Yugo lost track of how many Honor Guards he’d killed since establishing his perimeter just outside the city. He could’ve asked The Historian for an accurate count, but what would he get out of that? He wasn’t the type to care about that kind of thing. No, Yugo preferred to do the right thing, and both he and the Minashire Monitor agreed that getting rid of these particular Honor Guards was the morally correct thing to do right now.

Unlike the ones Archie had run into, or that club owner from earlier, the Honor Guards that all targeted Yugo reeked of bloodlust. If he knew his aunt… aunt-adjacent? Distant relative? If he knew Futakuchi-Onna well enough, he knew she’d sent them to him on purpose. The only thing his mother’s first Myth’s sister cared about more than her home was her family, and having soldiers like these so close to her loved ones was dangerous. So, she’d turned her "nephew" into a human garbage disposal. Perhaps he'd be more annoyed if he weren’t Contracted to the Minashire Monitor. Since he was though, he sucked it up.

After about ten minutes of mindless Wraith Strikes, Elemental Bursts, and a flurry of traded insults, Yugo was finally down to one. The Oni had been collecting the bodies as they piled up to do God-knows-what to with while Yugo had been fighting. This lone Honor Guard had been watching from deeper in the city closer to the small Smithing District, likely out of fear or in some foolish attempt to potentially hold one of the Seekers hostage.

Yugo found that latter thought quite humorous. He knew Rui’s creators better than he knew Rui, but if he was anything like Ares – who he may as well have been the son of –, Rui would not stand for that. He’d already watched the kid kick Archie down for talking to him the wrong way. Speaking of, Archie had more ways to get out of a situation like that than any of the other Seekers. He’d be fine. Somnia would be the most entertaining to watch. He felt bad for admitting it, but it was always funny to watch Somnia struggle against her bloodlust. She’d be borderline unkillable if she leaned harder into it, but Yugo understood why she couldn’t. That didn’t make it any less entertaining to watch, though.

It’s like watching a Hellhound struggle not to eat a–

“Long way from home!” A new voice called.

It was the Honor Guard. He stood alone in the middle of the empty brick street in between rundown traditional Saikyojin buildings and a dim streetlight. The man was dressed in the same white and purple armor of the Honor Guard, except unlike the others it was clear that the armor didn’t fit him. That wasn’t the only thing that didn’t “fit” him, though. His hair had been poorly dyed black, and he had a single colored contact leaving him with one black eye and a blue one.

The man, noticing Yugo observing him, smiled wide as he thumbed to himself. “See? I can do it too!”

“Who sent you?” Yugo growled, all traces of humor gone.

He scanned the man, not expecting an actual answer from him just yet. As The Historian read the popup’s contents, he spoke in a low, uneasy tone he hadn’t heard from the Myth in years. That alone was enough to stoke the flames of Yugo’s rage. Seeing the man’s family name, though? That sealed this man’s fate.

Mamoru Goro

Curse User

Level 239

*Note: This man is a member of Junko’s branch of the Clan.*

Mamoru Goro is the man responsible for destroying Ironlake Village in Western Burnchester. It should be noted that this act is what prompted Lady Somnia to join the Seekers.

Yugo didn’t give him a chance the prepare. He charged at Mamoru Goro, who in turn dashed out of the way and led Yugo on a chase around the city. Yugo knew what Goro was trying to do; tire him out before ultimately pelting him with every attack he had in his arsenal. It’d work the same way for him that it’d worked for his dead relatives.

They jumped from rooftop to rooftop like some old-timey ninjas as Goro hurled insults and taunts Yugo’s way. This continued until Goro made his way to the Tiger Lily where Yugo and Futakuchi-Onna were supposed to be. There was evidence of struggle; the ground was torn apart with patches of aura-burnt grass all over, but neither fighter was anywhere close by.

So they took the fight to a Mindspace. Good.

That meant he didn’t have to worry about any interruptions. Not that he’d take long enough for them to occur, anyway.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Aw, that’s a shame!” Goro mocked. “I hoped I could've killed at least one of your ‘students’!" He stepped closer. “It’s unbecoming for a Clan Patriarch to spend so much time away from home. It makes some of us think you don’t like us!”

Yugo scoffed. “That’s all this is? A request to come home?”

“Well, that’s what the Matriarch wants us to say. As for my mother,” Goro started, his smile turning even more sinister. “She says that if I kill the current Mamoru Clan Patriarch I get to snatch that title. That offer goes out to the whole Clan, you know? And I’m gonna be the one to take it!”

