A Blood-Stained Blade

“Whoa...” Ryou held his breath as he entered the study.
The whole room was sparkling. Various kinds of decoration filled every inch of the walls, showing what kind of collector Akatsu was. He didn’t only have all kinds of gems, but also animals’ heads decorating the wall. Completed with golden rugs and silver wallpaper, it simply felt like walking into a jewelry box.
“He’s totally different from Kirihime, who kept her study plain and tidy.” Ryou thought as he remembered Kirihime’s study, which had no other decoration aside from more giant bookshelves and a pair of decoration swords.
“Please sit down.” Akatsu waved his hand at a pair of seat across the desk.
“Then, let’s get into business. Did you really spot artificial Mazoku around here?” Kirihime shot him the first question.
“To be exact, my servants saw some creatures around the mansion. They had the appearance of human but acted like a beast. I’m not a hundred-percent sure, but I believe they resembled artificial Mazoku the most.” Akatsu explained.
Kirihime narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.
“Then, why don’t you cancel the banquet before calling us here?” Ryou asked curiously.
“The problem is, my servants had reported it only few days before the banquet. I only had enough time to summon you all and I refused to disgrace my own reputation by cancelling a banquet because of such thing!” Akatsu said.
“Disgrace?! You chose your pride over the safety of your guests?!” Ryou widened his eyes.
But Kirihime lifted her hand and stopped Ryou. “Those artificial Mazoku... did you know where they were coming from? Or perhaps, who created them?”
Ryou’s attention was immediately caught by Kirihime’s words. It seemed the same thing could be said for Akatsu.
“I think they appeared from the woods...but I don’t know where exactly. Kirihime-sama, now that you’ve heard the details, you’ll protect me, right?! They said artificial Mazoku couldn’t get out in the sun, so you only have to protect me until the dawn breaks! I beg you, Kirihime-sama!” Akatsu pleaded.
“Hmm...” Kirihime seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment. “...no.”
“Thank you ver—eh?” Akatsu was stumped.
“W-What did you say, Kirihime?” Ryou also turned at her.
“I said, no. I don’t want to play bodyguard until morning comes. It’s tiring and I want to get home as fast as possible.” Kirihime rose from her seat.
“P-Please wait!! If you left, who will protect us from their attack?! Aren’t you the Mazoku Princess, the only human who understood Mazoku the most?! Please reconsider—you’re my only hope!!” Akatsu quickly stood as well.
“That’s right, Kirihime!! If we found out who’s the creator, this might be a clue to find my creator too! Please don’t just go home like this!” Ryou added.
“Huh? Who said anything about going home?” Kirihime tilted her head.
“...eh?” Ryou and Akatsu stared at Kirihime, dumbfounded.
“I said, I don’t want to be bodyguard. It’s too much of a hassle.” Kirihime repeated.
“Then...?” Ryou asked.
“So we’ll take the offense. Offense is the best defense after all. Ryou, come with me. We will find and destroy those Mazoku before they could make any trouble. Then we can go home, right?” Kirihime looked at Akatsu.
“Y-Yes...that’s correct...” Akatsu could only nod.
“Leave this matter to the expert, Baron. You can just continue to enjoy your banquet.” Kirihime left the room, followed by Ryou.
“Hey, Kirihime...” Ryou called out hesitantly.
“What is it?” Kirihime asked without turning around.
“You...” Ryou fell silent for a moment. “...are surprisingly kind.”
The next second, Kirihime almost tripped herself if Ryou hadn’t caught her arm in time.
“W-Where did that come from?! Flattering me won’t get you anywhere!” Kirihime snapped at him.
“I know.” Ryou laughed. “But I thought you’d turn down his request for sure, so I was surprised to find this side of yours.”
Kirihime quickly collected herself and smiled wryly. “There’s much about me that you don’t know.”
The two of them stepped outside the mansion, which had turned dark. The sun was nowhere to be seen and both stars and moon haven’t come out. But for artificial Mazoku like Ryou, limited vision wasn’t a problem at all. The problem was that he didn’t understand Kirihime’s intention at all.
