As the sun was setting on Pandara, a blanket of concern wrapped around Sharon back at Hirishima's house.

"(It's very late, when are those two coming back?)" Sharon wondered while cutting a few vegetables for dinner. "(Could they be in danger? Did Hirishima take him to the marketplace? No, he knows the king can't find out about Hoshi)."

Somewhere far away from his house, Hirishima woke up and held his head. He couldn't make up his location because his vision was still blurred. All he saw was cracked grey walls with numbers on them and a silhouette of a familiar man sitting on a large concrete slab.

"Where are we?" Hirishima mumbled as he struggled up.

"We are in a prison cell brother," Subaru replied.

"Damn it! Tamura defeated us both on his own!" Hirishima punched the wall next to him in frustration.

"Keep it down! It won't be long until your judgment!" A guard's voice echoed and shook the cell's bars.

Hirishima walked up to the bars and tilted his body to look around the corridor. It was dirty and faintly lit by a few lanterns on each side. It seemed like the cell they were kept in was the last in row and there was no trace of any other prisoners around.

"Well at least Hoshi isn't in here. I was..." Hirishima felt little at ease as he turned around but Immediately shook when he set his eyes on a massive blood patch on the wall.

"Apparently they use this room for torture. See those cuffs on each side? Can't even imagine how many people were beaten to death here," Subaru stressed.

"So, we are next then?" Hirishima asked.

"Can't say, the guards were discussing about us being judged in the court tomorrow," Subaru stated.

"What's the point? The court's gonna sentence us to death for defying a King's order anyways," Hirishima opined.

"Hirishima, I have something to ask." Subaru stood up and glared into his friend's eyes.

Hirishima stood there in silence while his friend solemnly asked, "Who is he? Why did you risk our lives for him?"

"He is... Look, I don't know myself. We just met yesterday," Hirishima stuttered.

"For someone you just met. Why would you go this far? Is it because of your history with Sharon?" Subaru raised his voice.

"No, he has a strange power hidden inside him. I believe he can finally rid us of these demons," Hirishima reasoned.

"What kind of power?" Subaru queried.

"I don't know but it can enhance his strength significantly. Last night he managed to create a decent crater on the ground using only his fists," Hirishima recalled.

"Interesting, was there something different about him?" Subaru asked.

"Yes, he had this red aura around him resembling embers from a great fire and his eyes glowed a shade of red," Hirishima answered.

"Sounds to me like the power Haroshuma possessed, but that isn't possible. He didn't have any children," Subaru puzzled.

"Whatever he is, whenever I look at him, I see a changed world in the reflection of his black irises," said Hirishima.

"I see, but I have known you long enough to tell you are hiding the real reason. I won't bother asking you though." Subaru sat down back on the stone slab.

"Thanks for helping me out back there, Subaru." Hirishima moved besides his friend.

"Hmph, you owe me a drink if we get out alive," Subaru raised his head and smiled.

Two individuals suddenly arrived at the cellar and tapped the gate. Hirishima and Subaru got alerted as they swiftly rotated their heads to investigate. Slight relief started to dominate their faces once they saw who they were.

"What mess have you two gotten into this time?" a familiar deep voice greeted.

"Do we really have to save you two every time?" another familiar feminine voice accompanied.

"Commander Erashi!"

"Kieri!"

Hirishima and Subaru blurted.

A tall and confident man wearing a black and yellow battle armor with a half red cape emerging from his right shoulder and a fellow female elite warrior wearing a faint red shirt over reinforced plates extending to her yellow and silver shoulder pads came to visit the two prisoners. The rest of their clothing resembled Hirishima with the exception of a small yellow kilt the man was wearing. Also, the symbols on his shoulder had a few extra characters.

The man's face had enough scars and rough spots clearly showing he had been through hell but his expression added a hint of kindness to it. The female warrior had a more gentle face with a few blemishes.

Subaru's happiness immediately faded away once he remembered their fight with Tamura and suddenly brought that up. "Forget us, how is Tamura still alive?"

"Yes, we lost to him. That's why we are in this Goddamn prison! Commander, we deserve an explanation," Hirishima added.

