Kael calmly walked toward Katsu and Rokuro.
"Excuse me."
Without thinking.
both of them moved out of his way instantly.
Kael continued walking past them like nothing happened.
Silence.
Katsu blinked.
"…What?"
He slowly looked down at himself.
"I just moved instinctively."
For once.
Katsu looked genuinely confused.
"What was that?"
Rokuro looked just as shocked.
"…I see."
Katsu turned toward him.
"You figured it out already?"
Rokuro narrowed his eyes slightly.
"His heart."
A pause.
"It vibrates reality itself."
Katsu raised an eyebrow.
"…What?"
Rokuro continued calmly.
"If someone hears his command, reality physically forces the body to obey."
Silence.
Katsu stared blankly.
"…That makes no sense."
"Exactly."
Rokuro crossed his arms.
"Or maybe it's something different entirely."
Katsu frowned.
"There's no way."
He looked toward where Kael disappeared.
"Otherwise it wouldn't feel instinctive…"
For a moment,
neither of them spoke.
Then Rokuro lightly tapped Katsu's shoulder.
"…Let's just get food."
Katsu stared ahead for another second.
Then sighed.
"…Yeah."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Of course. I'm with Rokuro."
A pause.
"I'm safe."
BACK AT THE HAVEN
Kentarō yawned loudly before immediately falling backwards off his chair.
"Dang it, dude…"
He stayed on the floor dramatically.
"When are we EVER gonna get villains?"
Ryosen sighed before lifting the chair back upright.
"You really shouldn't be saying things like that while things are peaceful."
He adjusted the beads around his wrist calmly.
"Anyway."
Ryosen looked around the room.
"Since everyone's here… I'll probably return to my temple soon."
Aegis looked toward him.
"The village?"
Ryosen nodded slowly.
"After Typhon attacked two years ago…"
His expression softened slightly.
"I want to make sure everyone's safe."
Shichiro suddenly pointed at him dramatically.
"BLEHHH."
He stuck his tongue out jokingly.
"There was literally nobody there when we visited."
Ryosen chuckled.
"Silly."
He shook his head.
"I'm talking about the people that forged your weapons."
A pause.
"The ones who gave me my blessing."
Kyuuketsuki's eyes widened slightly.
"The trial people?"
"Exactly."
Shichiro suddenly leaned forward.
"WAIT."
He pointed at Ryosen excitedly.
"Can we redo our trials?"
Ryosen blinked once.
"…Why?"
Shichiro grinned.
"To make our weapons stronger obviously."
Ryosen immediately shook his head.
"Yeah… no."
He picked up his beads again.
"The weapons grow stronger WITH you."
A pause.
"Which means your weapon reflects your own growth."
Kentarō instantly pointed at Shichiro.
"THAT JUST MEANS YOU'RE WEAK!"
Shichiro stared at him blankly.
"Start training with me, Shi!!"
"No."
Shichiro answered instantly.
"I'm not doing anything until a villain actually shows up."
Kentarō yawned.
"Blah blah blah…"
He leaned back.
"Then what about missions?"
A pause.
"You know those bounty posters?"
His eyes lit up slightly.
"We need supplies anyway."
Shichiro shrugged.
"Speaking of that… there's this insanely lucky gambler guy causing problems in the east distri-"
"MY MISSION."
Kentarō slammed the table.
"I CALL IT."
Everyone winced.
"HAHA!! DIBS!!"
He pointed at himself proudly.
"MY MISSION MY MISSION MY MISSION."
Then pointed aggressively at everyone else.
"YOU'RE OFF. YOU'RE ALL OFF."
Shichiro laughed.
"I'm just happy you're gonna disappear for a while."
Kentarō froze.
"…You said what?"
Shichiro smirked.
"Heh."
Kentarō immediately spun his daggers dramatically.
"DON'T CARE."
He pointed toward the exit.
"I AM OUT OF THIS BIH!!"
"CYA SHI!"
The Haven doors slammed shut behind him.
Silence.
Aegis sighed deeply.
"…He forgot the mission details."
Ryosen nodded.
"As expected."
BACK TO KATSU & ROKURO
Katsu carried an absurd amount of supplies over his shoulder.
"…Is this enough?"
Rokuro stared at the bags thoughtfully.
"…I think we need just a BIT more."
"No."
Katsu immediately dropped one of the bags.
Then,
both of them froze.
Not from fear.
From recognition.
Kael stood nearby once again.
His red eyes glowed faintly beneath the city lights.
A man crawled desperately across the ground in front of him.
His broken sword dragged against the pavement.
"N-No…"
The man reached toward the blade desperately.
"I'M THE STRONGEST SWORDSMAN IN THE WORLD—"
Kael looked down at him emotionlessly.
"You're scared because you care about your reputation."
The swordsman froze.
Kael stepped closer slowly.
"At the end of the day…"
A pause.
"…it's only talent."
CRACK.
Kael kicked the man across the ground violently.
A tooth rolled across the pavement.
Blood stained Kael's shoes.
He looked down at them in disgust.
"…Disgusting."
He calmly wiped the blood away.
Rokuro narrowed his eyes.
"…Hey."
Before he could finish.
Katsu interrupted him.
"No."
His voice remained calm.
"This is different."
Kael wasn't just defeating people.
He was breaking them.
Katsu slowly adjusted the bags on his shoulder.
"…We're going home."
Rokuro looked toward him.
"To tell everyone?"
Katsu nodded quietly.
For once.
he looked serious.
"Something's wrong with this guy."