“Why are we heading to the back of the mansion?” Ryou asked as he followed Kirihime’s confident steps.
“You do remember what Akatsu had said, I hope?” Kirihime replied.
“Um...” Ryou tried his hardest to think of something, but none of his words gave him any clue about current situation.
“He said that his servants were the ones who spotted the artificial Mazoku. It means there’s a high possibility that they were seen behind the mansion. At the very least, it helps narrow down the area we have to search.” Kirihime spoke as they reached the back of the mansion.
“Ah, I see!” Ryou nodded.
“Now it’s your turn.” Kirihime stopped and turned at Ryou. “As an artificial Mazoku yourself, your senses had been enhanced beyond human’s senses. Use that enhanced sight and find any clue regarding the artificial Mazoku.” She ordered.
“Yes.” Ryou sharpened his senses and started looking around.
In just few minutes, Ryou had found some tracks on the ground, near the woods surrounding the mansion.
“Kirihime, I found something.” Ryou called out. “Judging from the tracks, it seems there are few artificial Mazoku around here.”
“Good—keep following the track. I’m sure they’ll lead us to where they are.” Kirihime instructed.
The two of them entered the dark woods, where the trees were dense and no moon nor stars to light their way. Despite the mysterious air around the woods and the lack of light, Kirihime didn’t show any sign of fear as she completely relied on Ryou’s sight to guide them. In contrast, Ryou started sweating as he took extra care not to get lost.
Suddenly they came out in a clearing inside the woods, just as the moon and stars appeared on the sky. Ryou walked to the center of the clearing and stopped, for the track suddenly disappeared among the piles of dead leaves.
“It disappeared!” Ryou said after careful search around the area.
Kirihime took a step forward and got rid of the leaves, then she carefully examined the ground.
“Ryou, dig over here. The soil is still new compared to other areas. I’m pretty sure something is hidden down here.” Kirihime ordered.
“Always pushing the dirty work to me...yes, yes.” Ryou sighed, but still dug at the soft soil with his bare hands.
After few moments, Ryou got impatient and started hammering the soil.
“Kirihime, are you sure there’s something down here?! How long should I keep dig—!”
CLANG!!!
Ryou held back a shout of pain when his hands hit something made of metal buried under the ground. Ryou dug the soil—this time carefully—until he got rid all of the soil and discovered a pair of metal doors installed on the ground.
“As I expected.” Kirihime looked satisfied. “Those artificial Mazoku and their creator must be down there.”
She knelt on the door and quickly worked with the lock, skillfully picking the lock. In no time at all, Kirihime had successfully unlocked the door.
“Where the heck did you learn that?” Ryou stared at her suspiciously.
Kirihime only smiled wryly as she opened the door. “Ryou, you will protect me, right?” She asked.
“Eh? Of course. I’m your knight. I’ve sworn to protect you.” Ryou nodded.
“Even if you have to kill others?” Kirihime gazed intently at him.
Ryou wore a thin smile. “You said this once, during my training with you.”

*****

“What are you doing, Satomi Ryou?!”
After Ryou came to Kojou Clan’s mansion, Kirihime drilled him with all kinds of skills, from fighting techniques until butler techniques. And of course, killing techniques. But no matter how many times he tried, Ryou was still unable to deliver the killing move.
“Do you think your opponent will have mercy on you because you won’t kill them?! The world isn’t such lenient place! Kill or be killed! That’s the only choice you have in the battlefield!” Kirihime reprimanded him harshly.
“I’m telling you, I can’t do it!!” Ryou snapped back.
Seeing the usually calm Ryou got angered like this made Kirihime realized that Ryou really had tried his best.
“Even though I’ve imagined the way to kill them, my hand always stopped before I could finish them!! I can’t move it anymore, no matter how hard I try! It’s impossible for me!” Ryou threw his knife on the floor, frustrated by himself.
Kirihime knelt beside him. “Then, close your eyes.”