"What are you two saying? Commander executed Tamura all those years ago. You two must be mistaken," Kieri reasoned.

"No, they are right. Tamura is alive," Erashi interjected.

"Erashi? What do you mean? We saw him die as he bled heavily. Not to mention, we saw his blackened face being slashed by the families of those he killed before we buried him separately as a traditional punishment," Kieri bursted.

"It is a long story, one I hid to protect him as he was my only brother. The last true family I had left," Erashi spoke, looking down in regret and despair.

"We need to hear it, we deserve at least that much after getting our asses handed to us by him," Hirishima stressed.

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"He defeated the both of you that easily? That shouldn't be possible even if he spent this entire time training." Erashi perplexed.

"Yes, we were just as shocked as you are, but apparently his intensity and strength felt close to an elite demon," Subaru explained.

"It can't be, I must meet him as quickly as possible," said Erashi.

"Come on! Time's over! You two leave this prison at once!" a guard loudly announced.

"Shut up! You don't know how important this conversation is!" Kieri fumed at the guard.

That guard came up and pointed at Kieri's neck with his sword. "I said time's up! You shouldn't talk like that in the wolf's den."

Erashi held the guard's hand and reverted the sword back at the wielder's neck. "Don't mess with the warriors, you leech."

"Yes sir... forgive me," the guard mumbled.

Erashi released the guard and he made haste back to his post.

"Now, the truth." Erashi began recalling what happened a few years back as the three elite warriors solemnly listened.

At the warriors headquarters, the regular soldiers were enjoying a toast after being victorious in a crucial battle with the demons outside the boundaries. It was evening time and among the warriors was Tamura, sitting on a wooden crate with his sword supported vertically besides him. They were all scattered around a bonfire illuminating the grayish blue ground and were wearing black uniforms. Tamura suddenly got up with a strange bloodthirst in his eyes and grabbed his sword.

Subaru, who also took part in that battle, was returning to the party with a large bottle of sake but dropped it once he saw something horrendous. Tamura's blade was drenched in blood as he looked down on all the warriors he had slain. Subaru enraged and unsheathed his knife only to rush at Tamura. The killer lifted his head and glared at the murderous intent of Subaru. This filled his mind with fear while his body began shaking.

Subaru closed in and thrusted his knife straight in his target's left eye, who fell back while throwing his sword away, all while screaming.

"You traitor! You murderer! Die!" Subaru snapped.

Erashi came rushing towards the sound and intervened just before Subaru made his next move.

"What are you doing Subaru? Drop your weapon!" Erashi held Subaru's hand.

"Look around! He killed all of these unarmed warriors while they were drunk! A traitor like him should be executed without a single delay!" Subaru yelled.

"What!? (Little Brother, why?)" Erashi faltered.

"Now step aside!" Subaru pushed Erashi away.

"Wait! We have rules! His trial will be done by the higher ups! Us soldiers don't have the right to decide each other's fates!" Erashi once again grabbed Subaru's hand and pulled him back.

"I don't care! Why are you stopping me!? Don't tell me you still think of him as your brother!?" Subaru questioned.

"This isn't about him! If you kill him now, while he is unarmed, you will also be branded as a traitor. We can't afford to lose anybody else," Erashi reiterated.

"Damnit! Fine. I never expected someone like you will do something like this, Tamura," Subaru stepped back.

Tamura got up while pressing his damaged eye only to run in the opposite direction.

"I will go after him, you call someone to handle these bodies," Erashi ordered.

Erashi ran after Tamura who entered an empty barn to lean on the furthest wall and slide into sitting position. His hands were shaking by the thought of what he just did. He proceeded to gaze at them, noticing blood smeared all over them. This made him clench his head while weeping hysterically with his whole body trembling. Erashi was standing at the entrance with a few tears in his eyes after seeing his brother's condition.

Erashi wiped his tears and walked up to his brother to grab his hand. "Come with me, we need to talk."

He took him to his shelter nearby and treated the wound on his eye by wiping it with a wet gauze and wrapping a bandage around it.

"Why did you do it? Answer me honestly," Erashi calmly asked.

"I couldn't control myself, it felt as if something had possessed me," Tamura swiftly answered.