Goro charged at Yugo, pelting him with a barrage of attacks strong enough to kill someone as strong as Shuten Douji. Yugo took all of them, refusing to dodge his pathetic onslaught. Instead, he considered the truth behind Goro’s words. It was a sick tradition for Mamoru Clan Patriarchs to be killed and replaced by their sons. Yugo hadn't been an exception, and neither had his father. For his mother to have declared open season on Yugo’s life and title meant that his days of carefree living and simple missions with the Seekers were going to come to an end very soon. He had no qualms about killing members of the Clan. He’d done it plenty of times. His only issue was the who. The Clan higher-ups were likely the only ones who truly knew how strong Yugo was. Them, and one other group in the Clan.

Yugo had no issue killing the higher-ups and their kin, but that other group… That would hurt. It would hurt a lot. But that was what Yugo did, wasn’t it? He hurt, so that others didn’t have to. It was a thankless job, and the pain had long since been too much to bear, but he pressed on anyway. There’d come a day when he could share that burden with his Seekers, and he looked forward to it even more than he looked forward to eradicating the Clan for good.

”Die!” Goro shouted, barreling into Yugo with some self-damaging charge attack. He followed it with a flurry of illusory punches that connected in places Yugo couldn’t fully predict before ending the barrage with a single punch to the gut charged with enough aura to take down Futakuchi-Onna in a single strike.

For what it was worth, Goro was a talented Curse User. Nowhere near Rui’s level, but he was good enough. It would take a lot more than "good enough" to kill Yugo, though.

Yugo stood to his feet, brushing off debris that’d gathered on his robes during that slew of attacks, and placed his hands on Goro’s shoulders. The man seemed to deflate, though he fought against himself to show it.

“You never answered my question,” Yugo asked softly. He squeezed harder on Goro’s shoulders. “Who sent you?”

“Your mother! The Matriarch. R-ruma!” Goro finally revealed.

Yugo smiled. Perhaps his mother and Futakuchi-Onna had more in common than he thought. “Do you know why Ruma sent you to me?”

“Why?”

Yugo grabbed Goro’s wrist with one hand and charged a fully-powered Wraith Strike in the other. He slammed it into the man’s midsection without a single word. The punch vaporized him, leaving only a spray of blood and bits of his wrist that Yugo still clutched in his hand. He spoke, despite knowing Goro wouldn’t be listening.

“She was sending you to your death. Understand Clan politics before involving yourself in Clan affairs.”

He threw the bottom half of Goro’s arm that he’d been holding onto the ground and blasted it with a Wind-Attuned Elemental Burst. Just like that, Mamoru Goro was no more.

Yugo stared down at the crater left behind by the Elemental Burst for a long while. His Myths both summoned themselves, also observing his handiwork. Mina had begun conjuring water and spitting it at the middle of the crater in her anger. He knew The Historian shared in their anger. Hell, considering how long he’d been chained to the family he likely felt more of it than either of them, but his Myth still refused to show it – instead choosing to perch himself atop Yugo’s shoulder and hoot softly. Yugo appreciated the gesture, scratching the owl’s head a bit before finally allowing himself to speak.

“I wasn’t thorough enough,” Yugo sighed.

“You were a child, and you weren’t strong enough to be ‘thorough’. Don’t dwell on the past, Master Yugo.”

Yugo knew he was right, but that didn’t mean he’d just get over it. Still, that wasn’t the only issue on his mind right now. He knew The Historian was thinking it too, but Yugo didn’t want to be the one to acknowledge it. As always, The Historian was the one to bring it up first.

“If Ruma is on the move, then we’ll likely be seeing more of the Clan as we travel,” The Historian noted.

The Myth flew to Mina –who’d filled Yugo’s crater with enough water to form a pond– and picked her up in his talons. She struggled in his grip as she now spat fire into the pit. Watching the two “fight” was enough to lift Yugo’s spirits a bit more, though the reality of The Historian’s words hadn’t left his mind.

He would have to tell the Seekers that he was a Mamoru. The Mamoru. The Patriarch of the entire Clan! He’d have to tell them what that meant, and why his goals were what they were. How would Somnia react to that? God, how would Rui react if he knew the extent of the Mamoru Clan's meddling in his life?

Yugo took a deep breath. He’d deal with tomorrow’s problems in a week or two. For now, his focus was getting the Seekers strong enough to hold their own against people like Goro. As weak as the man was to Yugo, he very well could’ve killed any of the Seekers if he’d found them before Yugo did. He needed them all strong. Then, he's need them to be stronger than that. And now that Ruma was about to start moving, he'd have to do that quickly.