Chapter 544: Cutting the Bond
When the Son of Heaven and his ministers saw the man himself walk in, they all sucked in a sharp breath and didn't dare meet the black-armoured samurai's eyes.
He was covered in blood, and the eyes behind his black face mask were razor-sharp. Everyone who met his gaze lowered their heads in fear.
The Son of Heaven thought about how he'd poisoned Hei, and now here the man was, right in his face. His voice was trembling.
"H... Hei, no! Our dear minister!
"Our dear minister has worked so hard on campaign. Someone, quickly, someone! A seat for him!
"You blind fools, can't you see Our dear minister has returned? Useless, the lot of you!"
A eunuch hurried over with a tatami, set it down in front of the black-armoured samurai, and backed respectfully out.
The black-armoured samurai looked down at the tatami and grumbled:
"This thing can't even hold half my ass, and it's uncomfortable to sit on. No idea why you people like these things."
He kicked the tatami over, sat down cross-legged on the floor however he pleased, propped his elbow on his knee and his chin on his hand, and stared straight at the Son of Heaven on the throne from behind his black mask.
Under that razor-sharp gaze, the Son of Heaven was ready to wet himself.
What kind of eyes were those? So sharp, so piercing, like a sword. One look and they'd run you through!
I knew it! I knew it, Hei, you mean to rebel! You, you!
The Son of Heaven was terrified and afraid and guilty all at once. Under the weight of all those twisted feelings, he said shakily:
"S-s-someone!! Can't you see Our dear minister just came back from battle and must be thirsty? Q-q-quickly, bring wine!!"
The old eunuch who had delivered wine to Hei before immediately carried over a tray with a flask of wine and a cup on it.
Just as the old eunuch was about to reach the black-armoured samurai, he tripped over nothing, and the flask and cup smashed to pieces on the floor.
"Oh no, this old servant deserves death! This old servant spilled the Son of Heaven's wine! This old servant deserves to be killed, to be killed!!"
The Son of Heaven was so tense and frantic that he wanted to curse, but in the end he held it in.
"N-n-no matter. Go fetch another flask."
Before long, the old eunuch brought another flask. But this time, just as he reached the black-armoured samurai, he tripped over nothing again, and the flask and cup smashed on the floor again.
"Oh dear! This old servant is old, and his legs aren't what they were!"
The Son of Heaven was nearly in tears. He pointed at the old eunuch and stammered "you, you, you," and in the end swallowed it again.
"F-f-fetch more wine..."
The ministers around them had changed colour. They'd figured out what was going on.
When the old eunuch brought the wine a third time and was about to put on another trip-over-nothing performance, one civil minister stepped up on his own and snatched the tray.
The minister glared at the old eunuch, then carried the tray to the black-armoured samurai with a broad smile, filled the cup, and offered it in both hands.
"Lord Minamoto, this is jade wine bestowed by the Son of Heaven. Come, drain this cup, and afterward we'll hold a banquet to welcome you back!"
The black-armoured samurai took the cup, glanced at the wine, then looked at the smiling minister in front of him.
"You wouldn't have put poison in this, would you?"
The minister's face changed, then he went on smiling.
"Of course not. Say no more, my lord. Quickly, drink this wine. It's jade wine bestowed by the Son of Heaven, my lord. You mustn't refuse!"
But the minister had barely finished speaking when the eyes behind the black mask narrowed slightly, and the samurai struck.
His iron-band hand shot out and seized the minister by the jaw, and with a little pressure, forced his mouth open.
Then, before the minister could react, the black-armoured samurai poured the whole cup of wine into his mouth, let go, and gave him a shove. The minister stumbled back a few steps and sat down hard on the floor.
The minister sat there for a good while before he realized what had happened.
He frantically clutched his throat and stuck his fingers down it.
But who knew how strong the poison in that cup was. Before he could throw up the wine, foam started bubbling from the corners of his mouth.
