The cell reeked of mold and rusted iron. The cold stone stabbed into my back, and the heavy chains hung from the walls like iron serpents, ready to strangle me. But it wasn't the walls that crushed me, it was Kaizen's unblinking stare.
He was still breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed from wine. His hands trembled, not from the sword, but from a soul torn between faith and helplessness. I knew him. I knew his heart. He didn't want to believe the words that had just spilled from my lips.
— "Takamura-sensei…" His voice cracked, drowned in alcohol and unshed tears. "Tell me… tell me it isn't true. Tell me it's a mistake. That… that someone else…"
I closed my eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. I couldn't offer him the comfort he begged for. I had to remain a rock, even if inside I was crumbling.
— "Kaizen…" I said quietly, letting each syllable fall like a stone. "Sometimes the truth doesn't matter. Only what the world sees. And the world has seen enough to believe."
He staggered a step forward, almost falling. His large, clouded eyes locked onto mine, desperately searching for a spark of denial.
— "But you… you were… the man I respected! My father… he always said you were righteous, that your honor never wavered. How… how am I supposed to believe now that you…?"
I smiled bitterly, a smile that hurt more than it soothed.
— "Don't believe it. You don't have to. But accept it. Let the others believe. It's better this way."
Kaizen clenched his fists. The stench of wine on his breath burned my nostrils, but through the fumes I sensed something else: fury.
— "Better?! Two girls dead, you in chains, and Renji missing! How the hell is that better, Takamura?!"
My heart tightened. Renji's name was a raw wound, but I couldn't allow anyone to touch his shadow.
— "Because Renji needs time. And I bought it for him. At my own price."
The silence that followed was heavy. Only the guards' footsteps outside and Kaizen's pounding heartbeat could be heard, wild, like war drums. I saw how he wrestled with his thoughts, how the drink clouded his reason, yet his soul still screamed for an impossible truth.
— "Takamura…" he whispered, almost pleading. "If… if it wasn't you… if someone else did this… tell me now. I swear on my father, I'll get you out of here, even at the cost of my life."
I lowered my head. A wave of weariness pressed on my shoulders. I knew the boy wasn't lying. I knew he would do it. And that was exactly why I couldn't let him.
— "No… Kaizen. There's nothing here for you to save. Just take the burden. Let it fall on me, and you… you remain upright. Just as your father wanted you to be."
A fire sparked in his eyes, mingled with tears. The alcohol made him look like a lost child, but the pain in his gaze was too real to ignore.
He burst out:
— "But I don't want to lose you! Not like this, not you! You're the only one… the only one who…"
His words broke, his voice drowning in silence.
I closed my eyes, and for the first time in a long while, I felt a tear slide down my cheek.
Kaizen wanted to say more, but the heavy steps of a guard echoed down the stone corridor. The clatter of his armor struck the walls like an execution bell. The door creaked open, and a man with a stony face stepped inside.
— "Sir Kaizen," the guard said, saluting, "I have orders to inform you personally."
Kaizen spun around, his wine-clouded eyes now glinting with impatience.
— "Speak!"
The guard inhaled deeply, then delivered his report in a flat voice, though every word fell like a sword stroke:
— "A body was found at the roadside, not far from Renji's house. The boy… Kaede. He was discovered decapitated."
A shiver ran down my spine. That name… that old wound ripped open again, like a blade.
Kaizen froze.
— "Kaede…? Decapitated…?"
The guard continued, as if reading from a cursed scroll:
— "Also, several neighbors claim they heard Renji's screams tonight. Some insist they saw a figure running immediately after. We cannot confirm who it was, but the coincidences… are obvious."
Kaizen clenched his fists tighter, his breath heavy.
— "Renji…"
The guard cast another glance around the cell, then added gravely:
— "And one more thing. A horse is missing from the northern stables. Last seen in the barn last night. The owner swears he tied it properly. Now, the ropes are cut."
A sharp silence fell over the cell.
Kaizen staggered back, as if struck in the gut. His gaze snapped toward me, his eyes filled with questions, fury, and confusion. The alcohol no longer hid his turmoil, it was raw, clear, like an open wound.
— "Takamura," he said, his voice breaking. "If Renji was there… if they saw him… and now Kaede is dead… then… then what the hell is happening to everyone?!"
I lifted my eyes to him, but gave no answer. In my chest, the truth burned, but my lips were forbidden to speak it.
