Chapter 5: A Small Revenge

It was an unusually calm morning in Ayano, within the Veil of Shadows cult.

Kurumi slowly opened her eyes. The sun had just risen, and golden light filtered through the window, brushing softly against her face. She lay still for a moment, then turned to the other side of the bed.

Amy was gone.

Kurumi frowned slightly.
She probably ran to Ai first thing in the morning, she thought.

She got out of bed, washed her face, and went downstairs. As she headed toward the kitchen for breakfast, she saw Ai and Amy sitting at the table, talking. Amy was animated, laughing brightly as she spoke.

Kurumi smiled.

“Good morning,” she said.

Amy turned around excitedly, jumped off her chair, and hugged Kurumi.

“Good morning, sister! Look, Ai and I made breakfast together!”

Ai smiled and joined in.

“Good morning, Kurumi. We prepared it together. Would you like some?”

She held out a plate. On it was a neatly made omelet shaped like a smiling face.

Kurumi thanked her, sat down, and took her first bite.

“Mmm… it’s delicious. Thank you, Ai-san.”

Amy puffed out her cheeks.

“Hey, sister! I helped too. Don’t I get any praise?”

Kurumi laughed and gently patted Amy’s head.

“Of course you do. How could I not praise my precious little sister?”

She glanced around, then paused.

“I haven’t seen Sae or Katori since morning,” she said, turning to Ai.
“Where are they?”

Ai’s smile faded for just a moment.

“They had something important to take care of,” she replied calmly. “They won’t be here today.”

Kurumi continued eating and asked,

“Do you know where they went?”

Ai shook her head slightly.

“No. Rex usually handles those matters. I’m not very fond of battles.”

“I see. Thank you, Ai-san.”

Kurumi gave Amy’s head one last pat and stood up.

Amy looked at her in surprise.

“Are you leaving, sister?”

Kurumi winked.

“Yes. I’ve got something to take care of outside too.”

And with that, she left the cult building.

She began searching the area for Sae and Katori.

Children were playing in the streets, and people worked in the fields. Unlike other regions of Ayano, this place was free from Dravok’s oppression—it was peaceful.

Kurumi let out a quiet sigh.

People here are happy… protected. This is what Rex is fighting for. So that all of Ayano can live like this…

Lost in thought, she tripped over a stone and fell hard to the ground.

“Oof… there goes my clumsiness,” she muttered.

A boy with green hair and purple eyes, about twelve or thirteen years old, reached out his hand.

“Are you okay?”

Kurumi took his hand and stood up.

“Thank you. I was looking for a friend and wasn’t paying attention.”

The boy smiled.

“I’m Shinya. Nice to meet you.”

“Kurumi.”

Shinya studied her carefully.

“Did your friend go missing? If you tell me their name, I might be able to help.”

“No, not missing,” Kurumi said. “They had something to do, but I don’t know where they are.”

Shinya brought a hand to his chin.

“If it’s a task, they’re probably one of the cult’s soldiers. I might know them. What’s their name?”

“Sae.”

Shinya’s eyes widened.

“Your friend… Sae?”

Kurumi nodded, though his reaction struck her as strange.

“I think I heard he went to the old headquarters,” Shinya said. “Katori was with him. Hu too, I think.”

Kurumi asked quickly,

“Where is the old headquarters?”

Shinya pointed toward the end of a path.

“Follow that path. You’ll see a large abandoned base. We gather there sometimes.”

Kurumi thanked him and hurried off.

“Good luck!” Shinya called after her.

Kurumi ran toward the end of the path. After several minutes, she arrived, breathless, before the entrance of the abandoned headquarters.

She looked inside.

Sae was sitting atop a pile of stones. The tips of his white hair brushed just above his eyes. Katori stood beside him. Nearby were three others.

A girl and two boys, all around twelve or thirteen.

The boys had short blond hair—clearly twins. One was broad and stocky, the other leaner. The girl had red hair and carried herself with confident poise.

Sae lifted his head and looked at Kurumi.

“What is it, Kurumi?”

She hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.

“I wanted to ask… about the girl in the infirmary yesterday—”

Sae’s gaze hardened.

“We suspected someone was following us,” he said coldly.
“So it was you.”

Before Kurumi could respond, the larger blond boy clenched his fist.

“We’re going to kill the ones who did that to her,” he snarled.
“We’ll slaughter them right now.”

The thinner twin immediately cut in.

“Calm down, Zar. We’ll get our revenge eventually.”

The red-haired girl looked at Kurumi.

“That girl was Zar and Rya’s little sister,” she said, gesturing to the twins.
“That’s why blood will be spilled here. Reduced to dust.”

Katori spoke sharply.

“Calm down, Hu. Be polite to Kurumi.”

Kurumi swallowed.

“You’re going to kill people of our own kind?” she said. “That’s madness. They should be punished, yes—but do they all deserve death?”

Zar stood up and marched toward her, grabbing her by the collar.

“Say one more word and I’ll kill you.”

Rya added coldly,

“Don’t think you’re untouchable just because you’re a girl.”

“Enough!” Katori shouted.
“Sae, say something!”

Sae’s voice was icy.

“Stop, Zar.”

Zar released Kurumi, grinding his teeth.

Sae stood up.

“This doesn’t concern you, Kurumi,” he said.
“This matter is separate from the cult.”

Kurumi shouted back,

“If we tell Rex, we can capture them without killing anyone! It would be a surer solution!”

Sae narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t understand anything. The cult exists only for Ayano’s affairs. I won’t sacrifice a single soldier for personal matters. Neither will Rex.”

He paused.

“That gang… and their leader, Osaki—I will kill them myself.”

Kurumi opened her mouth to speak again.

But approaching footsteps cut her off.

Everyone turned in the same direction.

Nearly a thousand gang members stood before the entrance of the headquarters.

At their front was a man with purple hair, a lightning-shaped mark glowing in his eyes. He grinned.

“So you were talking about me,” he said mockingly.
“How sweet. The admiration of you little shits really strokes my ego.”

Zar and Rya shouted in unison:

“OSAKI!”

Osaki and his thousand-man gang stood at the gates of the old headquarters.

The storm was no longer avoidable.