Early morning, August 15, 2000.
Dawn blazed across the sky, golden light shining on the mountaintops. The rosy glow washed the lush mountain forests in dazzling colors, like clusters of silhouettes with sharply defined light and shadow, brilliant to behold.
Mornings in the village were always this beautiful. A bird humming a lovely tune landed beside an iron gate and happily drank the dew.
But the very next second, that peaceful scene was shattered.
Boom!!
The iron gate was blasted open by purple flames with a thunderous crash. Scattered sparks flew everywhere, and the unfortunate bird was struck by one, instantly turning to ash and vanishing from the world.
The tremendous explosion drew particular attention in the quiet village. Within just a few minutes, quite a few villagers came running over, one after another.
"What's going on!"
"What happened!"
"Look, it's that guy."
"That's the Ishii family's 'ill-omened one,' right?"
"That's right, that bastard. I still have the wound he left on my shoulder."
"How did he get out?"
"Go tell the village chief!"
"Everyone, get your weapons! Hurry!"
Just then, a fat man came running over with a group of burly men carrying farming tools.
Igarashi Amaha raised his eyes to look. Once he saw who had come, he gave an inscrutable smile.
The village chief stepped forward and began surveying the surroundings. When he saw the person Igarashi Amaha was carrying in his arms and the shattered iron gate, an ominous feeling immediately rose in his heart. This brat... is probably beyond what I can afford to mess with now. I have to notify them as soon as possible.
His eyes shifted, and he immediately shouted to the surrounding villagers, "Everyone, seize him! If he gets away, none of us will come to a good end! Go! Seize him! Whoever catches him first, I'll reward him with a woman on behalf of the village!"
The village chief's words acted like an aphrodisiac, sending the men's blood surging as they charged forward as though they had no regard for their lives.
"How pathetic." Watching the crowd charge toward him, Igarashi Amaha slowly laid Aoki on the ground, briefly stretched his limbs, then lunged forward.
Smack!
Igarashi Amaha caught the fist thrust toward his face with one hand, bent slightly, and drove his palm like a sharp sword straight into the man's heart.
Squelch!
The man's chest was instantly pierced through. Scalding blood sprayed out, spattering the faces of those nearby. Igarashi Amaha raised his arm and flung it backward.
Thud!
The man, his eyes still wide in death, was tossed away like garbage and landed at the feet of a group of people.
That snapped the dumbfounded crowd back to their senses. Usually, they only helped the village chief beat people up; killing was something they had never had anything to do with. Now their neighbor had been killed by a ten-year-old child, right before their eyes, throwing them into a panic.
"He's... dead!!??"
"You bastard!!"
"What do I do? I don't want to die! I don't want to die yet! My son only just learned to call me Daddy!"
"I don't want to die either! I promised my son I'd take him hunting in the mountains today!"
"Where's the village chief? Where did the village chief go!?"
By now, everyone had noticed that the village chief had long since disappeared.
Faced with their pleas for mercy, Igarashi Amaha picked his ear in irritation and shouted impatiently, "Next."
His words sent a shudder through their hearts. They all involuntarily backed away, their eyes darting aside, not daring to look at Igarashi Amaha.
"Heh, interesting. None of you are coming, huh? Then I'll come to you." As soon as he finished speaking, Igarashi Amaha stepped forward.
Whoosh!
With a single step, he instantly appeared beside a man. Igarashi Amaha lightly rested his arm on the man's shoulder.
The sudden turn of events left the man rooted to the spot, the blood throughout his body freezing. His teeth chattered as he begged in a tearful voice, "P-please, please spare me. Before I came, I just promised my chil-"
Squelch!!! Before he could finish, the man's head instantly turned into a splash of bloody liquid that spattered the ground.
Igarashi Amaha casually shook the blood off his hand and said indifferently, "You promised, not me. What the fuck does that have to do with me?"
Thump!!
After remaining rigid for a few seconds, the headless corpse fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Igarashi Amaha tilted his head, lifted his young face, now spattered with a few drops of blood, and grinned at the others. "Your turn."
"Ahhh! Run! He's a devil!"
"Help!"
"Run!"
"Run!"
The crowd scattered, each of them running back without so much as turning their head.
At the sight, Igarashi Amaha slipped both hands into his pockets, a trace of mockery appearing in his eyes. He was in no hurry, and even cheered them on. "Run faster! Ganbare, ganbare! (Keep it up, keep it up!)"
"That's more like it. Heh-heh."
Whoosh!
Igarashi Amaha flickered and appeared above a burly man fleeing with all his might, planting both feet on the man's shoulders.
Yet the burly man seemed not to notice, continuing to run with bloodshot eyes as large beads of sweat fell to the ground.
"Hey, stop running."
Hearing those words, the burly man immediately stopped in place, not daring to move again.
Tap!
The weight lifted from his shoulders, and a footstep sounded behind him. The burly man's heart clenched. He hurriedly dropped to his knees and squeezed his eyes shut. "Please, please, let me go! I wasn't there when they caught you! Spare me, please!"
...No one answered him. He did not care and continued kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Only after a while had passed without any more footsteps did he steel himself, swallow, forcibly suppress the fear in his heart, and stiffly turn his head to look behind him, opening his eyes.
"Phew, is... is he gone? Phew, I survived." Seeing no one behind him, he let out a long breath, his heart finally settling. Recalling everything that had just happened, he could no longer bear it, and tears spilled uncontrollably from his eyes.
He turned back and vigorously wiped away his tears, deciding that once he got home, he would immediately take his wife and child away and flee this place of trouble. Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished.
His blurred vision gradually cleared, and a face and a hand came into view.
Igarashi Amaha stood with his left hand in his pocket, his right hand shaped like a gun and pressed against the man's forehead.
Igarashi Amaha gave a heartwarming smile and slowly uttered one word: "Bang."
The burly man's pupils contracted sharply. "No..."
Squelch!!
"Don't worry. Your family will be joining you soon. Don't be impatient."
With that, he stepped on the man's corpse and walked away into the distance.
Please support me in every way. I'd be endlessly grateful.