???: “Justice is the most important thing in the world, but there is none here.”

  A raw and loud voice echoes from the open center of the hall. Someone has destroyed the floor of the main hall from below, causing a massive earthquake. There are no dead, but several people have been injured and thrown around.

  Naki: “Guys! Is everyone okay?”

  Saku: “Yeah, barely. But my kimono is dirty and torn now.”

  Naki ignores Saku’s unnecessary complaint and turns to the others. Najun and Kogiri are fine. The other Sakiko members are also mostly unharmed, but some were hit by debris.

  Naki: “Father! Where are you?”

  After a short search, he finds his father. His legs are trapped under a lot of rubble, but otherwise he is alive. Naki tries to remove the debris, but there is no way he can do it alone.

  Naki: “Guys, come help me.”

  Najun, Saku, Kogiri, and a few others come to help. Together they manage to clear the rubble, but Aihara’s legs are badly injured. They are covered in blood and most likely broken.

  Kogiri: “We have to treat him immediately. Naki, everyone, let’s carry him out right now.”

  Aihara: “No one touches me.”

  They continue anyway and simply ignore Aihara’s command. They think he is just confused and unable to think clearly due to the pain.

  Aihara: “Don’t touch me!”

  This scream is noticed and obeyed. No one dares to touch him. Najun examines his father’s injuries with his ability. It is worse than they thought. His legs are completely crushed. Without proper and immediate treatment, they are basically lost.

  Najun: “Father, you have to let us carry you. Otherwise you’ll never be able to use your legs again and you’ll end up in a wheelchair or something.”

  Najun touches him on the shoulder, trying to reach him somehow in his current state. Suddenly Najun feels pressure on his arm. Something is trying to break it. He lets go of his father, but the mysterious force has already broken Najun’s arm.

  Najun: “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

  Aihara: “I told you not to touch me. This is your own fault.”

  Aihara presses his face against the ground and pounds it. He makes strange noises like a madman. The imprisonment of his brother, his injury, and the overall situation drive him into despair. The others leave him alone accordingly and focus on Najun. They try to stabilize his arm with whatever debris they can find. Saku then binds the pieces together with her blossoms.

  Najun: “Thanks. But I can also help.”

  Najun summons Bullet, and the hummingbird begins to heal him. It uses the energy it has been storing. It can’t heal the arm directly, but with some time it can heal it enough that Najun can manage even without the makeshift splint.

  Naki: “Father, calm down. You seriously hurt Najun. Again.”

  Naki wants to touch him on the shoulder as well, but stops himself. He is afraid his arm will be broken too.

  Aihara: “It’s all your fault. It’s all your fault. I can’t help that you are the way you are. I’m not evil. I’m not crazy. I should never have left my playroom back then. Ino told me I should be a big brother. I think.”

  Naki steps away from his father and moves toward the center. He sees that the Taira side was also affected, but nowhere near as badly as his own side. None of them appear to be seriously injured either. In the center stands Michinaga, pretending to be dead. Naki notices his breathing and kicks him.

  Michinaga: “Ouch, you vandal. How dare you kick a head of a family?”

  Naki: “Sorry, I thought you were dead.”

  Naki sticks out his tongue and looks down. He can’t see anything. Too much dust has been stirred up.

  Michinaga: “You know, I almost didn’t survive this, but the girl in the wheelchair pushed me out of the way to save me. Unfortunately, she was then crushed by the rubble.”

  Michinaga points to a single large stone. Naki sees her. The upper half of her body has been crushed. One can see her legs and her half-destroyed wheelchair.

  Naki: “[No… the poor thing. Who did this to her? Who reduced her to a state where she can’t live like before? Was it her own family, or maybe this bastard?]”

  Naki looks angrily at Michinaga. He would like nothing more than to cut off his head, but he has no sword at hand, and it would only cause more trouble.

  Michinaga: “She’s a hero, if you ask me. First she survives your family, and now she sacrifices herself for a higher power. For me.”

  Naki moves closer to the hole. He still can’t see anything. Michinaga steps beside him.

  Michinaga: “We’re looking for a giant hand with a white glove.”

