Chapter 128: Sword Eater!
"The hospital is just past this shopping street."
Ayase, who was leading the way, turned back and spoke to Shiro.
Her gaze was somewhat awkward, but she still chose to look directly at him.
"Ayatsuji-senpai, could you tell us what happened to Ayatsuji Kaito-san?"
To prevent her from misunderstanding, Shiro immediately added,
"Of course, it's fine if you truly don't want to talk about it. It won't affect the treatment."
"No, I just... don't know how to explain it."
Ayase struggled internally for some time. In the end, she took a deep breath and slowly recounted what had happened.
After Kaito became famous through various world-class competitions, he returned home and opened a dojo, unwilling to let [Ayatsuji Ittou-ryuu] end with him.
There, he passed everything he had learned throughout his life to the dojo's disciples.
Perhaps fate was playing a cruel joke.
Around Ayase's first year of middle school, the hospital diagnosed Kaito with heart disease.
After that, he almost never held a sword again.
The sole exception was when Ayase decided to enter Hagun Academy. At that time, Kaito entrusted the [Secret Technique] he had created to her.
After school each day, Ayase traveled back home to practice [Ayatsuji Ittou-ryuu] at the dojo.
Just when she thought those days would continue forever, an accident occurred.
She would never forget the sight at the dojo entrance that day.
A tall young man stood there with a cigarette between his lips and his clothes worn loosely. A skull tattoo could faintly be seen across his chest.
He sneered contemptuously at the people inside the Ayatsuji Dojo.
"See ya~"
The disciples who should have been practicing stood to one side, glaring at the man through clenched teeth. Kaito sat formally on the floor with his eyes closed.
From the students, Ayase learned that the visitor was Kurashiki Kuraudo of Donrou Academy.
He had come to challenge Kaito to a match with ownership of the dojo as the wager.
[Ayatsuji Ittou-ryuu] existed to protect others. Moreover, Kaito's body could no longer wield a sword, so he refused Kuraudo's provocation.
Kuraudo lived up to his delinquent appearance.
After Kaito refused the challenge, he gathered his followers and spat in Kaito's face.
It was no wonder every disciple in the dojo looked ready to grind their teeth apart.
The next day, when Ayase arrived at the dojo, no one was there except Kaito.
Only after she had finished all her training for the day did someone pull open the dojo door.
It was Sugawara, the head student and one of Kaito's finest disciples.
He had none of his former confidence. His face and body were covered in bandages, presenting a horrifying sight.
"Master, I'm sorry!"
The instant Sugawara saw Kaito, he dropped to his knees. He slammed his forehead against the dojo floor and kowtowed several times.
Under Kaito's questioning, Sugawara tearfully explained what had happened the previous night.
When Sugawara and the other six disciples left the dojo, Kuraudo ambushed them on their way home.
With no way to escape, the disciples could only fight back.
However, Kuraudo defeated all seven of them without even using magic power, leaving every one of them severely injured.
Aside from Sugawara and one other disciple, who could barely move, everyone else had been hospitalized.
"Master... We joined your dojo because we wanted to become men like you."
Tears streamed down Sugawara's face as he questioned Kaito.
"But... what did all those years we spent struggling and training amount to?!"
They had trained desperately, yet they could not defeat a delinquent like Kuraudo.
The disciples' confidence in their swords had been completely shattered.
That was the gulf between Blazers and ordinary people.
"I'm sorry, Master... We can't hold swords anymore... I'm truly sorry..."
Sugawara tremblingly pulled seven letters from inside his clothes.
They were apology letters and notices of withdrawal from all seven disciples.
"Hah. So they all ran away. Looks like I accidentally bullied them a little too much."
A discordant voice rang out at that moment.
Kuraudo, the culprit who had severely wounded all of Kaito's disciples, appeared at the dojo entrance as though he had timed his arrival perfectly.
"Don't come any closer! Aaaaaah!!!"
Sugawara, whose courage had already been crushed, dropped the letters and fled the dojo on all fours.
"After that, my father accepted his wager."
When Ayase reached this point, her eyes were filled with anger and unwillingness.
It was all because she was too weak that Kaito had been forced to fight.
Had she mastered [Ayatsuji Ittou-ryuu] sooner, her father would never have suffered such a fate.
Kuraudo showed no mercy during their final battle.
Right before Ayase's eyes, he shattered Kaito's bones, crushed his muscles, and ruptured his internal organs.
"Don't interfere with me!"
At the very end, Kaito roared at Ayase when she rushed forward to stop the battle.
Before Kaito could use his Secret Technique, his body finally gave out and collapsed.
From that day onward, Ayase lost everything.
Her family, the dojo that held all her memories, and the spirit of protection Kaito had entrusted to her.
"How could someone like that exist?! Don't worry, Ayatsuji-senpai. If we ever see him, we'll help you give him a vicious beating!"
Stella spoke indignantly after hearing Ayase's story.
Although Stella had suffered because of her immense magic power back in Vermillion, her family had always showered her with love.
She could not imagine watching her family being beaten into a vegetative state. Just knowing such a possibility existed was almost enough to make her lose control.
'That is...'
Shiro keenly noticed that when Stella became angry, a terrifying presence leaked from her body.
It was the pressure of a higher life-form bearing down upon a lower one.
Shiro had felt a similar aura from a certain kind of monster in the Dungeon.
At that moment, he gained a vague guess about the direction of Stella's true ability.
"Oh? I thought you looked familiar from a distance. So it really is Ayase."
As they passed through a shopping street outside Hagun Academy, a coarse male voice suddenly came from behind them.
The newcomer had dyed hair, triangular sunglasses, and a cigarette hanging from his lips.
With both hands in his pockets, he shoved past Ikki and stopped in front of Ayase, tilting his head as he stared at her frivolously.
The moment Ayase saw his face, her pupils contracted.
Immediately afterward, overwhelming killing intent erupted from her body.
"Kurashiki Kuraudo..."
She nearly forced the name through the gaps between her clenched teeth.
…
(Don't forget to vote and leave a comment below! :D If possible, share your review to show your support.)
...
Read more than 20 chapters in advance:
patréon.com/U22
(Note: Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.)