The Third Elder's forward charge stopped dead.
The vicious look on his face froze completely, giving way to sheer pain and bewilderment.
He lowered his head, staring in disbelief at the black sword hilt protruding from his abdomen and the blood rapidly dripping down the blade onto the floor.
Hiashi's eyes remained utterly calm, as though he had done something insignificant.
He gave the Third Elder no chance to react or scream.
He pulled the blade out.
A spray of warm blood followed, spattering the polished floor and the nearby tea utensils.
He stabbed again.
Into the same spot, brutally widening and tearing the wound.
He pulled it out again.
He stabbed again.
Clean, swift, and utterly merciless.
There were no furious roars, no unnecessary torment, only the most efficient, unequivocal end.
When the Great Sun Calamity Cutter slid out of the Third Elder's abdomen for the third time, the last glimmer in the eyes of this once lofty, domineering elder had gone out completely.
An unintelligible "khh, khh" escaped his throat. Then his heavy body crumpled to the floor like a sack of rags, blood swiftly pooling beneath him in a glaring patch of scarlet.
From his sudden attack to his death, only a few short breaths had passed.
A deathly silence filled the tearoom.
All that remained was the "tap... tap..." of blood dripping from the blade and the frantic chatter of the other four elders' teeth.
Hiashi flicked the blood from his blade and slowly raised his gaze, letting it settle once more on the four remaining faces, pale as paper and filled with despair.
Against the gleam of blood, the edge of the Great Sun Calamity Cutter seemed even colder.
"Hiashi! Hiashi!"
"Hiashi, I'm your uncle! Have you truly forgotten everything from the past?"
Seeing the