Massacre

The morning following Nezumi's departure, Ebisu did as Nezumi instructed. He led the Kamakura to the northwestern shore, where a fleet of wooden sailing ships awaited.

As they prepared to board the ships, members of the family began to notice Nezumi's absence. Soon after, a mother and her daughter approached Ebisu.

"Is Mr. Nezumi here?" the little girl asked Ebisu.

"He requested to meet us at our new village," he replied, "We'll be boarding the ships shortly."

"So he's still in the Shi Mountains?"

"Yes."

The family erupted in chatter.

"If he's here, why are we leaving without him?" the girl pressed on.

"That's enough questions. I'm sure Nezumi has his reasons," her mother interrupted.

"No!" someone from the crowd shouted, "The child's correct. We cannot set sail without our patriarch!"

Another shouted, "If he's on these lands, what's the harm in waiting?"

The chatter of a noisy, angry crowd filled the air.

"Fine, fine," Ebisu conceded with a sigh.

He looked into the distance, "It was foolish to believe they'd leave without their patriarch. But I suppose there's no harm in waiting."

***

Raijah fanned thick smoke and debris away with his hand.

"Shit," he muttered, "what the hell caused that explosion? I can't see a thing."

Letting his aura leak, Raijah cleared the dust and revealed his surroundings.

All he saw was mass destruction.

An area once abundant in life, vegetation, and landforms was now a barren wasteland.

Raijah scanned the vicinity, finally glimpsing a silhouette in the distance. As he closed in, he was pleased to see a familiar face.

"Teo!" Raijah called out from a distance.

Teo turned to him with a blank expression.

A gust of wind whipped through the area, clearing the smoke.

Raijah's body went cold. "What the hell is this?" he muttered.

Surrounding them were hundreds of skeletal remains. Some corpses had their entire skeleton intact. Others weren't so fortunate.

Teo squatted by two complete skeletons. The larger one cradled the other in their hands as if to shield them from impending doom.

"A mother and her daughter," Teo examined.

Raijah inspected their bones, "From the looks of it, it didn't happen too long ago. Their bones show no signs of decay."

"You know who these people are, don't you, Raijah?"

"Yeah," Raijah replied, "The Kamakura family. It looks like they died in the explosion."

***

Prior to the eruption, Aziel, Ujinari, and Gado strode through a mass of trees.

Aziel recognized the blaze in Ujinari's eyes. "David," he muttered under his breath.

"Ujinari," Aziel said as they walked, "What are you planning on doing?"

He replied, "Aziel, are you familiar with what happened to my wife?"

"I have an idea of what happened. But I'm not sure of the details."

"Well," Ujinari continued, "Years ago, in my absence, the Shi Mountains was attacked by a creature. It was humanoid in shape but had beastly features. Valerie, a naive child at the time, engaged the beast, hoping to protect the village like Saku once did.

"Had my wife Tamiko not stepped in, she would've been killed. Tamiko confronted the creature but had to defend the village while simultaneously doing battle. She inevitably lost and was fatally wounded.

"I returned to the Shi Mountains on short notice. But I was too late. Tamiko had already perished, and Valerie would've been next had I not made it in time. I fought with the resolve to abandon my family's pacifist teachings and kill that creature.

"But when it came time to deal the final blow, I hesitated. Honestly, I'm not sure why I did. During our battle, I had fully intended on killing. But when I saw the creature on the brink of death, it touched me somehow. Its beastly features were gone, and it looked entirely human, like everything it just did was not a product of its own ill will.

"In the quake of my uncertainty, the beast took the initiative and dealt a final attack," Ujinari shifted his cloak, revealing his amputated arm, "A devastating one at that."

"Aziel," he continued, "that night, my resolve was tested, and I abandoned my family's teachings for the sake of survival and protecting my family. I'm sure my father did the same in the battle that led to his death. If I'm ever in a position where I must once again abandon my morals for the sake of survival, then so be it. I will not hesitate to kill for that cause.

"There's no doubt in my mind that the creature that attacked our village was under someone's control. I also believe that the mastermind behind that attack was also behind my father's death.

"The Shi Mountains are under attack."

"Bravo," a voice came from behind, "You are correct about your father. In the face of death, he buried his stupid ideology. And as you said, we pulled the strings behind both incidents: your father's death and that creature that attacked your village."

Aziel and the others instinctively turned around. Little did they know that locking eyes with Kurome practically sealed their fate.

"Ririsu Prana: Nightmare Realm!"

Gado appeared first, followed by Ujinari and Aziel.

"What a bizarre-looking man that was," Aziel said, surrounded by darkness, "His eyes were entirely black."

"Is this his prana?" Gado asked.

Ujinari stayed silent.

Kurome's voice echoed throughout the void, "Would you like to repeatedly watch how Hashira died until you're bored to death, or would you like to experience his death firsthand? Let's vote. Personally, I prefer the latter."

Unsure of how to respond, they stayed quiet.

"Not the talkative type?" Kurome said, "Then why don't we do both."

Ujinari, Aziel, and Gado were idle in the darkness but horrified as Hashira's death reoccurred in their heads.

Kurome replayed the events of his battle with Hashira from their first encounter until Hashira's last breath. Terror washed over them, but there was no escape. Kurome replayed this scene until it engraved itself in their brains.

