Prologue: A man filled with bloodlust
On the year 1081 on the month of febuary on it's 18th day. The world of Lastasia was shaken when the anti-monarch fraction which is led by Duke Itsuki Takenaka. He led his forces and seized control of the city of Avalia the royal capital of the kingdom of Lastalia.
Leading his personal army of 30,000 soldiers, the duke led his army on a march to attack the capital city of Avalia. With the betrayal of the royal knights corps and the imperial army the capital easily fell under the control of the duke. After capturing the city the duke then commanded the knight corps to eliminate the royal family. With their numbers of 1,300 knights. The royal knight corps easily overpowered the royal guard of the royal family that only numbered 270 soldiers.
As the royal guard and knight corps clashed against each other a small group of royal guard members somehow managed to slip into the room of the third princess of the kingdom Yuki Takenaka. Yuki had long silver hair that's tied in a ponytail, her eyes had a unique pair of colors with the right being violet and her left being gold, she had smooth white skin, she wore a long blue gown made of silk. As she was sleeping in her room a member of the royal guard entered the room while the rest are standing outside as guards.
The royal guard member who approached Yuki had brownish hair and skin of the same color, he had a pair of scarlet colored eyes, his height is about 170 centimeters tall. The royal guard member slowly approached Yuki and when she's at hands reach he shook her body and when Yuki finally woke up she turned her head to the person who woke her and she asked.
"What's this all about? It's the middle of the night, did something happen Yuzuru?"(Yuki)
"Please wake up Yuki-hime. We need to get away now your highness, this castle is no longer safe, please follow me and we'll lead you outside the castle."
Said young member of the royal guard who woke her up. A few moments later 20 more royal guard members entered the room, she then turned her head to the person who woke her up the royal guard soldier and her personal guard named Yuzuru Tachibana. He took the Yuki's hand he said.
"Let's get out of here Hie-sama, a revolt has occurred, the mastermind behind this is your uncle. For now we should get to safety please follow me Hime-sama."
Yuzuu then pulled Yuki's and the two of them started running towards a passage that had a painting of the girl displayed on the wall, upon removing the painting there was a path that leads underground and Yuzuru lifted Yuki's body up into the passage and he said.
"Don't worry I'm sure that you'll be fine, we also need to prepare, the rest of you please rally as many members as possible."
Little did Yuki know that Her father, mother and two brothers and sisters were already killed by her uncle and now her uncle is currently searching for her in-order to kill her so that he can finally claim the throne of the kingdom.
"Please try your best to not make any sounds, there are soldiers from your uncle's army that are currently patrolling the area in order to find you."
"W-what do you mean Yuzuru-san?"
Asked Yuki as she stared at him while revealing an uneasy look on her face, Yuki and Yuzuru made their way through the passage along with ten members of the royal guard and their group traveled down the dark passage under the castle without using any torches to prevent them from being found. The passage is 3 meters tall and 5 meters wide. The group walked slowly and carefully to try to make as less sound as possible.
Then the group stopped when they saw a group of three soldiers patrolling the area, one of them had a torch at hand while the other two soldiers had a spears in hand, Yuzuru made a hand gesture and two royal guard members nodded and the three of them approached the group of soldiers while making their way through the shadows Yuzuru and the two soldiers slowly approached the group and soldiers then upon successfully sneaking up behind the soldiers the two covered their mouths with their hands and stabbed their throats with a pair of daggers. Blood was spilled and Yuzuru slowly approached the last soldier, once the soldier holding the torch realized that his comrades weren't there and he saw Yuruzu who smiled at him and said. "Goodbye." Then his head was severed from his head and blood gushed out from his body like a fountain.
Yuki let's out a shriek, her body was trembling as she said.
"W-W-What was that all about Yuzuru-san? Why did you killed these men? Did they do something wrong?"
Yuzuru revealed a wicked smiled on his face and he told her her.
