Glancing at the charging Imura, the Librarian simply turned and walked towards him. Seeing the Librarian approach, a cruel smile spread across Imura's face. He was going to cut him in two! He gripped the sword with both hands and brought it down with all his might, aiming for the top of the Librarian's head.
Nearby, Awaga saw this and was about to shout, but the words caught in his throat. The scene unfolding before him made him choke back his cry.
The Librarian had caught the furiously descending blade with just two fingers.
A look of shock and terror filled Imura's eyes. He couldn't understand how the gap in their strength could be so vast.
The Librarian applied slight pressure with his fingers, and the steel blade began to groan. No, no, no, could it be?! A terrible premonition struck Imura. He wanted to abandon the sword and leap back, but it was too late. With the sound of shattering metal, the Librarian snapped the blade into more than a dozen fragments.
Under his control, four of the flying shards embedded themselves in Imura's hands and feet. With his precise control of force and knowledge of the human body, the shards didn't sever any major arteries. They severed only the tendons required to exert force. Even with the best medical care, Imura would never recover to a normal person's level of strength. In other words, for the rest of his life, Imura had lost the right to hold a sword.
This was a case of "the death penalty may be waived, but the punishment cannot be escaped." It was the most fitting punishment for Imura.
The Librarian turned and walked towards the dojo exit. Hakuji, seeing this, quickly followed.
"If he gets timely treatment, he won't die," the Librarian's voice echoed in the air as his figure disappeared.
Awaga snapped out of his trance and rushed forward to check on Imura's condition. Understanding his son's situation, a bitter expression washed over his face. After witnessing the Librarian's power—shattering bamboo and breaking a steel blade with two fingers—his pride as a swordsman had been completely crushed. He couldn't even entertain the thought of fighting the Librarian. Awaga knew that this outcome was already an act of mercy. If they did anything else to displease him, it wouldn't just be the two of them. The students, the dojo, perhaps even the entire town, could be turned to ash in an instant.
He shuddered involuntarily. Awaga handed the unconscious Imura to his students and told them to get him medical attention. His already old face seemed to age another ten years. He slowly turned and saw Keizo.
"Master Keizo, I..." Awaga started to speak, but Keizo cut him off.
"I have only one request. Don't let your son bother Koyuki ever again." With that, Keizo also turned and left.
Awaga watched him go, wanting to say more, but he remained silent. In the end, he just stood there and sighed heavily.
On the other side of town, as the Librarian's group neared the Soryu Dojo, they saw a figure already waiting for them at the gate. It was Koyuki.
"Are you all right?" Her face was filled with worry. Disregarding her own frail health, she ran towards them and straight into Hakuji's arms.
Seeing his daughter's first concern was for Hakuji and not him, a look of resignation crossed Keizo's face. She's not even grown up yet, and I can't keep her here anymore. He shrugged, sighed, and folded his arms, watching Koyuki anxiously check on Hakuji.
"Looking at you, it's hard to believe anything happened," the Librarian's voice remarked. Keizo snapped out of his thoughts and chuckled. It was true. Compared to the spotless Librarian and himself, the bruised Hakuji was clearly the most injured of the three.
Keizo shook his head and walked into the dojo.
The Librarian tapped Hakuji on the head. "You two can be lovey-dovey inside."
Hearing this, Koyuki froze, a blush spreading across her pale cheeks. Her eyes darted around, and she clasped her hands together, looking embarrassed at being found out. Hakuji wasn't much better, a flash of awkwardness crossing his face.
"Mr. Librarian, Koyuki and I aren't—"
"Is that really what you think?" the Librarian interrupted, pointing behind Hakuji.
Hakuji turned to see Koyuki tugging on his sleeve, her lips pressed together, looking up at him. Her large, watery eyes were full of expectation, as if trying to say something. Gazing into her eyes, Hakuji's words caught in his throat. He scratched his head, then took Koyuki's hand and led her into the dojo.
After settling the matter with the swordsmanship dojo, the Soryu Dojo enjoyed a period of peace, free from provocations by other factions. In these few quiet days, the relationship between Hakuji and Koyuki deepened rapidly.
One night, a figure suddenly appeared at the gate of the swordsmanship dojo. He had a high black ponytail, six crimson eyes, and a demonic blade at his waist. It was Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
He glanced at the dojo, assessing the general strength of the humans within. One is somewhat skilled, one is barely passable. The rest are worthless. The two he deemed skilled were, of course, Awaga and Imura. If they knew that their prized swordsmanship was considered merely "passable" in Kokushibo's eyes, they might have fainted from indignation.
After confirming the locations of the two humans, Kokushibo entered the dojo with a few leaps. Worried about causing a commotion that might attract the Librarian's attention, he had chosen to infiltrate secretly.
The somewhat skilled one is too old. His potential is mostly exhausted. Even if he became a demon, he wouldn't amount to much. The barely passable one is nineteen... he'll have to do.
He appeared silently outside Imura's room and drew his demonic blade.
Swish, swish, swish.
The blade sliced through the door, reducing it to countless tiny, thin fragments. The pieces were so small and light that they made almost no sound as they settled on the floor. After dicing the door, Kokushibo stepped into the room.
On a bed to one side lay Imura, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, his limbs held up by frames. Hearing someone enter, his bloodshot eyes widened, and he prepared to shout. "Wha—"
The first syllable was all he could manage before the words stuck in his throat. He could feel an aura of terrifying power emanating from the inhuman being before him.
"Do you wish... to become a demon?"
-------
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