"Can you describe to me how it exactly felt?" Erashi queried.

"My mind, diabolical thoughts suddenly began emerging from it. It suddenly wanted my body to take my sword and kill all of those warriors in front of me. I kept resisting those thoughts to control that ferocious beast trying to break free but it was too powerful. The puppet master finally won and took control," Tamura lamented.

"How do you feel afterwards? Is that 'puppet master' satisfied now?" Erashi inquired.

"He left immediately after I killed the final warrior. God, I would never even think of hurting anyone else. Then why? Why did it choose me?" Tamura sobbed.

"I know this more than anyone, You even hesitate to take a demon's life but regardless, you will be sentenced to death by the warriors court in a few days," Erashi notified.

"I know but damn it! I don't want to die! There are things I still want to do! Find love, get drunk with my friends once more and most importantly, find my purpose!" Tamura bewailed.

"I was wrong to force you to join the warriors. I only wanted you to become more brave and confident, but it only made you more mentally unstable. Forgive me but I can't do anything for you," Erashi stated.

"Don't say that brother! I didn't do it! I swear! Please... I don't want to go out like this.... I am sorry.. I .. If I wasn't this mentally weak, this would never have happened. This world is not for someone like me, maybe Cora wanted me to leave it as well," Tamura wept.

"I knew what I was about to do was wrong. Despite that, seeing my only family cry like that made me remember my mother's last words when we were young."

"Take care of your brother and always use the love I built up in your hearts. Your family may have left you early but they did plant two bright stars in the sky. Remember this, stars always shine brighter together."

"I had to make this vile plan, I purposely volunteered to be the one who executes him. Being his only family and my higher rank made sure they accepted my proposal. I planted a blood bag on his chest where I slashed him to give the effect of his blood splattering. I bribed the diener and when he took him to the morgue, we switched bodies to one closely resembling him and since a traitor's face is painted black they were barely distinguishable. Then the families of those warriors he killed placed cuts on the fake's face with a knife before we buried the body. I took Tamura to an alchemist who gave him a medicine which reduced any aggressive thoughts he may have and I made him leave our settlement to the mountains with a promise of never showing his face again," Erashi finished.

"Are you shitting me Erashi!? You let a murderer go just like that? And not only that, you had an innocent martyr given the punishment of a traitor!" Subaru growled.

"Relax, Subaru. He had his reasons, it's what any brother would have done," Kieri countered.

"No, Subaru's right, that act is my biggest regret. Since he has returned, I will finally atone for my sins and will make sure he dies for making a fool out of his second chance by joining the King's guard. Hirishima, tell me more about how he acted," Erashi spoke.

"He was a completely different man than we remember. He was very confident and cruel but seemed to have remembered everything. He ripped a guards arm off and laughed at his screams," Hirishima described.

"Looks like that medicine was bullshit after all just like your judgment," Subaru jeered.

"Subaru! He is still your commander, watch your tongue!" Kieri interjected.

"It's alright Kieri, I don't deserve forgiveness for what I have done," Erashi solemnly said.

"What's done is done. We can only focus on what to do next. All this talking about the past isn't going to change the fact that we are about to get executed ourselves!" Hirishima mentioned.

"I agree, we have to do something about you two first," Kieri conceded.

"...." Subaru silently turned around and walked into the darkest area of the cell.

"Let him be, he has every right to be infuriated. Anyways, you two will be executed for treason in the court for sure but we will make sure the warriors fully oppose that," Erashi emphasized.

"If you fail then what?" Hirishima questioned.

"We will declare a war against that wretched king and his corrupt rule. It's about time we did something about the leeches inside," Erashi determined.

"I like the sound of that, Right Subaru?" Hirishima turned around but his friend paid no attention.

"Come on, we are leaving," Erashi ordered.

"Wait! Aren't you going to ask me about the outsider and why we ended up in prison?" called Hirishima.

"We don't need to, we heard your entire conversation with Subaru and how determined you are to have him by your side," Kieri answered.

"If something's going change this world, I will support it, no matter how small. That's what makes up the resolve of a warrior," Erashi added.

"You two take care now."

Kieri and Erashi bid the prisoners farewell.

End of chapter seven.