The midday breeze barely eased the summer heat in the Zen'in Clan compound. An invisible, almost spiritual tension hung in the air. It didn't come from a cursed technique or a battle... but from a presence. An aura without an aura. A void that only true sorcerers perceived.
"Who is that...?" whispered one of the younger servants as he peered from behind a stone column. "That man... he has no cursed energy... but he's frightening."
Another, older servant gulped as he recognized the shadowy face, the visible scars, and the animal-like gaze striding through the clan courtyards.
"It's Toji Fushiguro. The Zen'in Clan's off-leash dog. The sorcerer-slayer..."
The name resonated like an echo. For most of the young, it was only a legend. For the elders, an old nightmare that should never have returned.
Toji walked unhurriedly, but each step seemed to crush the ground with unspoken contempt. He dressed simply: a dark T-shirt, combat pants, and a light backpack. His gaze, however, didn't linger on anyone. He just moved forward, as if he already knew every corner of that place... even though he hated it.
In the main hall, the elders shifted uneasily.
"Are you sure it's him?" one said, his voice trembling.
"You wouldn't sense him coming if you didn't see him. His presence is like a hole in the air," said another, more soberly.
Naobito Zen'in, the patriarch, was already sitting in the center of the room, his sake bottle in one hand. His narrowed eyes showed no surprise.
"Let him pass," he ordered simply.
One of the servants swallowed and obeyed.
When Toji entered, the temperature seemed to drop by a degree. Naobito looked at him with the same expression he would give a poisonous snake that doesn't know whether it's going to bite or pass by.
"I didn't think you'd ever come back to this house," Naobito said, pouring himself a drink.
"I'm not coming back. I only came for what's mine," Touji replied bluntly, his voice dry, with no intention of feigning respect.
"It's been years, Fushiguro. Most of the inherited items were reclaimed or destroyed."
"Not this one."
Silence. Naobito raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious.
"And what would that 'special item' be?"
"The Hunter's Relic. That black dagger forged from cursed spirit bone. They said they'd give it to me if I eliminated the user of 'Chain of the Void.' I did. But I left before I got paid."
Naobito thought back. His mind, still sharp despite the years and the sake, traveled back to a time when Toji still answered to his original surname. The mission had been confidential. The enemy, a traitor to the clan. The reward... conveniently forgotten.
"I didn't think you'd come to collect something so old." Naobito drank slowly. "Why now?"
Toji tilted his head and smiled faintly, his eyes dead.
"Because I'm interested now. And you know I'm stubborn."
Naobito looked at him deeply. What troubled him most wasn't the implied threat. It was the fact that Toji didn't need the weapon to kill. He wanted it for some reason he still didn't understand.
"Very well," he said finally, raising a hand to one of the stewards. "Give it to him."
The butler paled. He withdrew without saying anything.
While they waited, the two men regarded each other in silence. The air between them seemed thick with old grudges.
"And how is that child of yours...?" Naobito asked venomously. "Did you sell him too?"
Toji didn't react to the insult. He just blinked slowly.
"My son has nothing to do with this."
"You also had nothing to do with this clan, and yet you wiped out half a generation in the Trial of the Abyss. You haven't changed a bit."
Toji shrugged.
"You made me like this."
The dagger arrived wrapped in black cloth sealed with cursed paper. Toji took it unceremoniously, as if he'd been waiting for it for years.
Naobito watched him out of the corner of his eye as he took another sip from his cup.
"You didn't come to see the boy, did you?"
"What boy?"
"Naoya. He's been... making noise."
Toji finally cracked a smile, hollow and mocking.
"If he makes enough noise, I'll find out. I'm not interested for now."
"Hm. I'd be surprised if they didn't cross paths. Fate has a way of bringing together monsters, even those who don't recognize themselves as such."
Toji turned without replying. He walked toward the exit without looking back.
The servants scurried away like cockroaches in a sudden flash of light. Silence fell as his figure disappeared through the clan's main gate.
One of the elders murmured softly:
"What if... he came back for something else?"
Naobito looked at the empty cup and placed it on the table.
"He hasn't come back. Toji never comes back. He only collects debts."