A Meeting at the Peak of the Ice Mountain
In the morning, the samurai who were sent on the mission gathered. I looked at them; there were twenty samurai, most of them with bodies covered in scars and wounds. The first among them was named Raido, a samurai who had been imprisoned because he fled and left his squad to die at the hands of the yokai. After being released, he killed a nobleman and escaped, but was captured again. The other was named Kuragi, nicknamed "the mad samurai" to the extent that sometimes he seemed normal, but if he got even a minor wound, like a small scratch, he would go insane and kill everyone around him.
The most notable among them was the samurai Arai, a warrior who used to kill people in poor districts under the pretense of liberating them. Some called him insane and disturbed because he enjoyed killing people under the guise of freedom. These were the most prominent imprisoned samurai, while the rest were people who had lost hope in life, which could be seen from their pale faces and trembling hands, realizing that they had been sent to their deaths under the pretense of fighting Yusoku.
Among them stood a samurai who appeared like a noble youth, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore armor with a golden kimono, indicating his noble origin. Not just anyone could wear a kimono due to its high price, and most people in poor districts wore torn clothes or poorly sewn imitations that didn't last. During this, I was still disguised as a weak samurai with a pale face. The moment I saw Jin, I realized he was the high-ranking samurai sent with this group.
Jin looked at everyone with disdain and spoke in the tone of an arrogant person.
"Since you'll be going with me to fight Yusoku, I'll inform you about him."
When you hear him speak for the first time, you might think he doesn't differentiate between the strong and the weak. But when you look closely, you'll see he harbors deep hatred, concealed to maintain a perfect appearance. He looked at everyone again and continued:
"Yusoku lives on an ice mountain. This mountain is known as a site of the yokai. It lies between the Empire of Kagutsuchi and the Empire of Mages, considered a border pass between the two empires. Yusoku's presence on this mountain hinders trade. But for the past month, there has been no energy detected from the mountain, so the empire decided to send a group of samurai to investigate, but they never returned. This confirms he is still alive."
Arai responded to Jin, seemingly mocking him. "So, you said the ice mountain was full of yokai. Is there a chance the yokai were the ones who killed that group?"
Jin looked at him angrily, his eyes tense with fury, as if he wanted to tear Arai apart. But he held himself back, knowing that if he killed Arai, he would become a laughingstock among the other samurai. After calming down, he said:
"In fact, when Yusoku arrived in that area, there were no yokai left. He annihilated them. The proof is the snow remaining on the mountain."
Arai continued mocking Jin and spoke while pretending to be ignorant: "And what does Yusoku have to do with the snow remaining on the mountain?"
Jin tried to compose himself again and replied with a voice that mixed anger and calmness: "This snow is Yusoku's doing. He can wield the element of ice masterfully — to the extent that he could cover an entire continent in snow. Now that you understand, stop asking questions."
A purple lightning aura and a strong killing intent emerged from Jin, causing Arai, who had just been mocking him, to tremble with fear.
Jin then concealed his aura and intent, returned to his calm state, and said: "Now, let's go."
The wooden gates of the capital opened. We left. I looked at the people; they stared at us with disgust, as if we were being sent to execution. Among them were nobles mocking us. From their looks alone, you could tell they were saying, "How can a group of weaklings defeat a former commander?" That could only mean one thing — they knew those sent had been sentenced to death.
After a full hour, we arrived at the ice mountain. A massive snowstorm was blowing, causing most samurai to shiver from the cold, and the sound of the storm was deafening. With each step, the fog grew thicker, making it hard to see in the powerful storm. Step by step, the noise increased, and by the third step, the snow turned poisonous.
The other samurai began to collapse, the poison taking its toll. Five fell, leaving sixteen samurai. During that time, one samurai looked at Akayama — who was pretending to collapse like the others — and saw him smiling. He said, "Looks like you're the weakest among us. Don't worry, stay behind us during the battle."
I responded in a weak, soft voice, "Okay, thank you."
Suddenly, the capital disappeared. Everyone was shocked. Fear showed on their faces. In front of us was a mountain made of yokai corpses, the place drenched in frozen blood. In front of that mountain were the armor of the samurai who had been sent on that mission, and atop their armor were their heads, deformed by the ice poison beyond recognition.
Raido was the most terrified, seeing the dismembered yokai corpses scattered like a mountain surrounded by the remains of the group that had been sent. He said, shivering, sweat pouring down his body despite the cold, "How could a human do this? This isn't human... I'm starting to wonder who the real monster is."
Then a terrifying sound froze everyone in place. Arai screamed in terror, "What's happening?" He couldn't even draw his sword.
A shadow appeared before him, casting darkness on his face. In one second, Arai's mocking expression changed. There stood an old man wearing a ronin hat covering his right eye, wrinkles on his face, a large scar on his right shoulder, dressed in white with blue patterns, and a massive sword behind him, laughing menacingly.
Yusoku — the former commander.
Raido, who had been the most frightened, tried to draw his sword, but before he could, his body was torn apart, his blood splattered, and his head fell onto the snow in a single second.
