"What did I do wrong to deserve this?"
Is this how I spent my last day? I wish I had known my mother's face… spent time with my family… I wasted my life for nothing.
Saturu looked down. All he could do was watch. In the end, dreams just die.
A royal guard pulled him forward by the chain around his neck and legs. The blood of the victims executed earlier that day stained the ground, dripping in his path.
At last, he was the final one to be executed.
Saturu was held captive, accused of killing a member of the royal family.
Every gaze fixed on him, the tension sharp enough to cut. The Vermillion Council stood in a rigid semi-circle, their expressions carved from stone as if disgusted by the sight.
"Saturu, do you admit your crime?"
The words echoed through the arena like a hammer striking cold iron.
Saturu lifted his head, meeting their stares without flinching. "What crime?" His voice was steady, controlled. "I have not done anything to harm the Empress."
An elder stepped forward, robes dragging softly against the marble floor. "You refuse to confess," he said, eyes narrowing. "You still deny killing the Empress."
A quiet tremor rippled through the chamber.
Saturu felt his jaw lock. His pulse quickened, but his face remained composed. For a moment, he could only stand there, stunned that his own clan, his own council, would push the accusation this far, twisting grief into a weapon.
He swallowed, the disbelief tightening in his chest. "I… I…"
The words barely escaped him. Not because he lacked an answer, but because the betrayal was so complete it left him momentarily breathless.
His hands curled at his sides, slow and controlled, not from fear but from rising, quiet anger.
The council watched him, waiting for a collapse, a confession, anything that would justify the judgment they were ready to deliver.
But Saturu did not break.
He drew in a slow breath, lifting his chin, eyes sharp with resolve. "I have nothing to confess."
"If you don't confess your sins, we have no other choice but to bring our witness."
The witness came forward. Saturu's eyes widened.
One of his trusted companions—a brother of the Vermillion Knight rank—approached. He was a sharp-edged, stern-faced man with long blond hair.
This person was Nozashi.
He spoke, saying that he saw Saturu with the Empress. After that, Saturu fled, his sword dripping with blood. He went to check on the Empress, but she was not responding. All he saw was blood. Her face was pale and white.
Saturu murmured in disbelief. It can't be… I can't…
He realized that all the evidence pointed to him, and his own brother had testified against him.
The clan head pronounced judgment. "The Vermillion Council, under the order of the crown, now finds you guilty for the murder of the royal family. For that, you shall be executed."
Nozashi observed coldly, a sinister smile on his face.
Why does the person he most trusted and looked up to as a brother harbor such malice toward him? Everything became more and more confusing.
A black-haired man approached with a tight topknot, dressed in a double-breasted red coat with red trim. He grabbed Saturu's hair harshly, speaking into his face with an aggressive tone.
"You are a monster that should not have been born."
He then slammed Saturu's head to the floor and walked away with a sinister smile.
Saturu rose, his face bleeding as he recognized the person.
This was Kaito, his former trainer.
The loud crowd roared as they screamed: "GUILTY! KILL HIM! EXECUTE HIM! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"
They placed his head on the beheading stand. The executioner prepared to cut off his head, raising an axe, its sharp edge glinting.
Saturu's eyes shifted from normal to crimson red, then burned bright. He broke the chain on one hand, ran, and grabbed a sword from a nearby guard. With a swing, he made a clean slash, cutting off the executioner's hand.
The executioner's axe clattered to the ground alongside the severed hand. Blood sprayed out as the man screamed in pain.
"GYAAAA!!"
Saturu stood in a defensive position, one hand still bound by chains.
"You have brought nothing but misfortune to us all," Kaito said, his voice devoid of warmth. "I am afraid I must take measures."
"What are you saying?" Saturu demanded.
"Don't you know your mother died because of the curse you carry?" Kaito's voice was cold.
Saturu stared in shock. "What are you talking about?"
Kaito's statement struck him like lightning. He knew about my mother all along, and he never said a word. To reveal it now… It could not be the truth. It had to be a lie crafted to shatter his will.
"She died in front of you," Kaito stated.
"Tell me why!" Saturu roared.
Nozashi stepped forward, his aura making the air feel heavy.
"I am deeply sorry, Saturu," Lord Kaito's voice boomed. "But all evidence points to you."
Nozashi's flint-like eyes assessed him. "My father died because of you. Now, submit to our judgment."
Nozashi drew his sword—a massive slab of dark iron that seemed to suck the light from the air.
Saturu broke the shackles from his other hand.
"You're sorry?" His voice thundered with rage.
His aura erupted from his body, the ground cracking beneath him as he charged toward Kaito. The chains shattered as he moved, snatching up the fallen sword.
Nozashi advanced like a landslide, each swing carrying earth-shattering force. Saturu flowed around the powerful strikes. Nozashi sent a barrage of sword strikes toward him as Saturu blitzed forward. They collided, their sheer power damaging the surroundings.
As Saturu was about to land a blow, Kaito interrupted with multiple spatial cuts. Saturu blocked the attacks with his sword, but it was not enough. The impact sent him rolling across the ground. Enraged, Saturu unleashed all his power into his sword and struck the earth.
The ground cracked. Kaito and Saturu exchanged blows at blinding speed.
Kaito could not keep up any longer. He lunged onto a nearby roof, then leaped at Saturu with devastating force.
Saturu instantly appeared, releasing a powerful mana sword blast that caused a massive blue explosion.
Nozashi, irritated by the scene, clashed with both opponents while holding his ground. He lunged toward Saturu with a horizontal slash.
Saturu used Nozashi's momentum against him, grabbing his face and throwing him to the ground with full force.
Nozashi strained against Saturu's overwhelming power. "I have no choice but to use it now!"
GAHHH! Nozashi's power erupted. His aura turned dark yellow and purple; his eyes became purple with yellow pupils.
In response, Saturu used his sword as a shield, deflecting Nozashi's attacks. Kaito teleported behind Saturu, aiming for his head.
"Tell me!" Saturu roared, striking Kaito in the gut with immense force. Kaito crashed into a nearby building.
CRASH!
Nozashi unleashed a devastating explosion at Saturu. He countered with his own sword strikes. The sheer force caused the ground beneath them to erupt, sending Nozashi flying backward.
No way he came out unscathed by that, Nozashi smirked.
The fire from the explosion dispersed, leaving behind a battle-wounded Saturu in the crater.
Nozashi's eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
Seeing his plan unravel, Lord Kaito acted. If this child manages to escape, all my planning will go to waste. I have no choice but to use it.
As Saturu was overwhelmed, his eyes turned a bright, furious red. He gathered his will and leaped back from the invisible threat. He raised his hand. His blade glowed with a dark, violent blue power, mana collected from the surroundings swirling around it.
Both Saturu and Nozashi's swords collided, causing an explosion.
BOOM!
Multiple continuous slashes erupted from them at once, cutting the air in a wide, deadly net. Nozashi tried to dodge, but there was no path out. The slashes tore into him. His armor split. A deep cut appeared across Nozashi's face.
Nozashi's eyes widened. He knew his end was near from the moment he took damage.
Saturu's relentless assault left him on the ground, barely moving. Saturu leaped, aiming to finish him, his eyes glowing a predatory red.
Kaito lunged toward Saturu in a red blur, a cruelly spiked mace in his hand.
GAHHHH!
Kaito struck Saturu in the back with the mace as dark purple lightning surged around the impact.