“It’s the kid’s fault in the first place!”
“He must be a cursed Hyking!”
“Throw him back into the valley!”
The gathered mob kept shouting over and over again with raised fists.
Their rage and hatred leaked out and fused with the atmosphere around, making the guards nervous and unsure about how to handle the situation.
Even Munisai himself was holding his tongue. Although, to his credit, the immense pain he felt in his body made it difficult to even breathe.
“That kid destroyed the ancient gate, didn’t he? He even lured that monster right to our doorstep!”
“That’s exactly how a Hyking would act! We have to throw him out before he brings even more chaos and misery on us!”
“We all know the saying! We’re just better off not dealing with a Hyking!”
One by one, the villagers of the Kage Clan added more and more reasons to get rid of the little boy. Some shouted with worry, while others gritted their teeth in anger.
The Sword Saint could no longer stand back and stay silent. If he were to do that and let things escalate, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
He didn’t want to go back to not being able to do anything.
He straightened his body, ignoring the striking pain from the deep wounds in his chest and from the broken bones in his back.
“You want to throw an injured little kid into the valley? Have you all lost what little shame you had left?!” Munisai spoke firmly, carrying a stern tone with it. He didn’t hold anything back.
“Look around you! He caused all this! And if we don’t fix the gate soon, who knows what kind of monsters will wander in as well!” A woman in a blue kimono shouted back at him, not paying him any respect or admiration as the Sword Saint.
“He destroyed the gate, Munisai! It had been protecting this clan for centuries! And for good reason!” A man holding his broken arm raised his voice, yelling with a frown on his face.
And then suddenly, the Sword Saint remembered the odd feeling he had right before the gate got destroyed.
He had felt a strange presence, an odd disturbance in the shadows that still felt somewhat familiar to him.
I wonder about that… Was he really the one that destroyed that gate?
Munisai questioned as he found himself in deep thought. For a moment, he felt the phantom pains in his missing leg act up again, but he quickly ignored that too.
“He’s just an outsider anyway! He doesn’t belong to our clan!”
An older man with a topknot began to make his way through the mob. Everyone made way quickly, as they, along with Munisai, recognized the man.
“Outsiders are not welcome! You, of all people, should know that very well, Munisai!” The man addressed Munisai with an authoritative voice.
Despite the wrinkles on his face hinting at his late middle-age years, his medium-length hair was fully black. He wore the familiar attire of the clan in a dark purple, with a dark red sleeveless cloak thrown over his shoulders. The same colored eyes as his cloak stood up even among his slightly darker skin tone.
This was a man respected among the clan, someone who has gone through a great deal of effort to make sure the villagers are taken care of, and that no one in power would dare take advantage of the hardworking clansmen and women.
In other words, he was a mediator between the Shadow Queen and her people, one that the villagers had chosen to represent them.
image [https://i.imgur.com/Kwh5UK9.jpeg]
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“... Mister Hideyoshi…” Munisai lowered his gaze, not being able to say anything except for the man’s name.
Even now, after over a decade had passed, he found it difficult to face this man. They both knew the reason very clearly.
Jun frowned, and then looked up at the father she was lending a shoulder to. She saw the agony and pain in his face, not ones from his wounds, but something similar to what she also saw when he remembered her mother, his late wife.
She didn’t want to see him like that.
“We don’t welcome strangers here! They always cause us trouble! What happened with my precious daughter Sasaki should be the perfect example of why that is the case!”
Hideyoshi, who’s very presence gave off the feeling of old and stern, spoke loudly, but calmly, reaching everyone’s ears around him.
“Despite being my precious daughter, despite her leaving a son behind, I accepted her exile because of what she did! We need to ensure nothing like that ever happens again!” He continued, emphasizing his point.
Now that he brought up his exiled daughter, no one could dare to belittle his statement or openly go against him.
He had taken control of the situation in an instant, even if it was through exploiting feelings of guilt and sympathy.
A true aristocrat.
“?!”
Then it happened again, a sudden cold chill went down Munisai’s body.
WHOOOSSHH!
The sound of a sword going through the giant rock-covered tail resounded through the surroundings, cutting through the tension.
What was that…?
Munisai questioned the feeling he had, instead of what his eyes were witnessing.
