Tailo approached the village leader's building. His heart was racing, adrenaline coursing through his veins. "Here I am," he thought, "one step closer to my revenge." Considering that entering might be too risky from this point on, he took out a necklace from his belt pouch. This silver necklace, surrounded by particles of light, carried the energy of a creature.
Tailo sighed as he looked at the necklace. "This is my last chance," he muttered to himself. "Hama, I'm doing this for you. I hope you'll forgive me." Then he said, "This will be the last use," and began to channel his energy into the necklace. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, gathering his concentration. "Kamiya Naizen, tonight is the time for reckoning," he thought, as he created two clones of himself.
Tailo, along with his clones, silently infiltrated the main building. The trio split up strategically: one descended to the lower floor, while the other two headed for the upper floors.
The one who went down, carefully traversing the dark corridors, discovered the existence of a hidden room. When he slowly opened the door, the only source of light seeping in was a flickering torch on the wall. Under this dim illumination, four wooden coffins lined up in the center of the room stood like a silent threat.
Tailo paused for a moment at this unexpected sight, many questions arising in his mind.
The pair heading to the upper floors discovered several rooms on the second floor. They carefully peeked inside, but only encountered ordinary offices.
The Tailos climbed to the third floor, their hearts pounding and tension increasing with each step. Holding their breath, they silently ascended the stairs.
Upon reaching the floor, their eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. At the end of the corridor, they noticed a door slightly ajar with a pale light seeping through.
This was a sign that the person they were looking for might be there. After exchanging a meaningful glance, Tailo's began to move slowly and carefully towards that room.
As they advanced slowly, they could hear voices coming from inside. "Let's leave it here for today, Kinjo, it's getting late," Kamiya was speaking. Kinjo replied, "Alright, don't get too caught up in these things and neglect your children, Kamiya. Good night." After saying this, he headed for the door, which the Tailos noticed and hid in the darkness.
When Kinjo stepped into the corridor, he paused for a moment, sensing something strange. Moonlight was seeping in through the windows along the corridor, but the shadow of darkness made it difficult to see around.
After looking around a bit, Kinjo continued walking and headed down the stairs. As Kamiya was arranging the scrolls, he felt someone appear behind him. Without turning, he spoke, "I've felt this energy before." While smiling, he turned around and saw two tiger-masked figures completely closing the door. The moonlight coming from behind Kamiya and the torch light hitting from the side made it feel as if there were two different people. "I guess our security is weaker than I thought. If you've come to kill me, I'm sorry, but that's going to be quite difficult for you."
The Tailos clenched their fists. "We're sure you won't make it out alive today," they said in unison. "You'll pay for what you did to the Cat," they added.
"I assume you're talking about Miss Hama," said Kamiya, yawning slightly as he clasped his hands. "She also received the consequences of her actions and fought honorably and lost. We don't have to continue this, because it will never end."
"You shattered our dreams, Kamiya!" the Tailos cried out, their voices trembling with sorrow. "This was our last year, we were going to be free from slavery!" Though their masks hid their tears, their tone of voice betrayed their emotions.
Kamiya raised his eyebrows. "Slavery? Was the city forcing you to work? I learn new things every day, how interesting." Leaning on his desk, he continued: "If you want to tell me about it, I'll listen. We don't have to fight. Besides, you know that even if you manage to kill me, you won't make it out of here alive. But if we talk, I can pretend you were never here."
Tailo's were very tense. They were considering whether to talk, but they hadn't really cared about that. They had come prepared to die here. "Since I'm prepared to die anyway, it doesn't matter," said one. "Even if I die here, I'll take you with me. That's why I don't mind you knowing my name. My name is Tailo Zhang."
Kamiya thought for a moment, but it wasn't a name he recognized. "I don't know your name or your clan. So what's this about slavery?"
