"My, my~ You two certainly get along well. Unfortunately, I'm in a bit of a hurry. If I get back too late, my Master will start nagging again, so could we please wrap this up?" After watching the two argue for over ten minutes without either gaining the upper hand, Gin Ichimaru had clearly begun to lose interest.
"You insolent commoner! I was going to cripple one arm and one leg and spare your worthless life, but since you refuse to know your place, I won't bother showing mercy. All of you, attack together! Beat him to death, and don't worry about the consequences. But don't hurt the demi-human slave beside him. I can't let such a fine specimen slip away. Tonight, I'll savor her properly."
The tall, thin noble snorted and shifted his gaze to Raphael behind Gin Ichimaru. Undisguised, filthy lust gleamed in his cold, sinister eyes as he gave his guards their orders.
Hearing someone mention her, Raphael's frail, soft body instinctively trembled. As though she had recalled something terrible, fear and pain rose across her face, and she hid behind Gin Ichimaru, too afraid to lift her head.
Gin Ichimaru rubbed Raphael's little head. Feeling his broad palm, callused from years of holding a sword (in Japan, samurai blades were called "swords," so Japanese sword saints and master swordsmen actually wielded tachi), Raphael slowly relaxed, both in body and mind. It was as though a pillar of support had suddenly risen within her bewildered heart, filling her with warmth and an overwhelming sense of security.
Still stroking Raphael's head, Gin Ichimaru drew the Zanpakutō at his waist and said softly, "Think carefully. Without strength, what will happen to you next? This world is cruel. It isn't a fairy tale where 'justice always wins.' Here, 'the victor is justice.' So watch closely."
Squelch-
At some point, the silvery blade had extended, piercing straight through the guards charging at Gin Ichimaru. It skewered several of them like meatballs on a stick, blood streaming down from their wounds and dripping to the ground.
Gin Ichimaru joked with them, "My, my, how careless of you. Be more careful next time, all right? Because this blade of mine might suddenly pierce your heart in the very next second!"
"Monster!!!"
Seeing their comrades killed just like that, the remaining guards went berserk, drawing their weapons and slashing at Gin Ichimaru.
"Blood..." Staring at the corpses and blood before her, Raphael looked utterly shattered. She gazed blankly at the thick, crimson liquid as long-buried images slowly resurfaced in her mind.
The bandits who had attacked her village with butcher's blades in hand. The pitch-black night. The raging flames that had swallowed the entire village, with anguished screams echoing endlessly. Her parents had sacrificed their lives to cover her escape, but after narrowly getting away, she had been caught by a passing slave trader and sold here.
She remembered the moments before her parents died-the regret and apology written across their faces, mingled with relief and gratitude that she had escaped. Still wearing their final smiles, they had been brutally murdered by the bandits raising their blades.
"Mom... Dad..." Clear tears spilled involuntarily from her eyes, tracing her lovely cheeks before falling to the ground. Raphael wept silently.
As though sensing that something was wrong, the dark-faced noble ordered his own guards, "All of you, attack! Kill that monster!"
"Hurry, attack together! Don't give him a chance to breathe! Kill him! He's only one man!"
The guards raised their weapons and charged fearlessly. Clinging to their belief that there was strength in numbers, they stepped over their fallen comrades' corpses and rushed at Gin Ichimaru.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō!"
Shinsō, which had returned to its short-bladed form, suddenly burst into countless cold flashes of blade tips. Like a violent storm, they struck the guards' bodies, shredding those before him into bloody liquid that splashed across the ground, leaving not even their bones behind. Blood pooled around Gin Ichimaru's feet, but the smile on his face never changed.
"Monster... Stay away!!!"
"Blood, so much blood... I'm bleeding! I'm going to die! Someone, come quickly! Someone save me!"
"Spare me! I'm a noble! You can't kill me! As long as you let me go, I'll do anything you ask!"
The two nobles had long since collapsed in terror. They tried to crawl and roll their way out of this hell, only for Shinsō's blade to mercilessly pierce their kneecaps and arms. With all four limbs crippled, they stared at their relentlessly bleeding wounds and let out shrill, piercing screams and pleas for mercy.
"Come here, Raphael." Gin Ichimaru beckoned to her, then smilingly placed Shinsō, its blade stained with blood, into her small hands.
"Use it to pierce their hearts or throats. Kill them and prove that you're determined to become stronger, Raphael!"
Holding Shinsō in trembling hands, Raphael's tears pattered down. Looking pitiful and helpless, she cried, "No, please! I can't do something like killing people!"
Gin Ichimaru's voice grew colder as he stared at Raphael. "I told you earlier, didn't I? I don't need subordinates who can't grow stronger. If you don't have the determination to become stronger, I'll have no choice but to abandon you right now."
Raphael stiffened at his words. Seemingly caught in a struggle of hesitation, she stood without saying a word, silently staring at the crimson blood on the ground. The air was thick with its pungent smell. The sticky liquid clung to her small, bare feet, and its lingering warmth made her feel horribly sick, bringing on a sudden, powerful urge to vomit. Only the two nobles' anguished screams remained in the alley.
As though she had made up her mind, Raphael wiped the tears from her face and gripped the hilt tightly. Then she walked toward the two nobles with a wooden expression. Their miserable figures were reflected in her lifeless eyes, while the tip of Shinsō gleamed coldly in her hand.
"No! Spare me! I'm still young! I don't want to die!!!"
"You commoners can't kill me! I'm a noble of the kingdom! You'll die... The Kingdom Knight Order won't let you get away with this! Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, the Knight Order will find you!"
As they pleaded or threatened, their faces contorted with terror, Raphael raised the blade in her hands and plunged it savagely into their throats. Crimson blood splashed across her cheeks and the tattered white clothing that barely covered her body, like a blood-red spider lily in full bloom.
After killing the two nobles without hesitation, the blade-wielding girl slowly turned her head. A radiant, innocent smile appeared on her bloodstained, exquisitely beautiful face, lending her a strangely bewitching, sinister charm. Like a holy angel tasting corruption for the first time, she smiled brightly. "Lord Gin Ichimaru, does this mean I passed?"
Looking at the two lifeless corpses, Gin Ichimaru fell silent for a moment. Then his usual foxlike smile returned, and he reached out to her. "Yes, you passed this test with flying colors. Now, Raphael~ Let's go home together!"
"Home..." Raphael softly repeated Gin Ichimaru's words, her body moving toward him of its own accord. Something stirred deep within her cold, lonely heart. It felt as though she were basking in the afternoon sun, so warm and gentle.
"Yes, Lord Gin Ichimaru!"