Tokino fixed her face as she had enough of her tears. She prepared her rapier. Her eyes narrowed, now ready to set out on a mission. It was now or never.

She ran downstairs in a flash, and in the dining room, she saw her family conversing with Ingrid and her children. “Where’s Hokori? My Haruto’s not here, either,” she showed deep concern. Their faces sulked. They said not a word, not even her daughter.

Unexpectedly, Tokino took a deep breath and, “Tell me!!” she moved closer. Yukino got startled and backed away. Tokino realized what she had done and hugged her. “Sorry, honey….” She turned to her other family. “I’ll go on my own. Your stubbornness won’t stop me.” She went for the door.

Kakunō got off the table. “Wait!” Surprisingly, his words made her stop in her tracks. “Remember what Hokori said? I can’t let you go.” He walked closer.

Tokino’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about? He’s family. H-H-He’s my brother! And so are you!”

“So, why is it important to you now!? You hated him.” He pointed.

“No, I don’t! I just didn’t like him…” she walked to him and held his shoulders. “Please… Let me go. I remember everything. About him and I fighting together all those years ago.” She hugged him. “Please, brother… Saying Hokori is in great pain right now would do him no justice.”

Tears welled up on Kakunō. He dried his eyes with his thumb. “Look for your husband first. He went to the town square to look for him.”

She hugged him again. “Thank you….” She ran outside.

Yukino bawled on Kenkō’s chest. She revealed she was the only one Hokori told what he would do tomorrow. “I begged, Big Sis. I begged him not to do it. But all he did was smile at me. Then, Papa went in and yelled at him for hours.” She bawled harder. Even Ingrid and her children began the waterworks.

Kenkō rubbed her back. “We don’t fault you for anything, Yukichi. We’re in this together.”

Kakunō stepped in and smiled. “She’s right in every way, Yuki… We’re siblings, after all. When our family crumbles, we’ll do anything to tie it together again. I say we go….”

Ingrid overheard them. She stood up from the table and gave them directions. Yukino hugged her and her children goodbye, and Kakunō bowed his head.

As the trio flash-stepped into the distance, she waved at them outside.

In the town square, the village folk praised in tears for Hokori’s return. However, he paid them no mind. His face filled with relentless calm fury. He checked the area for anything suspicious, like a predator searching for prey.

Suddenly, one of his family stepped in. “Enough of this, Hokori,” said Haruto from behind. “Wild goose chases never end well….”

He chuckled with his mouth closed. “Tell me, boy. How far would ya stick your knives at my face? You’d regret it, wouldn’t ya?” He turned to him.

“Only a mage deals in absolutes.” He unsheathed his broadswords. “I will do what I must.”

Hokori snickered. “Boy, do ya even know what that means? No need for the cringe. Before we duke it out, lemme in on you with this.” He walked closer. “My parents died in both worlds. Wanna know how the one here died? I believe they call this—‘intertwined fate.’”

He lowered his weapons out of sheer curiosity. As Hokori told him his story, he sweated bullets and felt chills down his spine.

Fifteen minutes in, Tokino finally arrived at the town square. She did not expect Kakunō’s words to be accurate. However, it was the worst-case scenario. The whole area got decimated, yet the villagers’ homes received no scratch. At the center, residents gathered around a scene.

“Let me through. Let me through,” Tokino demanded. She looked down and gasped with her mouth covered.

The bloodied Haruto’s arms got severed completely. He lost an eye and a leg, and his swords lay near him.

Tokino desperately tried to heal him. Even with her impressive Runic Art skills, it could never hope to regenerate limbs. Luckily, he regained consciousness. “Honey… Honey, look at me. What happened?” She held his head up.

Haruto breathed faintly. “I’m weak, Tokino… And a failure. I-I couldn’t stop him. I lost a brother….” He shed a single tear.

“No, no, please…” she shook her head and held him close. “Don’t ever think that way. I’m here now….”

Fortunately, Kenkō and her comrades caught up with Tokino. Combining her runic skills and innate ability, she fully healed Haruto. Hearing him cough, Yukino hugged him and bawled once more.

Tokino held his shoulder. “Tell me what happened….”

His face sulked. “Hokori planned to demolish Alessandro Inc.’s recharging stations and destroy their highways. His ultimate goal—is to kill the CEO present in the village.”

Her eyes widened beyond belief. So did her family. They never fathomed him as someone who would enact unassigned murder. Not even Kakunō and Kenkō could believe such things.

They decided to split up. Haruto would go on his own, and Tokino accompanied her daughter. Kakunō and Kenkō would search side-by-side. “If you find him, call any of us via our Pocket Hubs. Got it?” said the former.

They nodded at each other and flash-stepped into different locations.

During the search, Haruto stumbled upon a deserted “playground.” It looked more like an obstacle course. Tokino and Yukino also stumbled upon a peculiar sight: a rundown cemetery. “I wouldn’t go there if I were you, honey….” Tokino stopped her daughter.

Kakunō and Kenkō asked door to door about Hokori’s whereabouts. They had no luck until an old lady slowly walked up to them. She saw men and women in black going to a specific area. “Go east and make two turns. I heard it’s gone hectic down there,” she pointed at the distance.

Kakunō interpreted her words as a squad of Novusian brigade mages. He did not want that to be the case. Unfortunately, the world was cruel to him. Alongside Kenkō, he finally found Hokori in the distance. They saw him continuing the onslaught. “He’s here, guys. It ain’t a pretty picture,” he called everyone.

A while back, Novusian mages were more or less like ants to Hokori. For four hours straight, he never broke a sweat. More decided to retreat instead of incurring his wrath. Reinforcements could only take them far. At that moment, he had already destroyed fifty-three recharging stations. He leveled the three highways to the point it would take years to repair. Nearby villagers cheered him on. They had known him ever since his toddler days.