Jin was shocked, realizing he was in serious trouble. Yusoku was unbelievably fast despite his age. Jin now knew he couldn't escape.
Everyone drew their swords. Kuragi ran toward Yusoku, furious and weeping. His madness had taken over. The man Yusoku had killed was his friend of twenty years — killed in less than a second as if he had never fought before. Kuragi screamed in agony, "Die, you bastard!"
But rage doesn't solve everything. In his reckless fury, Yusoku pierced through Kuragi's body with his bare hands.
Yusoku's presence was imposing — a presence worthy of a former commander. Jin charged at Yusoku, purple lightning surrounding his hands, tearing his black gloves. But Yusoku blocked the attack with ease. He grabbed Jin's hands and slammed him to the ground. Jin recovered, revealing it had been a distraction. All the samurai attacked Yusoku together.
Yusoku picked up Raido's sword and split it into shards that pierced Arai's body. Then he appeared behind him, grabbed his head, and lifted him. Arai's tone shifted from arrogance to screaming. "Gyaaaah! Let me go!" But Yusoku exploded his head, blood splattering.
Jin showed no emotion — he was too stunned to process what had just happened.
Yusoku waved his hands, creating a solid block of ice. With another wave, it shattered into sharp shards that killed everyone.
I looked at Jin — he was stunned, sweating, afraid as if he had picked the wrong fight. His plan had backfired.
A circle of purple lightning surrounded Yusoku. Jin tried to destroy him with it. The lightning exploded:
BOOM!
A huge explosion erupted, but Yusoku emerged unharmed, not even scratched.
Yusoku rushed and punched Jin hard. Jin spat a lot of blood. He released another lightning aura — all his hopes rested on it. But Yusoku easily blocked it with his right hand.
Yusoku looked at him and said, "I've met many reckless youths... but none like you."
Jin glared at him, stunned by his defeat, and said, "Shut up, bastard." He charged with all his power, desperate either to kill Yusoku or injure him enough to escape. Lightning burst everywhere, the ground shook. Yusoku's hands glowed with a blue aura. The two forces clashed.
Dust filled the area. Akayama saw Jin unconscious, half his body covered in ice poison, his face pale. Then he looked at Yusoku, who was smiling, and said aloud, "So, you're the last one."
Yusoku rushed toward Akayama to kill him. Akayama pretended to struggle and looked overwhelmed. Yusoku raised his left hand, and ice appeared from nowhere, surrounding Akayama like a cage.
I smiled. Then the ice shot toward me like arrows. Seconds later, it looked like my body was buried in the snow. Yusoku thought I was dead.
Yusoku frowned and said disappointedly, "Another group of weaklings. It seems the last one was the strongest among them, but he looked like the weakest. Anyway, I wasted my time with them. They'll probably send another group."
Yusoku decided to inspect the samurai's body to confirm the kill — but was shocked to find the body gone, as if it had never existed.
I decided to reveal my true form. What Yusoku had fought was only an illusion of me. He looked at me and stepped back, shock on his face. He realized everything had changed.
He was stunned as he watched my weak, frail body turn strong and normal. My black hair turned silver, and my eyes became blood-red. A terrifying energy surged, shaking the mountain.
Yusoku smiled and said, "So you were hiding your power. Before we continue, what's your name?" Finally, he realized he would have a proper fight.
I looked at him, smiled without any worry or fear, and calmly said, "Akayama."
I drew my sword from its sheath. From what I saw of Yusoku's power, he had strong command over his element. But he wasn't worth using my full strength. I would deal with him using a quarter of my power.
Yusoku unsheathed his massive blade, three arms long. His aura became overwhelming.
I smirked wickedly. "Looks like I'll enjoy this fight a little."
Yusoku's eyes said, "Show me what you've got."
Ice crystals shot toward me — he was repeating the same attack as before. But I melted them with fire.
Yusoku jumped — now cautious. He swung his blade and charged, aiming to kill me. He moved like a flash of lightning.
Our swords clashed with a deep metallic sound, the mountain trembled beneath us, energy sparks flew around like fiery flashes, the ice cracked, and the snow began to melt.
I moved quickly in front of Yusoku and kicked him hard in the stomach, shaking the area.
Yusoku's Perspective
Something was strange. The man in front of me... I couldn't sense his energy. He felt like a hidden ruler disguised as a weak human.
With every sword clash, I felt his terrifying energy — as if he could kill me at any moment, but was simply testing me.
I had to find a weakness in him... or I would die by his hands.
The Battle
Akayama unleashed a portion of his energy. Yusoku was shocked by the energy that just erupted.
A terrifying sound echoed, creating an explosion that split the mountain in half.
Debris began falling, massive rocks tumbling. The corpses of yokai rained from the sky.
Yusoku's eyes widened, his expression full of shock and seriousness, and he said:
"Who are you...? Are you a ruler...?"
Akayama answered, smiling wickedly:
"I won't deny it... Yes."