Underneath the Red Trees

CHAPTER 76: BETRAYAL

"Ourei! Where are we going?"

Kaguya did not release Ayumi as she pulled her further down the street. "To Hayate's. I know you don't want to see him, but he insisted that I bring you."

"Why does he want us there?" Ayumi asked. Her voice was surprisingly steady. Had she cooled down?

"He says there is someone that wants to speak to us. I don't know who. He wouldn't say." After discovering the truth behind Zaizen's identity, both Ayumi and Kaguya had been in more shock than the rest. During this lifetime, they had known Zaizen the longest. They had trusted him and come to care for him, and yet he was lying to them. And he had been for a long time. Since they met him. Long before that, in fact.

Inside the living room there were four people. Hayate, Makoto, Satoru and Touma. Ayumi eyed Touma with contempt. He was sitting beside Hayate, their hands interlaced.

"Kagu!" Harin grabbed her around the shoulders.

Kaguya stumbled, unable to keep her footing with the extra weight. "Harin? What are you doing here?"

Harin pouted. "I can't believe you're all Wielders."

Kaguya's eyes widened. "You know?"

"She is the fourth King," Hayate said.

Kaguya turned to Harin. "Wait, seriously?"

Harin shrugged, releasing Kaguya from their embrace. "It's the truth. I am the fourth King."

Kaguya looked between Hayate, Harin, and Satoru. "Did you...?"

Satoru shook his head. "I didn't know until now. They just told me."

Kaguya glanced at Makoto. "And you? What are you doing here?"

"We told him about Wielders a while back," Satoru said. "When Touma went missing."

Harin cocked her head to the side. "Angel Face, you went missing?"

"I'll tell you about it later," Touma said.

Harin sat down on one of the three sofas in the living room. "You better. No more secrets, okay?"

Touma held his free hand up in surrender. "No more secrets. I promise."

"Why are we here?" Ayumi asked. She had her arms crossed over her chest. She was the only one left standing. She had no intention of making herself comfortable. She needed to be ready. She mistrusted most of the people in this room. Satoru Akiyama was a traitor. This was the first time she was seeing Makoto and Harin, even if one of them was the fourth King, she still had no way of knowing her true intentions. Hayate had broken her trust with the man that sat next to him. and Touma Kirigaya, he was the person she hated the most. Except for... but that one was long dead. The only one she could remotely depend on was Kaguya. And she had proven where her loyalties lie.

"Okay," Hayate said, "I need you to control your anger before I tell you anything."

Ayumi gritted her teeth. "I am controlling my anger."

Hayate sighed at the sarcasm in her voice. She wasn't good at concealing her disdain.

Before he could continue, a person showed herself in the archway behind the sofa. Dashi was in direct view of Ayumi. Her entire body changed. The hate she had for Dashi was a deep and festering wound. And even if she did attempt it, she couldn't hide it.

"You remorseless bitch," Ayumi spat.

Dashi's face did not change from her neutral expression. "You are correct, child, I cannot feel guilt." She held Ayumi's gaze. "I cannot feel much of anything, really."

Ayumi's heart was a storm of outrage and incredulity. "You can feel joy!"

Dashi shook her head. "No, I cannot. The only emotion I feel is fear."

"Yeah, right," Ayumi said, laughing in disbelief. "What about when you slaughtered my family?"

"I did not. Although I did have a part to play."

"Oh? And what part is that?"

"When I ran away from Akagi, the creature that is responsible for the Fujimaru tragedy was pursuing me. Daisaku Akano created him through a blood transfusion, using my blood. He apprehended me at the Fujimaru Fortress and when I refused to return, he massacred the innocents."

"You should have gone back with him. You would have saved hundreds of innocent lives."

"You must understand that I did not comprehend that. All I knew at the time was that the Face Eater terrified me and that I had to find one of the Kings to protect me."

Ayumi grinded her teeth. She did not believe her. She was lying. She had to be! Her fingernails dug into her palms. The hate she had for the woman that stood in front of her felt like a tsunami. An uncontainable monster wave that she could no longer control.

She spread out her palm.

Her bow appeared in her hand.

"Archer, wait!" Dashi exclaimed.

But Ayumi did not listen. She could not listen. Not to her. And not to the whispers of her weapon. They all fell on deaf ears.

This woman had murdered everything she once loved.

She pulled the string. The arrow formed.

A burning pain stung her heart. Her legs buckled. Her longbow turned to something like sparkling sawdust. "What's going on?" her voice shook. She tried to call to her weapon, but it did not heed her call.

"I tried to warn you," Dashi said, she knelt in front of Ayumi. "I am responsible for the creation of the weapons that exist inside your souls. A weapon of the soul cannot threaten me. That is how your soul loses its worthiness."

"It's gone?"

"I am afraid so. The weapons you Wielders possess cannot betray their creator without consequence. Which is why they abandon their Wielder should they turn away from better nature." There was a shadow of pity on Dashi's face. "You are no longer a Wielder, Archer."