As Koutarou began swinging his lightning whip at Masaru, the Officer responded in kind with his own element.

The shadow blades were smaller, but then, they weren't staying attached anyways. Masaru conjured up a flurry of small, quick blades of shadow, and just as quickly flung them away from himself. They didn't last very long...but they lasted long enough to keep the whip's electrified length from getting close to the metal blades Masaru was wielding.

While this was happening, something odd occurred with the shadow Koutarou was casting on the ground. At first it was a rough human outline. Then it seemed to compress, and actually drew in a few scattered shadows nearby.

Then it moved over and merged with Masaru's shadow for a moment, before the whole mass twisted up into a spear of shadow that lanced upward directly at Koutarou. While the Vice-Captain was dealing with the sudden attack, Masaru conjured two of those over-sized shadow-blades, and threw those at Koutarou.

All the while, wisps of his shadowy reiatsu swirled around the man, his whole demeanor showing how much he enjoyed the proceedings.