A Side Villain…

Ichi's booming voice resounded throughout the deserted church, "So you won't show yourself? Very well then."

 

But the only response was silence, complete silence; Sophia could even hear the lake's water burbling its way to the nearby stream. They were standing like a frozen bubble in a cold storm until a small section of the ceiling broke off and fell to the ground.

 

"Who are you speaking with, Sister Ichi? I don’t sense anyone here." Sophia asked while flaring up her mana sense.

 

Even though I can't feel anyone, that doesn't mean they aren't present. Pay attention. Ichi leaned across her to grab the katanas' tsukas just below her guard, drew them, and snapped them forward while aiming them at the Lord's faceless statue. 

 

She knelt and squatted keeping her torso upright, then shuffled her feet into the proper stance, right feet in front of left, both katanas on the side.

 

She was what one might call the epitome of "zanshin," though Sophia wouldn't get that because she wasn't a regular in the fight club. Mana was oozing from her cores and lacing the twin katanas, energizing them for the destruction they were going to cause.

 

But one thing she did realize was that things were going to get hot and bad fast.

 

Ichi closed her eyes while her, a small sigh escaped from her mouth and in an instant her eyes were shot open filled with a dangerous glint, an emotion which seemed to engulf everything in front of her, “Miyamoto style, third stance.” She yelled as her arms swung the twin katanas in an arc motion.

 

The nun's senses were unable to process the beautiful katana dance that was taking place in the air as they crossed each other in a butterfly pattern. 

 

When the twin katanas slashed through the empty space in front of her, a powerful wind blew. After that, nothing happened for a moment, which greatly confused the nun behind her. However, suddenly the air itself changed, making it difficult to breathe and causing the nun and the hidden guy to start perspiring. An invisible force also began to press on the entire area, and the situation in front quickly changed significantly.

 

The sword energy released by those katanas leveled the entire ground, destroying and razing everything to bits and pieces, the effects of which were felt on the nun's face, whose veil had now blown away. One had to completely immerse themselves in the weapon they were using to perform this attack, becoming one with it.

 

And Ichi had done that perfectly; at this point, the sword merely served as an extension of her arms, which she could use even while asleep.

 

Akira, who was concealed behind them, had just experienced a moment of clarity. He shuddered as he considered what might have happened if he had resisted the attack. Would he live or would he die like those lifeless objects? He might have a chance to survive, but at what cost? 

 

His train of thought came to a grinding halNow that they were facing him, the two girls were arguing with each other.ng.

 

Sophia asked in a tearful voice, "Sister Ichi, how could you do that?"

 

In front of her eyes, her favorite place was being destroyed, and she could do nothing to halt it.

 

"There is someone here who shouldn't be here, and there is no way I am going to let them leave." While she moved forward with her feet, her hands jerked the katanas.

 

“Bu-but we could have searched the whole place instead of destroying it.” She protested.

 

"Look for someone who I am not even capable of detecting with my senses. Good luck with that, but I'm not doing it." Apart from that, she had too many good reasons to hold onto anything even remotely suspicious thanks to the information she had learned from her father

 

Sophia couldn't understand why Ichi was taking something like this so seriously; it was different from how she had previously behaved. However, Sophia didn't care about that at the time because Ichi was destroying her favorite place.

 

"But you don't have to blow this place up, do you?"

 

"Sigh, I'll tell you everything later, Sophia, I promise, so please stop crying right now." 

 

"But I'm not crying," she said as she wiped away her tears.

 

“Yeah-yeah.”

 

"Are you going to come out or not? Since I don't have the whole day, let's just obliterate everything. Sophia recoiled in fear as her eyes had that same menacing glint to them.

 

The same fear gripped Akira as well, making him regret entering this location at all and causing him to forget that, even if he could fool Ichi's senses using the artifact, what was he going to do about those twin katanas in her hands?

 

"Sengo Muramasa and Honjo Masamune, the tsuin yami no hashinken, two of the most prized weapons in this entire world, and I had the audacity to ignore their soul sense." Akira shook his head and leapt from the shadows.

 

"It's not easy to fool you, is it?" He had few options in front of him; one mistake and he could lose everything.

 

“Finally! "The lack of action was making my hands itch." She said this while bringing her katanas forward, her eyes sparking with fire and her nostrils wide as she glared at Akira with a predatory smile, the katanas slashed the empty air, muramasa going first, followed by Masamune in a cross order fashion. 

 

Akira's eyes behind the mask shot open, scenes of destruction caused by the previous attack flashed through his mind, causing his feet to react at breakneck speed and move him out of the way as the attack annihilated everything in its path.  

 

His body was shaking as he stood up from the ground, but Ichi didn't give him a chance to catch his breath as she shuffled her feet, and disappeared, only to reappear next to him and bring the first katana from underneath, aiming at his heart, and the second sword from his left side, aiming directly at the stomach.

