The cold rain of the Borderlands washed the literal blood from Kaito's clothes, but the weight of the massacre remained. As they huddled in a dark cavern, the flickering firelight cast long, jagged shadows against the stone walls.
The Misunderstanding
Mizuki sat apart from the others, her silver sword resting across her knees. She looked at the violet stone on Kaito's finger. Her breathing became shallow, her eyes darkening with a sudden, sharp realization.
"Fifteen years ago," she whispered, her voice trembling with a new kind of fury. "The Ring was stolen from my family's High Vault. Because that relic vanished, the Five Clans branded the Shin bloodline as traitors. They slaughtered my mother. They hunted my father into the dirt. I spent my childhood running because of the person who took that Ring."
She stood up, the tip of her sword leveling at Kaito's throat. Her eyes were no longer cold—they were burning with the fire of revenge.
"I thought you were a victim, Kaito. I thought you found it by accident in the forges. But you're from the Flame Clan—the very people who led the charge against my home." Her voice broke. "You didn't just 'find' it. You're the reason my life is a graveyard. You're the thief who destroyed the Shin family!"
The Shadow's Blade
"Mizuki, wait!" Kaito cried, backing against the cave wall. "I was a child fifteen years ago! I was a laborer in the pits! I didn't steal anything—I found it in a cave-in just weeks ago!"
"Liar!" Mizuki hissed. "The Clans don't lose track of the Unifier's Core for fifteen years unless someone is hiding it. You've been waiting, haven't you? Waiting for the right time to wake the monster!"
She lunged. Her strike was faster than a heartbeat. Kaito barely dodged, the silver blade slicing the air where his ear had been. He didn't want to fight her, but Mizuki was no longer his ally. She was the Legendary Hitman's apprentice, and she saw Kaito as the target she had been born to kill.
"Kill her, boy," Kage's voice roared in his mind, sensing the betrayal. "She wants your head on a plate. Strike first or die like a dog!"
Shut up! Kaito screamed internally. She's hurting! She's wrong, but she's hurting!
The Duel of Grief
Mizuki attacked with a relentless, beautiful fury. Every strike was aimed at a vital point. Kaito refused to draw the Ring's power, using only his basic movements to parry and block.
"My parents died for that Ring!" Mizuki screamed, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "Give it back! Give me back my life!"
She kicked Kaito back into the rain-soaked mud outside the cave. As she raised her sword for the final blow, the earth beneath them began to vibrate.
The Third Party
A heavy, metallic thud echoed through the canyon. A massive Gravity Net made of iron-silk dropped from the cliffs, pinning Mizuki to the ground.
"Well, well," a gravelly voice chuckled from the shadows. A man with a cybernetic eye and a coat made of sand-viper skin stepped forward. "The Unifier and the Last Shin, trying to kill each other. Saves me the trouble of a fight."
This was The Sand-Viper, the Earth Clan's most feared bounty hunter. Behind him stood twenty armed mercenaries.
"Don't worry, little girl," the Viper said, looking at Mizuki. "After I take the boy to General Pyrois for the million-gold bounty, I'll send you to the Earth Lord. He's been looking for a Shin to execute for a long time."
Mizuki struggled against the net, her eyes still fixed on Kaito with pure hatred. Kaito stood up, his hand glowing with a faint violet light. He had to choose: save the girl who wanted to kill him, or run and leave her to the hunters.