The Tailos moved to Kamiya's right and left to prevent him from escaping completely. "The city of Iori has a law against refugees," they explained. "Refugees either serve as slaves or join the army. Those among them with elite powers are taken into a special unit. It's called 'The Flowers of Iori'. I'm one of them. We have a twenty-year service period, after which we become completely free."
Kamiya brought his hand to his chin and with a slightly condescending look, said, "So you were just refugees," he said. "I'm not sorry for Hama, Mr. Tailo. I couldn't allow someone who took my brother's life to live. However, if you accept, I can offer you a decent life."
The Tailos responded angrily: "It's too late now. Maybe at another time, under different circumstances, and during the time Hama was alive, it could have been possible. The years I spent with her and the time we were almost together... I guess this happening shows that I've always been unlucky in this life."
The Tailos clenched their fists; they were ready to attack.
"I understand, then let's do what needs to be done, Tailo," said Kamiya. His eyes glowed in the darkness of the night; he had instantly activated Seimei-sen. He first dodged the punch from the Tailo coming from the left, then delivered a hard kick to the stomach of the one on the right, sending him flying. Tailo crashed into the bookshelf on the wall due to the impact; the bookshelf shattered, and all the scrolls scattered on the floor. The Tailo on the left, following this kick, struck Kamiya's head from above with both hands, knocking him to the ground. He got on top of him and tried to rain down punches on Kamiya's face, but Kamiya skillfully avoided all of them. The punches hit the stone floor, cracking it. Kamiya pushed Tailo off with his knee and in the opening, delivered a powerful punch to his stomach. The blow was so strong that Tailo almost hit the ceiling. As Tailo was falling to the ground, Kamiya nimbly got to his feet and threw another punch at the falling Tailo's stomach. At that moment, he made eye contact with the other Tailo who was getting up from the ground.
The punch he threw tore through Tailo's stomach, blood splattering all over the room. When Kamiya pulled out his hand, his eyes looked quite frightening in the moonlight. Tailo lunged forward and, shouting, grabbed Kamiya by the waist and dragged him out the window with him. As they fell, Kamiya somehow managed to get Tailo underneath him, and they hit the ground very hard. The sound of Tailo's bones breaking echoed in the silence of the night; blood was coming from his mouth and nose.
"I was sure these were clones, I wonder where the original is," Kamiya thought. "Also, very interesting clones, they seem to be really alive." As he was saying this, he was touching and examining the face of the Tailo on the ground. From behind, Kinjo shouted: "Kamiya, what's going on? Are you alright?"
Kamiya stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm fine. A tiger-masked assassin infiltrated our village and tried to assassinate me, but he was weaker than I thought. These are probably his clones."
"Ah, I'm relieved. I thought something had happened to you," Kinjo sighed. The sound had brought a few more people out into the street. Also, Akane Koga, who was staying on the first floor of the central building, had run out with her sword in hand. The guards also anxiously asked: "Sir, what's happening?"
Kinjo angrily shouted: "I'll be dealing with all of you, you fools! How can you not do your job properly?"
"Kamiya? Kinjo? What's the problem?" Akane called out from behind them.
"We caught an assassin, one of the masked ones," said Kamiya.
Akane paused to think. "Things are more serious than I thought." Then she added: "I think we should set out as soon as possible. The sun is about to rise anyway."
Kamiya nodded. "Do so, Lady Akane. We're counting on your help."
The moon was giving way to the sun, the blue of the sky slowly becoming visible. Akane went back, woke up her team, prepared them, and set out with the first light of morning.
Meanwhile, the original Tailo was examining the coffins in the basement. Suddenly, he felt his clones die, information flowing into his mind. "We'll meet again, Kamiya. This time, I won't leave it to chance," he muttered. Besides the coffins, there were also scrolls about clans and special abilities in this dark room. But instead of wasting time here, he thought it would be more sensible to watch for an opening and escape before security increased. He reached into his pocket and took out the necklace again; its luster had diminished. "I need to recharge this too. I think reporting what I've seen here will be enough for this reward," he thought to himself. He was about to leave the room, but hesitated. "Wait a minute, I heard that Sato Ryo was sealed. Could he be in one of these coffins? If so, this intelligence is quite valuable. Maybe they'll reward me with an energy-charged sword. Then killing Kamiya would become much easier," he thought. He needed to return to the city as soon as possible.