"They're your enemies Hime-sama, I just did my job to eliminate those who are considered a threat to your life, if it's for your sake then I'm willing to kill thousands or even tens of thousands."
Yuzuru then took a piece of cloth from his breast-pocket then he started to wipe the blood of his sword, then pair of soldiers with him also retrieved their daggers from the corpses and they continued their escape from the castle.
When Yuki's group finally arrived at the exit of the passage. A small army of knights were waiting for them, As they tried to return to the passage another group of soldiers quickly intercepted them. Leaving them with no way to escape Yuzuru clenched his fist as he stared at the enemies before his very eyes and he told himself.
Five hundred knights from the knight's corps in the front and fifty more knight's on the back, we might not make it out of this alive, but if I can make a diversion for Yuki Hime-sama to escape I'm sure that everything's going to be alright.
One of the knights that seems to be the captain of the squadron drew his sword and pointed it toward Yuki and he shouted.
"If the third princess of the kingdom Yuki Takenaka surrenders and kills herself here then we wont have a reason to kill the royal guard anymore."
Yuzuru drew his sword from it's sword and he turned to Yuki and while showing a smile on his face he told Yuki. "Please stand back Yuki hime-sama."(Hime-sama means princess in japanese)
Seeing his chance the knight drew his sword and quickly thrust his sword towards Yuzuru, Yuzuru who was surprised by the knight's sudden movements failed to react in time and was about to be stabbed by the sword, but Yuki pushed Yuzuru aside and was the one who was pierced by the sword instead.
"Guaaa!"
Yuruzu turned to Yuki who started to vomit blood as she stared at the knight who smiled at her and said.
"You really were naive aren't Yuki hime-sama, didn't you realize that after we killed you then these royal guard soldiers wouldn't have a reason to be alive anymore?."
Then the knight pulled out the sword from Yuki's abdomen that was pierced by the sword, and blood gushed out of her body and her consciousness slowly started to fade and then it all became black it was at that moment when Yuki Takenaka died.
After Yuki regain her consciousness she found herself in a pitch black room, she looked around and saw a single chair that's completely covered by a bright blue light. After blinking a few times she quickly noticed the young man wearing a full body armor that covered his entire body. The man was staring at Yuki while showing a wry smile on his face. He had short sky blue hair, a pair of golden eyes, a slightly masucalr build and strapped on his waist was a single edged sword.(Katana) He turned his eyes towards Yuki and he told her in a prideful tone.
"Welcome to the afterlife Yuki-sama, I'm the guardian that governs the afterlife. I have came here to personally greet you myself due to the request of a certain friend of mine to return you to your former world, she also told me to give you this sword. This weapon will change your future and as long as you have it you will not any battles."
Then the man took the sword strapped around his waist and handed it to Yuki who was surprised since it was her first time holding a weapon, and the weapon gave her a strange feeling of relief when she held it in it's hilt, when she removed the blade from it's scabbard she saw a very beautiful single edge sword, a fine work of art is she says so herself. It was Yuki's first time to see a blade that had a beauty that can't be compared to other blades, Yuki stared at the man who gave her the blade and she asked him while showing an uneasy look on her face.
"Are you sure that it's okay for me to wield such a beautiful blade?"
The young man then smiled at Yuki and he told her.
"It's fine, in fact you are destined to wield that sword and lead your people to the path of the greater good, You'll also have someone to protect you after you return to your world, that person will protect you with all his might, but you must first show him that your courage for he despise those who would abandon their comrades to save themselves."
Afterwards a ray of light engulfed Yuki's body and her vision turned completely white,
when her vision returned Yuki and the royal guard soldiers was then surprised when a blue light suddenly appeared in-front of them and a man wearing a hakama suddenly appeared.
The man then lunged his body towards the knight that stabbed Yuki at full speed, quickly draws his weapon from it's scabbard and quickly decapitated the knight without breaking a sweat. The knights then all ran towards the man with their swords drawn, but the man quickly threw a pair of daggers towards two of the five knights that ran towards him. The dagger hits the two in the unprotected part of their helmet and they died without being able to fight back. Swinging his katana with immense speed the man slashed the three knights in-front of him in quick succession thus ending the lives of those three.
