A chilly rain and a softly murmuring wind made it seem as though something were crying.
The sky was dim and gray, and the fine rain slanted down in the wind. Sorrow, too, shrouded the island like raindrops.
A lush green forest.
A green-haired little boy clenched a dumbbell between his teeth and wielded a wooden sword in both hands, furiously hacking at a wooden post in the rain.
Crack!
The wooden sword and the post shattered at the same time.
The little boy released the dumbbell, and it fell from his clenched teeth.
"Ahhhhhhh! Damn it, damn it, damn it! We promised we'd work toward becoming the strongest in the world together! We promised! We promised we would!"
"That's so despicable, Kuina! Why didn't you give me a chance to defeat you? If you still remember the vow we made back then, then stand up and face me now!"
Rustle, rustle~
The sound came from someone stepping on the grass.
"Kuina, is that you?" The little boy turned around excitedly, only to find a tall figure wearing a Ghoul Mask standing behind him.
A frightening, eerie crimson glow flickered in the figure's pupils.
In this gray, silent rainy night, it added an even more ominous air.
Fortunately, the little boy had always been thick-skinned. He wasn't afraid, only dejected. "I should've admitted it sooner. How could the dead possibly come back to life?"
The Masked Man merely glanced down at the little boy, then walked coldly past him.
Just like most strangers, they met indifferently and then parted indifferently.
"What a strange person!" the little boy remarked before picking up a spare wooden sword. "I can't slack off anymore. I'll become stronger for both Kuina and myself. I'll become the world's greatest Great Swordsman, and make my name so