A few twitches later, the minister was convulsing on the floor, and then he simply died.
The whole hall went silent. Then several generals suddenly burst into action, flipped over the tables in front of them, drew the katana at their waists, and charged at the black-armoured samurai in the middle of the hall.
"Two fists can't beat four hands! All together, cut him down! Rid the Son of Heaven of his troubles!!"
The generals rushed at the black-armoured samurai from every side, meaning to cut him down on the spot.
But the black-armoured samurai slapped the floor with one hand and went from lounging on the ground to standing upright in one motion.
Then, faster than the eye could follow, he drew the katana at his waist and swept it around in a full-moon slash!
Shluk! Shluk! Shluk!
The generals charging him from every side were all cut in half at the waist!
One stroke, and six men were dead!
The ministers in the hall erupted in alarm. The survivors all shrank into the corners, covering their heads, not daring to look at the gory scene in the middle of the hall where guts were spilling across the floor!
The black-armoured samurai flicked his sword to the side, and the blood on the blade spattered across a nearby mural, dotting the beautiful painting with red like plum blossoms.
Then the black-armoured samurai pointed his sword at the Son of Heaven and walked toward him, step by step.
The Son of Heaven saw the killing and knew things had gone very wrong, and then he saw the black-armoured samurai coming for him.
That huge height bore down on him with terrifying pressure. He tumbled right off his throne and screamed:
"Stay... stay back, stay away from Us!
"Protect the throne! Protect the throne! Somebody protect Us!!"
Several dozen samurai rushed into the hall from outside and swung their katana at the black-armoured samurai.
The black-armoured samurai cut left and right and killed a dozen or so of them in a few strokes.
The repeated failures against the Big Yōkai had left Kyoto badly short of troops.
So when the Son of Heaven called for protection, not many came, and the black-armoured samurai easily finished off the last of his guards.
As for the ministers, some huddled behind screens, some under tables, and some covered their heads and played ostrich. None of them paid any attention to the Son of Heaven's cries.
As Hei came closer, the Son of Heaven was nearly in tears, and he started babbling.
"We are the Son of Heaven, lord of all under heaven! You can't kill Us!"
The black-armoured samurai kept walking.
"Our command is the Mandate of Heaven!
"You are Our samurai! If We want you dead, you must die!
"Commit seppuku this instant, or a thousand fingers will point at you in scorn!!"
The black-armoured samurai kept walking.
"We are the Sun God! If We die, the realm will fall into chaos! You can't kill Us! We command you, you can't kill Us! AAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
The black-armoured samurai stopped, standing just a few steps in front of the Son of Heaven, the long blade nearly touching the tip of the Son of Heaven's nose.
The black-armoured samurai looked down. The eyes behind his face mask regarded the Son of Heaven calmly as tears and snot ran down his face, and he said in a steady voice:
"Hei couldn't cut you down because Hei was bound by the limits of his times. To him, loyalty to you was loyalty to the realm.
"But when the Son of Heaven Hei served turned out to be a tyrant, that sword that could cut through anything was useless.
"A gentleman's sword can't cut the bond between lord and subject."
The Son of Heaven, his face streaming with tears and snot, blew a snot bubble.
"Yes, yes, yes, you can't cut Us down! You're Our subject! How could a subject cut down his lord! You can't break the bond between lord and subject, or else, or else..."
But before he could finish, the black-armoured samurai took off the iron mask he'd been wearing the whole time, revealing a face the Son of Heaven had never seen.
Then the stranger drove the treasured sword in his hand forward, hard!
SHLUK! Before the disbelieving eyes of the Son of Heaven and his ministers, the sword ran the Son of Heaven straight through!
The Son of Heaven grabbed the blade with both hands in disbelief. Agony flooded through him, and tears streamed from his eyes.
Kian tossed the iron mask aside and said:
"LOL. I'm not Hei.
"Son of Heaven? You're nothing but a dog!"
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