"Riel, wake up, or you'll miss breakfast," Niko said, shaking me gently.

Thanks to him, we made it to the mess hall just in time.

My hair was still damp as I glanced around, taking in the assortment of dishes.

Something felt off…. something was missing.

Rice. There was no rice.

"Niko, don’t you guys eat rice for breakfast?" I asked.

He gave me a puzzled look. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen rice served in the morning," he replied.

"We have cereal, bread, and hash browns, though."

I sighed internally.

Guess I wouldn’t be having rice for breakfast anytime soon.

Resigning myself, I grabbed a couple of hash browns as a substitute.

"You don’t look too happy about that," Niko chuckled.

"Don’t worry, I’ll ask the cook to prepare some rice in the mornings."

My eyes lit up at his suggestion.

"Thanks, Niko!" I said gratefully before digging into my hash browns, bacon, and eggs.

"By the way, Diana Eisenhawk wants you to meet her after breakfast," Niko said, handing me a small map.

"This is our current building, and the one you need to go to is just a few minutes' walk away. Make sure you don’t get lost."

He smirked. "The princess won’t be happy if you make her wait too long."

I raised an eyebrow. "Princess?"

"It’s just a nickname. She’s pretty much royalty around here," Niko said with a chuckle.

"So, how long have you been here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Almost a year now," he replied.

"Was it tough?"

"At first, yeah.

But the pay is good, and it allows my parents to send my siblings to school and live comfortably," he said with a proud smile.

I nodded. "That’s a good reason."

"What about you, Riel? Why are you here?"

"To follow in my grandfather’s footsteps," I answered simply.

Niko’s eyes widened.

"Wow, so your grandpa was a military officer too?"

"Kinda," I said vaguely.

"Well, I guess it runs in the blood," he mused.

He then glanced at my glasses.

"By the way, can you see well without those?" he asked.

"Yeah, I can. These glasses serve a different purpose," I replied.

Niko checked the time. "You should get going."

"You’re right. I don’t want to get on the princess’ bad side," I said, standing up. "Thanks for waking me up early. See you later!"

"See you, Riel," he called after me.

It took a few hundred steps to reach Diana’s location. As expected, she looked irritated.

"You took your sweet time, didn’t you?" she said, arms crossed.

"Sorry, I'm still getting used to the place," I replied.

She sighed. "Fine, I get it."

"I won’t be able to give you a tour today. Grandpa wants to show you something," she added.

"I see," I said, unsure of what to expect.

"But don’t worry, I’ll keep my word and show you around the base tomorrow," she assured me.

We walked for a few minutes before a military vehicle suddenly pulled up beside us.

"Hop in!" Diana’s mom called from the driver’s seat.

I climbed into the backseat quietly while Diana took the front passenger seat.

"Mom, aren’t you supposed to be somewhere else?" Diana asked.

"I was, but the meeting got canceled.

So, I figured I’d drive you both to the armory," she replied.

Then, turning to me, she added, "You can call me Aunt Helen, Riel, since you already call my husband Uncle Seth."

"Thank you, Aunt Helen," I said politely.

As she started driving, she glanced at Diana.

"Dia, you shouldn’t be upset about what happened yesterday."

"I’m not upset," Diana muttered. "It’s just… he’s different.

He reminds me of Grandpa Tora."

I remained silent at the mention of my grandfather’s name.

"It’s no surprise he reminds you of Uncle Tora, after all, he is his grandson," Aunt Helen said.

Diana’s eyes widened in shock, her jaw nearly dropping.

"Didn’t your grandfather ever tell you that Asriel is his friend’s grandson?" Aunt Helen continued.

"You’re Grandpa Tora’s grandson?!" Diana exclaimed, turning to me in disbelief.

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"But… your last name is Sanchez!" she added.

"Shiratora Kurokiba’s alias was Tora Sanchez," Aunt Helen clarified.

Before Diana could respond, Aunt Helen suddenly pulled the vehicle to a stop. "We’re here," she announced.

"Wait!" Diana practically shouted as she rushed out of the car.

I quickly stepped out and walked around to open her door.

"Tell me the truth, are you really Grandpa Tora’s grandson?" she demanded.

I met her gaze and answered firmly, "I am Asriel Kurokiba, grandson of the Sword Saint Shiratora Kurokiba and successor of the Severing Style, Ms. Diana Eisenhawk."

"Grandpa?!" she cried before dashing into the building.

Aunt Helen sighed softly.

"She really misses Uncle Tora," she murmured.

"They spent so much time together whenever he visited", she continued.

"I can’t blame her," I replied, following Aunt Helen inside. "Grandpa was always a fun person to be around."

After a short walk, we arrived at the elevator, where Diana stood with Old Man Drei.

She looked flustered, while he, on the other hand, wore a victorious grin, clearly pleased with himself.

As we approached, Old Man Drei swiped his ID card and pressed his fingerprint against the scanner, unlocking the elevator.

Without a word, we all stepped inside.

Moments later, the doors slid open, revealing a vast chamber.

"Welcome to the Sword Saint’s hidden armory," Old Man Drei announced as we stepped out.

Excitement surged through me as I took in the sight before me.

This was my grandfather’s personal armory.

I glanced at Diana, her expression mirrored my own, filled with anticipation.

