Chapter 14

I open my eyes. I am still getting beaten. I am still getting eaten. If I don’t act, I die. I will die here and now and meet the very Lady who has blessed me…
The world around me is black. Different shades of black, different shades of darkness. It is fully dark and yet I can see clearly. Red. The hearts of my enemies shine brightly red. I stare at them. Everything seems to happen in slow motion. Ah, I realize now:

I have killed time itself.

As I stand up, no one else around me is able to move. I slowly hold up my sword and strike at each Tengu. My sword easily cuts through their pitch black bodies and directly meets the red heart, slowly pulsing. As my sword meets the first heart, the heart instantly turns gray instead of red. I quickly turn around and try to hit as many hearts as possible. Then, after a few seconds, everything regains its color. The 6 Tengu I have struck instantly explode into a giant puddle of blood each. However, since I am still attacking, still moving, I move on. My sword crashes directly into the next Tengu. This time my sword meets the resistance of the enemy. I grin widely as I push the Tengu down into the ground. With it, the seventh of my enemies has died. The other 3 Tengu fly a bit away. The woman also quickly stumbles backwards.

I can feel my sword, feeling oh so lightly. I want to slaughter each one of my enemies… And yet I won’t. I quickly pull out the small vial Miss Haruka gave me earlier and quickly pick up the blood on the floor with it. I grin a bit. Yes, I am truly blessed by none other than Lady Death herself.

What do I do now? Do I run? Do I fight? What advantage would a fight even offer? None, I say, none! Yet, in my body, in my heart, in the very fabric of my soul, there is this feeling… there is this desire: I want to battle and I want to kill. I want to bring death to those who have attacked me! Something in me has awoken, something in me wants to kill, something in me wants to show that I am nothing more than an extension of Death itself. Kill, destroy, annihalte! That is what I am yearning for!

I close in on the woman and my blade slashes across the air. My target is the head of the woman in front of me: She realizes this and backs away immediately, only avoiding my trustful and deathbringing blade by a few inches. I keep on grinning, more and more and yet even more. I take another step forward. My blade still cuts through the air due to my previous strike. Instead of striking again, I move my body forward with everything I have. Due to this I push the sword directly into the Yokai and slowly push through her neck until her head and the rest of her body are fully separated from each other. As the blood is spilled and directly splatters into my face I feel myself losing the very thing that is me. I slowly stand up again. Even if the world isn’t black, even if I cannot strike the very heart of my opponents, even if I am myself without any Blessings… I am undefeatable. I am the one who shall bring death.

The remaining Tengus are cornered. If they want to flee, they have to get past me. However, just as Lady Death has told me after being responsible for the annihilation of everything and everyone I loved: Death comes for everyone. Death is unavoidable. Thus, at this very moment: I am unavoidable.

As the Tengus try to fly away they pass me. The first one is struck by my blade yet again. Due to them being significantly smaller than other humans the Tengu gets sliced across easily. 2 Tengu remain. I turn around and while they fly away I throw.

I throw my sword. As it pierces the air it flies directly into the wing of one Tengu. It crashes down into the earth, I rush over to it and kick it until it dies. Then I pick up my sword. The other Tengu has fled the scene. I slowly walk down the mountain again.

…

What did just happen…

…

I arrive at the foot of the mountain. I smile at Miss Haruka and hand her the vial.

“Ah. You actually did it.” I nod shortly. “You are covered in blood as well… You should go shower.” She sits down on the horse. I sit down behind her. My hands are filled with blood. I slowly hold onto Miss Haruka. As the horse swiftly travels and brings us back I start crying. Not loud: Miss Haruka does not notice. The only person to notice is myself.

Ah: I see. This is what it feels to be Death, this is what it feels to bring Death, this is what it feels to destroy, this is what it feels to annihilate.

It feels good: Yet, it feels bad. I fear what I was just now. I did the correct thing, that much is obvious. Killing the Yokai who wanted to kill me is no bad thing; It is the only option. However, enjoying it this much and killing even though killing is without use: That is without use itself. There is no reason. There is no moral reason to do it.