Everyone turned to face the giant wolf’s dead body, or more clearly, the strange little boy who was dragging his body up to stand on his two wobbling feet.
“The tail is very valuable, right? That's what she always said. To think this is where Sasaki was from…It makes sense I guess with the same Sign and all…” Lawkey said while holding back his pain, an image of his dying mentor flashing into his mind.
But unlike Sasaki, you guys are…
Then the corners of his mouth curled up in a cheeky grin.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ymTcuWX.jpeg]
“I’ll give you this valuable tail if you heal me and let me stay until I can leave. That should be a fair trade…” He started, preparing himself for what comes next, “You cowards!”
“...”
“!!”
A moment of silence followed, as if everyone present couldn’t believe what they had just heard.
And then, they all exploded.
“What did you say?!”
“How dare you?!”
“A cursed kid like you?!”
“Get out of here right now! You’re not welcome!”
The mob got active again, slowly making their way toward Lawkey, the boy barely holding on to his consciousness.
Even the stern man, Hideyoshi, joined them now, he couldn’t let this kid into the village at any cost.
Especially after hearing that he knew his exiled daughter, Sasaki.
“Stop this!”
Munisai shouted from behind them, trying to move his own body so he could stop them.
“This isn’t a decision we can make anyway! The kid used a similar sign to ours while he was fighting!”
image [https://i.imgur.com/3XybAjg.jpeg]
“That doesn’t matter! If he’s a Hyking, if he’s cursed, we’re all done for!” Hideyoshi yelled back at him, trying to get ahead of any hesitation.
“He has to explain himself to her majesty! This is bigger than us!” Munisai tried desperately to make them hold off on throwing the boy out to the monsters, “She must decide what to do with him, not us!”
He knew he could convince the Queen somehow, despite being reluctant about seeing her again.
Not for what had happened between them, they had met each other countless times after Tori’s passing.
It was just that the Shadow Queen had been nagging him about a particular issue a lot recently.
“Hold on! The kid used our Sign?! How?” A woman with the blue kimono shouted from behind Hideyoshi, concerned about the fate of their clan.
“Munisai, you’re not lying about this, are you?!” The man with the injured arm put Munisai on the spot, bringing the mob to a slow pace.
But the voice that replied wasn’t Munisai’s.
It was a child’s voice, and yet, it carried a brave tone with it.
“It’s the truth!” Jun shouted, not able to take any more of their nonsense.
“!?”
“He saved me from that thing! Where were all of you?! Hiding like always?” She bellowed continuously, and didn’t stop until she attacked their weak spots.
“...”
A sudden silence struck the atmosphere. The villagers all avoided any kind of eye contact.
Although Munisai had hinted at it earlier, it would have been uncouth to directly point it out. Most of the Kage Villagers were scared, and for good reason.
Just in the last 30 years, they experienced multiple attacks and invasions, which resulted in the loss of many loved ones.
For a clan that was in hiding for most of its history, it was a heavy blow.
However, sometimes, hearing the truth directly is necessary, and perhaps, Jun had taken an action that no adult could have in that situation.
Munisai couldn’t help but pat his daughter on the head with a proud smile. She looked up to him, not fully understanding why he’s doing it.
“Heh…” Lawkey chuckled after witnessing her bravery, but he quickly felt his body go numb again, losing all its remaining tension that was holding it up.
His vision got blurry as everything in his purview turned sideways, and then black. He had finally pushed his body way beyond its limits.
Barely anyone had taken notice of it, as he fell on Kerberos’ fur again, cushioning the noise at least.
“...”
While everyone stood in awkward silence, another child with light brown bangs covering his face pulled on Hideyoshi’s sleeve.
Hideyoshi looked down at him and then patted him on the head too.
“Have you all forgotten the true nature of Hykings?!” Hideyoshi took a deep breath and shouted, raising the tension again and alerting everyone except for the passed out Lawkey.
“They bring death! They cause wars! They instill chaos! They are cursed, and have been for a millennia! They cannot help it, it’s in their blood, but that doesn’t mean we should not protect ourselves from their curse! Our clan has suffered enough from past curses, isn’t it enough that we were banished to this elder-forsaken continent, hiding where the sun’s light cannot reach us?! How long are we going to keep making the same mistakes?!”
The mob that had previously become hesitant, felt a raging new flame ignite within them once more.
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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]