The King of Kugutsu
The campfire crackled faintly, casting long, distorted shadows over the exhausted faces of Akari, Yuzuki, and Gotier. The smoke mingled with the cold night air, carrying a faint woody scent. After twelve hours of uninterrupted training, their bodies cried out for rest, but the weight of memories and the secrets they shared gave them no peace.
Yuzuki sat with slumped shoulders, eyes fixed on the embers. His face, marked by dried sweat and fresh cuts, looked older, as if burdened by lives that weren't his own. Akari lay with her hands folded behind her head, staring blankly at the stars, while Gotier, leaning against a nearby tree, held his worn cross with trembling fingers.
The silence was broken by Yuzuki's hoarse voice, sounding more like a lament than a statement:
"The king of Kugutsu... he is a monster."
Gotier lifted his gaze, attentive but silent. Yuzuki continued, his voice heavy with bitterness:
"He uses methods no King has ever dared to use. Sacrifices, rituals... nothing is sacred to him."
"Sacrifices?" Gotier finally spoke, his deep voice laced with disbelief.
Yuzuki nodded slowly, still gazing at the flames.
"Our family was one of them. My mother, my father... my brother. All to feed the power of that damned ritual." He paused, the pain evident in every word. "I left the island to survive. But surviving isn't enough. The only thing I want now... is to destroy everything."
Gotier narrowed his eyes, the lines of his face hardening.
"Destroy? You're talking about revenge."
Yuzuki lifted his gaze to Gotier, and for a moment, his eyes carried a disturbing emptiness.
"It's not revenge. It's justice. The end of the puppets. The end of the Kugutsu ritual. The end of demons."
The priest gripped his cross tighter, feeling a chill run down his spine. Before he could respond, Akari spoke, her voice as cold as the night breeze:
"Our people will never accept the end of his reign. They are devout, blind. They'd rather die than question the king."
Gotier looked at her, searching for a hint of hope in her words, but found only grim resignation.
"And what about the traitors?" Gotier asked, a mix of curiosity and caution in his voice.
"They sold everything," Akari replied, turning her head to face him. "Our rituals, our secrets. All to this filthy continent. Now, the scent of innocent blood is everywhere."
Yuzuki clenched his fists, glancing away toward the river.
"Salem..." he muttered, the name spilling from his lips like a curse. "The capital of stench."
Gotier remained silent, but his hands trembled. He felt the weight of something greater—something he wasn't sure he could bear.
As silence returned, a voice cut through Yuzuki's thoughts.
"You're on the right path, Yuzuki."
It was Mao, whispering directly into his mind, with a sinister sweetness that made his skin crawl.
"That hatred, that pain... they are gifts. Use them. Embrace them. Imagine what we could achieve together. Just let me guide you."
Yuzuki shut his eyes tightly, trying to push away the demon's presence, but felt an involuntary smile curl his lips—a disturbing smile that Gotier noticed immediately.
"Are you sure you're fighting the right monster?" Gotier asked, his voice almost accusatory.
Yuzuki stared at him but didn't reply. Akari, watching the exchange, finally spoke, her voice darker than usual:
"Sometimes, it's hard to tell where the monster ends and the man begins."
Gotier looked away, staring at the cross in his hands as if searching for strength.
"Do you really think the end justifies the means?" His voice was low, but tense.
Akari turned to him, her eyes hard as stone.
"There is no 'end' waiting for us, priest. Only destruction. And sometimes, that's all that remains."
Gotier closed his eyes, exhaling slowly, but didn't respond. In silence, he prayed—not for their salvation, but for his own, for he felt himself falling into an abyss from which there was no return.
Salem, the City of Stench
After days of exhausting travel, Yuzuki, Akari, and Gotier finally arrived at the city of Salem. Right at the entrance, the acrid smell of blood mixed with sewage and smoke invaded their nostrils, causing nausea. The scenery was suffocating: thin and filthy bodies occupied the sidewalks, while luxurious carriages arrogantly paraded through the streets. Children with chains on their ankles were led like cattle. Social inequality wasn't just evident—it was grotesque.
Yuzuki couldn't hide his disgust. "How is this allowed?" he murmured, clenching his fists.
Gotier sighed, looking at the scene with a mix of disillusionment and resignation. "Allowed? Here, this is the law. This is the capital of decay."
Mao, who rarely manifested, let out a low laugh. "Ah, the smell of despair. So familiar. So... inspiring. You should get used to it, Yuzuki. This is the future your people helped create."
Yuzuki shivered at those words but didn't reply. The weight of Mao's words seemed to ring with an uncomfortable truth.
The trio found a small lodging on the edge of the city. While they rested, Gotier silently prepared the next training session. Yuzuki's progress with the techniques was remarkable each day, but Gotier knew he needed more than strength and skill. He needed control—something to prevent Mao from taking over completely.
Gotier looked directly into Yuzuki's eyes. "I'm going to teach you Genkai. This technique is used as a form of subjugation."
Yuzuki replied quickly. "What do you mean?"
"You will overpower the Kugutsu, forcing it to release its power and control its actions," Gotier explained.
