Japan, 4xx AD. In a village in the middle of the forest, the old Japanese-style houses built of wood and plaster walls with tiled roofs appear to have been destroyed, and fires are everywhere. This village is surrounded by many “Yokai” supernatural monsters, with a height exceeding the height of a single-story house here, some of which look like insects like praying mantis, with both scythe hands that look like swords. Some are shaped like spiders and other insects by the dozens of numbers resembling grasshoppers but with large and sharp wings on their backs, which occasionally vibrate and creak with terrible sounds. Other Yokais, with fewer numbers, resemble ferrets and pangolins.
Each of these Yokais has additional skin carvings that cover their bodies like armor up to their mouths, which, when opened, become additional horns and large fangs around the head. On the Yokais, which resembles a pangolin, their back has thick and large armor skin. Some of these Yokais are eating the villagers they caught; some are still biting and carrying them in their mouths and haven't eaten them yet. Blood stains are splashed everywhere, even to the point of a pool of blood. Some of the Yokais were stepping on and resting on the destroyed house.
This village has two layers of walls, where the first layer has been breached and entered by Yokais. The first layer of the wall is a classic Japanese plaster wall with a height of five meters, with the lower part made of a combination of black stones and a gray tiled roof on the top. Many parts of the first layer of the wall have collapsed because the Yokai breached it. Behind the second layer of walls that had not yet been breached, a group of men dressed in ancient Japanese warrior armor, while carrying various kinds of weapons in their hands, like spears, katana, arrows, and swords, were trying to hold the gate made of joints of the tree trunk, which is the gate of the second layer walls with the same material. Behind these soldiers were the villagers who had managed to evacuate, looking very anxious and frightened. Behind them was an ancient Japanese castle.
This gate is barred with a crossbar of thick wood in three parts and held up by the soldiers here. The gate is trying to be breached by a giant spider Yokai, and the smash is strong enough to momentarily stun a dozen soldiers who hold it. There was a roar and growl from the spider Yokai behind the door that was trying to be breached, making goosebumps. One of the men wearing a general's outfit, kabuto helmet, sandal boots that covered his knees, and an extra jacket on his armor looked very depressed with a serious expression.
“Damn, this door won't last much longer. If that winged insect Yokai notices this place and flies past the wall, we're finished.”
They were starting to give up on this situation.
Outside the village wall, there is a hilly area surrounded by forest. A man in a monk's clothing and a head covering with black steel of broad conical shape, covering most of his upper face, and carrying a monk's staff in his right hand, was riding a horse down the hill and through the forest in the direction of the village that the Yokai had attacked. The monk's horse is black colored with a bit of armor on the front and hind legs and the horse's chest. The horse's mouth emits white, golden smoke, large canines, and fiery red eyes. Without hesitation, the monk rode into the village through the collapsed section of the village's first layers of the wall.
After getting close enough to the hordes of Yokais within the village, this man stopped his horse, then dismounted. He was a man dressed in the head monk's kimono, covered in ancient Japanese general armor. His head wears a head covering of black steel of broad conical shape and slightly long black hair. This monk also wore a cape on his back, which was blown by the wind from behind, thus waving forward. This monk is carrying a monk's staff with a circular tip engraved with the rings of earrings that make a rattling sound when moved vigorously. The upper part of the monk's staff has been modified with a large black naginata blade, on which the blade's surface is carved with a golden flame pattern. The monk's arrival attracted the attention of the Yokais here, who immediately looked even more violent when they saw him. These Yokais immediately charged toward this monk, together to attack him.
This monk was undaunted; he stomped his spear staff to the ground in front of him with his right hand. His robes that waved forward covered his face, revealing only his cold eyes. As soon as the monk's naginata spear staff was struck, an aura of white light rippled from the circle of this staff, which had ring earrings, and this light echoed in all directions. The tinkling sound produced by the earrings on the staff also echoed for a moment. Not long after, from the back of this monk, chains with sturdy carvings and spearheads burst out and spreading in all directions very quickly, forming like tsunami waves. An additional eight chains come from the monk's two forearms, four right forearms and four left ones. These chains emerge from each side of the forearm, move towards the right and left of the staff, then wrap around the monk's spear staff. Other chains that form as tsunami waves crash into all the Yokais that lead to this monk. Immediately after, the surrounding scenery became pitch black.
The current time is 6:00 am. Kenshubo Takeru, a boy who is 14 years old and in the second grade of junior high school, just opened his eyes and woke up from his sleep. He was in his bedroom, in a modern minimalist style, with a glossy wood patterned floor. The room is lit with yellow light from the top of the nightstand beside the bed. Ken was silent, with a sleepy expression, and looked like he was about to fall back asleep. Before long, his alarm went on, causing him to open his eyes again. Ken turned off his alarm clock and then took a sitting position on his bed, his eyes closed again. Ken opened his eyes and tried to gather his consciousness.
“A strange dream… somehow it felt so real…”
Ken looked at his alarm clock to check again what time it was and looked disappointed. He then got up from his bed. Ken has a slender body, and his hair is a little messy because he just woke up from sleep.
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Ken walked down the stairs of his house because his bedroom was on the second floor. This house is also in a modern minimalist style with glossy brown wood patterned floor. Ken headed for the dining table, where he saw his father, who wore reading glasses and reads the morning newspaper. Ken’s younger brother, Shitara Takeru, with short but stylish hair, is reading his school book; they are already sitting at the dining table. Ken’s mother has long black hair and just finished cooking and put the food on the dining table. Ken said
“Good morning”
Ken sat on the chair next to his younger brother, who was in the fifth grade of elementary school. Ken's mom and dad replied good morning, to which his younger brother replied Ken in a languid and slightly unconcerned tone. Ken immediately ate breakfast in front of him; his father and brother also ate not long after Ken. Ken's father started drinking tea nearby; his expression then turned curious.
