Akira watched Ken's group with a sly look. He lifted a brow in exaggerated surprise, then gave a provoking smile.
"Hmmm… strange. Very strange. None of you… not a single one of you moved?"
He pointed sharply at Ken.
"I just said your quiet friend here killed five hundred soldiers… and threatened the King of Kaji in front of everyone."
He let out a short, mocking laugh.
"And not one of you even blinked? No shock? No fear? Not even a tiny little 'oh my god, are we really traveling with a war criminal?'"
He tilted his head towards Akio.
"And you, little one… you were about to cry a minute ago because I touched your head… and you're not afraid of the guy who wiped out half of Cirrus's army?"
Akio answered with a steady voice:
"I know everything. I know he killed five hundred soldiers. I know he stood before Cirrus."
Akira smirked, but Akio didn't let him speak:
"And I also know he killed them because they were criminals. Because they were part of the war that ruined his life."
Then, with a cold tone that made half the market hiding behind walls swallow hard, he added:
"So no, I'm not afraid of him. If he did it for fun? Maybe we'd have a problem. But for revenge? That's something I understand very well."
Ken closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if he hadn't expected Akio to speak so plainly. Ann stared at Akio in disbelief, Silvara lifted a brow, and even Mabushi gave a faint smile. But Akira… his expression shifted completely.
"Oooh… now I get it."
He walked calmly toward Ken. Stopped right in front of him. Tilted his head, his red eyes examining him like a sealed book.
"So this… is the reason."
Ken remained expressionless. Akira lifted a finger, tapping his own chest first, then Ken's.
"We're the same."
Ann blinked in surprise. Mabushi clenched his fist. Akira continued:
"You killed because they destroyed your life… and I?"
He gave a short, empty laugh:
"I kill because I enjoy it. I kidnap people. I kill them. I press on their chests until they stop moving… and I feel nothing."
He stood over Ken, taller, looking down at him.
"But…"
He raised a brow.
"There's one tiny difference, isn't there?"
Then, in a low voice that sounded like it came from an old wound:
"People destroyed your life… mine was ruined from the very beginning."
A dark smile crept across his face.
"But that doesn't matter now… what matters is that I see something in you, little fire boy."
He looked into Ken's ash-gray eyes, searching them like mirrors.
"I see… the same hatred."
Mabushi clapped four times, slow and mocking, as if rating a bad stage performance. He stepped forward. First beside Ken, then one step closer to Akira.
"Oh… dark monologue, tragic backstory, dramatic ending. Lovely… truly."
He pointed at Akira:
"Seven out of ten. Add something about childhood memories and you'd score full marks."
Akira's smile thinned, his eyes were narrowing. Mabushi shoved his hands into his pockets, posture lazy and unbothered.
"And you? Trying to compare yourself to Ken? Cute. You act like you're the protagonist of a tragedy you wrote yourself… and him?"
He gestured lazily at Ken without turning.
"This guy doesn't even need a single line to make people run."
He stepped even closer, faces almost touching, close enough to start a fight instantly.
"And you know the difference I see?"
He raised a brow.
"He does what he does because he has to. You? Because you've got nothing else besides violence."
He paused, then added with a sharp smile:
"And also… you're taller. Congratulations."
Akira's smile faded further. He lowered his head a little, then lifted his eyes to Ken, then the others, one by one.
"There's one thing… I still don't get."
He pointed at Ken:
"How… how exactly do you trust this boy?"
He gave a short laugh with no amusement:
"Five hundred soldiers, people. Five hundred. That's not a normal number… even in Darkova. Are you blind? He looks like the kind who'd stab you in your sleep because he suddenly remembered a traumatic memory. His face alone says he doesn't sleep well. Half the time he looks like he's about to explode. And yet here you are… strolling with him like you're out on a picnic."
But the surprise wasn't Akira's words. It was their answer. Akio said without hesitation:
"He won't betray us."
Akira raised a brow, and before he replied, Ann spoke:
"Whatever Ken did… he never did anything against us. That's enough."
Silvara added:
"People reveal themselves in the small details… and Ken hasn't shown a single malicious intention. Save your psychological twists for someone else."
Ken's eyes widened slightly. Their words hit him like something he didn't know how to refuse or accept. He had never expected… anyone to defend him. Not Akio. Not Mabushi. Not Ann. Not silent Silvara.
And yet… all of them said it without hesitation. He had never imagined a day when someone would raise their voice for him. Akira looked stunned for a moment.
He muttered mockingly, but some of his arrogance slipped from his voice:
"Good… very good. I didn't expect that from you."
Then he stared at Ken for a long time, an expression caught between curiosity, anger, and a buried kind of respect:
"I didn't expect them to… accept you."
He ran a hand through his black hair.