After seeing the great difference in their technique the knights panicked and tried to run away but the man in the hakama quickly ran after those who tried to flee and quickly killed them without showing any hesitation nor regret on his face.
The knights tightly held their weapons and ran towards the man at full speed, with spears drawn the knights quickly thrusts it towards the man in the hakama, but he easily avoided it by using the hilt of his katana to redirect the trajectory of the spear towards the nearby knight, after the spear hit it's target the knight dies while being impaled in the neck.
The knight whose stabbed his comrade with the spear was then beheaded by the man without hesitation, seeing that the man was currently unguarded five more knights threw their spears towards him. But the man in the hakama leaped sideways and quickly closed the distance between him and the knights who threw their spears at him. He then gave a swift and decisive strike thus killing the five knights in an instant.
The battle has lasted for five minutes now and many of the knights have already been killed by the man in the hakama. Some had their heads severed away from their bodies, while some had their eyeballs pulled directly out of their eyes, and the rest had their throats stabbed by the katana of the man, but what stands out the most isn't his cruel way of killing his opponent, but rather his skill in swordsmanship, his technique showed elegance and there were no wasted movements, every swing was fatal and he left no openings for the knights to attack him. Both his skill in attacking and blocking attacks was truly unmatched.
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Due to his immense skill in swordsmanship the knights, royal guard soldiers and the soldiers from the other side of the passage was paralyzed by fear, without even realizing it, one of the knights was then grabbed by the man and had his hand twisted and his bones broken. The knight screams in agony, but the man in the hakama then kicked him and swings his katana towards the knight's ear.
Blood gushed out of the knight's body as he continues to scream in agony while begging for mercy, the man then opened the knight's mouth and quickly thrust his sword at the knight's head thus finally ending his life.
As he pulled his katana from the knight's who blood poured out of his mouth like a fountain he then let's out a wicked smile and stared at the remaining members of the knights corps. As he ran towards the remaining knights who's numbers are now only 200 soldiers.
The battle continued for another five minutes and all of the knights who tried to flee or fight was killed without mercy by the man in the hakama, he then turned his head towards a female knight who was the last member of the knights corps, the knight discarded her sword and tried to run. However, her hand was suddenly grabbed and twisted by the man, As he was about to draw his katana to deal the finishing blow Yuki shouted at the man.
"Please stop, there's no need to fight anymore, look around you, all the knights aside from this girl are already dead. Can you please stop this massacre."
The man then let's go of the female knight's wrist and turned his head towards Yuki as he said.
"So you're the one that I'm obligated to protect? I don't want to protect someone as weak as you, if you don't like my method of fighting then show me your strength."
He then took a piece of cloth and started to wipe the blade and after all traces of blood was gone he quickly returned the katana to it's scabbard, he then stared at Yuki's eyes for a moment, and he quickly noticed Yuki's eyes that were brimming with determination as she held the katana on her waist tightly. The man let's out a sigh and he said while revealing a wry smile on his face.
"I like those looks in your eyes Hime-sama, Maybe you're actually capable of being my master after all, for now I'll follow you and see if your the person who I think you were."
Then out of nowhere Yuzuru suddenly appeared behind the man and while having his sword drawn, He then lunged himself towards the man. However, the man in the hakama quickly avoided his attack by twisting his body to the right. He lightly kicks Yuzuru's right leg and made him lost balance. After losing his balance Yuzuru falls down on the ground and the man in the hakama quickly points the tip of his katana on Yuzuru's neck and he asked Yuki.
"So what should I do now Hime-sama? Should I kill this person who surely showed hostility towards me? It's one of my costume to kill people who points their hostility towards me."
"F-for now can you please let it slide, I'm sure that he didn't intent to attack you, right Yuzuru?"
