Chapter 36 Part: 3 Whispers from the Deep

Kazuki's mind raced, his pulse pounding in his ears. This was not the outcome he had expected when he had followed Obanai into the forest. He knew he needed to defend himself and clear his name, but this was not what he expected to hear from him.

"Wait," Kazuki stammered, his voice laced with confusion and desperation. "There's been a mistake—I did not kill Shokin Kagiri."

But Obanai ignored his plea, his eyes burning with fury. With a yell, he charged at Kazuki, spear slicing through the air like a deadly serpent. Time seemed to slow as Kazuki's mind raced, assessing the situation and calculating his next move.

In a split second, Kazuki vanished from sight, his body dissolving into a shimmering blur before rematerializing on a sturdy tree branch overhead. His heart thundered within his chest, its frantic rhythm drowning out all other noise. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, stinging his eyes as he stared down at his newfound enemy.

"Listen to me," Kazuki called out, gripping his blade tightly and trying to catch his breath. "I swear on my honor his alive. Please, let us talk this through."

For a moment, Obanai hesitated, his face twisted with indecision as he weighed Kazuki's words. But then, as if some unseen force had seized control of his limbs, Obanai lunged once more, his spear whistling through the air with lethal intent.

Kazuki leaped from the branch, landing nimbly on the ground below. He spun around, expecting to see Obanai bearing down on him, but instead found the spearman sprawled across the forest floor, a thin needle protruding from his neck. A chill ran down Kazuki's spine as he crouched beside the fallen warrior.

"Obanai!" he shouted, shaking the unconscious man in a futile attempt to rouse him. "What happened? Who did this?"

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Silence enveloped the moonlit clearing, broken only by the distant crashing of waves against the shore. The prickling sensation on Kazuki's neck returned with a vengeance, as though unseen eyes were boring into him from all sides.

"Show yourself!" Kazuki demanded, his voice raw and tinged with fear. He scanned the treeline, searching for any signs of movement or life.

But no answer came, and the oppressive weight of unanswered questions bore down upon him like a suffocating fog. Who was responsible for Obanai's fate?

As Kazuki stood there, blade drawn and senses on high alert, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had become an unwitting pawn in someone else's twisted game. Determined to uncover the truth, he steeled himself for whatever lay ahead, even if it meant facing the darkness alone.

Kazuki's fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade as he strained to discern any sign of movement in the darkness that surrounded him. The eerie silence was punctuated only by his own ragged breaths and the distant, relentless crash of waves against the shore.

"Whoever you are," he muttered between clenched teeth, "you won't get away with this."

As he took a step forward, muscles tensed and ready for action, a sudden force slammed into his back, sending shards of pain radiating through his body. His vision blurred and darkened as the world around him began to spin uncontrollably.

"Wha--" he choked out, struggling to remain upright. His legs wobbled beneath him, threatening to give way. Desperate, he tried to call upon his teleportation ability, but found it unresponsive, as if the very essence of his power had been siphoned away.

In the midst of the turmoil, Kazuki became aware of a soft, lilting voice that seemed to drift into his consciousness from somewhere far away.

"Sleep well," the woman's voice whispered, her tone laced with an unsettling blend of tenderness and menace.

The bloodlust within him surged and roared like a tidal wave, demanding he fight back, but his body refused to obey. As his knees finally buckled and he crumpled to the ground, Kazuki's mind raced with questions and confusion.

Who was she? What did she want? And why had she come between him and Obanai?

"Who the hell... are you?," he rasped, his strength all but gone,

But the only answer he received was the encroaching darkness that swallowed him whole, dragging him down into the depths of unconsciousness.