Hinan Sekatsu

Several days passed, during which Teruth and Kyo attempted to train together, although they still hadn't an idea of how to prepare to face these kinds of opponents. They did, however, refine their sword skills a surprising amount using shinai, and breaking a few in the process. Opening and closing these sessions with extended hand to hand combat, they trained to the point of exhaustion each day. When the time of their next mission came, they were not only ready, but probably in no condition for an epic battle.
Luckily enough, the text message came in the early afternoon, from Korosu, informing all Latis to report to base.

"As you know," the Slayer began, "the Jinsen are on the verge of some huge plan we don't know anything about. Ordinarily, the advantageous thing to do would be to send a scouting party to find out exactly what's going on, however, since they have one of the most adept Adepts alive at their disposal, they'd see us coming from a mile away no matter how well we disguised our auras. Thus, having little knowledge of their defences but the exact location of their base, we must attack tonight, and force some answers out of them, maybe even take them out entirely!"
"Luckily for us," Markos followed, "he never sensed me, and they have no idea we're coming, I'm also mentally protecting this room right now to keep it that way. The base is in an ordinary house in Taser Creek, Xiaruth and one other Jinsen are permanent residents there, there may or may not be others present at the time, and we don't know of their Demon summoning abilities, so we must expect the unexpected." Markos stood, "we should depart immediately and regroup a block away from the house, all taking different routes."
"No way, Markos," Korosu interjected, "don't even think about it, if you die we won't last another day, we can handle this one."
"Fine, there's no convincing you anyway... I'll coordinate the attack telepathically, and you can give field orders on site."
"That's more like it. Now, we need to stay together in there, but even though they may figure it out before we get there, we'll still take them off guard, so each of us should be able to take out an opponent one on one, if they truly overwhelm you, hold them off until another Latis can back you up, but nobody, nobody go near Xiaruth, should we have the misfortune of having an audience with him, until all of us are there to back you up."
"Got it," Kyo replied. After all plans were set, the Latis set out on their vital mission...

The 5 warriors stood in the shadow of the Jinsen house. "Latis," Korosu instructed, "go forth, spare none, but your lives are the highest priority, if you're overwhelmed, get the Hell out, we'll retreat if we must. That said, Latis... Attack!"
Reia, wielding a bo staff, shattered the basement window and cleared the shards from the edges, Korosu entered first, followed by Konaru, Reia, and finally Teruth and Kyo. The basement was uninhabited and unlit, the party stepped forward when light poured into the room, atop the stars stood the Jinsen Teruth knew. "Vaign!" Teruth exclaimed.
"Latis..." Vaign focused his Ki invisibly, each Latis sensed five masses of energy forming and approaching, quickly they became Demonic warriors in front of them. Vaign appeared to be in conscious meditation, as if they were entirely under his control. The demons struck before the sword wielders could react, but Reia swept one at the ankles as it charged and held it to the ground, her strength backed by Ki, and doubtlessly adrenaline. Konaru sidestepped his opponent's charge, turned, drew and fired a bullet into its back, bring it down. Korosu, jumped out of the way of his assailant, drew his blade and finished Konaru's foe. As his own turned to counter his strategic flaw, Reia struck it to the side of its head.
Meanwhile Teruth was forced back by his Demon as he attempted to draw his long katana. Kyo turned and drew, dispatching it from behind, this, however, left him open, and he was taken by the beast's claws and thrown hard into the concrete wall. Teruth pulled his blade free and decapitated the Demon, then headed to his left and finished the one knocked down by Reia. Korosu dealt the final blow to the five.
Vaign stepped back, as if in pain. Kyo stood quickly and charged after him, but Teruth reached the stairs first, ever the rival, and pursued the Jinsen as he fled down the first floor hallway and up the stairs to the second floor. Teruth ran faster, as Vaign apparently couldn't dematerialize his way out of this one, as he instead turned to face him head on, and unarmed as the reached this hall's end at the edge of a large stairway leading back to the first floor. Teruth took a downward strike at him, all he had to offer in this narrow hallway, but Vaign caught his arms below the hilt, and twisted his wrist into a joint lock, forcing him to release this sword with one hand. Vaign then swept his foot out from under him and used the momentum to throw his body over the railing, to an unavoidable roll down the stairs into the darkness below.
"Teruth!" Konaru and Kyo called simultaneously, Konaru jumped over the rail and ran down the stairs after him. Vaign appeared to focus more Ki as Kyo closed in, sword drawn, and released his hold on it as Kyo's blade, driven by rage and fear, pierced his heart, protruding from his back and into the wall behind him.
Several Demonic shapes began to form behind them.