Ryou frowned, but he still followed Kirihime’s instruction.
“Satomi Ryou, you’re not a human being anymore. You’ve been turned into artificial Mazoku, a being created for the sole purpose of being a weapon. Now you’re my weapon. My tool. Whatever you do, you did it under my order. When you kill someone, it’s just like a sword cutting down its enemies. It’s not your hand which stained in blood, but it’s mine. It’s not you who kill, but me. A mere sword should not feel guilty—its wielder will be the one to bear that guilt.” Kirihime whispered softly.
Ryou held his breath, struck speechless by her words.
“That’s why, when you kill, don’t think as a human. Because I know you’re a kind person who cannot cut down anyone. But when you have to kill, think of yourself as a tool and I’m your wielder. Give your guilt to me. I’ll take all of it. Okay?” Kirihime squeezed Ryou’s hand before standing up.

*****

“Your words saved me, who cannot even kill to protect someone.” Ryou said. “That’s why, I’ll fulfill my promise. That I’ll always protect you.”
Kirihime’s smile widened. “Good. I can see your determination in your eyes. Then, let’s go inside. Ryou, hold my hand and guide me.”
“Eh? Are you sure?” Ryou hesitated. “They could have heard us coming.”
Kirihime sighed. “They already did, from the moment I opened the door. Due to the difference in air temperature, whoever waiting underground will feel wind coming from here. So don’t be surprised.” Kirihime reached out her hand.
Ryou chose not to say anything and took Kirihime hand, then led her inside the total darkness. Thanks to his sight, Ryou could see a stairway leading underground, but he couldn’t figure out where it was going, as he didn’t have an all-seeing eyes.
Ryou carefully guided Kirihime down, since the walls were so close to each other, as if trapping them inside a small tunnel. After walking for what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the lowest step.
Suddenly they heard the sound of door closing above them and the gust of wind stopped, which meant the door upstairs was closed. Before Ryou could react, he sensed another presence in the room.
A lot of presence surrounded them.
“Kirihime, it’s—!”
“An ambush. I’ve told you—don’t be surprised.” Kirihime replied calmly.
Ryou adjusted his eyes and able to identify the people surrounding them—and he had to fight the urge to throw up.
They could no longer be called people. Those artificial Mazoku surrounding them all had similar empty eyes and machine-like movements, just like a soulless puppet controlled by someone.
“We...We actually found them...” Ryou whispered.
“They had lost their souls. They are failures, each one of them. Now they’re more like a doll than human. What a pitiful existence, trapped inside that dead body, barely living as a puppet.” Kirihime replied.
The next instant, the whole room was filled with blinding light, forcing both Kirihime and Ryou to cover their eyes.
“Amazing!! Simply impressive, Kirihime-sama!” A man they had met earlier stepped forward among those artificial Mazoku that surrounded them. “Your skill is certainly the real deal!”
“Unfortunately, I cannot say the same to you—Baron Akatsu.” Kirihime adjusted her eyes and glared at the man standing before them.
“B-Baron?! And this place is...?!” Ryou looked around and immediately recognized this room.
It was the room he knew all too well, for his life as human had ended there.
An underground laboratory.
Despite its wide space, the room was filled with many strange machines that Ryou wasn’t familiar with. There were also bookshelves containing papers written with complicated numbers covering the pure white walls. But what caught Ryou’s attention the most was a row of human-sized tubes not far from where they stood.
Tubes filled with chemicals and body of artificial Mazoku.
“You...You’re the creator?!” Ryou turned to Akatsu.
“Who knows?” Akatsu smirked. “Maybe I got them from someone else?”
“You...!” Ryou was about to lunge at him, but Kirihime held him back.
“I really must applaud you, Kirihime-sama. The rumors about you sure aren’t exaggerating. When did you realize that this is a trap?” Akatsu examined her closely, as if observing a rare creature.
“Since the very beginning, when you sent me that letter of request.” Kirihime answered.
Akatsu paled while Ryou was distracted.