“How about your school Ken?”
With a flat expression, Ken replied.
“Safe, no problem.”
Ken's father's expression looked a little doubtful for some reason. Shitara looked curious
“Big brother isn't getting into fights anymore, are you?”
Ken smiled
“Of course not, can't you see? Am I like someone who's been in a fight?”
Ken's father looked doubtful. Shitara rested on his chin while watching his older brother closely with a serious expression. Seeing Shitara made Ken look awkward. Shitara replied
“No visible bruises, especially on the face, hmm… well, big brother is safe.”
Ken's mother smiled
“You don't have to worry; Ken must have his own way of dealing with his problems.”
Hearing that, Ken smiled awkwardly.
The time now shows 7:00 am. Ken's father, Ken's mother, Shitara, and Ken are ready to leave with their respective uniforms and walk out of the house together. After walking together for some time, they began to separate and headed toward their different destinations.
Now Ken is walking alone, past the sidewalk on the side of the road, in a housing complex. Ken has neat but stylish hair; his school uniform is black trousers, dark brown loafers, a long-sleeved white shirt that he rolls down to the elbows, a tie, and a black sweater vest that has a school crest on the left chest part. Ken also carries a black attache case school bag which he holds in his left hand, and he puts it on his left back shoulder.
Besides Ken, there is a lower plain where below, there is a flowing river. When he reached a fork in front of an alley, Ken heard something; he then looked towards this alley. Three delinquent boys are forcibly asking for money from the boy in the same uniform. They are also middle-high schoolers, just like Ken. The boy in trouble said
“I gave you the money you requested yesterday; I don't have any more today.”
One of the delinquent boys looked even more annoyed
“You think I care about that? I'm not here to hear your excuses.”
The delinquent boy punched the boy in the stomach, making him fall. The boy looks in pain while squeezing his stomach with both hands.
“Please don't do this.”
The delinquent boy grabbed the collar of the boy who he had just punched
“You better bring the money tomorrow. Today, I'll show you what happens if you don't give it.”
The delinquent boy clenched his fists, about to hit him but then stopped after Ken said
“Stop what you're doing. Aren't you ashamed?”
Ken said as he walked closer, and with a flat facial expression. The three delinquent boys immediately turned to the source of the voice. This delinquent boy released the grip of his hand from the collar of the boy's shirt and then stood up.
“Huh? Who are you? From another school, huh? Do not interfere!”
Ken replied
“That's not the answer to what I said. Let go of him.”
The three delinquent boys looked even more irritated; one of them replied
“Huh? Perhaps, are you his friend?”
Ken replied
“Nope, I don't know him.”
The three delinquent boys looked surprised; one of them replied
“Then? Why did you help him?”
Ken replied
“I don't know; I just wanted to. By the way, can we get this over with sooner? I have to go to school.”
One of the delinquent boys gripped the palm of his hand
“You really piss me off; you should be taught a lesson.”
Ken took a deep breath with a bored expression. The three delinquent boys attacked Ken. While still carrying his school bag, Ken immediately dodged and hit the first boy in the stomach with force, causing him to fall forward. Ken dodged the attacks of the following two boys and kicked them in the stomach with a knee, and now they all fell. It didn't take long for Ken could quite easily overthrow these three boys.
“You guys better go now before I change my mind.”
One of the delinquent boys replied
“Tch, you'll see. We're leaving now!”
The boy said to his other two friends. The three delinquent boys ran away from here; Ken then also walked away. The boy Ken just saved immediately stood up.
“Wait a minute.”
Ken stopped his steps, then turned to face the boy that called him. The boy resumed talking.
“Thank you for helping me. Sorry if that's all I can give. But… is it alright?”
Ken's expression turned astonished
“What's alright?”
The expression of this boy appeared to feel guilty
“I mean, they'll be after you for sure.”
Ken replied
"Oh, you don't have to think about that."
Ken looked at his watch and realized that he was getting late
"Then I'll go first, or I'll be late."
Ken turned around and walked away. Seeing Ken, the boy immediately said
"Once again, thank you!"
Ken waved his right hand without looking back and kept walking away.
After taking the bus once, Ken arrived at his school. It's an elite private school with a modern classic style building being Ken's school. There were only five minutes left until the school bell rang; Only Ken and a few other students were still walking in; Ken quickened his pace. Ken arrived at his class and replied to say good morning to his friends, and sat in his chair in the back row by the window. Ken began to take out his textbooks and notebooks from his school bag. Ken's male friend, who was sitting at the table next to him, looked curious.
"You're almost late again. Is there anything holding you back on your way here?"
Ken’s expression looked flat.
"In that case, it's normal..."
Ken’s friend appeared to have realized something.
"You're not getting into fights, are you? You've been like this many times before. Is that okay? I mean, they're even from another school."
Ken smiled
"Why? Are you worried about me?”
Ken’s friend’s expression turned astonished.
"Yeah, maybe I'm also worried about those who got into trouble with you."
Hearing that, Ken burst into laughter.
"It's better if we worry about what will happen today because it is said that there is a written quiz in every lesson today."
Ken’s friend looked frustrated.
"Gosh, you don't have to be reminded of it like that!"
Ken laughed again. Ken’s friend said
"But seriously, I heard rumors that if many students from another school are after you, you better be careful."
Hearing that attracts Ken's attention. Not long after, the teacher, who is a middle-aged man, entered the classroom, and the whole class then greeted him.