"I lost count," Kurome yawned, "Where were we, 200? No, probably somewhere around 300. You've watched this enough. It's starting to get boring. Let's see how you handle the experience."

With that, Kurome made them victims of his nightmares. He stimulated their five senses with the events of Hashira's death.

Kurome mimicked everything down to the sensations Hashira felt during battle. They felt everything. From the suffering Hashira experienced in "Nightmare Realm" to the pain of losing all his limbs and setting his own body on fire.

It felt like an eternity.

Just when Aziel and the others thought they'd die as Hashira did, Kurome remade their bodies in perfect shape and did it all over again.

Their despair felt endless. That is until cracks appeared on the very fabric of "Nightmare Realm."

Thanks to the harm inflicted by Nezumi's attack, Aziel, Ujinari, and Gado returned to their physical bodies. Despite being physically and mentally exhausted from the ordeal, they got to their feet quickly.

"Do not lock eyes with him!" Aziel ordered.

"It's your lucky day," Kurome grinned, "Whatever caused that explosion released you from 'Nightmare Realm.' However, it seems to have destroyed the entire Shi Mountains.

"This feeling of pain. I can practically taste the debris in the air. I smell the smoke surrounding us, and my ears are ringing from the eruption. I can tell it's all gone. But I can't see it."

"So," Aziel whispered under his breath, "That's the weakness of his technique. Damage to the physical body can free one of whatever world his power puts them in. A frightening ability indeed."

"Where's the rest of my family?" Ujinari asked.

"They're currently back at the village, getting slaughtered by Tensai," Kurome replied.

Ujinari turned to Gado, "Go assist them."

Gado nodded his head and bolted toward the village.

"It was kind of you to send him off like that," Kurome said.

"What do you mean?" Ujinari questioned.

Kurome formed a vile smirk, "I like to savor my killings. But Tensai isn't like that.

"Tensai's going to kill him far quicker than I would."

***

Tensai jumped into the center of the crowd, unleashing a barrage of deadly hand-to-hand techniques. He killed with every strike.

Despite outnumbering him, Tensai singlehandedly outmatched the Shi family. Bodies dropped like flies as his cigarette left a trail of smoke in its path.

He cracked skulls with his kicks and pierced hearts with his fists.

Tensai dodged another punch, retaliating with an upward kick that decapitated his opponent and sent their head flying.

The pool of blood surrounding Tensai was ever-growing as the Shi family attacked relentlessly.

However, upon hearing a resounding thud, Tensai halted his assault and soared into the air.

"Ash Prana: Ash Dome!"

Tensai formed a temporary dome of particle-sized ash around the plateau, shielding the Shi family from Nezumi's large-scale attack.

"Did he just protect us?" one of the Shi asked.

Another replied, "No. He's sick. He protected us so he could kill us on his own."

"Now," Tensai looked down at the crowd, "Where were we?"

Burning hot ash filled the area, inflaming the lungs of those who inhaled and leading to suffocation.

Members of the Shi family adapted by holding their breaths, allowing the wind to disperse Tensai's ash.

By now, they'd begun to read Tensai's movements. By attacking in groups, they tilted the scale and put him on the defensive.

Despite their efforts, Tensai parried relentlessly, avoiding and blocking their attacks.

"Futile," he muttered.

"Ririsu Prana: Black Ash!"

Tensai kicked upwards, surrounding himself in a twirling pillar of black particle-sized ash. Consequently, everyone caught in his attack dissolved into a pile of dust.

The Shi family's numbers dwindled rapidly.

Tensai threw another punch at the crowd, but Gado suddenly appeared and caught his fist.

"Reinforcements?" Tensai asked.

Gado muttered, "He's already diminished our numbers to a couple hundred. I'll stop him here."

Unable to keep track of their movements, the Shi family could only spectate.

Tensai threw a left hook.

Gado weaved under his fist and retaliated with an uppercut.

Tensai threw his head back, narrowly avoiding Gado's fist. He dodged another hit and shifted his weight to his left foot, allowing him to lift his right leg into a roundhouse kick.

Gado threw his arms up, successfully blocking Tensai's kick.

"He's good..." Tensai whispered.

He swept Gado off his feet.

"... Unfortunately, you can't beat me by just being 'good.'"

Tensai seemed to laugh as his bloody knuckles connected with Gado's face, splitting the skin over his cheekbone.

Gado fell on his back, looking up at Tensai with a terrified expression.

"Do not fret," Tensai smiled, "You'll reunite with your family in the afterlife."

"Ririsu Prana: Black Ash-"

Suddenly, an object flashed in Tensai's peripheral vision.

He tilted his head back, and a dark blade slashed his cigarette in half.

Tensai retreated to high ground, and Raijah and Teo appeared in front of Gado, standing back to back.

"How'd you miss such a clear shot, Teo?" Raijah asked.

Teo tightened his grip on Teiden. "He was moving that time," he replied, "But, next time, I'll pierce through his brain."

"More reinforcements," Tensai said as he chucked his cigarette butt into the distance.

Tensai looked down at his foes, "The Shi family and Gado. Now a god and a devil.

"I'm in quite the predicament, aren't I," he smirked mockingly.