Central Empire
In an unassuming rural school, a horrific scene was unfolding.
"…Who are you people? How could you do such things to those children? Aren't you afraid of retribution?!"
The speaker was a woman, in her early twenties, with a refined face and the scholarly air of a teacher. But now, she lay disheveled on the ground, her bare body covered in wounds. The salty, sea-like stench in the air told the story of what she had just endured.
"Retribution?" The man across from her burst into laughter, as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Hahaha! Who do you think this empire exists for? I'm the son of Minister Honest! The empire only stands because of us! Lowly commoners like you should be grateful just to be alive, and you dare talk about punishing me?"
Faced with the man's arrogant smirk, the woman's expression grew fiercer, her bloodshot eyes glaring at him. "Letting your men slaughter and defile young girls… that's a crime deserving of death! Even if you're the minister's son, the governor… the governor will never forgive you!"
"The governor?" The man's grin widened, turning vicious. "What a naive woman. Let me show you the reality of this world."
He grabbed her by the neck, lifting her off the ground, and strode outside.
Beyond the door lay a gruesome sight—severed limbs and pools of thick blood.
A swordsman twirled his blade, sheathing the demonic sword "Kousetsu."
"Lord Syura," he said.
"How does it feel, Izou?" the man asked.
Izou bowed slightly. "Thanks to you, Kousetsu has drunk deeply from the blood of the resentful. I can feel its power growing."
"Hmph. When we return to the capital, there'll be even more blood for it to feast on…" Syura glanced around. "Where's Champ?"
"Over there."
Following Izou's gesture, they saw a fat man in a clown mask emerging from another building, clutching several blood-dripping heads. His face twisted into a grotesque mix of tears and laughter. "Such adorable children… like little angels. I couldn't bear to see them grow into filthy adults. They're better off like this…"
Despite the atrocities they were committing, Syura and his group spoke with a casual indifference, as if discussing dinner plans rather than murder and mayhem.
The woman, still dangling in Syura's grip, stared at the scene with eyes that seemed to bleed with rage. But with her throat constricted, she couldn't make a sound.
At that moment, hurried footsteps approached from outside. The door burst open, and a squad of fully armed guards stormed into the school, led by the local governor—a woman.
"Who dares cause trouble here—"
Her words cut off abruptly. Upon seeing Syura's face, her expression shifted to panic. "Y-You… Lord Syura?"
After a brief hesitation, she dropped to one knee, signaling her soldiers to do the same, heads bowed low. "I am Fural, governor of this region. I didn't know you were here. If I spoke out of turn, please forgive me!"
Syura turned to the woman in his grip, sneering at her despairing face. "This is the 'just' governor you spoke of?" With a cruel twist, he snapped her neck and tossed her body aside like trash.
His gaze then fell on Fural, and he licked his lips. "You. Come here."
Fural's heart trembled, a flicker of fear crossing her face, but she forced a shaky response. "Lord Syura, this place is too filthy for your noble presence. Please, come into the city. I'll prepare a banquet to honor you. As for this mess, I'll ensure these commoners' bodies are disposed of cleanly—no one will ever connect them to you."
"Into the city? Hmm… fine." Syura nodded. "I'll give you filthy commoners a chance to serve me."
With that, the minister's son strutted out of the school, followed by Izou, Champ, and the others.
Fural turned to her subordinates, issuing quick orders. "Send men to burn this school down and seal off all news of this. If Lan returns and asks, tell him it was bandits."
"Yes, ma'am."
As Syura's group disappeared into the distance, flames began to rise within the school. Every trace of their crimes was consumed by the fire, leaving only charred ruins standing silently on the plain.
Much later, a handsome young man with golden hair stumbled to the school's entrance. Staring at the familiar yet unrecognizable ruins, his voice trembled. "What… what happened here?"
Uchiha Hikari reached the marked location on the map in just half a day. But tracking down Syura took more effort. The divination Teigu had pointed to a vast plain spanning dozens of square kilometers, dotted with villages and towns housing tens of thousands of people. With Syura and his group keeping a low profile, Hikari resorted to a carpet-search strategy, splitting into a dozen shadow clones and soaring through the skies with the Flying Thunder God technique, scanning the crowds below with her Sharingan.
Until… she spotted a familiar figure—a golden-haired young man.
"Hey, what's your name?" Hikari descended from the sky, landing in front of him.
The young man looked utterly broken, as if he hadn't even heard her question. It wasn't until Hikari cast a gentle Tsukuyomi that he calmed down.
"…Lan?" she murmured, piecing together his identity.
He was a member of Esdeath's "Hunters" organization, wielder of the Teigu "Mastema: Wings of a Thousand Miles." In the original story, Lan was a rural teacher beloved by his students and in love with the local governor. But after returning from a trip, he found his students slaughtered by villains, their deaths covered up by the authorities. Disillusioned, he abandoned teaching, joined the Hunters, and vowed to change the empire while seeking revenge for his students.
In truth, the "villains" were none other than Syura's group, the "Wild Hunt."
In the original timeline, Lan eventually faced Champ from the Wild Hunt, dying in a mutual kill. His body was later turned into a puppet by his teammate Black瞳 using her Teigu, Yatsufusa.
"So, the murder of your students… it happened just a few days ago?" Hikari asked, confirming the timeline with Lan. Her mind clicked into place.
"Lan," she said, her voice steady, "want to know where the ones who killed your students are right now?"
His head snapped up, eyes wide with shock. "You… you know?"
"Of course." Hikari nodded. "But before I tell you, answer one question: where does the governor of this city live?"
(End of Chapter)