The screams grew louder and louder.
Takeshi ran at full speed toward the source of the sound, stopped at the door, grabbed the handle, and pushed it open—causing a loud creak to echo through the place.
Before him stood an injured woman in pain, clutching a small girl tightly, and in front of them was a huge man wearing a dark green cloak and holding a knife.
All eyes turned toward Takeshi, who entered with clenched fists and a sharp focus on the man.
The man turned to see who had opened the door, and there stood Takeshi.
"Who are you? Are you one of those filthy—"
With a faint, broken voice coming from her wounded lips, the woman pleaded,
"Please… help me—"
The man's eyes widened in fury. He glared at the woman, raised his knife high, and shouted,
"Damn you! Who gave you permission to speak!?"
The woman squeezed her trembling eyes shut in fear, while the little girl refused to look, clinging to her mother's arms—both awaiting their end.
BOOOOM!!
A deafening crash echoed as something massive and solid struck the wall—shattering it completely.
The woman slowly opened her eyes to see Takeshi standing before her.
She turned toward the sound and saw a massive hole in the wall, almost the same size as that man.
"What… happened?" she asked in confusion.
Takeshi didn't answer. He moved toward the hole and leapt inside, landing before the man, who now lay sprawled on the ground.
At the same time, Sota rushed into the house in panic, shouting Takeshi's name.
He looked at the woman—at her wounds—and asked in disbelief,
"What happened here? Where's Takeshi!?"
He turned his head and noticed the hole in the wall but didn't bother to look beyond it. Instead, he said to the woman,
"Wait here! I have a first-aid kit!"
Most of her injuries were minor, except for one deep wound in her abdomen, from which she had lost a great deal of blood.
Outside, Takeshi stood before the huge man and kicked him hard, sending him crashing into a tree—the impact shattering it and sending a chilling sound through the air that terrified the woman and her child.
"Attacking the weak…? Is this how low you've sunk?" Takeshi said coldly.
The man tried to comprehend what was happening, but before he could even speak, another kick struck him—shattering his yellow teeth and crushing his nose and jaw into fragments.
Takeshi knelt beside him and punched the ground next to his head, saying,
"What's happening in this village? How can someone like you attack a woman without anyone stepping in?"
The man refused to answer and averted his gaze from Takeshi's piercing eyes.
Takeshi noticed one remaining tooth in his mouth, clenched his fist, and said,
"Oh? You've still got one tooth left… Let me take care of that—"
He didn't move his hand further; the man raised his own hands in fear and shouted,
"Alright! I'll tell you!"
He pointed a trembling finger toward a large hall not far away and said,
"There—you'll find all the villagers."
As soon as the man finished speaking, Takeshi swung his fist toward him, knocking him unconscious.
Takeshi stood and began walking forward.
Inside the hut, Sota had finished bandaging most of the woman's wounds, except for the deep gash on her abdomen, which was still covered with a torn piece of cloth.
"Please… take my daughter… and find her father… I beg you…"
The woman spoke with what little strength she had left, while the girl refused to let go of her mother's arms.
Sota placed his hand gently on the girl's shoulder, a warm smile on his face, and said softly,
"What's your name, little one?"
The girl stayed silent for a moment, then answered through her tears,
"Eve—"
"What a beautiful name!"
Eve turned her head in surprise, her small face and bright eyes reflecting the first bit of warmth she'd felt after all that had happened.
Sota continued cheerfully,
"Come with me, Eve. We'll find your father together!"
Eve hesitated, looking at her mother's bandaged wounds, and said weakly through tears,
"But… Mom—"
Her mother held her hand and whispered,
"Don't worry… I'll be fine."
Sota left through the hole, carrying the girl on his back.
He lifted his gaze and saw Takeshi in the distance, faintly illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun.
Sota took a deep breath, filling his lungs, then shouted at the top of his voice,
"TAKESHIIIIII!!"
Both Takeshi and Eve felt their eardrums almost burst. Takeshi put his palm to his forehead and muttered quietly,
"I came here with an idiot…"
Inside the house, a faint light flickered.
Eve's mother saw it and smiled weakly.
A few drops of blood fell from her lips as she whispered painfully,
"May peace… be with you—"
The dim light faded—the last thing she ever saw, and those words were her final breath.
Sota caught up with Takeshi, panting heavily.
Takeshi looked at Eve and asked,
"Why did you bring her? It's dangerous here."
After catching his breath, Sota lifted his head toward Takeshi and replied,
"I'll find her father. Maybe she knows something about what's going on in the village."
The girl wiped away her remaining tears and said hesitantly,
"Those people came to our village and kidnapped everyone—including my father. Mom tried to fight back, and that's when the fat, evil man attacked her."
Takeshi pointed toward the hall the man had mentioned and asked,
"Were they taken to that hall?"
Eve lowered her gaze as tears streamed down her face.
"I… don't know," she said softly.
Even though she was on Sota's back, he could feel her tears soaking through his shirt, which filled him with despair.
Takeshi turned toward the hall, raised his head, and gazed at the stars appearing one by one.
"Don't worry," he said firmly, "I'll save everyone in your village."
Those few words lit a faint spark of hope in both Sota and Eve.
From the start, Sota had known Takeshi wasn't an ordinary person—ever since he met Orvin, and especially after seeing that huge man lying unconscious outside.
As they got closer to the hall, Takeshi suddenly stopped and closed his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Sota asked.
Takeshi entered a deep state of concentration.
All he saw was complete darkness.
He took a slow, deep breath, followed by another, imagining a small golden-yellow point in front of him.
That point then exploded into countless fragments spreading across the area—two beside him and dozens ahead.
He opened his eyes and said,
"There are many of them. I hope they're the villagers."
Over the past two weeks, Orvin had taught Takeshi the methods of using aura.
Takeshi remembered every word, every tone, and every smile of Orvin's.
"There are what we call 'Usage Divisions,' which allow a person to use their aura for specific purposes.
One of them is called Perception, which lets you sense the presence and distance of others.
But it requires certain conditions to be met between the perceiver and the target."
After Takeshi mastered this ability, Orvin told him,
"For now, you can only see small points representing everything that possesses aura.
This is the basic stage that allows you to reach higher levels later on…
But you learned it quickly for two reasons:
- First: you released your aura beyond your body, widening its range, which helped your body adapt to it.
- Second: because of who you are."
Takeshi didn't understand those words back then, and even now, they still troubled him—especially since Orvin had refused to explain what he meant.
The three reached the hall's entrance.
Takeshi reached for the metal door, but it was locked tightly.
"What do we do?" Sota asked.
Takeshi didn't answer with words—but with his fist.
He raised his hand and punched the door hard, tearing it off its hinges and sending it flying inward.
He stepped inside and was met with a massive crowd of people bound in chains, with men and women wearing the same dark green cloaks as that large man standing before them.
Everyone in the hall turned their eyes toward the three—some in shock, others in disbelief.
Takeshi cracked his knuckles, striking his left palm with his right fist, and said in a low, calm tone, his face stern and cold:
"You've made a terrible mistake."