The tremendous recoil instantly traveled through the sword's hilt and up Onigawara Rin's entire arm.
The web of her hand went numb.
The long sword nearly flew out of her grasp.
Her supposedly lethal strike had been effortlessly neutralized.
The blade veered off its intended path, grazed the hem of Haimo's clothes, and slammed into the wall beside him, sending stone chips flying.
And then-
Smack!
The tip of Haimo's expandable baton stopped precisely in front of Onigawara Rin's mask.
Less than a centimeter from that Hannya Mask.
Yet it was only a light tapping motion.
Onigawara Rin froze where she stood, as though a paralysis spell had been cast on her.
She stared blankly at the baton's tip, mere inches away.
Cold sweat instantly soaked her back.
Because she knew all too well.
If he put any force into that blow-
Her head would burst like an overripe watermelon.
Haimo looked at the rigid Onigawara Rin and slowly spoke.
"Your sword is bound by your heart."
"Or rather, by that mask of yours."
Onigawara Rin's pupils contracted slightly beneath her mask.
"The essence of swordsmanship is purity."
"But when you swing your sword, you're filled with disgust for yourself and fear of others' gazes."
"Too many distracting thoughts."
Tap.
Tap.
As Haimo spoke, he lightly tapped the hideous Hannya Mask with his expandable baton, producing a soft tapping sound.
"What do you know...?"
Onigawara Rin's voice trembled, but she still clung stubbornly to her last shred of defiance.
"This is to..."
"To hide your weakness?"
Haimo cut her off without mercy.
Just like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
Believing that if it could not see the predator, the danger would cease to exist.
Little did it know.
That self-deceptive sense of safety was precisely the deadly poison that stifled growth.
Sheltered by darkness, the soul withered and courage wore away.
Until, in the end-
The mask was no longer camouflage, but a cage imprisoning the soul. It even took control, becoming a real part of that person.
"Take it off."
"If you still consider yourself a swordswoman."
"Then face what you fear most deep down."
At those words, Onigawara Rin's sword hand began trembling violently.
Take it off?
In front of this man, and even Sasamori Aya?
Let him see this cursed face of mine?
This face my mother despised and considered ill-omened?
"No..."
She instinctively tried to back away.
That terror even overwhelmed her fear of death.
However-
Haimo gave her no chance to retreat.
"Too slow."
With a soft sigh-
Haimo applied a little force through his expandable baton.
Crack-
A crisp cracking sound rang out.
The hard Hannya Mask that had accompanied Onigawara Rin for years was instantly covered in a spiderweb of cracks.
Then-
With a clatter-
The mask shattered completely.
Countless white fragments fluttered through the air like withering petals.
Beneath the mask-
The face that had always been hidden behind that hideous demon visage was finally exposed to the air.
There was nothing ill-omened about it.
Nor was there anything ugly.
It was a delicate, finely featured face.
And the fair skin beneath the mask held a sickly pallor from years without sunlight.
At that moment-
The eyes once concealed beneath the mask were filled with panic, along with a trace of mortified anger, as though she had been thrown naked into a crowd.
Tears even glimmered at the corners of her eyes, brought on by the mortification of her mask suddenly shattering.
"Ah...!"
Onigawara Rin let out a brief cry and instinctively tried to draw her sword again.
Since the part of me I least wanted anyone to see has already been exposed, then-
Kill him!
Kill everyone who saw this!
Even as reason screamed warnings, even as her body trembled with fear, that emotion called "mortification"-
Had completely overwhelmed everything else.
However-
Haimo reached out and seized both her hands, forcing her to lift her head and look straight at him.
No matter how hard Onigawara Rin struggled, his grip did not budge.
"The way of the sword begins with courtesy and ends with the heart."
"Right now, your sword heart is full of noise."
"Shame, anger, fear... these emotions are like dust clinging to a mirror, keeping you from seeing yourself or the sword in your hand clearly."
"A sword heart like that is impure."
"However."
"I didn't remove your mask to humiliate you, or to pass judgment on your past."
"I simply wanted you to understand something."
"Human beings are accustomed to disguising themselves."
"They wear all kinds of masks to protect themselves."
"Sometimes to avoid being hurt, sometimes to fit into a group, and sometimes to gain acceptance."
"There's nothing inherently wrong with that."
"After all, in this world full of thorns, baring your true feelings often means willingly handing someone else the knife they can use to hurt you."
"But."
"When people wear a mask others have forced upon them for too long, they forget what their own face beneath it originally looked like."
"Only by facing your true heart can you remain true to yourself to the end."
"So think carefully."
"When you first swung a sword, was it to cut down your enemies, or to cut away the coward you used to be?"
"If you've thought it through, and no longer want to be a pitiful wretch bound by the past, but a swordswoman who longs for strength."
"Then come find me."
"I can take you to other worlds."
"In that world, there are vast horizons beyond anything you can imagine, and opportunities to put your dust-covered sword heart to the test."
With that-
Haimo loosened his fingers.
With nothing supporting her, Onigawara Rin collapsed onto the floor littered with mask fragments, like a boneless creature.
She gasped for breath, her delicate face, no longer hidden by the mask, filled with a mixture of shame, anger, and bewilderment.
Then-
Haimo did not spare her another glance.
He simply turned his hand palm up and lightly tapped the empty air with a slender fingertip.
Hum-
The white Hannya Mask, which had shattered into countless pieces scattered across the floor, seemed to have had time reversed.
Countless white fragments danced under the pull of divine power and reassembled.
In the blink of an eye-
The intact Hannya Mask, its expression hideous, hovered above Haimo's palm once more.
Chapter 8: The strongest of the Five Swords, Tsukuyo Inaba
"Make your choice soon."
"I won't stay in this world forever."
"So you only get one chance."
"What you ultimately choose is entirely up to you."
After speaking, Haimo returned the Hannya Mask to Onigawara Rin and walked past her.
"..."