he was informed of an incoming attack squad. An entire army worth of rouge mages were heading their way. Yakedo was immediately sent into a state of worry, and he told his people to evacuate the village as soon as possible. He waited until everyone had left, before closing the gates to their village, locking Yakedo himself inside. The people were at first initially confused, and Yakedo simply told them to find shelter elsewhere. Hours seemed liked years as Yakedo awaited the attackers. Yakedo had completely prepared himself for the battle, both physically and mentally. Yakedo had donned his glorious armour, a set expertly forged at the perfect conditions. Yakedo had also remained calm throughout the waiting process, preparing himself for all the murders he would commit. As Yakedo closed his eyes, he heard the sound of gates being knocked down, and Yakedo snapped his eyes open, only to witness an army charging in. Yakedo charged in towards the army himself, beginning to slay everyone in his sight. The invasion began in waves. First ten men, then a hundred, then a thousand, then ten thousand and so on. Yakedo stood his ground, and slayed all that came his way. With every spell, the satisfying sound of a corpse collapsing into the fresh snow could easily be heard, the sound strangely soothing Yakedo. Many wounds were inflicted upon Yakedo. Sword slashs, burns, stab wounds, object lodged in him, missing appendages, and many others were but the minor of wounds. Yakedo dismissed the pain, his mind only being driven by the need to allow time for his people to escape. Yakedo fought for seven days straight, not sleeping once, and eventually, he had defeated the army himself. He was overcome with pure and agonizing pain afterwards. The impacts of his many wounds came crashing upon him, combined with the sleep deprivation. The pain proved to be too much, and Yakedo collapsed, now dead.

Redemption
Yakedo’s death was shortlived, as in the afterlife, he was soon greeted by a Death God. Yakedo was at first shaken, confused about his location. Yakedo collected his thoughts, and confronted the Death God. The Death God began to chuckle after hearing Yakedo’s flurry of questions. The Death God explained to Yakedo that he was in a state of limbo, a state between life and death. Yakedo didn’t allow for the Death God to continue, and he asked the creature why he was here. The Death God answered with a bland tone, saying that the Death God was offering a chance for Yakedo to return to the realm of the living, as a being who could not die by ageing. Yakedo was about to agree when the Death God resumed what it had been saying. It told that the ‘immortal’ life would be granted to Yakedo if he was to serve the Death God.

Yakedo was immediately confused. Serving the Death God? The mere thought was preposterous. Yakedo was prepared to deny the request, and allow for his soul to head to the realm of the dead when a thought came crashing upon him. If Yakedo was to serve the Death God, Yakedo would be granted ‘immortal’ life, and he could forever help his people. Before Yakedo would confirm his choice, Yakedo asked the Death God why it needed Yakedo, why not another mortal? The Death God told him that Yakedo was merely the first individual to come by his realm in a while, and stressed the point that Yakedo would be able to help his people. The loyalty towards his people within Yakedo overcame him, and Yakedo accepted the Death God's conditions.

The Death God grinned, and a new sensation of pure pain overcame the once powerful Yakedo. Yakedo felt as if his blood was boiling, as if liquid hot metal was being poured down his throat, as if Yakedo’s own bones were shattering within himself. The pain suddenly vanished, and Yakedo found himself where his body had collapsed. He looked around, and saw that his village had been decimated. Yakedo’s home for the last twenty-seven years of his life had been swept away. Yakedo stood up, and was beginning to make his way to his people when he suddenly collapsed. The Death God began to speak in Yakedo’s mind, ordering him to eliminate the leader of a distant village. Yakedo first objected to the order, until an unbearable pain overcame him. Yakedo yelled for the pain to stop and agreed to the Shinigami's plans to kill another Head Mage.

Yakedo began his travels to the distant village, which would be a day’s distance by foot. His weary journey began, the blizzards in the mountains picking up. Yakedo’s armour had vanished, and he was clothed only by his golden kimono, which allowed for little warmth. His blade sheathed to his back, Yakedo kept walking into the distance. Yakedo eventually made his way to an inn known as the Green Dragonfly. Yakedo stumbled into the inn, exhausted. Yakedo made his way into the room he was assigned, and began to doze off.

