Devil Monk

"Nobody else other than me could come close to the Devil Monk in power. The power to kill anything in one attack."

- Aaron Hope

Shosuke Shiki of the One Strike Kill Style is the legendary S+ Rated Outer Shadow of the Black Legion formerly reporting to Bishamonten, The God of War. His ability to unleash devastating strikes with his unique martial art style earned him the fearsome moniker of Devil Monk to his colleagues, and his opponents. Shiki once lived in a village with his grandfather, father, and his elder brother, who was entrusted with the inheritance of the Shiki Clan's Exalted Taijutsu. However, Shiki's father died from illness before the complete curriculum could be taught to his brother, and his grandfather, in his old age, was forced to defend the village from a giant invasion in the father's place, eventually killing him. Shiki's elder brother, recognizing that he did not possess the full repertoire of Exalted Taijutsu, taught his younger brother as much of the taijutsu as he could so he could survive while running from the giants, before fending off the invaders. However, the elder Shiki was incapable of drawing upon the celestial properties of the taijutsu due to his limited understanding of the martial art style, and ultimately died to the giants' wrath.

Shiki, possessing only half of the repertoire of the Exalted Taijutsu, then sought to complete the rest of the repertoire by inventing his own martial arts style. As he journeyed throughout the world, learning and fighting other masters, to fighting supernatural beings, Shiki developed his unrivalled and iconic One Strike Kill technique, which he used to kill the leader of the giants in one chop, then proceeded to obliterate the entire giant race with the shockwaves of one kick.

Eventually, Shiki was picked up by Lord Ginga, and joined the Black Legion, carrying out missions.

Shiki is considered the undisputed, unrivalled, strongest martial artist in the entire organization. He is also officially the second strongest Outer Shadow of the Black Legion, behind SS Rated Aaron "God-Eater" Hope (Dainsleif).

Appearance

Shosuke Shiki is described to be an attractive, tall young man with messy chin length black hair which covers his ears, and most of his face, often tied up in a ponytail. Shiki possesses lizard-like green eyes whose pupils narrow even further if he exerts his body physically. He is frequently seen wearing a dark blue yutaka, with no designs. Shiki never wears any footwear, leaving himself barefooted, which he claims allows him to use One Strike Kill to its fullest potential. Shiki also wears white bandages that cover his hands up to his forearms. On special occasions, Shiki wears different versions of his yutaka with more detailed designs, and equips a pair of sandals for events.

Shiki's facial expressions have oftentimes been described as serious and deadpan, lacking in emotion (or any life whatsoever). This, in conjunction to his legendary status as the S+ Rated Devil Monk, has caused him to emit a terrifying aura even amongst fellow martial artists of the Black Legion. Shiki's expressionless demeanour has at times served as an advantage in battle, as his opponents would be psychologically thrown off due to his coldhearted aura.

Personality

On the exterior, Shiki is described to be extremely coldhearted, expressionless, and apathetic. Likely due to the loss of his father, grandfather, and even his elder brother to the giants at a young age, then being forced to be on the run from said invaders until he had completed his martial arts repertoire. Shiki's cold demeanour only intensified when he showed zero hesitance to strike down Galatea, a fellow Outer Shadow and colleague, after she was revealed to have committed treason on the Black Legion, going so far as to using One Strike Kill to completely amputate her leg as "punishment". Shiki has at times, even went so far as to attack comrades on his own accord should he deem it necessary, such as when he severely damaged Sigurd, nearly killing her.

It is revealed that Shiki's coldhearted exterior was in fact just due to social anxiety. Being unable to communicate and speak due to his inability to speak the English language had caused Shiki to be extremely socially awkward, to the point where he had singlehandedly compromised an escort mission to protect the Princess of Aeradale.

Interestingly enough, the only person who Shiki has shown to be comfortable with speaking was Tokiko "Dagrun" Marin, a fellow Japanese Outer Shadow who spoke Shiki's native language. However, Dagrun described Shiki's Japanese to be somewhat broken as well, likely due to the fact that Shiki never received any formal education, having fled his village at such a young age. It is hinted that Shiki has developed romantic feelings for Tokiko, though these feelings go unnoticed due to his inability to express them.