"Asriel, I need you to take a look at this," Old Man Drei said, motioning toward a door.

I quickly approached, aligning my eyes with a scanner.

A mechanical voice echoed through the room.

"Welcome, Asriel Kurokiba," the system announced.

"Dad, couldn’t you have just opened it yourself?" Aunt Helen asked.

"I could," Old Man Drei admitted, "but the Five Black Swords would remain locked."

"Tora made sure that only his successor could access them," he added.

Stepping into the room, my gaze was immediately drawn to the five pillars standing in a circle at the center.

There they were, the Five Black Swords, the very weapons my grandfather wielded to end the last human war.

"Slicer, the Black Saber.

Divider, the Black Twinblade.

Severer, the Black Katana.

Devourer, the Black Rapier.

And finally, Decapitator, the Black Executioner Sword," I recited, my voice filled with reverence.

"Each sword was forged long ago from an ancient ore found only in ruins," I added.

"For Tora, these blades were more than weapons," Old Man Drei said solemnly.

"Each one serves as a grim reminder of the countless lives he took during the last human war. Each blade, at minimum, has claimed a thousand souls", Old Man Drei continued.

"Grandpa never forgot the lives he took during the war, but he never regretted it, he didn’t have a choice back then," I said.

"It’s true, Tora never had a choice," Old Man Drei agreed.

"But with every battle, he lost a part of himself."

"As Grandpa once said, ‘It’s hard to be happy knowing you’ve taken someone else’s happiness,’" I added.

Hearing that, Old Man Drei looked at me seriously. "Knowing this, are you certain you want to follow in Tora’s footsteps?"

"I don’t want to be called a Sword Saint," I replied firmly.

"I’m not following in Grandpa’s footsteps, I’m continuing the path he left behind."

"If it means protecting the people who matter to me, I don’t care if the world sees me as a demon," I added.

Old Man Drei and Aunt Helen fell silent at my words, simply watching me.

Meanwhile, Diana seemed completely oblivious to the conversation, her focus entirely on Severer, Grandpa’s favorite sword.

"Asriel, can I hold this for a bit?" Diana asked, pointing to Severer.

"Sure, why not?" I said, carefully removing the blade from its case and handing it to her.

"Wait, Dia! Don’t draw it!" Old Man Drei warned loudly.

But it was too late.

The moment Diana unsheathed Severer, a bloodcurdling scream tore from her lips, and she collapsed.

Without hesitation, I caught her before she hit the ground, gently placing her in her grandfather’s arms.

"My bad, I’m sorry," I said apologetically.

"No, this is on us," Aunt Helen admitted.

"We never told Dia the truth about the Black Swords", Aunt Helen continued.

"They aren’t just weapons," I said.

"The Five Black Swords are also known as the Cursed Swords of the Kurokiba Clan."

"Their original color wasn’t black," I continued. "They darkened over time, stained by the countless lives they took."

"That’s true," Old Man Drei acknowledged. "But how do you expect to wield such dangerous swords?"

"The swords themselves aren’t dangerous, it’s about learning to handle them properly," I explained.

"It takes years to get used to their presence," I added.

"Oi, old man, don’t tell me you forgot… there’s another black katana that Grandpa used," I added with a smirk.

Realization dawned on his face. "You mean… Slayer! The other Black Katana that Tora wielded!"

"Grandpa trained me with Slayer since I was a kid," I said as I pulled the katana from my travel backpack.

Both Old Man Drei and Aunt Helen’s eyes widened as they recognized the blade.

"You’ve had one of the Black Swords this whole time?" Aunt Helen asked in shock.

I simply smiled. "Finally, you’re back with your brothers and sisters," I murmured, placing Severer and Slayer together in Severer’s storage.

Just then, Diana stirred awake.

She looked around in confusion before realizing she was still in her grandfather’s arms.

Flustered, she quickly scrambled to her feet.

"When I drew Severer… I heard hundreds, no thousands screams," Diana muttered.

"A horrifying chorus of death, it was like the sword was haunting me."

"Are you really going to use those cursed blades?" she asked.

Then, her eyes darted between the two identical katanas. "Wait a second!… Why are there two Severers?!"

"The other one is Slayer, my training katana," I replied.

She stared at me as if I had just said the most ridiculous thing imaginable.

"You and Grandpa Tora are absolutely insane for using these swords," she muttered.

"Maybe," I said, grabbing Devourer from its display and slipping it into my bag.

"Everything in this armory belongs to you now," Old Man Drei stated.

"The Black Swords, the armor, the sub-weapons, whatever you need. And if there’s something missing, you can ask me or Kyrie Smith, and we’ll provide it."

"Who’s Kyrie Smith?" I asked.

"She’s GENESIS’ lead weapon engineer," Diana explained.

"Thanks, Miss Diana," I said.

She frowned. "D-I-A. It’s weird being the only one you call by their full name."

"Alright then, you can call me Riel, Dia," I replied with a grin.

She smirked. "By the way, Riel, why did you put Devourer in your bag?"

"Having a reliable weapon within reach makes me feel comfortable," I answered.

"Comfortable?" Dia repeated, looking at me like I was crazy.

Then, suddenly, she smiled, almost as if my words reminded her of something.

"I can’t believe you, Riel," she said with a chuckle.