"I..." said Dokuro, swallowing with difficulty. Kenshin turned back and gave him a mocking look. "So you want to live. Fine, you'll survive if you talk."
He struggled to speak. "Central... building." Blood was flowing from his mouth.
"Give him some water. And hurry up, I'm running out of patience," said Kenshin.
One of the guards brought water. Dokuro had somewhat recovered. "All the sealed coffins are beneath the central building."
There was a big smile on Kenshin's face. "So he really is sealed. Then there's no need to rush, a war of attrition will suffice."
Asahi wanted to attack and defeat Kamiya right away, but support from his family hadn't arrived yet, and he couldn't be reckless enough to attack alone.
"Are we really going to let them recover?" asked Asahi.
"As I said, we'll wear them down. Even if we attack with full force now, we might not get what we want. If the enemy starts running away, are you going to chase them constantly, Asahi? That will only tire us out." He bent down next to Dokuro and gave him a light slap. "We'll prevent their escape and corner them. Naru Toki can attack alone and wear Kamiya down, then we can finish the job with a few more similar attacks and a final blow," Kenshin added.
After thinking about it, it made sense to Asahi; during this process, if he received support from his family, fighting would be easier, and he could even hunt down Kenshin afterward.
Kenshin stood up. "You'll stay alive as you wished, Dokuro, but you won't be able to betray anyone ever again."
He walked backward while looking at Dokuro. "Cut out his tongue, if he can't speak, he can't betray. This way, he won't be able to give information about us either." He continued smiling as if he had won a victory. "I'll take good care of you, Dokuro."
Asahi took a knife and pulled out Dokuro's tongue. "Ahh!" With Dokuro's scream, he cut his tongue in a way that would prevent him from speaking.
"Don't take it personally Dokuro, I'm just doing what I'm told," Asahi muttered.
Dokuro looked at them with bloodthirsty eyes. "You sons of bitches, I'll escape from here and kill both of you," he thought, but there was nothing he could do right now. After writhing in pain, he passed out.
Obi and Klenn had gone as far as the border, but all entrances were completely sealed and the empire wasn't letting anyone in from outside.
They had set up camp near the border gate. "How are we going to find this sorcerer, Obi? They won't even let us in, sneaking in seems very difficult, all entrances are guarded."
"I don't know, maybe we should go back and help Soma. Or we could check other nearby kingdoms and villages. The wizard might not even be here. It's too early to lose hope." He looked at Klenn with a slight smile, then his expression turned serious as he looked at his palm. There was a circular tattoo on his palm with two marks resembling claw marks around it. After staring at his hand for a while, a third mark appeared. "Our time is running out. Do you think we'll really lose control when this symbol is complete?" Obi asked.
"That was our agreement. If we can't bring back that dragon's child, that's what will happen. This symbol makes us stronger, but we're losing control because of it," said Klenn.
"Let's hope we find it before we lose control," he added.
They both looked at the setting sun with sadness. "Let's rest now, we'll make the plan tomorrow," said Klenn.
Kamiya and the others had quickly cleared the ruins within just three days and created a memorial site for those they had lost. There were markers on the black marble and small stone plaques indicating where they lay. Thirty people now rested here, but Kamiya was certain this number would steadily increase in the future.
While Kida was crying,Midra, Akane, Akira, and Yuki were supporting her. Off to the side, Kinjo stood with his new eye, staring at the grave. "Yahiro, I'll take care of Kida. And I'll kill that number three scum, you can be sure of that. I have many vengeances to take," he muttered.
Kamiya approached him. "I can guess what you're thinking, Kinjo. Please consult me before doing anything foolish."
"Don't worry Kamiya, you know I'm not stupid," said Kinjo.
Rikimaru was watching the funerals from a hill. "I should have been stronger... I shouldn't have left the village," he said. Soma appeared behind him. "It wasn't your fault, Riki." He sat down next to him. "You left the village because of me, I don't know how to make up for this. I didn't tell you because of how complicated things were, but Uncle Dokuro might die because of me." He tried to hide his tears with his hands.
"I understand how you feel, Soma. Uncle Dokuro is very strong, I'm sure he's survived somehow. Let's talk to your father and try to rescue him," said Rikimaru, though he was confident neither in himself nor in their ability to accomplish this.
"We shouldn't act hastily this time, it didn't help at all," said Soma. He had calmed down but his tears continued to flow.
Rikimaru gazed into the distance. Unable to hold back his tears, he began crying silently. "Uncle Yahiro, I'm sorry..." he thought to himself. Though Sanda saw them from afar, she chose to leave them alone.
Kamiya went to Rikimaru's side. He placed his hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Don't blame yourselves, none of us expected such a massive attack."
"Take Soma with you and get some rest, we're having an important meeting tomorrow. We'll discuss the Kenshin situation," Kamiya added.
Rikimaru nodded and looked at Soma. "Let's go, we need to rest."
They both stood up and started walking toward the village center. Sanda continued watching them. It pained her to see Rikimaru so affected.
Kamiya returned to the memorial site. Kinjo was still there. "Tomorrow morning, early meeting, call all the leaders," he said.
"Are we going to attack? Also, are you sure the egg is with Rikimaru?" Kinjo asked.