Yuzuki slowly smiled. "Hm... interesting."
The Encounter with Peige
The next day, while walking through the poverty-infested streets, Yuzuki witnessed a scene that froze him. A small girl, dressed in rags, stumbled while carrying a bucket of water. The spilled liquid drew the ire of a burly man walking with her. He grabbed her by her short, red hair, yelling insults while raising his fist.
Before he could hit the child, Yuzuki leaped across the street, grabbing the man's arm with enough force to make him let go of the girl.
"Let her go," Yuzuki said, his voice low but full of threat.
The man, a well-known slaver, laughed when he recognized Yuzuki. "You must be new here. That's my property. Stay out of what doesn't concern you."
Before things could escalate, Gotier stepped in, pulling Yuzuki aside. "Not the time. There are other ways to fight this."
The man laughed, raising a pendant with the Church's emblem. "You think you can defy Salem? Even your demons bow here." Yuzuki looked at the symbol, and Mao roared in his mind: "Kill him, and I'll give you the blood you need."
Yuzuki hesitated but released the man. He laughed loudly, kicking the girl to make her stand. Yuzuki watched her walk away, unable to shake the scene from his mind.
Mao whispered gleefully in Yuzuki's mind. "That's why your family died."
Yuzuki's silence was the acceptance of having made the worst choice.
A Moment of Hope
That night, while Gotier prepared the next training session, Yuzuki vanished from the improvised camp. He returned a few hours later, carrying Peige in his arms. She was bruised, with marks on her arms and legs, but she still had a timid smile on her face.
Akari, usually reserved, immediately rushed to help. "You're safe now," she said softly, cleaning the girl's dirty face with a cloth.
Peige looked at Yuzuki, who remained silent, avoiding eye contact. "Thank you," she whispered. "I didn't mean to cause trouble. I just... I just wanted to do the right thing."
Yuzuki finally spoke, his voice softer than usual. "It wasn't your fault. None of what he did was your fault."
Gotier watched from afar, intrigued. Mao, however, seemed unsettled. "Interesting," he murmured in Yuzuki's mind. "You're softening? Be careful, Yuzuki. Compassion is a dangerous weakness."
Yuzuki ignored Mao, focusing on helping Akari take care of Peige. For the first time in a long while, he cracked a faint smile as Peige told a story about an imaginary cat she used to have as a friend.
Gotier noticed something in that smile. It was a spark of hope he thought he'd never see again. Maybe, despite everything, there was still a chance to save Yuzuki from Mao. But for that, he knew they would need all the strength and knowledge they could gather.
As the group prepared to face Kubo and free the other slaves, Salem's darkness continued to surround them—but, for a brief moment, a flicker of light existed among them.
Fragile Bonds
The night in Salem was cold and quiet, except for the occasional creak of misery-laden carriages crossing the streets. The group's small improvised camp had been set up by a stream winding through the city's outskirts. Away from the noise and corruption of the capital, Yuzuki, Akari, Gotier, and Paige tried to find a fragment of peace amidst the chaos.
Paige sat near the fire, hugging her knees with her small, bruised hands. Her skin still bore the marks of Kubo's brutality, but her smile persisted, though tremulous, as she watched the flames dance. Yuzuki remained silent, sharpening his sword, though his attention was visibly drawn to the girl.
"You don't have to pretend you're okay, Paige," said Akari, her voice calm but firm. She sat beside the girl and placed a blanket over her frail shoulders. "Here, at least, you can be yourself."
Paige's eyes sparkled with a mix of surprise and gratitude. It was rare for anyone to show her any form of kindness.
"I… I'm okay, Miss Akari," Paige replied, her voice filled with timidity. "You've all done so much for me already. I don't want to be a burden."
Gotier, leaning against a tree, watched everything in silence, his somber expression softening for a moment. He let out a long sigh before speaking:
"No one is a burden here, girl. We've carried enough weight. If we're together, it's because that's how it's meant to be."
Yuzuki lifted his gaze from his sword and looked at Paige. His expression was serious, but there was a strange warmth there, something he didn't know how to express.
"You're strong, Paige. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise," Yuzuki said, his tone low but firm. "Even after everything, you still find a reason to smile. That... that matters."
Paige lowered her head, trying to hide the tears running down her dirty face. She wasn't used to kind words, and hearing them from Yuzuki, who always seemed so distant and cold, was more than she could bear. Akari wrapped her arm around her, offering comfort.
Mao, watching everything from within Yuzuki's mind, seemed restless. His mocking voice rang out in Yuzuki's head:
"What a touching scene, Yuzuki. You're softening. Is it the child or the weight of guilt that makes you act like this?"
Yuzuki narrowed his eyes and responded in thought, his hand gripping the sword's hilt:
"None of your business."
Mao laughed—a low, disturbing sound that echoed in Yuzuki's mind.
"Oh, but it is. You think saving a girl will erase everything you've done? Or maybe you believe she can save you from me. What a sweet illusion."
Yuzuki ignored him, pushing Mao's presence away the best he could. He knew the demon was partly right, but something about Paige awakened a spark of humanity in him—one he couldn't ignore.