Coming Down to Slay

Just as Blood Claw's massive hand was about to roughly yank the life-saving ring from Ichinose's finger, and his furious roar still echoed through the cave—

"Whoosh!"

A bolt of deep-blue lightning tore through the thick curtain of vines at the cave entrance, accompanied by a piercing cry that spoke of certain death!

Shadow swooped at Blood Claw's face like a vengeful spirit, wings folded tight, sharp talons like poisoned daggers. Its target was his eyes, bloodshot with rage and greed!

"What the hell is that?!" Blood Claw was caught off guard! He instinctively jerked his head aside, forced to pull back the hand reaching for the ring and raise it to block. The bird's sharp talons left several deep, bloody scratches across his thick arm!

"You suicidal little pest!" Blood Claw was thoroughly enraged! He roared and reached back to grab the annoying bird. At the same time, his other hand darted toward his waist—where a miniature controller could instantly release a nerve-inhibiting current and destroy Shadow's brain!

At that critical moment, an elegant voice laced with icy fury flowed into the cave like moonlight:

"Oh ho ho... Such a savage stage, such vulgar actors, and such... defiled stars. This shoddy play called 'Despair' is the most thorough desecration of 'aesthetics' imaginable!"

A slender, pale hand calmly pushed the vines aside. Koenji Rokusuke appeared at the cave entrance. Cool moonlight outlined his magnificent blond hair and tall, graceful figure, making him seem like a beacon in the darkness. His golden eyes, like molten gold, swept across everything in the cave: scattered weapons and trash; Ichinose Honami, bound roughly, clothes disheveled, tears in her eyes; and the assassin, a feral beast of a man with blood on his arm and savagery written across his face.

The instant his gaze landed on Ichinose, the molten fury in his eyes nearly erupted! But the next moment, it was cloaked by an even deeper, colder elegance.

Blood Claw's movements abruptly stopped! He recognized the newcomer, and his face was instantly shadowed by a vicious look and a hint of wariness. "Koenji Rokusuke? Heh! The Koenji family's little lord?" He gave a hoarse snicker, like sandpaper scraping. "What? You silver-spoon-fed little aristocrat, always going on about 'beauty,' think you can meddle in this? I've killed plenty of useless trash from families like yours. What's one more?"

Koenji wasn't angered. Instead, the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile, as if he'd heard an amusing joke. "Oh? Is that so? You destroy exquisite works of art with your filthy hands to prove that your existence has value, though you're as insignificant as a maggot? What a... pitifully twisted line of reasoning." As he spoke, he seemed to casually take a step forward, still elegant and composed, as if inspecting his own territory.

"Stop!" Blood Claw's alertness shot to its peak! He knew all too well how dangerous scions from powerful families could be! Beneath their polished exteriors, they often hid deadly fangs! Without hesitation, he gave up on catching the bird and yanked the heavy military pistol from his waist! The black muzzle instantly locked onto Koenji's forehead, his movements as fast as lightning!

"Take one more step and I'll blow that pretty face off!" Blood Claw's voice brimmed with violent menace. "Throw out every damn weapon you have! Poison needles! Knives! Anything that can hurt someone! Throw them all out! Now!"

Koenji stopped. His golden eyes calmly regarded the cold muzzle, as if admiring a uniquely crafted ornament. He spread his hands in an exquisitely elegant gesture of display. "As you wish, sir, the brutish pursuer of 'the aesthetics of power.'" He began to move unhurriedly:

With his fingertips, he pinched a beautifully crafted, wafer-thin poisoned throwing knife and gently dropped it at his feet.

Next came several hairs-thin poison needles, glinting with a faint blue sheen, which slid from his sleeve.

Finally, he drew a jeweled dagger from behind his waist. Its blade gleamed with a deadly chill, and he casually tossed it aside.

The crisp clink of metal hitting the ground rang out sharply in the silent cave.

Blood Claw didn't relax. His gun remained trained on Koenji. "There's more! Don't try anything! Turn around!"

Koenji did as he was told, turning with the grace of a waltz.

Blood Claw pulled a heavy pair of handcuffs from his backpack and hurled them at Koenji's feet. They landed with a dull clank.

"Pick them up! Cuff yourself! Hands behind your back!" Blood Claw's order brooked no argument. "Don't fucking dawdle! Otherwise, I'll shoot the blond girl first and make you watch her die!"