"No, we need to make a plan first. Looking at Rikimaru's clones, I'm certain that Sato has hidden the egg inside him. For now, let everyone think Sato has the egg. It's better if they don't know it's in Rikimaru's possession," said Kamiya thoughtfully.
"What about Sato and Miki's situation? Should we make a rescue plan for them? They took the coffins, but those two's coffins are still here - we need to find a solution."
"We should also discuss the coffins. Hirabayashi mentioned there was something strange about them. If we can find a solution, that could be good," said Kamiya. "Kinjo," he added, "I don't want to lose anyone else anymore. Please be careful."
Kinjo nodded and left to carry out his duty. Kamiya stayed at the memorial site a while longer, thinking about the decisions to be made at tomorrow's meeting.
Naru, Kenshin and Asahi had gathered to discuss their first attack.
"Naru, don't forget, I am invincible. If you don't follow my orders, forget about Akane surviving the attacks," said Kenshin mockingly.
"I haven't said anything about that, I'll do whatever you say," said Naru. At that moment, a short, thin person with messy blue hair entered.
"Tanyu Kyoya, right on time." Kenshin smiled, opening his arms.
"Good to be here. What you asked for is ready, but you better pay me well for this, Kenshin, don't forget," said Tanyu in a tired voice.
"How many were you able to produce?" Kenshin asked.
"What are you talking about?" said Asahi, realizing he was being left out of the conversation.
"About ten golems of different types." Though tired, Tanyu was grinning from ear to ear. "They're incredibly powerful, even Kamiya will struggle greatly. They might even create an opportunity for Naru to kill Kamiya," he added.
"Why wasn't I informed about this, Kenshin?" asked Asahi.
"It wasn't important, I already told you I would send an advance team. The team will consist of Naru and the golems. After they wear them down, we'll make our move," said Kenshin, giving Asahi a slightly angry look.
"So you choose not to share the details with me, Kenshin," Asahi thought. He quietly sat down on one of the seats in the tent and began listening to the conversation. Meanwhile, he thought to himself, "No matter what I do, I must stop Kenshin."
"You understand your mission, Naru, don't you?" Kenshin walked up to Naru and looked very closely at his face. Naru was avoiding eye contact with him.
In a very quiet voice, Naru said "Yes."
"I can't hear you, say it louder!" he shouted in his face.
"Yes, I understand my mission!" Naru shouted back.
"If Kamiya is strong enough to protect Akane..." Naru thought. Perhaps then he could switch sides and escape from Kenshin's disgusting face. Or at least he would die by Kamiya's hand. He felt happy knowing that either way, he would be free from Kenshin.
"Go and get ready, you'll leave with the golems tomorrow. You rest too, Tanyu, we'll control the golems from a point far from the village. Asahi, you'll be coming with us of course," said Kenshin before leaving the tent. Tanyu followed him out. As he was leaving, he was saying something to Kenshin: "If we send the strongest golem last, we probably won't even need to g-" His voice faded as he completely left the tent.
"I pity you, Naru," said Asahi, standing up and walking towards Naru. "It must be painful to be so powerful yet unable to act because you're bound to things."
"I don't need pity from an animal like you, Asahi," he said in a calm voice. Then Asahi stomped hard on Naru's foot. Naru let out a momentary cry of pain, then gritted his teeth. "You'll break my foot, you bastard!" he whispered into Asahi's ear.
"I hope Kamiya kills you, don't worry, I'll avenge you," said Asahi with a laugh as he walked away.
"You're all so sure that I won't or can't kill Kamiya. But I'm going to test him. If he's not strong enough to defeat me, then it makes more sense for him to die," he thought. He wanted to scream these thoughts in Asahi's face, but Asahi had already left the tent.
Naru took a deep breath and decided to secretly visit Dokuro.
"What have they done to you, Dokuro," said Naru.
He examined Dokuro, who was bound in chains. "Damn, they cut out your tongue. Ah, it's terrible that you won't be able to speak. I had things to ask you," he said, crouching beside him.
Dokuro was semi-conscious, but his eyes could barely focus on Naru approaching him. He nodded his head to indicate that he could hear.
"I guess you don't have trouble hearing me. I'm going to attack the village tomorrow. I'll probably have to kill Kamiya. If I fail, I'll die anyway, but before I go I'll set you free. Run as far as you can, don't worry - I'll take you somewhere near the village and leave you there. But even if you go to the village, try not to cross paths with me. Also, they're planning to attack with golems. Anyway, I need to go. Try not to die, Dokuro." There was sadness on Naru's face as he touched his shoulder.
This was inside an iron cage in the middle of a tent. The guards outside noticed sounds coming from inside. "Is someone there?" When they peered through the tent entrance, they saw Dokuro standing just as before. "Let's give him some water, we were told he needs to stay alive," he said to his companion. "I'll get it," his friend said and went to fetch water.
For the first time in his days-long torturous captivity, Dokuro showed courage and determination. He would endure until Naru came to save him.
Kenshin had returned to his own tent to rest, with Tanyu following behind. They chatted for a while, then Asahi entered the tent.
"Is there a problem?" Kenshin asked, looking at Asahi.
"There certainly is." As soon as he finished his sentence, he underwent a partial transformation and turned toward two masked figures who suddenly appeared in the tent.
Their masks bore the numbers Three and Five.