Keheheheheheh...

Once back in Medusa's lair, Waru was very much thinking about souls... Only about collecting souls.. Consuming any souls he could find... Keheheheh... It was great! And this witch was going to help him do it... Medusa...

"Keheheheh... I'll have all of the souls I'll ever need working with this witch... She scratches my back, I scratch hers... Keheh... Let's just hope she doesn't end up like the late Maruze.... Keeeeeheeheheheheheheh!!!"

Though Waru could have used Maruze's skills even more to collect more souls, he was more fitting with Medusa. Besides, his souls were delicious, anyway... Very delicious. But... Speaking of Maruze's skills... Waru felt a presence. A very powerful presence.. It was powerful, yet it was faint... And it was emanating from inside of his souls.

"... It couldn't be...?!? Kehhh..."

Waru had to delve into his own soul to figure this out... And so, he did. He had to see if the Dividing Enigma was still active...

Once delving into his soul, everything seemed normal... Souls were flying about... Fire shot out of places... Everything was blackened... Very suitable for a demon of his caliber. But... Wait. What was that? In the distance!? There was a small, but resilient light shining.

"... Light? There is no place for that here. Come to me, Soul of Maruze!!!"

The soul would appear before him, glowing. The 85 souls must have merged back into one... For some reason. Could it be that his Division worked even after being consumed? It wouldn't be unexpected for such a powerful soul like his... In fact, the soul started to take shape into Maruze once more.

Waru: Keeehhhh...!!! How are you still able to resist, Maruze!? Your contract says that your soul is mine!!!

Maruze: The contract ended at my death. My soul only belonged to you once I died. And now, I am independent once again. I may not have a body, but I surely do have a soul.

Waru: Tch... How did you resist being consumed completely, hm...?

Maruze: Division... When you used my Division technique in that last battle, that awoke my dormant soul, allowing me to use my own Division rebelliously to disconnect myself from your own will. Now I am an independent soul wandering inside of yours. You do not own my soul anymore.

Waru sneered, gritting his teeth tightly. "... You don't think I'll take you back again? I need your soul, Maruze! And this time, I'll make sure to make it so that you cannot divide yourself again! You shall become part of me!! Completely!!!! KEEEEH!!!!!"

Maruze squinted his eyes, a sword appearing in his hand as Waru was talking.

Maruze: ... Do you honestly think you can win? Not only do you not have access to Sword Magic now, but now you do not even have Dark Sword Magic... and the Division is all to me.

Waru: ... My own Deception Soul will do just perfectly for me... Kh.

In Waru's hand would appear a demonic katana, completely opposite from Maruze's katana. "Now let me show you the power of a demon, Maruze!!"

At that moment, Maruze was off in a blur. He still was extremely fast. He was aiming to take down Waru as quickly as he possibly could. If he could overpower Waru's soul, he could escape without any hesitation. That was the plan.

With Maruze dashing at him, Waru smiled, pointing his sword to Maruze and saying "10,000 Hands of Doom!" Instantly, from Waru, 10,000 hands wielding swords would shoot out directly at the incoming Maruze, aiming to overwhelm him so that he could take back control of his soul. Waru immediately had them all slashing violently in Maruze's direction... and since Maruze knew Waru's Deception soul so well, he knew what would happen if he were touched by it....

Maruze didn't seem to care at all about the 10,000 blades. In fact, he ran straight into them, parrying every single sword with his own sword. Then one came from behind him, where he had no sword... But then a sword instantly appeared in his hand to block it. Seems as though Maruze's Infinite Cuts ability still worked just fine.. He could produce any number of blades he wished or that were necessary at the time. Good. He continued to fend off the blades with little to no effort and when he got to Waru, he made a very swift and deadly slash at his head, trying to decapitate him.

Waru scowled at how easily Maruze was parrying him. Waru was a demon, but he wasn't exactly all that good at fighting alone... But his Deception soul made up for that. He would block the slash of Maruze quickly, then say "Shadow Blend." And he instantly disappeared, a sword jutting out from Maruze's shadow at an insane speed.

Maruze, with his quick reflexes and extra keen senses, would already know what Waru was doing the moment he popped out. As such, he used one sword to block the sword jutting out of his shadow, and the other one...

"Sword Magic: Shining Blade of Light!"

The sword started to glow an epic brightness.. Piercing light rays would shoot directly out of the sword and into the shadow, literally piercing the shadow. Sword Magic was indeed Magic, which Maruze shouldn't have in general, but does. This should definitely weaken Waru severely.

Waru WOULD be weakened, if it hit him... He had suffered some damage, but not a lot, as he was now in another shadow. He popped out, still scowling. "Damned Sword Magic... Keeeeeh... That will make this more troublesome..."

Maruze squinted his eyes "So... The Demon Blade, Waru has only this much power... I would have expected more, from what we've been through together, Waru... Hmmm... But this time around, you don't have a soul to resonate with... My soul is stronger than yours. You will lose this battle." Maruze would swing his glowing sword, causing a bright light to flash in the area. The moment the light died down, Maruze was behind Waru, shouting "Division!!" He was aiming to permanently cleave Waru in two.

Knowing that nothing could stop the Division of Waru simply because it would be split in half, Waru could only dodge this attack. He would use Shadow Blend again to move into Maruze's shadow... He was easily and completely being overwhelmed by Maruze.. This wasn't good at all.

Knowing Waru would try to avoid this blade by going into Maruze's shadow, he already had his second sword stabbed inside of the shadow... And that meant.. "Sword Magic: Shining Blade of Light!" Light would be slicing up and surging through Waru, who was inside of the shadow of Maruze. Without question. Waru should have been thoroughly incapacitated by now.

The instant Waru saw the blade inside of the shadow, he knew that it was over... He had nothing he could do about it at that point. He lost to Maruze... "Khhhhh..." he popped out of his shadow, falling over on his back. "... Maruze... I will have your soul... once again..."

Maruze scoffed, narrowing his eyes at Waru. "... I will divide your soul into two, Waru." Maruze plucked out his sword, starting to walk in an arbitrary direction. His sword was glowing with his own wavelength. He raised it up in the air and shouted "Division!!" And brought it down, instantly making a bright light appear, and his soul was divided from Waru's. His soul was out, and he would now be searching for a body to inhabit... Something fresh.