Blade Prowess
Yakedo is an individual who is considered the epitome of swordsmanship. Having hundreds upon hundreds of years to master the art, Yakedo has developed his own style of swordsplay, all of which have roots within other well-established swordsman-ship styles. Swordplay is the form of combat which Yakedo employs most often, using his prodigious abilities to do so. The style of swordplay Yakedo utilizes is widely regarded as Namiundoukiritateru (波運動切り立てる, literally meaning; Wave Motion Slashes), a name which Yakedo has come to accept as his own. Many forms of swordplay have been memorized by Yakedo due to his outstanding eidetic and muscle memory, which has allowed Yakedo to memorize the usage of multiple swordplay forms.

As the name of Yakedo’s swordplay implies, the slashes usually spawned by Yakedo’s blades are performed in a wave-like motion, and Yakedo follows a certain ideology when it comes to his swordplay. Yakedo states he follows the ‘Flowing Belief’, an ancient ideology of the bladed arts. The belief dictates that the blade is an extension of one’s self, and evolves over time, and should not be restricted to any given rhythm. This ideology is one not often followed by others, as Yakedo and a few others are the only practitioners of this belief. The belief also states that a user should flow chakra into the blade, to produce a ‘wave-like’ aura, and allows for smoother and hastier attacks. This wave-like belief often draw inspiration from utilizing the opponents swordplay as well, and Yakedo is able to perfectly execute this due to his eidetic memory.

Many styles of swordplay follow a sort of rhythm, and unlike others, Yakedo’s Wave Belief does not believe in being restricted to one form of swordplay alone, and should instead utilize a variety of swordplay as one continues to mature in the art of swordplay. Now, as any true follower of swordplay knows that many forms of swordplay should follow a rhythm, which the form of combat follows depending on the speed, strength, timing, and type of swordplay utilized. Due to Yakedo’s lack of a rhythm, almost all that have fought him have found trouble in finding a weak point in Yakedo’s defense, as his varying usage of swordplay is almost impossible to pinpoint, and very few weaknesses have been found. It is due to the fact that Yakedo does not follow a certain form of swordplay which allows him to fight against masters and be regarded as one. Practically every practitioner of swordplay follows a certain form of swordplay, and it is due to this lack of a certain form which has allowed Yakedo to defeat all of his challengers, as it has been proven next-to-impossible for one to adapt to Yakedo’s ever-changing flow.

Yakedo’s swordsmanship relies heavily on three aspects; speed, strength, and accuracy. Yakedo’s speed in swordplay relies heavily on his Hell-Spawn physiolocgy, which allows for him to move at speeds close to that of sound. When used in collaboration with the art of Iaidō, Yakedo has been noted to be able to decapitate an attacker before they can blink. Since the average individual blinks in within 300-400 milliseconds, Yakedo is known to be able to attack in less than one-third of a second; a feat many envy. This speed is also revered more so in Yakedo’s combat when one considers he evasion speed. Yakedo is able to move brief milliseconds before an opponent’s blade strikes, Yakedo moving only by the bare minimum distance required. With this ideology, Yakedo often saves himself minor amounts of stamina, which are known to prove to be highly useful in the final stretch of combat. When it comes to strength, Yakedo is no pushover. Yakedo often says that speed is much stronger with the aspect of strength, and Yakedo’s application of such proves his statement true. The sheer amount of force Yakedo is able to apply is enough to shatter through blades made of weak quality, an occurrence which occurs more often than one would think. Yakedo’s strength comes with a price, which is the amount of stress it puts on Yakedo. Using all of his strength right off of the bat would drain him quickly, and thus Yakedo only uses his full strength when absolutely needed, and has only used his full capabilities in a death match with an old comrade. Practically every swordman requires the skill to have close to perfect abilities in accuracy, as if one is not accurate, there would have been no point in the training. Yakedo’s accuracy is close to perfect, largely due to the fact that Yakedo’s intelligence allows him to constantly be ten steps ahead of his opponent, and is often able to force an opponent to perform certain moves, based on what Yakedo believes would put him at an advantage.