“T-Then...why did you still come?!” Akatsu shouted in disbelief.
“Because it was interesting to see you struggle desperately to trick me into believing everything you said.” This time Kirihime was the one who wore an evil smile, making her looked like the bad guy instead of Akatsu.
Akatsu gritted his teeth in anger.
“I mean, can’t you come up with any better excuse? No ordinary noble would invite me to their banquet without taking the risk of losing their reputation. If I were called, it could only mean they had Mazoku-related trouble. When I entered the banquet hall, they should’ve realized that and quickly ran away.” Kirihime crossed her arms.
“Ran away? Why would...?” Ryou stopped himself. “Ah...because they would be in danger if they stay?”
Kirihime nodded. “It’s good to see that your training wasn’t in vain. But they didn’t move an inch. Why?” Kirihime smirked. “Because all of them are your accomplices.”
“What??!!” Ryou turned to Kirihime, surprised by her revelation.
“Even when I talked loudly about Mazoku and death, no one had any normal reactions. That means everyone there were involved in your plan. Am I correct, Baron?” Kirihime glared daggers at Akatsu, who started sweating.
But he was still able to collect himself.
“So what if you realized it?! In the end, you still fell into my trap! Don’t think you could waltz out of this place alive! One wrong move...” Akatsu lifted his finger and pretended to slit his throat. “...and my army of Mazoku will shred you two to pieces.”
“Your army of Mazoku?” Kirihime laughed. “Those failures? Are you seriously challenging me with those failures? What, you hoped to seize Kojou Clan’s assets for yourself after I died?”
“You’re clearly outnumbered!!” Akatsu lost his temper. “You will die today! That’s an inevitable future!”
“Oh?” Kirihime’s face darkened and she smiled fearlessly. “I agree that I will die someday. But not today. There’s something I have to do before I die.” Kirihime turned to Ryou. “Sorry for making you wait, Ryou. Now is the time to unleash the bloodlust you’ve been suppressing all this time. Satomi Ryou! Listen to my order!” Kirihime raised her voice.
Ryou instantly straightened himself and unleashed his bloodlust, making even those artificial Mazoku stepped back.
“Release the power resided within you! Protect me and strike down every enemy that dare to challenge me!” Kirihime ordered.
Akatsu’s eyes widened as he watched Ryou shifted his hand into a pair of real steel swords. Suddenly Ryou disappeared from his place and two of his artificial Mazoku fell like a doll which strings had been cut. Crimson blood stained the white floor and Ryou’s body, but he barely noticed it. Ryou smirked as he struck the next Mazoku.
“Body Manipulation. The ability to turn every cells in your body into lethal weapons according to your imagination.” Kirihime smiled proudly. “Today sure is not your lucky day, Baron, having to face one of the rarest and strongest ability.”
“A-Attack!! Kill him!! Shred both of them to pieces!!” Akatsu screamed in fear and panic.
All of those Mazoku instantly charged at Ryou and Kirihime, but Ryou didn’t waver. He shifted his feet into cheetah’s feet and fended off their attacks easily, making sure none of them could touch Kirihime who stood behind him.
As the fight went on, Ryou kept changing his body to keep up with his enemies. He changed his hand into a spear and impaled three Mazoku at once, then he retracted his hand and changed it into a big scythe, effectively keeping his distance from his enemies.
“Ryou.”
Suddenly Kirihime called out and Ryou glanced at her.
Akatsu, who had watched the entire fight, started to lose his confidence as his dolls fell one by one.
“No...No way...even though he was definitely outnumbered, how did he turn the table so easily?! Is he really made of human?! Forget it!! This fight won’t last long! I should make a run for it while I can—!” Akatsu turned around and ran away, but immediately stopped.
“Abandoning your army, Baron?” Kirihime stood in front of the emergency exit with cold smile. “You’re just the same as your army—a failure.”
Akatsu quickly went for the entrance, but the path to stairway was blocked by Ryou, who had finished all the Mazoku as fast as he could, just like Kirihime asked him to.