Teruth and Konaru found themselves in a dark foyer adjacent to a lit room. Konaru searched for concentrations of energy behind the door, "there's a room behind this one, that's where they are." Konaru whispered.
"So we should wait for the others?"
"They sound like they have their hands full, and whoever's in there may already be preparing to come out and flank us if we go to help them, it may be advantageous to make a preemptive attack."
"Ok then, how about I go in first, when they come out they'll target me, when you ambush them instead, and put a bullet in their head."
"You'll be risking your life..."
"I know, but what value does my life have anyway? I'd rather die like this than spend a lifetime in this world." Teruth gathered himself and prepared to enter, "don't come in until I signal you with my Ki, I'll see when you'll have the perfect opportunity, or when I really need backup."
"Ok, go for it."

Teruth entered the room, when the door slammed closed without his interference. The room was freezing, and the air was loaded with Ki, the lights went out, and the second door opened, allowing the entrance of a girl in black. "Teruth."
"How did you...?" Teruth stepped back in shock, as he was certain he'd never seen this Jinsen before.
"Makes sense that you'd join with the Latis, the Cosmic Balance holds." She spoke.
Teruth raised his sword slowly, "Who are you?"
"Syana," the Jinsen spoke, "what I gave myself. Because, unlike you, nobody bothered to give me one. And put that away, it will do you no good in here."
Teruth shook off this threat, "Jinsen, tell me of your plan, or I'll hold nothing back, despite whatever you seem to know about me."
"I'll give you that one, fine," she began, Teruth was shocked at the ease. "We're going to take over human bodies using astral Demons, take you out and then proceed to conquer everything in sight, using their own forces against them." This was nothing he hadn't gathered already, he prepared to attack, when Syana stepped aside to allow the door to open again and another figure enter.
Towering a foot or two over her, he entered, Teruth was struck immediately with the sense of his Ki, a level greater than he'd imagined, doubtlessly this was him, Xiaruth.

Konaru sensed the same, and waited for no further orders to advance into the room. Xiaruth saw him do so and pushed Syana aside as he fired into the empty doorway. Before he could ready his next shot, Xiaruth cleared the distance of the room and pulled out his large blade, made in an odd shape with a part hooking back in the front, which the purpose of became obvious. He swung, caught Konaru in the back of the left leg, and tore out a good amount of flesh, slicing his Achilles tendon in half. Konaru screamed out in agony and fired blindly at his mutilator, landing a perfect shot in his left arm.
The massive opponent quickly recovered mentally and moved to finish the Samurai as their 3 allies charged in, Konaru springing forward to block his fatal swing. "Retreat!!!" He called, noticing Konaru's condition. Kyo and Reia took Konaru and the four began their escape. Korosu and Xiaruth exchanged several blows, until the Slayer could make his own exit. Xiaruth didn't pursue, for his own injury, "when we next meet, Slayer, I'll rend the flesh from your breathing corpse. Your world is mine."

Regrouping at the Latis base, Teruth elaborated on the encounter.
"Damn... This entire assault was pure strategic flaw," Markos responded.
"Has Konaru awakened?!" Korosu demanded.
"Yeah," Reia replied, "I stopped the bleeding, of course, he'll never walk again, in fact, it's probably infected, and we can't exactly take him to a hospital, without being arrested for murder..."
Korosu ran into the room his long time ally rested in. "Konaru..."
"Slayer, this is the end of Konaru, may as well begin addressing me as 'the late.'"
Korosu was silent to this.
"Even if I live, I can't fight, outside of that my skills would only hold us back. I'm no good to anyone, only one more journey remains for a Samurai in my condition."
Korosu held back any words, "I understand," he paused, "and good luck on that journey, my friend."
"And good luck ridding the Earth of Demon and Jinsen alike!"
Korosu felt uplifted enough to exit, knowing in his heart what came next. The four Latis heard the resonating blast, the last fired by the skilled hands of the Gunslinger, Konaru.