"How strange… I seem to be the only one here who sees what you really are. Or maybe… I'm the only one who resembles you enough to understand you. Tell me, Ken… do those five hundred soldiers rest easy in their graves? Or have you simply… forgotten their faces?"
Ken didn't answer. Akira continued:
"I thought you were silent because you were guilty… but it seems you're just hiding behind your coldness. Tell me… if a new war erupted today, would you kill again?"
Only then did Ken move. He lifted his gaze toward Akira, his voice is low but cutting through the air:
"If I had to… yes. And you, werewolf… you're not the one to speak of regret. You didn't even think for a second before hitting that merchant. You talk about 'truth'… when you don't even know your own."
Akira narrowed his eyes. It was the first real wall he'd hit in years. He stepped closer until their breaths touched.
"Are you accusing me of being… lost?"
Ken answered coldly:
"You know you are."
The simple sentence struck Akira in a painfully precise place. A brief silence followed before Akio immediately stepped forward, placing himself between them.
"That's enough."
But Akira didn't back away. He smiled without warmth.
"Stop interfering, kid… shouldn't you be busy protecting the girls?"
Akio said:
"The problem isn't that you're strong… the problem is that you enjoy being dangerous."
Akira let out a short laugh:
"And you? Will you stop me?"
Akio lifted his head firmly:
"If I have to… yes."
The atmosphere shifted instantly. Something was seconds away from exploding. Mabushi tightened his fist. Ann's hand slid to her dagger. Silvara watched in silence. Ken raised his cigarette to his lips, lit it slowly, eyes never leaving Akira.
Akira leaned forward slightly, ready to pounce at any moment. Akio raised his hands to fight. They were one movement away from a real battle.
Far from all of this, in the Kingdom of Kaji, the grand red palace burned with torchlight. Cirrus sat upon his throne, back straight, with Alexander standing beside him… the guard who had never once left his side. Silent, composed, unmoving.
Alexander said quietly:
"My lord, you seem deep in thought today."
Cirrus tapped his fingers on the arm of the throne.
"Does a king not have the right to think? When the fate of the world lies in his hands, can he afford to close his eyes even for a moment?"
He rose and walked toward the massive window overlooking the volcanic horizon. He placed his hand on the glass.
"That wall… have you ever wondered what lies beyond it?"
Alexander hesitated, then answered in a steady tone:
"Humans have lived here for centuries. Perhaps there is nothing outside but emptiness."
Cirrus gave a faint laugh, running a hand through his thick red hair.
"Oh… how comforting it must be to believe that, Alexander. To live without questioning. To convince yourself this world is exposed… without secrets or lies."
He stepped away from the window and approached a huge wooden panel covering the wall, a carved map of the continent of Valoria. His fingers traced its borders, the ten states… the Kingdom of Kaji… the three islands.
Alexander spoke from behind him:
"My lord, some rulers still think they can challenge your authority. They do not understand who you truly are."
Cirrus smiled thinly at the map.
"Politics… is just another weapon. The only difference is that some know how to wield it… and others end up stabbed by it."
His fingers glided over Irallos, the land of technology ruled by Makia… then paused over Darkova, domain of Duchess Terracula, before returning to Ruby.
"Power belongs not to the worthy… but to the one who can take it."
Alexander bowed.
"With that power, my lord… you will control all of Valoria. No one will stop you."
Cirrus returned to his throne, sat calmly, and looked long at his guard.
"Now, Alexander… tell me. How are things in Ruby?"
Alexander lifted his head, his tone is sharp and familiar:
"My lord… the situation there has become unstable. There is growing rebellion in the villages. Some noble families are beginning to question our authority."
A short silence, then he continued:
"We detected movements from local leaders claiming Kaji has become a burden… that independence is their 'right'."
Cirrus narrowed his eyes slightly but remained composed.
"Rebellion? They truly believe they can raise their heads in my kingdom?"
Alexander nodded:
"These aren't just rumors, my lord. There is outside support. An unknown party. Possibly… from another state."
Cirrus turned sharply, and said:
"Outside support? Are you speaking of Irallos?"
Alexander replied:
"Makia is the prime suspect. His army isn't moving… but he is watching. Waiting for a moment of weakness."
Cirrus let out a short laugh, half mockery, half disdain.
"Makia… always the snake waiting to strike when the prey weakens."
Then he fully turned and said with a sharp voice:
"Send one hundred soldiers to Ruby. I don't want a rebellion. I want ash."
Alexander bowed instantly:
"As you command, my lord."
He vanished into the shadows, leaving the king alone in the vast hall. Cirrus stood before the map, staring as if he saw something no one else could.
He whispered slowly:
"Politics is a dull game… but at least it gives me the chance to crush dreamers."
He placed his hand over Irallos… pressing his finger against it as if it were nothing more than a stain to be erased.