After Bishamonten's death at the hands of Aaron "Dainsleif" Hope, Hope invited Shiki to his barracks as a temporary stay, where he befriended Aaron and his Auxiliary Shadow, Bryce "Uzi" Jones. Shiki introduced Aaron and Bryce to "otaku culture", causing them to be extremely obsessed with numerous manga series. Aaron and Bryce would frequently invite Shosuke over to their place to exchange manga and Japanese media in exchange for English lessons. Due to this new bond, Shiki has slowly learned to open up to others and overcome his social anxiety, by learning to speak and write English.

Abilities

Unrivalled Physical Prowess: As Black Legion's most powerful martial arts fighter, Shiki possesses overwhelming physical prowess, to the point where his physical abilities have baffled even the Inner Shadows of the organization. His most remarkable qualities stem from his immense strength and undetectable speed, which allows him to perform his One Strike Kill technique flawlessly.

Shiki's speed and reflexes has been depicted to be so fast, that his movements appear as a blur, shown when Dainsleif had attempted to shoot him down with his submachine gun bullets, only to have them caught in the palm of his hand effortlessly. Shiki has also demonstrated the ability to not just dodge, but to also perceive the movements of lightning. At his full strength, Shiki has been reported to be able to move at massively hypersonic speeds, estimated to be around Mach 900 (308,700 meters per second), although he is incapable of moving at this level for too long. According to Inner Shadow Jun Gasket, Shiki is capable of running at Mach 3 (1029 meters per second) consistently without showing signs of fatigue. If Shiki incorporates his Vorpal Style, which possesses the ability to freeze space and time, Shiki's speed is predicted to be theoretically infinitely fast.

Akin to its name, Shiki, when utilizing his One Strike Kill technique, has demonstrated continental level destruction striking power. A single direct punch from Shiki was measured by Lord Ginga to be around 197 exatons. An exaton is unit of energy equivalent to 1 quintillion tons of TNT. A strike from Shiki, even if indirect, has shown to emit shockwaves so powerful that they were enough to rip through Sigurd's armouring and endoskeleton, which was designed to withstand heavy explosions in point blank range.

While not to the level of his other abilities, Shiki has also demonstrated superhuman resilience, as he was able to retain consciousness even after being bombarded and pierced in numerous places by Dainsleif's Iron Maiden Protocol. Even going as far as to approach the fellow Outer Shadow and warn him of his master's presence. Shiki has also demonstrated immense stamina, as he was capable of clearing an entire legion of undead monsters in Takofanes' realm, despite Dainsleif stating that not even the Outer Shadows of the Black Legion could clear them even with the assistance of their Auxiliary Shadows.

Grandmaster Martial Artist: Shosuke's martial arts skill was considered unusual, at a young age, he was already capable of demonstrating advanced moves from the Exalted Taijutsu curriculum, shocking his elder brother. Shiki's prodigious knowledge in martial arts manifested themselves from the tender age of five, which only continued to develop drastically as Shiki was on the run from the giants and met numerous martial arts mentors, learning and refining his technique and inventing a new style altogether. Shiki's martial arts skills have been refined to take down numerous opponents, from fellow martial arts practitioners, to swordsman, to marksman, and even supernatural beings.

Shiki also possesses what many describe as "analytical prediction", the skill to read his opponents movements, understand them, and develop counters quickly. Shiki has also been shown to be able to predict an opponent's fighting style and capabilities just from first glance, as he had been able to piece together Ayame's Poison Blade style just from her musculature and body shape, correctly deducing that one slice could prove fatal for him. Shiki's fluidity and flexibility during combat is also complimented by his ability to tell if an opponent has learned of his style, which will cause him to adapt and modify his style on the fly, making his combat potency even more dangerous.

• One Strike Kill Style: An original martial arts style invented by Shosuke Shiki, with its foundation stemming from Exalted Taijutsu of the Shiki Clan, the One Strike Kill technique consists of overwhelming strikes that are so powerful that they are depicted to cause his opponents to explode violently from the sheer pressure exerted on the target. Shiki's entire fighting style revolves around being able to land these strikes perfectly, meaning a variety of feints, distractions, and deceptive movements are incorporated into the repertoire to allow his opponents to create openings for the strike to land. Tokiko "Dagrun" Marin, a fellow Japanese warrior and Outer Shadow, described Shiki's fighting style to be "highly optimized", as if the style has been modified to the point where it allows its practitioner to land the strikes in the most advantageous environment possible. Tokiko also admitted that Shosuke's One Strike Kill style, even if his devastating superhuman strength was taken out of the equation, was still too much for her White Lotus Kenjutsu style to handle, adding on to the martial art's potency.