Kamiya had returned home; truthfully, this used to be Sato's house, but now it belonged only to Rikimaru. To keep an eye on him, he had convinced Rikimaru, and now Soma, Sanda, Riki, and Kamiya were staying in this big house. As he entered the house, Sanda jumped on him, shouting "Dad!?" "Are you okay, daddy?" she said.
Kamiya hugged her tightly, saying "I'm fine, sweetie, don't worry." Rikimaru and Soma were also standing, staring intently, waiting for an explanation.
Kamiya heaved a deep sigh. Soma and Rikimaru asked almost simultaneously: "What happened?"
Kamiya explained the events in detail. He talked about Tailo's attack, his clones. When he finished his explanation, he said, "I need to rest," and went to bed.
When noon came, Rikimaru and Soma were intensely training far from the village, by a stream. Under the scorching rays of the sun, the two young warriors, drenched in sweat, were working with great determination to improve their skills. While Rikimaru focused on controlling his elemental powers, Soma was striving to increase his physical endurance. In this quiet environment by the stream, accompanied by the sounds of nature, they were both pushing their limits and preparing for future challenges.
"This is ridiculous," Soma complained. "What's ridiculous now?" Rikimaru questioned as they sat catching their breath. "How can someone infiltrate the village and attack my father with so many guards around?" he pondered aloud, his voice sounding irritated.
"I don't know, but Uncle Kamiya isn't someone who'd be easily defeated. He's our leader for a reason after all," Rikimaru said, trying to reassure Soma, but this only made him more angry. His real frustration was with his own weakness. "Training with you is so boring," he said as he stood up and walked towards the trees.
Rikimaru couldn't make sense of it and was unsure whether to follow him or not. "Our friendship was better before the war started, Soma," he muttered. "I wonder when your hostility towards me will end. You were never there for me when I needed my best friend the most." He clenched his fists tightly.
"Rikimaru!" someone called from behind. It was Yahiro. "Uncle Yahiro, have you recovered?" Rikimaru asked.
Yahiro came and sat beside him. "Yes, I wasn't that badly injured anyway. What's Soma angry about?"
"We were talking about the Tiger-masked intruder who infiltrated the village, discussing how he could have gotten in," said Rikimaru, scratching the back of his head.
"Ah, that incident," Yahiro replied. "When I spoke with Kinjo, we thought he might have snuck in during the celebration day. Besides, you don't need to worry about it, our security has been doubled." He patted Rikimaru's shoulder.
"I'm not worried, but I think he is," said Rikimaru, averting his eyes and glancing at the stream. "He's always finding reasons to pick on me."
"You'll patch things up over time, everyone's trying to adjust to the new system," said Yahiro, trying to comfort him.
"Uncle, would you train with me? I want to become stronger," Rikimaru asked.
Yahiro stood up. "Of course we can practice, but don't wear me out too much. I've barely shaken off the fatigue from the war," he said with a laugh.
Meanwhile, the Tiger-masked man, having managed to escape the city before security was tightened, was moving silently through the trees. Suddenly, he slammed to the ground as if hit by a powerful force. A deep and terrifying voice echoed: "Gravitational push." The pressure was so strong that all his bones ached, feeling like they might explode. He could barely move.
"Speak, Tiger mask. Who are you? What were you doing in the village?" Number Three appeared. Tailo could barely turn his head to see him.
"Who are you?" Tailo asked, his speech was very difficult, the words barely leaving his mouth.
"I'm the only one asking questions here. Speak if you want to live!" Number Three shouted.