The young man smiled and said with a mocking tone:

  "I didn't expect you to come this quickly, Ko-Ta-Ru-kun... Do you love your sister that much?"

  Kotaru didn’t respond; he didn’t need to. All he did was drop the sword sheath from his hand, letting everyone hear the sound of it hitting the ground.

  Then he raised his eyes, his gaze cold, devoid of any emotions except one—desire to kill.

  The room fell silent for a moment, before a few people’s laughter echoed.

  “Hah? This kid thinks he’s a samurai? Hahaha.”

  But the leader didn’t laugh. He stared at Kotaru, focusing on him. He felt that this wasn’t just an empty display.

  Then, in a quiet voice laden with threat, Kotaru spoke:

  "I'll say it once... Let her go."

  The group exchanged glances before one of them burst out laughing and approached him, holding a metal rod.

  "And what will you—"

  Before he could finish his sentence, a swift movement flashed.

  In an instant, Kotaru had moved. No one saw how, but what they heard was the sound of wind cutting through the air, followed by something falling to the ground.

  They looked down...

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  The hand of the man who had been holding the rod was no longer attached to his body.

  Blood began to spray into the air, and screams filled the room.

  “W-What?!”

  Kotaru fixed his gaze on the leader, slowly wiping the blade on his sleeve before raising his sword again.

  Then, in a cold whisper, he muttered:

  “One... Thirteen left.”

  Silence filled the room for a few seconds before one of them shouted:

  “K-Kill him!!!”

  And then hell broke loose.

  Hearts soared through the air as screams echoed among the crowd. It was a brief moment of calm before the place transformed into a bloody battlefield. But while chaos erupted, Kotaru stood his ground, his eyes deep and unfazed by everything around him.

  Every step he took had a terrifying impact. Every move confirmed that what others saw was nothing but "slow death." He wasn’t running, he wasn’t hasty, but he moved steadily with a clear intention to unload all the pain he had been carrying into one moment against those who caused his suffering.

  When one of them attacked him with a sharp knife, Kotaru’s response was lightning-fast. He drove the sword into his enemy's body with a single motion, but curiously, he didn’t kill him right away. Instead, he left him screaming, staggering while clutching his wound.

  "Do you feel the pain?" Kotaru whispered coldly, staring into his eyes, as blood splattered around them.

  The man weakly shook his head, trying to escape, but collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

  Then Kotaru moved to the next target. His gaze was cold, as if he were killing something that wasn’t human. He approached one of the men who was trying to retreat, but Kotaru struck him directly in the chest with his sword, pressing down to force him to kneel.

  At that moment, the man trembled, closing his eyes. He knew what would happen next. He could feel an aura of terror growing around him, until the air grew thick.

  "Please, no... Please..." the man muttered in fear, but Kotaru didn’t care. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the air around him was saturated with a desire for revenge.

  With every movement he made, destruction followed. The crowd began to shrink in size, courage evaporating from their eyes. Some ran aimlessly, others hid in corners, unable to keep up with Kotaru's lethal force.

  Then the battlefield turned into something resembling hell. The place became a cramped room filled with blood and corpses. One could feel the tension rising in the air, as if death were watching everyone from above, hovering over their necks.

  As Kotaru moved closer to the leader, the latter staggered on his feet, his eyes filled with fear. He tried to gather himself amid the chaos Kotaru had left behind, but the beats of his heart raced with each step Kotaru took toward him. He could feel his end approaching, yet he tried to show some bravery to conceal his weakness.

  “Who sent you?” Kotaru whispered in a low, threatening voice.

  The young man was panting, trying to hold onto a small hope. He began stammering as he answered:

  "I... it’s... from your class... He gave us money to do this..."

  Then Kotaru looked at him sharply, as if the entire world had stopped around them, while the rest of the crowd were nothing but shadows in that moment.

  "What? Who is this person?" Kotaru asked, pressing on, ready to finish it.

  The young man, trying to buy some time, quickly said, "His name... is... Kaido... Ryo," he added nervously, "He planned all of this. He paid us for this. We had no choice."

  With every word he said, Kotaru’s face turned redder with rage, and violence emanated from his eyes. There was no mercy in his dictionary now.