  As they search, both hear a strange sound above them at the same time. It sounds like an animal about to attack. They look up and see someone. A huge man in a white suit. He wears white gloves and a white crow mask. He hangs upside down from the ceiling, like Spider-Man. Through the mask, one can see his dead eyes boring into Naki and Michinaga.

  Naki: “What the hell is that?”

  Suddenly the giant jumps down and lands just beside the hole. Naki and Michinaga manage to dodge, but barely. The giant also wears a white cloak made of white feathers. He straightens up and becomes even larger. He is easily over two meters tall, maybe even 2.5 meters, as Naki estimates in his head.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Michinaga: “Who let this monster out?”

  ???: “People without justice are not allowed to speak. None of you may speak, because none of you possess justice.”

  Michinaga: “Justice is subjective, in my opinion.”

  ??? roars the word “justice” and charges at Michinaga. Just like earlier with Ino, Michinaga has to run, but this time he has to try much harder. ??? looks like a beast. With his size and behavior, he would be the king of the animal kingdom. Naki observes the chase closely, trying to recognize a pattern or anything useful.

  Michinaga: “You could help instead of calmly watching.”

  Naki: “You just shouldn’t have talked.”

  Serpent Judge No. 1: “Everyone must leave the main hall immediately. If you are attacked by the White Crow, you are allowed to use violence to secure your own survival or that of others. The White Crow Guardian is a defense mechanism of the tribunal, a mega-warrior meant to activate in emergencies, but there appears to be a malfunction.”

  The White Crow Guardian immediately runs toward the Serpent Judge and kicks him to death. He stomps on the small mass of flesh until nothing but a pool of blood remains.

  White Crow Guardian: “In the name of justice, I will kill you all. Every single one of you is a criminal.”

  Panic and chaos break out. Everyone tries to leave the main hall. Some succeed, but many cannot get past the rubble or are chased by the White Crow Guardian, forcing them to focus on survival rather than escape. The regular Crow Guards help with the evacuation or try to stop the White Guardian, but they are not strong enough. One after another, they are crushed or thrown so violently against the walls that they die.

  Naki: “[I have to get to the others. They’re in danger.]”

  On his way back to the seats, he sees a pile of corpses. All Crow Guards who died protecting the people present.

  Najun: “Naki! We’re here!”

  Naki hears his younger brother and rushes toward them. Everyone is still alive.

  Najun: “Almost everyone has already fled. Only you, Saku, Kogiri, Father, and these two are still here from our side.”

  The two others are the children of Aihara’s uncle, who has already passed away.

  ???: “I’m Narima, and this is my sister Akide.”

  Kogiri: “We have to figure out how to get out of here. This monster has already blocked many escape routes. It clearly has intelligence. One of the last routes is the hole in the center that it created. Below is the basement system. It’s simply built, so we should be able to get out quickly.”

  Najun: “But what do we do about that thing? Just because we escape doesn’t mean it’ll stop rampaging. I don’t even understand why this thing is attacking the judges, its superiors.”

  Narima: “The judge who was crushed said there was a malfunction. I assume he meant that this thing isn’t fulfilling its task.”

  Narima: “We can’t think about how to get rid of it right now. Once we’re outside, we can figure out how to kill it.”

  During their discussion, Naki notices his father, still motionless. He is kneeling in the middle of this massacre without reacting. Without noticing what is happening. He doesn’t even notice the giant fist flying toward him from above. A fist in a white glove.

  Naki: “No, Father!”

  Naki instinctively grabs a metal rod to use as a sword in this fight.

  Birth-Ability: Black Circle of the Five Sealing Swords of Man

  This is one of the most dangerous Birth-Abilities of the entire Sakiko family. Naki summons a black circle behind him, from which five black swords hang. Each of these swords has a number and the power to seal one level of humanity. They are called:

  First Sword: Cogitatio. The level of thought is sealed. One is no longer able to think actively or concentrate.

  Second Sword: Ratio. Logical thinking, current memories, and adaptability are removed. It forces the opponent to fight purely on instinct, without plan or strategy.

  Third Sword: Imperium. Removes bodily and magical control from the opponent. One becomes a weak animal that can only flail around.