Despite Yakedo’s ever-changing style of swordplay, most of Yakedo’s attacks and defenses are usually an amalgamation of two or more styles, and eventually each aspect of Yakedo’s Wave Motion Slashes’ roots can be traced down into many forms of swordplay. These forms all have their weaknesses, but due to Yakedo’s usage of them by combining two or more forms of swordplay, Yakedo more or less covers any weaknesses that could potentially lead to his own downfall. Two of the most commonly seen of Yakedo’s combinations is a combination of the and, two forms of. The Kashima Shinryū form of swordplay is largely kept at secret, not much information able to be found other than its history. However, Kashima Shinryū is seen to be focused on the swinging of blades towards the lower and lower-mid region. By using sheer speed, Yakedo is able to deliver multiple blows in a matter of seconds, a feat which causes heavy damage to those inflicted. Not only that, this form is known to utilized a ‘swinging’ motion, by never stopping the motion of the blade until it is forcefully stopped by the opponent. This swinging motion allows for attacks to gain more speed and momentum for stronger strikes. The other component of the combination is Hokushin Ittō-ryū. This form of swordplay focuses on accuracy and defense. Yakedo is able to attack with almost perfect accuracy with every strike, and is able to block any incoming blades at a whims notice. Performing such a task is close to near impossible, yet skilled practitioners such as Yakedo himself are able to perform this at a whims notice, doing so as a second reflex of sorts.

Another known combination is a combination of and. Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū essentially has Yakedo use horizontal strikes, movement of Yakedo’s lower body, and striking at the lower region. These three components make up a truly hidden form of swordplay, and by combining Yakedo’s speed with horizontal strikes, Yakedo is able to easily disarm the opponent, as well as use his knees and elbows to inflict wounds alongside his legendary swordplay. When striking at the lower region, Yakedo uses a combination of both his unmatched speed and his vigorous strength. By dealing multiple blows to the opponents’ legs and calves, Yakedo’s strength allows for the bruising of skins and bones, and given the right opportunity, Yakedo would be able to fracture the bones found within ones lower region. Not many weaknesses can be found with this form of swordplay, as it also utilizes rapid defense, and Yakedo is able to quickly reposition his blade to intercept incoming strikes from above, even able to infuse his potent chakra into said blade to pierce through the incoming chakra attacks. The next component of this combination is the useful art of Enshin Ittō-ryū. This art is essentially focused on the user performing direct vertical slashes, holding the blade horizontally, and a rapid ‘spinning’ motion. Essentially, this allows for Yakedo to perform dominant vertical slashes of pure power, allowing for him to break through the greatest of defenses, an feat requiring complete strength. Yakedo’s vertical slashes also allows him to shatter blades of a decent build or weaker. Decently built blades are much more oftenly found, and many of the decent blades are regarded as the ‘ultimate’ blades, showing how far blacksmiths’ quality of work has gone down. By holding the blade in an unorthodox position of horizontal, this allows for brief strikes which are able to pierce the greatest of defenses, as the power put into each horizontal strike is much more powerful than one would originally think possible. The rapid ‘spinning’ motion found most often in practitioners of this swordplay format is essentially the spinning of one’s body, applying the same principle as anothing ‘spinning’ motion-like form of swordplay. Similar to the other form, by not stopping the strikes of a blade until absolutely necessary, one is able to gain more speed and power in every strike, creating a way to shatter defenses, or even fracture limbs. Yakedo often uses this combination with dual blades, allowing for much more powerful and more defense-like attributes in his attacks.

On a rare occasion, Yakedo will combine both of these original combinations, resulting in a four-way combination. This four-way combination utilizes three blades, with two Odachi in each hand, while a Tōnto is located in his mouth, held there by Yakedo’s teeth. Yakedo often moves around as if he is one with the ocean and wind, his body moving in a wave-like motion, resulting in his body moving in an unorthodox manner, resulting in almost zero ways to counter this four-way combination. Yakedo is known to only utilize this four-way combination against the greatest of opponents, only two opponents ever pushing him to such an extent.