• Vorpal Breathing Technique - Zero Strike Kill: Another original martial arts style invented by Shosuke Shiki, though not as refined as his One Strike Kill technique, was developed to fight on par with Inner Shadow Great Demon King Loyce Hal, who overwhelmed the young martial artist due to his ability to move at the speed of light. The Vorpal Style acted more as a passive state of breathing, which allowed the massive chi reserves in Shiki's soul to warp and freeze space and time itself. Due to the difficulty of this style, Shiki has yet to find any solutions to reduce the immense stamina drain the state places on his body. When combining the Vorpal Style to his One Strike Kill Style, Shiki enters a state where he can call upon the technique at its stronger variant, the Zero Strike Kill. With the Zero Strike Kill Style, Shiki is able to land the devastating strikes of One Strike Kill at speeds surpassing the speed of light. Ultimately, the technique was unsuccessful in defeating Loyce, who demonstrated Infinite Regeneration, out healing his attacks.

Combat Prowess

Shiki is considered the second strongest Outer Shadow in the Black Legion, calculated as a net average of all the qualities that makes a Black Legion operative powerful.

Speed

Shiki is an incredibly fast Outer Shadow, as his reaction time was so fast that he was capable of perceiving and processing the movements of lightning. Shiki's burst movements measure up to Mach 900 (~308,700 meters per second), and he is capable of maintaining a running speed of Mach 3 (~1029 meters per second).

The only Outer Shadow who has demonstrated speed that surpassed Shiki's was Tokiko Marin, an Outer Shadow to Jun Gasket who was capable of not only processing the movements of lightning, but also being able to determine its trajectory. Marin's burst movements were estimated to be Mach 1078 (~369,754 meters per second) when using the White Lotus Style, and can run at speeds of around Mach 15 (~5145 meters per second).

Physical Strength

Interestingly, Shiki's physical condition appears to show little correlation to his devastating striking power, as he is ranked the fifth physically fittest Outer Shadow. However, despite his ranking, Shiki's fitness levels have been classified to be near peak human, which is expected for martial arts practioners at his calibre. Strength is measured through standardized weight lifts.

• Body Weight: 158-163 lb
• Body Fat Percentage (%): 8.8%
• Squat: 410 lb
• Deadlift: 485 lb
• Bench Press: 320 lb
• Push Ups: 166 uninterrupted repetitions
• Dips: 68 uninterrupted repetitions
• Dumbbell Curl: 75 lb

Combat Technique

Shiki's prodigious and genius martial arts intellect have placed him at the top of the Outer Shadows, and even the Inner Shadows.

In terms of technique alone, Shiki's One Strike Kill style is the highest ranked fighting technique in the entire Black Legion, even surpassing the fighting styles of the Inner Shadows.

The only member of the Black Legion who has shown to demonstrate a fighting technique that potentially rivalled Shiki's legendary One Strike Kill style is Inner Shadow John Crassman, codenamed The Reaper, who practiced the Final Circle Style, a martial arts style capable of destroying the spiritual body of his targets.

The second highest ranked Outer Shadow in terms of fighting technique is Ernest Wang codenamed Gjallarhorn, who is a master of the Chinese polearm Guandao, and a practitioner of Da Sheng Men, a style named after the Monkey King Sun Wukong.

Shiki's unrivalled martial arts style is the primary factors that contributed to his S+ Ranking.

Striking Power

Shiki, akin to his legendary martial arts name, possesses the penultimate highest striking power out of all the Outer Shadows, boasting a striking power of over 190 exatons from a simple direct punch. Shiki has been recorded to be capable of eliminating entire armies from the shockwaves of a single full power attack from his One Strike Kill repertoire. Even holding back, the shockwaves still generate enough power to sever Questionite, a supposedly nigh unbreakable supermetal.

Combat Intelligence

Shiki is rated the second most intelligent combatant of the Outer Shadows due mostly in part to his martial arts knowledge, ability to perceive and deduce the combat prowess of his opponents at first glance, and to be able to adapt mid-combat to retain the advantage.

Although very intelligent compared to the lower ranked Outer Shadows, Shiki's intellect in combat, especially in strategy, is overwhelmingly eclipsed by the extremely calculating Aaron Hope, codenamed Dainsleif, who possesses a CIQ (Combat IQ) of 210. Shiki's CIQ was computed to be 163, placing him as second, and the third place was taken by Holly Wilson codenamed Rimsix, who possesses a CIQ of 158.