  Fourth Sword: Vis. Seals the physical strength and magical abilities of the opponent. They become a living corpse that can do nothing but lie there. Death is already guaranteed.

  Fifth Sword: Finis. Seals the opponent’s body into the sword. In doing so, Naki must also seal away a part of himself. What exactly that part is, he can decide himself.

  Normally, he must follow the order of the swords, but if he starts with a higher number, he must seal away more of himself at the end of the ritual. The same happens if he kills the opponent while they are already sealed on any level by Naki. If he wants to retrieve his “part,” he must release the opponent again. Naki prepares extensively before doing so, setting traps or positioning himself so he can kill the opponent immediately upon release. However, Naki is aware that even if he retrieves his “part,” it will be changed. It is less something personal and more like a missing component without personification. So he always loses something when using this ability.

  Naki: “First Sword: Cogitatio.”

  One of the black swords flies toward the White Guardian and passes through him. He hesitates briefly in his attack, but then continues. Naki drags the metal rod across the ground, creating a wave of dirt that flies directly into the White Guardian’s face. Because of this action, he narrowly misses Aihara, and Naki saves him.

  Naki: “Run. Now.”

  Without much expectation, Aihara does not move. Naki has had enough and kicks his father hard enough that he flies toward the others. He is immediately wrapped by Kogiri’s metal whip and flung into the air.

  Kogiri: “I’ll see if there’s another exit, because Aihara can’t stay here like this.”

  Naki confirms with a thumbs-up and turns back to the White Guardian, who has disappeared. He hides in a large cloud of dust and tries to stomp Naki to death, but Naki reacts quickly and runs between the White Guardian’s legs. He stirs up even more dust with his rod, blinding his opponent.

  Naki: “[His active thinking is shut down. The fight still won’t be easy, but it’s a relief nonetheless.]”

  The guardian stomps wildly, trying to hit Naki in the dust cloud, but fails. Naki occasionally strikes his legs, but they are so hard that his rod begins to bend. This continues for several minutes until the guardian jumps into the air. He intends to cause another earthquake, but Naki realizes this and aims another of his sealing swords at him.

  Naki: “Second Sword: Ratio.”

  Out of fear, the giant dodges and lands softly on the ground. But the fight continues, and he hurls large pieces of rubble at Naki. With his speed, Naki dodges smoothly, even jumping onto the rubble and using it as springboards. More rubble follows, and more jumps.

  Naki: “[I have to hit him with my second sword. After that, it shouldn’t be too hard to hit him with my third, and then I can kill him. I won’t like the sacrifice, but I have to do it. Protecting the others is more important right now.]”

  With one final jump, Naki flies over the White Guardian.

  Naki: “Second Sword: Ratio.”

  With a precise shot, he fires the sword. The White Guardian curls up and turns into a ball.

  Naki: “[Did he accept his defeat?]”

  Suddenly, he opens up again and unleashes a storm of white feathers, firing them in all directions. They even deflect the Second Sword: Ratio, and one hits Naki’s left leg.

  Naki: “[Damn. His intelligence isn’t gone yet. Or was that already pure instinct?]”

  Naki hits the ground hard. He quickly gets back up as another feather barrage flies toward him. This time there are more, because the feathers are fired in the same direction instead of all around.

  Narima: “Duck!”

  Naki ducks, and suddenly a storm of shots is unleashed, shredding most of the feathers.

  Narima: “A good weapon is stronger than the feathers of an ugly bird.”

  Naki is surprised when he sees what kind of weapons Narima and Akide are equipped with. Narima holds a pistol in his right hand with a large circular housing around the barrel. He pulls the trigger again, and it begins to rotate. It has eight holes from which multiple shots fire. In his left hand, he holds a modified assault rifle.

  Akide is also heavily armed. She holds large submachine guns in both hands, connected to a tank on her back. The tank supplies energy so her bullets split mid-flight into multiple shots.

  Akide: “Your older relatives will help you. We’ll turn this guy into Swiss cheese.”

  Narima: “He’ll regret ever showing up.”

  Naki smiles and stands up. He grips the rod like a sword and lets out a battle cry.