Another guard rushed into the room, his heavy steps echoing, his eyes wide as if the news he carried terrified even him.
— "Sir Kaizen… I must report… the girl's body, Airi's… it's gone. No one knows where it is, or how."
Kaizen clenched his jaw, his eyes blazing with rage and confusion.
— "What the hell is happening in this city?! How is this possible…?!" he roared, fists trembling. "All these lunatics… what the hell is going on?!"
Sensei felt a cold shiver crawl up his spine. In his mind, a whisper of dread: How can this be…? I pray Renji is far away, with no part in this…
The guard's words echoed still in my skull, like broken bells: "Kaede… found decapitated, Airi's body missing."
My chest tightened. No… it made no sense. Renji had told me himself, with eyes full of terror and despair, that Kaede killed Miyu and Airi. He swore it with every fiber of his being. And I believed him. I believed him because I knew him, because I had watched him grow, because there was no trace of a lie in his voice.
But now… Kaede was dead. And not just dead, decapitated.
How is this possible? If he killed the girls… then who killed him? And why like this? Who could have struck him down and taken his head?
My thoughts tore at me, colliding with no answers. It was as if the ground itself was splitting beneath me. I knew too well that behind these coincidences lurked something greater, something hidden. Too much blood, too much chaos, too many pieces that didn't fit. I couldn't let anyone see the doubt in my eyes. Not even Kaizen. Especially not him.
Renji… I believe you. No matter how confusing things are now, no matter what the guards report, no matter what people will say… I believe you. Because you are the only one who was there. And because if I, your sensei, don't believe you… no one will.
I lifted my gaze to Kaizen, who still clenched his fists, swaying between fury and despair. He waited for answers, but all I could offer was silence, and a cold lie.
Kaizen slammed his fist against the cell bars, the metallic clang shaking the cold walls. Wine still coursed through his veins, but rage had burned away the haze. His eyes blazed red, heavy with betrayal.
— "Renji…" he spat the name like a curse. "After everything I told him, after I trusted him, after I shared with him things… I never shared with anyone else…"
His breathing grew heavy, like a beast trapped in a cage. He paced in front of the cell, each step more violent than the last.
— "And now? The girls dead, Kaede decapitated, a horse stolen, neighbors swearing they heard him screaming?!" His voice cracked as he exploded. "He's mocking us! Mocking me! Mocking everything I've done for him!"
I remained still, feeling each of his words strike my soul. I wanted to stop him, to shout, to wake him — but I couldn't. Not now.
Kaizen spun toward me, his eyes gleaming in the torchlight.
— "Listen to me well, Takamura. I swear on my father's name: Renji will be declared a fugitive."
My breath caught for a moment, but I said nothing.
He continued, his voice sharp as a blade:
— "Either we capture him alive and bring him here… or we bring him back dead if he resists. There is no third path. Not after this."
His words echoed in the cell like a sentence.
I felt my heart shatter into pieces. I wanted to scream that he was wrong, that Renji wasn't the monster he saw, that the truth was different. But if I said that, everything would collapse, Kaizen's trust, Renji's chance to escape.
So I remained silent. I hid my despair behind a mask of stone.
Renji… run. Run while you still can. For now, the whole world will rise against you.
Kaizen stood in silence for a few moments, breathing heavily, fists clenched. I saw the shadows of wine fade from his eyes, replaced by cold determination.
He stepped toward the guard at the door, his gaze like ice.
— "Open the cell."
The guard blinked in surprise.
— "Sir Kaizen… but he confessed"
— "Silence!" Kaizen's voice thundered down the corridor, cutting the air. "Don't you see? It's clear. Takamura did nothing. It was just a diversion, so Renji could escape. All the guilt falls on him, not Takamura. He did this only because he is his sensei."
I lifted my eyes to Kaizen. My heart pounded wildly. I didn't know whether to feel relief or dread.
The guard hesitated, but Kaizen stepped closer, his glare stabbing like a dagger.
— "I said release him. Now. If you suggest otherwise again, you'll answer to the commander for insubordination."
The tension broke suddenly. The guard nodded reluctantly and produced the key. The rattle of metal in the lock was like a breath after drowning. The door swung open, and the cold chains became nothing but a heavy memory.
Kaizen fixed his eyes on me, his voice trembling with fury yet firm:
— "Takamura… step out. You're not the monster here. But Renji…" He clenched his teeth, almost spitting the name. "Renji is now a fugitive. And I'll make sure the whole world knows it. Either we capture him alive, or bring him back dead. There is no third path anymore."