In terms of actual intelligence including non-combat related aspects, Shiki ranks fourteenth due to his lack of formal education due to having fled his village from a very young age.

Android operatives, such as TX7F and Soldier X8, are not considered, and follow a different ranking criteria.

Emotional Fortitude and Emotional Control

Shiki possesses one of the lower ranks in Emotional Control, as he suffers from social anxiety disorder, and severely lacks in communication skills, which is considered extremely important for operatives in the Black Legion. Because of this, Shiki's missions are often limited to only involve elimination and assassination, reducing the operative's usefulness and reliability.

Shiki's Emotional Fortitude is considered average.

Durability

Shiki is ranked ninth in durability, both physical and psychological.

Shiki possesses superhuman durability, but due to being human, it is possible to harm him through conventional means. Shiki has suffered major injuries from mere bullets, although his immense constitution allowed him to retain consciousness. Shiki is also capable of withstanding the effects of poison, but at a limited time. Shiki has at times been able to withstand immense blunt strikes, however, and at times, brushed them off with no evidence of damage whatsoever. This has also been the case with blades and knives/ It may be possible that Shiki's body had adapted to withstand strikes from other martial artists.

Missions

As a Shadow to the Black Legion, Shiki has undertook numerous missions for the organization. Some of the missions have been disclosed.

Missions for Bishamonten

Eliminate the Four Talon Assassination Group

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Success

Shiki easily killed all five members of the assassination group, including the group's infamous swordsmaster, Ayane of the Poison Sword, who possessed the ability to kill her enemies in the blink of an eye with one swing.

Neutralize the United Nations Military Force

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Success

Shiki destroyed the entire military force of the combined nations of the UN, sending the entire world into apocalypse at Bishamonten's request.

Permanently Cripple Outer Shadow Galatea for Treason

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Success

Shiki defeated a sun powered Galatea easily using his One Strike Kill technique, blowing off one of her legs.

Free the World of Venus from the Demon Lord Council

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Success

Shiki massacred eighteen of the twenty Demon Lords in the council, leaving only two Demon Lords to rule the land, allowing the heroes to defeat and save the world. Mission commissioned by Venus, who contacted Bishamonten for assistance.

Kill the Iron Vein Triad Leader and Reduce the Triad's Members

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Success

Shiki invaded the Triad headquarters, massacring the members, then challenged the Leader to a duel, killing him, then proceeded to eliminate their top martial artists, leaving only 10% of the Triad alive.

Escort the Princess of Aeradale to Safety

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Failure

Shiki's awkwardness led to a lack of communication and caused the Princess to be kidnapped. Shiki was later diagnosed with social anxiety.

Escort the Princess of Aeradale to Safety (Attempt 2)

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki, Alecsandr Lavorvsky, Holly Wilson
• Mission Status: Success

Princess rescued by Wilson, and escorted to safety by Shiki and Lavorovsky.

Eliminate the Demon Lord Army

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Success

Due to the heroes being incapable of fighting back the overpopulation of cloned members in the Demon Lord Army, Shiki was contracted to destroy the legion to allow the overlord to start from scratch. Shiki eliminated the army in one strike, akin to his name.

Assassinate the High Council of Qliphoth

• Participants: Shosuke Shiki
• Mission Status: Partial Success

Two elders escaped the onslaught, which were hunted down by Aaron Hope.

Trivia

• Despite introducing Aaron and Bryce to otaku culture, Shiki is not actually interested in manga and anime, seeing the two as overwhelmingly representing his culture. Shiki prefers old Japanese war documentaries.
• According to Aaron Hope, Shiki's idea of a vacation is to go to the baths and take a nap after.
• Shiki discovered he had social anxiety because of a failed mission.
• Shiki despises lolicon genres, but developed a crush on Tokiko Marin, who is older than him and has the physical characteristics of a young girl.
• Shiki believes eating spicy ramen trains his resistance to psionic attacks.
• Due to his inability to socialize with others, Shiki has never had an Auxiliary Shadow, or even used the Shadows who are at his command.
• Shiki's secret wish on Christmas which he had written on a piece of paper was to legalize having raccoons as pets. After Aaron had publicly revealed Shiki's wish, Shiki tried to use One Strike Kill on him.
• Shiki secretly drinks sake despite being 16 years old.