Yuki told the man in the hakama in a very timid tone, With a sigh the man returned his katana to it's scabbard and turned to Yuki and he told her while gazing at Yuzuru with his eyes filled with bloodlust.
"My name is Saito and it's a pleasure to meet you miss???"
"My name is Yuki Takenaka, I'm the third princess of this country, it's a pleasure to meet you Saito-kun. Please lend us your strength in our future battles."
After hearing Yuki's words Saito revealed a wry smile on his face as he turned around and he said.
"Looks like your companions are already here."
Then he pointed towards the location where fifteen members of the royal guard were approaching them, the group had five carriages and the contents of the carriages were food, money, weapons and clothing. After closing the distance for about two meters the soldiers kneels down bowed at Yuki and they asked her.
"Shall we depart now your highness?"
Then she fixed her gaze on Saito who then told them. "I'll come along with you as long as there's a battle for me to fight!"
Afterwards he hopped on the carriage.
What kind of mayhem and chaos will Saito-kun cause in this world? those were the thoughts of Yuki as she stared at the man who massacred an army of five hundred.
"You're coming with us!"
Then Saito grabbed the female knight's hand and he carried her aboard the carriage, then he asked one of the royal guards to treat the injury in her hand, Yuki stared at Saito for a moment and she felt a strange sensation which was coming from the weapon in her hand,
"Hime-sama you should also study so that in the future she wouldn't be easily deceived. Remember that knowledge is a kind of power that can't be matched even by brute strength or skill."
When Yuki looked behind her and she quickly noticed Saito who was writing on a piece of paper, apparently he was sent to this world with the ability to write and read the characters of this world, so right now he was writing things about politics and military strategies. After two hours of writing Saito then handed the pieces of paper to Yuki and he said.
"Study these notes . I wrote these so that you can learn the basics on how you should manage issues with politics and agriculture. I've also wrote some basic on military formations, basic strategies. I also wrote some pointers for you to review, for now I'll give you an assignment. How will you distinguish a person that you can or can't trust?"
"What do you mean by that Saito-kun?
Yuki then stared at Saito while her eyes are filled with determination, Yuki then clenched her fist and she said.
"Fine, if you want me to study these then please give them to me."
Yuki then sat on a box in the carriage and started to read the scroll, on her waist was a sword that was identical to the one that Saito had, it was also emitting a strange energy like the one in Saito's waist. But little did Yuki know that the katana in her was several times more powerful than the one that Saito had.
As their convoy was travelling on the road they were suddenly confronted by a group of armed men, they weren't wearing any uniform of the royal army and their weapons looks like they lacked maintenance then one of the royal guard soldiers said.
"Bandits! Everyone prepare for battle!"
Then Yuzuru and the thirty other members of the royal guard drew their swords and confronted the bandits, but when Saito drew his weapon and left the carriage he quickly ran towards the bandits as he shouted to the royal guard members.
"Leave this to me, surround the carriage and protect Yuki Hime-sama."
After hearing Saito's words the royal guard soldiers quickly surrounded the carriage that Yuki was currently riding along with the female knight that Saito injured.
"W-what's happening?"
Asked Yuki, then the female knight who saw the bandits through the window on the carriage understood that they're now under attack and prepared to draw the sword that's strapped on her waist, but she was unable to, she then remembered that Saito broke her wrist and she can't move her right hand.
"It's going to be alright Yuki Hime-sama, Please forgive me for my crimes I only did what I was told!"
Then the female knight bowed down in the form of a dogeza.
"It's alright I've already forgave you, you didn't do it because you wanted to right?"
Place your hand on top of hers and imagine the hand healing.
After hearing the mysterious voice Yuki quickly placed her hand on the knight's wrist and she told her.
"Maybe I can heal your hand, I heard a voice in my head and it told me that if I can heal your hand if I tightly held your hand and wished for it to heal."
