As Yori locked the door, Jack and Akiko hurried along the corridor towards the staircase. On reaching the landing, they heard the clash of swords coming from the floor below.

‘Signor Horatio needs our help!’ said Akiko, racing down.

But when they got there, it wasn’t Signor Horatio after all. In the Gallery of Arms they found Sir Toby fearlessly fending off another ninja. This one wielded a katana.

‘Whatever devil you are, you won’t defeat the mighty Sir Toby!’ he boasted, as he parried a slash to his head and countered with a thrust to the chest.

The ninja nimbly evaded the thrust and came back with a devastating slice across the body. Light-footed as a ballet dancer, Sir Toby leapt away, dodging the blade before retaliating with a peppering of jabs that forced the ninja on the retreat – his rapier’s reach giving him a crucial advantage over the katana. As much as Jack despised the man, he once again had to admire Sir Toby’s skill with a sword. It was rare to see a ninja on the back foot in a fight.

The assassin was stung on his left sword hand, then his right arm, then his shoulder. None were fatal, but each strike perturbed the ninja. He began to lose more ground, becoming wilder and more desperate in his defence.

‘You can’t best an English sword master!’ laughed Sir Toby, becoming bolder in his lunges.

Then the ninja overblocked a thrust with his katana, leaving his chest open for an attack. Sir Toby instantly spotted the gap in his adversary’s guard and lunged. As the thrust came for his heart, the ninja looked certain to be run through … but, at the last second, he twisted his body, corkscrewing out of the way of the rapier’s needle-sharp tip. The blade passed beyond its intended mark – and beyond posing any immediate threat to the ninja. Surging forward, he delivered a rapid combination of hand strikes as fast as a rattlesnake, each targeting a specific pressure point.

Sir Toby, mid-lunge, was paralysed where he stood, his front leg forward, his sword arm outstretched, his rapier quivering.

‘What … have … you … done … to … me?’ he groaned.

Jack knew exactly what the ninja had done. Dim Mak. The Death Touch.

As Sir Toby trembled in his immobilized state, the ninja took his time. His composure was absolute now, his former apparent panic merely a ploy to coax overconfidence from his opponent. With calm Zen-like motion, the ninja raised his katana high into the air, then cut cleanly down in a swift arc.

‘NO!’ cried Jack as Sir Toby was decapitated, his red-haired head sliced clean off.

At Jack’s cry of protest, the ninja glanced up and their eyes locked. In that moment, Jack could have sworn that behind the mask the ninja actually smiled. Then, raising a hand, the assassin beckoned Jack and Akiko into the gallery.