I stepped slowly across the threshold, feeling the heavy air of freedom. But inside my chest, the chains weighed more than ever.
Renji… now truly everyone is after you.
[The end of Takamura Haruki (Renji's Sensei) POV]
The road to the tavern felt heavier than the first time. Not because of his steps, but because of the fear gnawing at his chest like a starving beast. If I die again… maybe I won't return. The thought thundered in his temples, repeating like a curse.
He leaned on the stick he had found by the roadside, his hands visibly trembling. He remembered too well: he hadn't felt a blow, a blade, nor the sting of poison. Just the end, instant, as if life itself had been snuffed out between fingers.
He bit his lip until he tasted blood. I can't run… if I run, I'll never find out what's happening. I have to enter again. I have to see it differently.
The plain stretched before him, and on the hill the tavern's silhouette stood outlined. The same dusty shape, the same chimney with its lazy smoke. To anyone else, it was just a simple building. To Renji, it was a tomb with its doors wide open.
He stopped for a few moments, breathing heavily, staring at it. He pulled his hood tighter over his face and whispered softly, almost praying:
— "This time… either I learn the truth, or I don't come out alive."
And he took the final step. He now stood right before the door.
Renji pushed the tavern door. The creak of the old wood echoed inside, and the warm glow of the lamps struck his eyes. He was no longer a passive observer. He wasn't hiding or watching from afar. This time, every rustle, every step, every sigh was a sign, a clue.
He didn't sit at a secluded table. He walked straight to the cook, where the fire flickered and the wood cracked in the stove. The man's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Renji approach.
— "Hey… greetings, stranger… you want."
Renji raised his hand in a short, sharp gesture.
— "I want to talk."
He stopped a few steps away. His eyes scanned every corner: the tables, the cups, the flickering shadows of the patrons. He listened to every sound: the laughter of drunkards, the creak of chairs, the crackling wood in the stove, even the rustle of the man's clothes. Every sound was a map, every noise a clue.
The man studied him with surprise, but Renji was no longer the frightened boy. In his eyes was pure concentration, almost cold. He trembled slightly, but it was the tremor of vigilance, not fear.
— "Where is it?" he asked, his voice low, carefully measured.
The cook blinked in confusion. — "Where is what?"
Renji said nothing. His eyes scanned the room quickly. Every table, every client, every shadow could be a threat. He felt the familiar chill of premonition, but this time it was different: not panic, but alertness.
He leaned forward slightly, listening more than watching. The tavern's sounds became his map. The patrons' breaths, the crackle of wood, the rustle of clothing, all were clues. He was ready to react before any attack could come.
Renji knew one thing: if he made a mistake now, there would be no third chance.
He kept his attention on the cook, on every move of the patrons, on every sound. And yet… something was off. From beneath the floorboards came faint creaks, like claws scratching old wood. No one was moving. No one seemed to make them.
No… this isn't normal… Renji thought, instinctively reaching for his broken sword, readying himself.
A shiver of warning coursed through him. In a fraction of a second, he crouched low, legs bent, arms ready, hands gripping the blade. His body tensed completely, prepared to leap in any direction, eyes fixed on the floor and the entire tavern.
And then, in the same instant, the floor exploded with a rending roar. Massive claws, covered in spikes, burst from the old wood like spears. Renji dove sideways at once, dodging the lethal strike.
He landed hard, trembling, breath ragged. When he lifted his gaze, the sight froze him: all the bodies in the tavern had been impaled and shredded by the claws and spikes that erupted simultaneously, a tableau of absolute, merciless death.
Without a chance to react, all the others were slaughtered instantly. Their lives ripped away in a moment; their screams cut off abruptly, as if the world itself erased them.
From the cracks in the floor, a colossal figure began to rise, the air around it vibrating with malevolent power. A gigantic demon, with monstrous claws and spikes, curved horns and blazing red eyes, emerged slowly but with such force the entire tavern trembled.
Renji's heart pounded wildly, adrenaline flooding every fiber of his being. His body was ready, but his mind shook with pure terror: there was no turning back.
Renji was the sole survivor, and the demon rising from the floor fixed his gaze on him, marking him as the next victim. Each of its steps reverberated through the ground, and the sword in his hands trembled under the unbearable tension of the moment.