The Tendō Household.

Once the most illustrious and prosperous family in the Tokyo Area, feasting in grandeur and basking in status.

But now, they too could not escape the wave of destruction.

On the courtyard walls, blood and chunks of flesh were splattered everywhere. Gunshots and screams could still be heard from within.

But having walked this far…

Such sounds and sights were already commonplace on the streets.

Tendō Kisara looked up at the plaque above the grand gate.

"Tendō Residence."

She had once fled from here under the cover of night.

Before she left, she had also looked up once—wanting to imprint the plaque deep into her memory.

As long as she was alive, one day, she would return. To settle the blood debt for the murder of her parents.

Back then, her heart must have been consumed by hatred.

She couldn't understand.

Even a tiger would not eat its cubs—Why could someone revered as a "national treasure" so casually kill his own children?

It wasn't until she stumbled into this dark, grim world, and clawed her way through society,

That Tendō Kisara slowly understood the reason.

It was nothing more than profit.

Humans—when it comes to interests—are capable of anything.

So her hatred sank deeper and deeper, eventually condensing into a pure, obsidian black.

Even vengeance took on a color.

And today, it seemed, was the day.

She pushed open the heavy gate.

Before she could even step in, someone staggered out in a panic.

The man had already lost an arm.

He wailed desperately.

The moment he saw Haruto, without a second thought, he lunged forward.

"Help me! Please, save me! I'm a member of the Tendō family—I order you to save me!"

But as expected, he lunged into thin air.

He passed straight through Haruto's body, and crashed hard onto the ground.

His face hit the floor—hard enough to bleed.

No need to worry about facial disfigurement though. Since he'd lost an arm, he was most likely already infected by the Blacklight Virus and Gastrea Virus.

Soon, he would transform into something altogether new.

By then, human standards of beauty wouldn't apply to him.

Tendō Kisara looked down at the man on the ground.

She recognized him.

A blood relative, in fact.

What was his name again?

She forgot.

Only remembered he was her father's elder brother—

One of the real power-holders in the Tendō family.

And of course, someone who had supported the decision to kill her entire family.

That much was certain.

The power structure of the Tendō clan was like a pool of filth.

There were only two kinds of people:

Tendō Kikunojo and everyone else.

But in truth, they were all equally rotten. To gain power, they would do anything. Brothers at each other's throats, fathers and sons killing one another.

As long as there was profit or power in it—

These things practically became standard operating procedure.

When that man's body began to twist, and his skin stretched to the point of rupture, Tendō Kisara felt a strange sweetness in her heart.

It was the thrill of revenge.

She stepped quickly through the Tendō gates.

Inside, a few monsters already roamed.

Even more twisted corpses littered the place.

Not a single intact human could be seen.

Seeing this, Tendō Kisara felt a strange satisfaction, but a hint of melancholy flashed in her eyes.

The reason was simple.

What a cruel twist of fate.

Among all these people—Not one retained human cognition.

Which meant—

Her hatred back then had been misdirected.

One cannot harbor the darkest kind of hatred toward mere animals. After all, animals are not the same as people.

There's a vast difference between killing and slaughtering.

Fortunately, the Tendō family wasn't entirely made up of such beasts.

There was still one left.

Otherwise, Tendō Kisara might've had a minor breakdown.

Stepping on the mangled flesh beneath her feet, she made her way urgently toward the back of the residence.

Behind the Tendō estate was a massive dojo.

All members of the Tendō family trained in the Tendō-style swordsmanship here. Even the household servants and attendants trained in the family's martial arts.

In the past, no matter the hour, one could always hear the sound of wooden swords striking flesh.

As well as the shouting and screaming of men.

But now—

In this era filled with screams and despair—

The dojo was unexpectedly quiet.

There were no signs of blood nearby.

Which made sense.

The world was ending, after all.

Who would still be training here?

So the dojo remained clean.

But Tendō Kisara was certain.

He was definitely in there.

She opened the dojo's doors.

It was dark inside.

Bathed in the light that spilled in from the doorway—An elderly man with white hair and a white beard sat quietly in the center of the hall.

Upon hearing the door open, Tendō Kikunojo opened his eyes.

Even now,

Those eyes still carried the air of one who looked down on all life. So sharp they made it hard to meet his gaze.

Tendō Kisara instinctively tightened her grip on the katana at her waist.

But in the next moment, she smiled.

Thank goodness.

She had feared—

Feared she would arrive to find Tendō Kikunojo had taken his own life. Or was groveling on the ground, begging for mercy.

That would've been unacceptable.

This—this was just right.

Tendō Kikunojo slowly stood up.

He said nothing.

He simply walked to the weapon rack and picked up a wooden sword. Tendō Kisara drew the katana at her waist.

The blade shimmered with deadly sharpness—

Though thinner than most blades.

Oddly, though the hilt and scabbard were old and worn—

The blade itself was flawless.

A clear sign:

This sword had been lovingly maintained and sharpened over many years. And in truth—that was exactly the case.

This wasn't her own sword.

It was her father's.

One of the few things she'd taken with her when she fled the Tendō household.

When she first got it, the blade had been a ruined mess. But she had painstakingly restored it. Sharpened the blade to a razor's edge…

All for this day.

To use this sword—for revenge.

Her footsteps echoed on the wooden dojo floor—thud, thud.

Tendō Kisara suddenly turned her head, and softly said to Haruto:

"Haruto... can you close the door for me?"

Haruto nodded and closed the dojo doors behind him, leaving the time inside solely for Tendō Kisara.

As the light faded away, the dojo fell into darkness.

Strangely, Tendō Kisara felt a wave of relief wash over her. Even though it was Haruto who had helped her reach this point of vengeance, even though it was Haruto who had reached out to her in the darkness—

Tendō Kisara still didn't want him to see what would come next.

It was contradictory.

But she just didn't want to show him this dark part of herself. Even though her actions now were like covering her ears while stealing a bell.

She turned her gaze back to Tendō Kikunojo.

And silently stepped forward.

She had imagined this scene a thousand times.

Pictured all sorts of conversations that might unfold.

But in the end—

There were no words.

She had nothing to say.

And Tendō Kikunojo remained silent too.

Clang!

The sound of sharp steel clashing—followed by the ring of metal on wood.

Shhhhk...

Then came the noise of flesh being sliced open. Tendō Kisara sheathed her blood-stained blade.

She checked herself.

Wiped away the blood splattered on her body. Then quickly ran to the doors, opened a crack, and slipped out.

"Haruto-kun, let's go!"

Tendō Kisara said cheerfully, her energy restored.

Haruto nodded.

He didn't ask a thing, just took her hand and walked away.

Back in the dim dojo—

Tendō Kikunojo's body remained frozen in mid-swing. His head and body had separated, lying side by side on the floor.

Blood slowly seeped out.

Yet the wooden sword in his hand was nearly intact.

It seemed Tendō Kisara's swordsmanship had long surpassed the Tendō family's patriarch. Had she simply broken the wooden sword and taken his head—

It would've just been brute strength and a superior weapon.

But to leave the sword unscathed—

That took overwhelming skill.

Of course, none of this mattered now.

Tendō Kisara's revenge was complete.

The old her might have felt lost after this moment—Since vengeance had been the only purpose driving her life.

But now—

She had somewhere to go, and new things to do.

"First, let's head back to the Foundation and get your kidney fixed," said Haruto.

Tendō Kisara nodded, a bright smile on her face.

"Haruto-kun, stay with me the whole time, okay?"

Haruto shrugged.

"What, are you afraid you'll cry? It's just a minor operation—it won't even hurt."