“Your army is gone. I think it’s about time for you to give up.” Kirihime started walking toward him. Even though she stepped on corpses and pool of blood, Kirihime didn’t spare any glance toward the dead. Her gaze was deadlocked to Akatsu.
Akatsu shrieked and turned at Ryou.
“Ryou-dono!!! Please let me go!! I deeply apologized for trying to kill you, so please let me go!! Please don’t let that demon catch me! I-I’ll pay you!! I’ll give you anything you want, so—!” Akatsu pleaded while clinging to Ryou.
“Are you sure?” Ryou grabbed Akatsu’s collar and wore an evil smile. “In case you didn’t know, I’m the one who had demon blood inside me.” He slammed Akatsu to the wall. “I won’t let anyone insult my master anymore.”
Kirihime reached them and pull out a silver knife, then she pointed that knife to Akatsu’s neck.
“Answer my questions. If you lie, you’ll die.” Kirihime ordered.
Realizing that he had no other choice, Akatsu unwillingly nodded.
“Who made those artificial Mazoku?” Kirihime asked.
“I-It was me! I made them myself, in this underground laboratory! Please let me go!” Akatsu quickly answered, his eyes were fixed on Kirihime’s knife.
“Are those the only ones you made?” Kirihime narrowed her eyes.
“Y-Yes!! They were the most advanced ones, but still a failure!! Please—!”
“Are you the only one who conducted such experiment?” Kirihime cut his words.
“N-No, but the other nobles were the same as me! None of us could make something like Ryou-dono! I’ve told you all I know regarding Mazoku—so please let me go!” Akatsu pleaded.
“Is that everything? You have no other information about the one who created Ryou?” Kirihime’s knife inched closer to Akatsu’s neck.
“No!! Nothing!! Absolutely nothing!” Akatsu confirmed in frantic.
“I see. Ryou, let him down.” Kirihime lowered her knife.
“...yes.” Ryou did as Kirihime said, though his face was filled with disappointment.
Akatsu seemed extremely relieved to be released. “Thank you very much for your kindness, Kirihime—!!”
“Kindness, you said?”
Stab!!!
“...huh?” Akatsu looked at his chest, where Kirihime’s knife had pierced his heart.
Kirihime’s cold, merciless smile was the last thing he saw before Akatsu lost his consciousness and slumped to the floor.
“I never said I will let you go, you know?” Kirihime shook the blood off her knife and slipped it back.
“Are you injured, Kirihime?” Ryou asked in worried tone.
“Don’t worry—you did a good job.” Kirihime said calmly. “Aside that, are you disappointed? Your face told me everything.”
Ryou averted his eyes. “...I’d be lying if I said no. But somehow it also made me relieved. Because it means I’ll be able to stay by your side a little longer.” Ryou smiled.
Kirihime was rendered speechless for a moment. “W-What did you say? Did you injure your head? Why would you want to stay with someone like—”
Before Kirihime could finish her words, Ryou had lifted her small body easily.
“R-Ryou!!! Put me down!! What are you...?!”
“True, you are arrogant, selfish, you never listened to what others are saying, and you can’t even wake up on your own.” Ryou said as he carried Kirihime through the emergency exit.
“Then why...?!”
“But behind all of that, you’re kind and considerate of others. You put up a strong front and you never complain about how others treat you. Seeing you like that, I just can’t leave you alone.” Ryou smiled tenderly.
Kirihime hid her red face. “...don’t say such things easily, idiot.”
The two of them went out near the mansion, right when the moon and stars shone brightly. Ryou and Kirihime gazed at the starry night sky, quietly enjoying the silence.
“You’re so sly.” Kirihime stole a glance at Ryou. “Whenever I’m feeling down, you’d say things like that and made me forget even corpses around me.”
“Shall we go home, Kirihime?” Ryou looked at her.
“Yes.” Kirihime nodded. “I’m looking forward to enjoy a plate of chiffon cake.” She grinned.
Ryou sighed as he headed to their carriage. “I’ve told you, it’s biscuit.”