Chapter 166: The hardest choices...
(Ryoto's pov)
What is wrong with her? She doesn't even flinch with a blade at her throat. It's almost like she doesn't fear death. Just like me before I reincarnated.
Ryoto: "What's wrong with you?"
Yan Fon seemed to be happy to get any kind of reply from me.
Yan Fon: "Oh, so you're not mute. My name is Yan Fon, but you probably already know it. Could I get the name of my killer?"
I, of course, didn't answer her but put my sword away from her neck.
Ryoto: "*Sigh* Why are you so calm?"
Yan Fon: "Well, you are the first that made it so far, so you must be skilled enough to either kill all the guards or sneak inside without anyone noticing. Either way, you can kill me any time you want, so why should I waste my time being scared? I knew that this day would come sooner or later. It's just a shame that it happened sooner than I would have liked."
She said with a sad look.
Yan Fon: "I would like you to ask only one thing, Killer-san. You can kill me, but please, could you spare my daughter."
Ryoto: "Why won't you try to bribe me or even scream for help?"
I can't understand. A parent should want to be with their children for as long as possible. So why is she giving up this life?
Yan Fon only smiled sadly once again, but she didn't answer.
I don't want to kill her, that's a fact, but I need to think about Rin. If that makes me a monster... Scrap that. I'll become the monster if it keeps her safe.
I opened my eyes to show my sincerity and also to look at my first innocent victim with my own eyes and not through my eyelids.
Seeing my eyes, she flinched slightly, but that's the usual response to seeing them. Lala was an unusual one in that regard.
Ryoto: "I don't know how much it could mean from someone like me to you, but I promise that I won't harm your daughter as long as I live."
I almost never promise anything because, for me, promises are very important. Usually, I answer things like that with 'I'll try or 'I'll do my best but never 'I promise'. If I promise something, I'll keep my promise to the best of my ability.
Hearing my answer, Yan Fon smiled softly.
Yan Fon: "To say that I don't have any regrets would be a lie but do your job, Killer-san."
She became entirely defenseless, which doesn't mean much since her guard wasn't the best from the start, but it meant that she will let me kill herself without any resistance.
Ryoto: "Turn around. I'll make it as painless as possible."
I said as emotionlessly as possible because I knew that if I showed even a hint of empathy, I wouldn't be able to do it.
Once again, Yan Fon smiled at me.
Yan Fon: "Thank you, Killer-san."
Ryoto: "Ryoto."
Yan Fon: "Hm?"
Ryoto: "My name is Ryoto. Not Killer-san."
She deserved to know my name. At least she could curse me after she died if she wanted, but from what I learned about her, she wouldn't do it.
Yan Fon: "Then thank you, Ryoto-san."
She turned around, showing me her back. To make it as painless as possible, I needed to sever her spinal cord above the scapula, and to make sure she was dead, I'll slice the insides of the knees to cut the femoral artery. She won't feel the cut whatsoever.
I slowly walked up to her, and before I put the blade inside her, I whispered.
Ryoto: "Sorry."
Before she could answer, I executed my movements with incredible precision and speed. At the same time, I heard the door opening to this room.
Girl: "Mom? I can't sleep. Can I sleep with you tonight?"
A little girl entered the room while wiping her eye with one of her tiny hands, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a figure dressed in black with their face hidden behind some kind of cloth. The only recognizable feature was the pair of blue glowing in the dark eyes. The figure held a blooded sword in its hand, and not far away from this figure lay the body of her mom, that was slowly dying.
That figure was me.
Girl: "Mom?"
The girl asked, confused. It was still dark, so she couldn't see the blood that was dripping out of her mother, but she could feel something wrong.
Girl: "MOM!!!"
She screamed and ran up to her. I, on the other hand, needed to escape as fast as I could because this place would be surrounded soon.
The window to this room was opened, so I slipped outside until I saw everyone stepping inside, and then I made my escape from the district using the dark as my cover.
I exited the district and rushed in the direction of the 78th district. I tried to return as fast as possible, and at that pace, I could meet Rin in two days.
The first day I was cautious and slept with one eye open even though I knew Zangetsu would wake me up, but I had sleep problems, and it's easy to guess why.
After the first day, I thought I was safe, but I felt in danger at some point. I tilted my head only to see a sword where my head was just a moment ago. I quickly created distance between myself and the mysterious assailant.
I quickly observed around me only to see that I was surrounded by six humans. An exact number that was guarding Yan Fon. They probably followed me.
They didn't say anything and just wanted to execute the order.
I need to kill them. Otherwise, they'll kill me. Easy as it can be. The only problem with fighting them is their fast movement technique, Shunpo. I can't use it, but they can. Besides, it's 6 against 1. I'm at a big disadvantage.
Three of my enemies threw at me small knives that I deflected with Zangetsu. Using their chance, the other three got close to me and tried to stab me, but thanks to my nimble nature. I dodged them without any big injury, even though two of them scratched me.
I don't stand a chance as I am right now.
---
The following 10 minutes were terrible for me. Slowly but surely, they were wearing me down. The minor wounds were multiplying, but I fought back. There were few instances that I was able to grab their wrists and break them, so two of them have only one usable arm. The bad news is that they are also learning as we fight and are more careful. Not only that, but I also were able to wound them in other ways, but nothing worth mentioning.
I still didn't release my Shikai. I'm not good enough at using it. I'm more comfortable with a normal sword for now as I have more practice with using it.
After a long stalemate, I finally pierced the heart of one of my enemies, but it was a trap. They used the death of their comrades to slash in five different places. The slashes differed from each other in length and depth, but all of them were incredibly dangerous to me.
I used this chance to grab one of them by the wrist once more, and as I was about to swing, all of them except one that I held retreated. This swing, however, was different.
Ryoto: "Pierce through the heavens, ZANGETSU!!!"
As I used the energy of my release to shoot out Getsuga Tenshou, and instead of one, I killed three people.
I noticed that they can't use Shunpo one after another. It's possible that it's a high-level technique, but I don't have time to think about it. I'm bleeding badly and have two more to kill.
---
I don't even remember how I managed to kill the last two. Was it thanks to adrenaline? Zangetsu? I don't know. The oyster thing on my mind is to return.
I can't leave Rin alone in this world. I don't even know if she'll return if I die. Can't... let it happen.
I was incredibly weak. I could barely move my legs, but I pushed forward.
I somehow got to the abandoned house where Rin and I lived for about four months.
Seeing that I had achieved my goal, I lost consciousness.
---
(E/D: Ryoto be like: I give up my humanity Yan Fon.*Proceeds to wear a mask and smear her blood on it while the daughter is watching.)
END
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