 

All of this happened so quickly that he could only respond to one of those attacks, bringing his own sword to parry the one aimed at his heart, rotating it sideways so that the handle stayed up high as both of them collided, her katana slanted down his own sword as he gritted his teeth as the force pushed his feet into the ground while the other katana screeched his armor protecting his belly.

 

She kept herself in the attacking motion and said, "Nice sword, I will put it in my collection."

 

“Yeah? If you like it, why not become my girlfriend? It would always be within your reach." He smirked behind his mask as he noticed her face turning red, causing her concentration to waver. 

 

It worked, He was able to put some distance between them thanks to his strategy, and he then sprinted toward the glyph in hopes that it would help him get away from the danger he was in but was stopped in his tracks to put up the water shield as his senses picked up an incoming attack from the back.

 

"Illuminating slash," Sophia said as her hands joined to form a sharp blade that she hurled at his side.

 

His water shield was nearly shattered apart by the blade, and he was only able to stay afloat thanks to the massive amount of mana he was pumping in.

 

He gasped, "The difference in the levels is just too much."

 

But Ichi was not in the mood to rest; she had become enraged following the girlfriend comment and had picked up her attacks again with a vengeance. Her attacks came like an endless downpour in a foul night; each was precise, accurate, and to the point, with the intent to kill. 

 

Aside from their apparent tier difference, there was no way for Akira's basic elemental style to defend itself against the lethal miyamoto style. He would dodge, move out of the way, and let the sword attack his protected areas. However, she was moving too quickly and his timing was off.  

 

They had exchanged hundreds of blows in less than a minute, with Ichi trying to test the waters first before turning the heat up a bit while he was always on the defensive in an effort to protect his vital organs.

 

“Haaah-haah... haah-haah.” His hands were numb, the sword was about to fall off, and Ichi had a very unique attacking pattern that would readjust itself when parried, leaving his senses overwhelmed. 

 

 

"Are you kidding me?" he exclaimed as the notifications flashed across his eyes.

 

It would be detrimental in the current circumstance for him to lose 44% of his mana reserves if he wanted to keep the mask on, but taking off the mask would be far worse. 

"Basic elemental stance of the Kirschblüten style, so the demons are now sending such low level people?" Ichi's voice echoed through the air and reached his ears.

 

"Tell me, demon, are you prepared to die?"

 

“Yes.” 

 

His already worn-out body became even more frail as the mana was instantly sucked out of it; Ichi and Sophia both experienced this and felt a little perplexed, but they quickly put those feelings aside because this was a battleground.

 

For Sophia, the boy in front of him was wearing a mask of the heretics, a group whose beliefs were in direct opposition to her own, and about which her mother had warned her to steer clear and apprehend them immediately.  

 

“Wow! "Without a doubt, the demons haven't changed a bit, have they?" For the first time, Ichi's voice contained anger; something that had been building up inside of her had finally come to the surface.

 

“Tell me how many kids have you abducted? How many innocent children, fathers, and mothers have you robbed of their childhoods, forced to live with no hope in their lives?” With each word, she would attack him with her katanas, drawing more of his blood.

 

His hands would go up in an attempt to defend himself against the oncoming onslaught, but he would always fail. At this point, it looked hilarious, like an adult guy beating up a five-year-old. Sophia's heart clenched as she saw that horrifying scene and ran up to Ichi to stop her because Akira wasn't even defending himself but was just trying to drag himself to a specific location.

 

"Tell me!" Who is supporting you? Who is one sending you to this continent?” Another slash at the armor which was chipped away by the sheer force.

 

''Who are you?'' She lifted him off the ground and swung one of her katanas through his armor, slicing straight through to his heart, yelling in an ear-splitting screech.

 

Blood gushed from his mouth as his life force appeared to be dying. "Aarghh-aaghh!" he exclaimed.

 

"Sister Ichi, enough already; he's not even responding," she said. She forced Ichi's shoulders back, causing Akira to fall to the ground with a gaping hole in his chest.

 

“Enough? Do you know what these demons do? Do you?” She let out a shrill holler. 

 

“I-I don-don’t know.” Sophia backed away in fear and took a step back.

 

‘I am going to die aren’t I? Sorry mom and dad.’ Akira's will to live was dwindling one second at a time. Ichi's attacks weren't just regular attacks; they were all laced with personal vengeance, even though she hadn't used any of her special moves. It was just pure swordsmanship.

 

"Then step back, and where do you think you're going?" Ichi surrounded him once more and stabbed one of his legs, causing him to writhe in pain. 

 

“True fire.” He muttered.

 

 

‘Haha, even this system is making fun of me now.’

“What? Are you saying something demon? Repenting for your sins? Don't worry; I'll send you to the same place where I sent the others of your kind. She knelt down and peered directly into his mask-covered eyes.

 

He said in a weak voice, "Ichinose Miyamoto, I know your mother," and if she hadn't leaned down, she wouldn't have heard him.

 

When she heard that, her previously cocky demeanor abruptly changed. After all this time, she hadn't expected to hear such a thing, and instead of making her feel better, it only made her angrier. 