Koenji glanced at the cold, crude handcuffs on the ground, then at Ichinose Honami, bound in the corner, her eyes full of fear and helplessness. Her star-bright blond hair was smeared with dirt, and tears silently rolled down her azure eyes, like a masterpiece torn apart by violence. A powerful urge to protect her overwhelmed all his aversion to restraint and lack of elegance.

He bent down and gracefully picked up the handcuffs with his long fingers, sheathed in black leather gloves.

"Oh ho ho..." He gave an ambiguous chuckle, as if elegantly mocking fate. "To protect the faint glimmer of a star, I'll wear these crude shackles for a while... And what is that, if not... a tragic beauty, full of self-sacrifice?"

Under Blood Claw's wary gaze, Koenji moved smoothly, almost with a curious sense of ceremony. With a click, he locked the cold metal cuffs around his pale wrists. Then he obediently placed his hands behind his back.

Only then did Blood Claw relax a little, though his gun remained trained on Koenji. "Get over here! Kneel beside the girl!"

Koenji didn't let Blood Claw drag him over, as he'd expected. He stepped forward of his own accord, his stride still graced with the elegance ingrained in him, as if the handcuffs were priceless bracelets. Reaching Ichinose's side, he ignored Blood Claw's wary stare and lowered himself beside her with a slightly awkward but still dignified posture.

Watching Koenji retain his infuriatingly noble composure even as a prisoner, Blood Claw couldn't resist another piercing taunt. "Tsk, tsk, tsk! Look at our noble young lord Koenji! Don't you look like a peacock with all its pretty feathers plucked out, still putting on airs? What a joke! If your parents saw you like this, would they regret giving birth to a useless poser like you?"

Koenji seemed not to hear the foul abuse. He turned slightly toward Ichinose Honami, who trembled beside him, tears streaming down her face. The icy anger in his golden eyes gave way to an unusual gentleness, soothing in its own way. His voice was low and clear, like a stream beneath the moonlight, and carried straight to Ichinose's ears.

"Dear Miss Honami," he said, his voice possessing a strange magic that instantly drew all of Ichinose's attention. "Please don't fear this passing gloom. The light of the stars will never truly be extinguished by clouds. It is merely... gathering strength to shine all the brighter."

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear. It was filled with absolute certainty. "Believe me. The Arbiter, who walks through the dark yet yearns for the light, has a moon in his heart that rises only to protect you... It has never set. He will surely tear through this curtain of darkness, crush everything foul, and come to claim the star that is his."

Koenji's words, like a spell, instantly pierced the heavy clouds of fear in Ichinose's heart. She stared at his golden eyes, still gleaming in the dim light. There was not the slightest hint of false comfort in them, only a conviction almost like a divine revelation.

Kazama In...

That cold figure who had slipped a ring onto her finger beneath the moonlight...

That quiet, pensive profile in the movie theater...

That boy who had calmly discussed the world of books with her in the library...

The person who had said good night to her at the dormitory entrance and asked after her health.

His gaze, his promise, the cold touch of his fingertips... They surged into her mind like a tide! A powerful trust, almost like faith, overwhelmed her fear!

"Mm!" Ichinose nodded firmly. Though tears still shimmered in her azure eyes, her deep fear had been replaced by stubborn hope. She stopped trembling. Though she was still bound, she straightened her back. She believed in him! Kazama In would come! Just as Koenji had said!

Watching the silent exchange between them and the light rekindling in Ichinose's eyes, Blood Claw burned with even greater rage. "Damn it! You're on death's doorstep and still whispering sweet nothings! Putting on a show and playing games!" He paced irritably, his gun swinging between Koenji and Ichinose like a cornered beast goaded into a frenzy.

Outside the cave, the wind howled, and at last the rain came pouring down! Raindrops as large as beans pounded against the vines and rocks, roaring deafeningly! It was as if they were playing a violent overture for the final judgment to come! Inside the cave, beneath the cold gun muzzle and crude insults, Ichinose Honami closed her eyes and let Koenji's empowering words echo in her mind. Her thoughts sank into the scattered memories of meeting Kazama In and coming to know him... Those fragments of memory would become her strongest armor now, as she waited for the cold moonlight that would surely tear through everything at the end of the darkness.