Yuki then tightly gripped the hands of the female knight then a bright light suddenly appeared and surrounded her hands, after a few seconds the female knight waved her hands back and forth as if the hand was fine from the very beginning then she smiled at Yuki and said.
"Thank you, I'm sorry for the things I've done to you Hime-sama, I'm Lily and I'm from the royal knights corps."
Then she drew the sword from her wrist and went out and she said.
"Don't worry Yuki Hime-sama I swear that I'll protect you until the end."
Then with a smile on her face she left the carriage only to see a brutal scene when Saito killed the bandits one by one in a very brutal ways.
Saito twisted one bandit's wrist and quickly stabbed in in the heart, he then slammed the man's head on a nearby rock. Saito quickly pulled his katana from the man's heart and quickly sliced open the nearby bandit that attempted to stab him.
Saito easily dodged the bandit's attack and quickly sliced opened the bandit's belly and as he leaped back and and turned his body around and stabbed the bandit behind him in the head with his katana.
After a few minutes since Saito fought the bandits some gruesome scenes stood before the Yuki and her guards. Some of the bandits had their internal organs pulled out, while others had their heads beheaded and the rest had their entire body dismantled. With a smile on his face Saito then stabbed another bandit in the head and he shouted to the bandits.
"Come at me with all you've got!!!"
Saito then took a piece of cloth from his clothes and started to clean the edge of his weapon as he was staring at the remaining bandits. Before there were 200 bandits but now there's only 3 remaining, the bandits tried to run away, but Saito suddenly leaped towards a bandit and lightly swung his katana at the bandit's neck thus beheading him, then he ran towards another then stabbed him in the heart the last bandit threw his weapon on the ground and ran but Saito kicked his back and then impaled him with a nearby spear that he picked up from the corpse of another bandit.
After killing the last bandit. Saito revealed a satisfied smiled on his face while the royal guard soldiers stared at him while having a pale look on their faces.
"The battle's over, there's no need to fight anymore so lower your weapons..... Unless you wanted to fight me as well."
Then Saito placed his right hand on the hilt of the katana and took a sword-draw stance.(Iaijutsu), then Yuki went outside the carraige and she said.
"Can you please teach me how to use a sword Saito-kun?"
Saito was surprised at first but then he started to laugh while staring at Yuki and then he said with a smile on his face.
"Are you sure? If you want to learn swordsmanship then I can teach you. But it's no going to be easy are you sure that you want to learn swordsmanship?"
Then Yuki clenched her fist and then she said.
"I really want to learn how to wield this sword on my waist, I don't want to watch as my people are being killed right before my eyes."
"Good.... that's the spirit, prove to me that you can overcome any trail that you'll soon face."
Saito then smiled at Yuki as he entered the carriage where Yuki and Lily are riding.
Saito asked a royal guard soldier to lend him a map, after a few minutes he asked the royal guard to gather all the soldiers and then he told everyone.
"We'll head towards this town and resupply, afterwards we'll use this abandon castle as our base."
Then he pointed out a small castle in the woods, the royal guard soldiers stared at Saito while being full of doubt, then Yuzuru raised his hand and he said.
"Why are we making that castle as our base?"
Saito quickly turned to Yuzuru and he told him while glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
"That castle is an Ideal place on reclaiming the castle. It's near the capital and the forest can be used as cover to hide ourselves. So if we're planning on reclaiming the capital then we'll need as close as possible!"
All the royal guard members then looked at Yuki who then said.
"If that's the case then let's set up camp, Saito-kun then let's proceed on teaching me swordsmanship."
Yuki then took a wooden sword from a box and asked Saito to teach her the basics of swordsmanship.
"Fine, man you sure are a busybody."
Afterwards he also took a wooden sword from the carriage and took a battle stance then he said.
"Come at me with all you've got Yuki Hime-sama!"
While having a smile on his face.
What will future awaits this world? What's the future of it's inhabitants? Will this war be the last or will more wars occur after this one?