 

“What did you say?” she asked in the iciest voice he had ever heard as she leaned forward and glared at him with a deadly scowl on her face. Even though he was on his deathbed, the murderous intent that oozed from her body made him reevaluate his life. 

 

He tried to say "I-," but he was stabbed in the left shoulder, which caused him to spit up more blood.

 

She asked again, her eyes still as menacing, "What did you say?"

 

Even Sophia, who was observing from a distance, experienced a chill in her bones at that, and her mana signature shook.

 

“Yo-ur mother.” He said while creeping backwards.

 

She stabbed his right shoulder, masamune, and muramasa, hastening his demise while asking, "What about her?"

“She’s she’s…”

 

“She’s what?” Ichi yelled as she threw him backwards.

 

He crawled on the ground, leaving bloody tracks in his wake. Ichi had stabbed him so many times that all of his blood had evaporated from his body.

 

“She's what?” Ichinose asked as she moved in front of him and picked him up by the collar, lifting and bringing him close to her.

 

“Hehe…I wi-will sa-y again become my girlfriend.” 

 

"It's not even funny at this point," she said, her voice cold.

 

"Sol-ar fla-flare." That spell used the small amount of boost that the last day's setting had given him.

 

 

"What?" was the last thing she could say before a blinding light engulfed the room, forcing her to cover her eyes and flee from him.

 

Akira wasted no time and quickly arrived at the location of the glyph and was teleported away; when the effect of the blinding light was reduced, all the girls found was an empty ground with no one in sight.

 

“Where did he go?” Ichi yelled in horror.

 

“I don’t know sister Ichi.”

 

“But how could it happen that there was no mana fluctuation and he was so injured ,it makes no sense at all.” Ichi couldn’t believe what was happening.

 

A new voice from the outside asked, "Yo! What's going on here?" drawing both of their attention.

 

“And why haven’t you guys finished setting up the transmitter?”

 

When the girls looked up, they saw Richard's good looking face standing in front of the demolished building with a perplexed look on his face.

 

"What brings you here?" Ichi inquired, sheathing her katanas.

 

"Because you were taking too much time, the president told me to look into what was going on, but given the state of affairs here, something happened, right?"

 

Sophia, who had just realized her veil had been blown away, quickly took another from her storage ring and covered her face, but this went unnoticed by his sharp eyes, which were captivated by her beauty.

 

“Demon sighting.” Ichi said.

 

“A demon?” His relaxed posture abruptly changed into a concerned one.

 

"Yes, but he was weak, probably a scout or something."

 

“Still vice president, that’s quite a serious thing.”

 

"That's why we need to speak with onee-san, but for now, Sophia, could you place the transmitter?" she asked.

 

"Yes, Ichi sister." With that, Sophia continued with her work, which considering how badly damaged the entire area was, didn't take very long to complete.

 

Richard and Ichi talked about the demon sighting, something that she didn’t understand.

 

“It’s done, sister Ichi.”

 

“Good then let’s head back.”

 

Back in the Romanov empire's Royal castle, Red was chained from head to toe and forced to kneel on the ground with two guards pointing their spears at his neck. Mana suppressors were applied to his entire body, transforming him into a regular person.

 

Dmitri, who was slightly apart from them, questioned, "You aren't a native of our empire, who sent you?"

 

Red laughed at their antics, "Hahaha...bold of you to assume that I will tell you anything."

 

Sergey got up and said, "My liege, just give me a couple of hours with him, he will speak everything," which made red slightly cower back.

 

“Hmm should I, Igor?” 

 

Igor, the allegedly captured prince, sat motionless, staring at everything as if it were the most boring thing in the world. Red was perplexed beyond belief when he first saw him, but he soon realized that he and all his plans had been a fool's errand from the start.

 

"Do whatever you want, father, but can I continue with my training? It's been two weeks since I left." 

 

"Haha, of course, my son," Alexander and the other ministers exclaimed.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Oh by the way do check on your sister.”

 

"Hehe... do check on her," Red chuckled before one of the guards slashed his face with the spear, drawing blood.

 

"What do you mean?" Igor, who was walking out the door, asked.

 

Red, who was grinning widely and believed that they wouldn't fail even if he did, did not respond. 

 

"Ramblings of a dead man, prince, don't be concerned about him. The southern border should be our main area of concern.” Sergey said as he pulled Red's chains..

 

Emperor remarked, "Oh yes, that duke over there is still here, right?"

 

“Yes my liege.”

 

There were small uneases in his heart, like a disturbing sensation that lurked deep inside, and he said, "I will go check on Kiara, father."

 

“Hmm.”

 

On the way back to the border town, Derek questioned Kiara, "Are you sure this is a good idea?

 

They had left Sector X and were heading back to meet the other individuals after failing to locate the masked man during their search. 

 

“Hmm but still do you know who was he?”

 

“I have a clue.” Jeremy grinned and informed them of his discoveries.