“Where is he!” Hokori exclaimed every time he grabbed a mage. He picked up more and more. “Where is he!” He would throw them to the distance whenever they answered wrong. “Where is he! For fuck sake, tell me!!” He grabbed another one.

Tears rolled down. “P-Please, let me go. I don’t know. I don’t know…” she shook her head.

He clenched his teeth and grunted. “Yet, you think what you’re doing to my home is okay? Must be so cozy back in your super high-tech pods.” He pulled her higher. “Keep your eyes peeled, you stupid prick. You’ve no idea how much of a monster I can be…” he raised a fist high. The sun’s rays shone through it.

The waterworks rolled down further. “No, no! Please! I don’t wanna die. My grandma can’t live without me. Please. Plea— Aaagh!” She got punched in the gut and spewed out blood.

The mage flew far enough to destroy the brick walls of an abandoned home. Her eyes turned white, yet she still breathed.

“Stay down….” He turned to her comrades. “Come get some, fuckers! I don’t give a shit anymore.” His fiery yellow eyes burned brighter.

The Novusians became more and more reluctant, but they had everything to lose. Loved ones awaited their return back home. Some looked at their lockets before attacking Hokori blindly.

His rage and bloodlust now became worse. He painted the land red where he fought. Even then, the villagers cheered. “Kill them! Kill them all!” Even children chanted such words.

Contrary to their requests, he killed not a single mage. Instead, he relished their pain. Every broken bone and torn flesh was music to his ears. Their screams kept him going.

One unlucky soul squirmed on the ground before him. Hokori slowly walked and delivered a spear hand to his back. Now skewered, he raised his arm and hurled him at his comrades. For the others, he tore off limbs and shanked their stomachs.

“Where is he!!!” Hokori began asking again. Like last time, they all answered wrong. His eyes began showing disappointment, and he sighed. “So be it….” He continued the slaughter. Three hundred now fell victim to his hands.

Kenkō failed to hold her vomit from far away. She restrained Kakunō, who insisted on intervention. “Don’t be fucking stupid, country boy! You don’t stand a chance against his rage.”

He struggled and turned to her. “What are you talking about! I’m the second strongest in our family. I can hold him back for a time!”

“That’s not my point!” Tears welled up. “I accompanied Hokori the longest. You know this. Believe me when I say he’ll disown you if you interfere.” She hugged him tightly with her eyes. “I don’t want you gone, either. I can’t stand losing another. I’m your big sister, so I know what’s best for you….”

Kakunō stopped struggling and looked at her with a smile. She felt it was unexpected. “If Haruto comes here, will you let him handle it? I’m sure Hokori sees him differently. Whaddaya say?” He lent out a fistbump.

Kenkō complied and hugged him again with a teary smile. “Okay… But don’t ever let your Big Sis worry too much. I love you all the same.”

Kakunō hugged her back. “Me, too….”

Three minutes later, the rest of the family arrived. Yukino gasped over the bloody scene and gagged. Tokino rubbed her back.

Haruto wasted no time walking closer to where Hokori was. However, Kakunō blocked his way. He showed him a closed smile. “Do what you gotta, man… But lemme ask you one question. Are you a hero—or a brother?”

He sighed. “I’m not so sure about the first one, but does it hurt to be both?” He unsheathed his broadswords.

He chuckled. “Not one bit.” He moved out of the way. Seeing him walk further away, he cupped his hands. “You’d be minced meat if you fail! What do you intend to do, really?”

Haruto stopped in his tracks and smirked. “I don’t wish to win against Hokori. That’s impossible, anyway. I only want him to understand—that this madness has to end.” He underwent Zenith Corpus. With one step, he neared his swords at him. However, as it got close to his face, he saw the unexpected.

Hokori lost the will to fight. He even let Haruto’s swords wound him. The latter exited his Zenith Corpus state and stood confused. “What’s going on? You’re not acting like yourself….”

He chuckled. “Don’t ask too many questions, boy.” He walked past him and turned to Yukino. “Come here, kiddo. I got somethin’ to tell ya.”

She quickly ran toward him. She tried to hold back from crying, but she could not help it.

He sighed. “How much ya hate me right now? I wanna know….”

Her tears flowed out more. “I’ll never hate you anymore, Uncle… But I don’t like you right now! I don’t want you hurting fellow mages. They are our comrades. Aren’t they family, too? Tell me, Uncle. Please tell me….” She sobbed and covered her eyes with her forearm.

The family looked over them in a saddened tone. Tokino’s heart sank, and Kakunō looked away. However, another unexpected moment thrust upon them.

Hokori hugged Yukino for a minute. She stood confused as her tears rolled down. Within his ‘heart,’ she felt a plethora of emotions. It was depression, joy, anger, tranquility, hatred, and love.

She hugged him back with her eyes closed. “No, Uncle… That’s no good. I hate it when your heart’s not at ease. Calm down. I beg of you....”

He let go after another minute. “Sorry, kiddo. I needed that—a lot.” He walked past her next and turned to his family. “Come with me….”

They all complied and followed him behind. Tokino smiled at her daughter and held her close.

With the slaughter now over, Novusian mages walked away from the scene. One man used his Pocket Hub. “We failed, ma’am. One of our men spilled the beans to him. He now knows your name.”

A formal woman drank from a shot glass. “It’s no failure in the slightest, dear. The animal still doesn’t know where I reside. But I assure you—it will pay. And it shall be by my hands and mine alone.” She ended the call and looked over a window.

“Oh, my sweet, precious darling… I long to see you again at least once. Congratulations on your family. Mark my words—I’ll save you from that beast….” She scratched her upper arm until it bled.