As word had spread.
Crimson had come to Aokawa.
Merchants packed their stalls.
Parents pulled their children indoors.
The streets emptied.
Only one person remained standing in the center of the road.
Ren Hayashi.
Waiting.
---
Three figures approached.
Crimson cloth wrapped around their arms.
Unlike the raiders who burned his village...
These men walked calmly.
Disciplined.
The leader stopped several paces away.
He looked at Ren.
"So."
"...You've grown."
Ren frowned.
"...Have we met?"
"No."
"But I knew your father."
Silence.
The leader continued.
"He was a stubborn man."
"He died because he believed some truths should stay buried."
He looked toward Ren's bag.
"And now..."
"...those truths belong to you."
---
The leader removed his gloves.
He didn't reach for his sword.
He bowed.
A gesture so unexpected that even Ren hesitated.
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"We are not here to fight."
"We are here to offer you a choice."
Ren remained silent.
---
"Come with us."
"We will tell you who your father really was."
"We will explain the unfinished blade."
"And why every faction in Japan will eventually come looking for you."
Ren's expression never changed.
"...In exchange?"
"The fragment."
The leader answered honestly.
"The broken guard."
---
"...No."
The answer came immediately.
The Crimson leader smiled.
"I expected that."
"But tell me..."
His eyes narrowed.
"Do you know why your father died?"
Ren said nothing.
"Do you know what he was protecting?"
Silence.
"Do you even know what the Seven Calamities truly are?"
Every question landed harder than the last.
Because Ren had no answers.
Only guesses.
---
The Crimson leader took one step forward.
"We are not your enemy."
"The world you know..."
"...is built upon a lie."
Another step.
"The Silent Blade is not the hero history remembers."
Ren's eyes lifted.
For the first time...
His emotions showed.
"What do you mean?"
The leader smiled faintly.
"I mean..."
"...the man who saved Japan..."
"...also destroyed it."
---
Silence.
The wind carried only the sound of fluttering banners.
Ren remembered the rain.
The silent swordsman.
The man who had saved him.
Could it all have been a lie?
---
The Crimson leader spoke again.
"Come with us."
"You deserve the truth."
Ren closed his eyes.
His father's final smile flashed through his mind.
His unfinished sword.
The hidden chamber.
The single sentence.
> Never finish the blade.
He slowly opened his eyes.
"...I'll go."
---
The Crimson soldiers stepped aside.
No chains.
No ropes.
No force.
Ren walked forward by his own choice.
---
Hours later...
The streets of Aokawa had disappeared behind them.
The group entered a dense cedar forest.
The Crimson leader walked in silence.
Then...
Without warning...
He stopped.
"So..."
"...you've been following us since the town."
No one answered.
---
A branch snapped.
A lone man stepped from the trees.
Simple travel clothes.
A worn cloak.
A single odd sword at his waist.
Nothing about him stood out.
Except his eyes.
But he isn't the silent blade, this man. Ren never saw him.
They never left Ren.
The Crimson soldiers immediately drew their blades.
The newcomer sighed.
"I was hoping..."
"...you'd choose somewhere less inconvenient."
The Crimson leader frowned.
"You know this boy?"
The man ignored the question.
Instead, he looked directly at Ren.
"You made a mistake."
Ren frowned.
"I chose to learn the truth."
The man nodded.
"You did."
A pause.
"They chose to lie."
---
The Crimson leader laughed softly.
"Careful."
"You're speaking as though you know the truth yourself."
The traveler finally looked at him.
"I know enough."
He rested one hand on his sword.
"And I know what happens after your 'offer.'"
The Crimson leader's smile disappeared.
---
"Kill him."
Steel flashed.
The forest exploded into motion.
The traveler moved.
One step.
One draw.
One breath.
Three Crimson blades shattered before they touched him.
Not cut.
Broken.
As though struck by a hammer.
Ren had never seen a style like it.
It wasn't fast like the Silent Blade.
It was...
Unshakable.
---
The Crimson leader stepped back.
"...Guardian."
The traveler finally spoke his name.
"Kaito."
"So..."
"You still remember us."
---
Ren looked between them.
"Guardian...?"
Kaito never looked away from Crimson.
"There aren't many of us left."
---
The Crimson leader sheathed his sword.
"This changes nothing."
He looked at Ren one last time.
"You accepted our offer."
"We'll meet again."
"When you finally realize..."
"...heroes can become monsters."
The Crimson disappeared into the forest.
---
Silence returned.
Ren turned toward Kaito.
"You attacked the only people willing to answer my questions."
Kaito looked at him.
"No."
"They were willing to tell you their truth."
He reached into Ren's bag.
Before Ren could react...
Kaito pulled out the broken sword guard.
He held it carefully.
Almost respectfully.
"This..."
"...isn't part of a sword."
Ren stared.
"What?"
Kaito looked toward the distant mountains.
"It's one of the Seven Foundation Seals."
"The thing your father died protecting."
"And if Crimson gathers all seven..."
"...the Calamities won't be the only things that awaken."
---
Ren's heart sank.
"What do you mean..."
Kaito slowly returned the fragment.
"You've inherited a war..."
"...that never truly ended."
He turned and began walking deeper into the forest.
After a few steps, he spoke without looking back.
"If you still want the truth..."
"Follow me."
Ren stood there for a long moment.
Then...
For the second time in his life...
He left everything behind.
And followed.
---
End of Chapter 7
---