The False Mask
One day before the Yusuko incident
5:00 PM – A strange time for a summon before Akayama's return.
At one of the Samurai headquarters, Jin entered the Samurai headquarters wearing a pure white inner silk shirt with tight sleeves, over which was a golden hitatare—a heavy silk fabric embroidered with golden threads, patterned with dragons, and wide sleeves lined with fine golden stripes on the edges. On the sides, there were side slits lined with dark red fabric. On his left waist was a sword sheath covered with black leather and golden rings. Clear signs of annoyance appeared on his face; he was summoned without being told the reason. Jin was known as the third son of the ruler of Kagetsu City—a city known for its different timing compared to other cities, characterized by short daytime hours. After continuing his walk, Masaru informed him to head to the upper floor. Jin expressed his annoyance and left, and when he arrived, he knocked on the door. He was given permission to enter.
Jin hid his annoyance, opened the door, and entered the room where the light was dim. Jin paid his respects to that person and bowed, pretending to be humble. His face or body was not visible, only his shadow, but his voice was enough to recognize him. After bowing, Jin stood and asked that person in a calm tone:
"Why did you summon me, Commander?"
He replied:
"You've been sent on a mission to kill Yusuko."
Jin was shocked by what he just heard. His pupils froze and widened, and his eyes too. A mission to kill Yusuko was akin to a death sentence—especially for the son of one of the great families. Jin thought to himself:
"There must be a reason for sending me on that mission."
The commander answered what I was thinking:
"The reason for sending you on that mission isn't to kill Yusuko—but to monitor a certain person."
A certain person? What does he mean by that?
Jin's facial expression shifted from shock to curiosity. Is there someone more important than Yusuko now?
Jin asked the commander:
"And who is that person?"
The commander turned to Jin and continued his words:
"It's the Samurai Akayama."
Jin was surprised by what he said. What's so important about that Samurai for me to be sent because of him? Even his energy is weak, his rank is just a regular Samurai, and also his body is weak, and he's from a fallen family. What's the big deal about him?
The commander said:
"I know you're wondering what's the point of monitoring that Samurai. But from what I've seen of him, he's pretending to be weak. He has completed all the missions—and each one was dangerous at the level of a mid-class Samurai. So, when thinking about it, I suspect he's hiding something. Most likely, he's a Yokai disguised as that person—or a spy sent from a certain organization."
The atmosphere began to grow tense. If the commander's words were true, then the matter was more terrifying—because a Yokai disguised in human form is considered one of the strongest and most dangerous types of Yokai. This type can destroy an entire city with ease.
I bowed and said respectfully:
"Alright, I will complete that mission."
"Good. Pretend to be defeated in front of Yusuko and observe what happens."
Back to the present – after Yusuko's defeat
Jin was hiding under the rocky rubble. He was thinking to himself, tense and afraid of what he had seen. He was biting his lip out of fear, and his hands were trembling.
I did what the commander ordered me and pretended to faint. But splitting seven mountains in a single strike—what I saw was like a fantasy. My body began to tremble from fear. How could a human do that? At the moment Yusuko said his line, I realized I would never be able to defeat him—and that was without him even showing his full power! Even if Yusuko is weaker than the current commanders, that doesn't mean he's weak. For Akayama to be able to defeat him—he killed an entire battalion of the most violent and criminal Samurai in just one minute.
It seems the commander's suspicions were incorrect.
The person I'm seeing in front of me now isn't a Yokai—and isn't a human either.
He's worse than that.
I feel an aura of a terrifying being...
I must inform them now of what I've seen.
Jin began fleeing as fast as he could, activating the purple lightning power. With every step he took, he felt fear and looked behind to make sure Akayama wasn't chasing him. He was thinking to himself:
What if he knows I was spying on him? What would my fate be? Would I die? I don't want to die.
Jin began breathing heavily, and with every step, the coldness increased—and so did the fear. He started to panic and became obsessed with getting further away so Akayama wouldn't catch and kill him. While trying to escape, he remembered what the commander told him before he left:
"If you're exposed—kill yourself."
And when he reached a distant place, Jin was panting and breathing heavily. But his fear and tension hadn't subsided yet—he knew how fast Akayama was.
And before he could continue escaping, he heard the sound of nearby footsteps, reigniting terror in his heart once again.
In front of him appeared the shadow of a Samurai. It was a terrifying shadow. Jin began to hear the sound of clapping in front of him.
He froze in place and heard Akayama's voice laughing:
"Looks like the rat has revealed itself now."
Jin couldn't move either of his legs. His body began to shiver. The aura he felt was suffocating.
His form appeared—it was Akayama.
He had discovered me quickly.
His eyes were cold and devoid of any empathy, and his lips curved into a sinister smile.
His eyes stared into Jin's and he said, the smile never leaving his face:
"I knew from the beginning that you were spying on me."
Jin tried to run with everything he had—because if he died now and they didn't know the truth, the entire empire would be destroyed by that monster.
Jin released an aura of lightning. The lightning began to surround his foot, which was bleeding from continuous running. Then he drew the sword from the black leather-covered sheath—his sword—and rushed toward Akayama, pretending that he was going to attack him.
But Akayama moved in front of Jin, grabbed the katata made of steel—which symbolized the ruling family of Kagetsu City—and broke it with his bare hands.
He smiled and said in his usual calm tone:
"Don't worry, I won't kill you."
Jin replied:
"What do you mean by that?"
"You have a mission to carry out."
Suddenly, I began to feel intense pain, as if there were threads moving inside my body.
Suddenly I felt them reach my brain.
My eyes began to bleed.
The pain became more intense, and all I could do was scream from the pain.
I began to see my memories of that battle disappear.
I began to feel like I was inside a dark void.
Suddenly, I could feel my memories being tampered with...
And I lost consciousness.
Akayama laughed and said:
"Your mission is to be my puppet."
And in a high place, there was someone observing everything that had happened.
Sparks of lightning were flying off him.
His face and body weren't visible—only a terrifying smile appeared on his face.
End of the chapter.