The black robes shredded, and blood sprayed everywhere.
The villagers tried to flee, but in Naoki's eyes, they moved as slowly as if they were standing still.
Those who tried to fight back couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.
Naoki's movements were utterly precise, every strike accurate and deadly.
His face was expressionless, his eyes devoid of emotion. He was like a finely tuned killing machine, carrying out a preprogrammed sequence.
The blood kept flowing.
The ground beneath their feet was stained dark red, gleaming painfully bright in the sunlight.
One villager fell to his knees, kowtowing frantically. "Spare me! Spare me! I was only following orders. It was all Lady Mayu... that old hag forced us to do it!"
Naoki walked past him without stopping.
His hand rose; his blade fell.
He didn't need to explain, pass judgment, or let anyone plead their case.
In his eyes, not a single person in this village was innocent.
Yumi had grown up here, raised from childhood to be a sacrifice and subjected to endless torment.
In all those years, had any of these people who were "only following orders" ever said a single word in her defense?
When they sacrificed her to the Buddha Mother, had any of them thought to spare her?
When they sent one life after another into that pitch-black cave, had any of them asked whether those people were willing?
No.
Not one.
So they all had to die.
The killing went on for a long time.
Maybe fifteen minutes, maybe an hour. Naoki had lost track. He simply swung his arm mechanically, sending wind blades into one body after another.
When the last villager fell into a pool of blood, the entire village had become a silent graveyard.
Black-robed bodies lay scattered across the