Chapter 10 — Night of Blood

The rain fell heavy on Kyoto.

Kohaku found her in a narrow alley—Sakura Nagumo, clutching her bleeding arm. The girl’s eyes widened as the masked figure approached.

“Stay back… you’ll get killed! They’re too many!” she gasped, trying to push him away.

But Kohaku’s crimson visor glowed like a predator’s gaze. He stepped past her without a word.

Then he ran.

Not like a man—but like a beast. Faster than the human eye could follow, he struck.

BANG!
SHRRK!

Gunfire echoed, screams filled the alleys. One by one, the Hunters fell—throats slashed, skulls crushed, limbs torn away. The streets became rivers of blood beneath the pounding storm.

Inside their hideouts, men shouted in panic. “He’s here! He’s coming—”

The doors burst open. Crimson light pierced the dark.

SHHHK! CRACK!

Silence followed.

One terrified thug crawled backward, blood pooling from his side. “W-who the hell are you?! We—we had no quarrel with you!”

Kohaku’s shadow loomed over him. The man’s shaking eyes met the cold, glowing visor.

The masked figure tilted his head slightly, voice low and merciless:

“I missed the part where that’s my problem.”

The katana flashed. The body fell limp.

Sakura staggered into the street, clutching her wound, her legs trembling. What she saw froze her heart.

Corpses—dozens of them—scattered like broken dolls. Pools of crimson reflecting the neon glow of Kyoto. And in the center stood Kohaku, his armor soaked in blood, his katana gleaming under the rain.

Her voice cracked. “You… you’re not human…”

Kohaku turned slightly toward her. “Go back to your grandfather. This isn’t your fight.”

“But what about you, Kohaku-san? What will you do?” she cried, clutching his arm.

He pulled away, raising his blade once more. “I’ll finish this tonight.”

Sakura’s knees gave way. She watched, horrified, as he vanished into the storm—every scream, every slash of steel painting Kyoto red.

Elsewhere, Eva jolted awake from her sleep. Drawn by the noise, she stepped into the rain-soaked streets. What she saw made her stomach churn.

Bodies everywhere. Heads severed, torsos split. Even she, the White Valkyrie who had fought wars across continents, gagged and vomited at the sight.

“…What kind of man… no… what kind of monster is he?”

Rika and Agnes, arriving moments later, froze at the same sight. Neither spoke. Their eyes widened in disbelief.

Agnes whispered, scanning the carnage. “Processing… numbers confirm. Nearly half the Hunter faction is already… gone.”

Rika’s hands shook. “…He did all this? Alone?”

Deep within Kyoto, panic spread among the Hunters. Their leader, Okubo Dorayama, a towering man with a scar across his left eye, roared in fury.

“Cowards! You all disgrace me! Kill that masked bastard, and I’ll grant wealth, women, and power to whoever brings me his head!”

But silence answered him. No man dared move. Some dropped their weapons. Others fled.

Dorayama spat in disgust. “Spineless dogs… Fine. I’ll deal with him myself.”

The giant man rose from his seat, muscles straining beneath his coat. He grabbed his massive iron cleaver, scarred face twisted in rage.

Outside, under the red glow of Kyoto’s burning streets, Kohaku walked slowly, katana dripping crimson, his visor burning like the eyes of a demon.

The night was far from over.