Kansuke nodded, and the old man breathed his last. But this one moment would prove to be the start of much misfortune.
The next daimyo was a diligent one, but he was also a highly cautious and suspicious man. Under his rulership, an era of peace dawned. He governed his lands well. But he was always wary of Kansuke, whom he had inherited from his father. One day, he set out to test Kansuke’s loyalty. To this end, he placed upon the samurai’s shoulders three seemingly impossible demands.
One, to slay the Nue, who had appeared in the Imperial Court.
Two, to slay the Narugami thundergod demon, who had appeared in the Ashiyama stronghold.
And three, to infiltrate a rival faction and divide it from within.
Having made that promise to the preceding daimyo, Kansuke had no choice but to accept the new lord’s challenges so as to not betray his oath. However, the more fame Kansuke’s name accrued, the more the wary daimyo treated him with suspicion. Faced with the new daimyo’s scorn, Kansuke began to forget his promise to the old lord and began to bear a grudge.
As the Kabuki plays and joruri recitations tell it, Kansuke took on the hate and resentment of all the evil spirits he slayed, soaking them up as if by osmosis. Generally, his character depiction became increasingly inhuman after that point.
The noble, upstanding samurai Kansuke began to change.
He started to frequent the red-light district and drink heavily. Sometimes he even wandered the town, indiscriminately cutting down the townsfolk with his sword. He began to take pleasure in killing.
And then, the fateful incident happened.
The daimyo ordered Kansuke to defeat another demon, one that was snatching away and violating scores of women.
“Leave it to me. I shall bring you the beast cut in two.”
Kansuke went to slay the demon. That done, he returned to the castle dripping with blood. And there, he killed the daimyo.
Before, he had been known as the DemonChaser.
Following this, Kansuke turned into a kind of man-eating demon himself, and his crimes only grew. He cut down Narrators and Kotogami alike, any who tried to oppose him. After a final deadly spree in which Kansuke slaughtered half a castle full of people, he was besieged by scores of Narrators and Kotogami in a coordinated attack and was finally taken down to meet his grisly end.
He had slain his own lord, massacred innocent citizens, and laid waste to the peace of the age with his sword. He was a monster.
To this day, Kansuke Mishima was known as LordSlayer.
“Your fit of murderous rage just before…that was because of the inclusion of that tale in your Kotogatari, right?”
Kansuke smiled sardonically in response to Akari’s question.
“Yes. I am forever tainted by that incident when I killed my lord. That’s why whenever anyone narrates my book out loud, I am prompted once again to kill ‘my lord’…who, in that moment, for all intents and purposes, is the one reading my book. Not that I ever intended to serve a master ever again. Every Narrator who has tried to use me, I have slain. But I was sealed long ago. What luck for me that I found myself cataloged in that Bookhouse and awoken by the call of a little girly like you.”
Kansuke shrugged, then narrowed his eyes at Akari.
“Don’t you ever try to read me. You may have stopped my rampage just then, but the same thing will always happen. Don’t think I won’t kill you just because you’re a little girl.”
“But…Kansuke…”
While Akari was still trying to find the right words, Kansuke pushed himself off the wall and turned to Tomohito.
“Hey, Tomohito. Can you get in contact with the folks outside? I’ll face off against the beast; you call in reinforcements while I’m doing that.”
“Huh?”
Akari wasn’t sure she’d heard right. Kansuke was suddenly smiling, as if the preceding intense conversation hadn’t even happened.
“My job’s to protect you, right, girly? I owe you several good bottles of booze worth of work. I can swing my sword well enough with only the power generated by you reading out my name.”
“But…you’re seriously going up against that Nue, all on your own?”
Akari was incredulous. But Kansuke simply stroked his sword hilt as he continued speaking.
“Did you miss that my story includes the tale of me slaying a Nue, among my other deeds? Even at half power, I can buy us time until backup arrives. And unfortunately it seems Tomohito’s hand is out of commission for the time being.”
Tomohito’s what? Akari turned to look and realized for the first time that Tomohito was clearly hiding his hand inside his suit jacket.
“Tomohito, hold out your hand.”
“It is no big deal, Mistress, I assure you…”
Reluctantly, Tomohito held his hand out toward Akari. It was bright red with fresh burn marks.
Akari had no idea how the burn had happened, but it must have been inflicted at some point during that skirmish moments ago.
“It will soon return to normal, so please do not worry. Only, Kansuke is right. I cannot protect you like this, Mistress Akari.”
“So we’re all up to speed. Girly, take my Kotogatari and head on outside to wait. I should still be in range. But don’t go too far, or I’ll be compelled to return to my book.”
Kansuke still sounded so nonchalant. But Akari wasn’t convinced.
“But you might get injured or, you know…die.”
Tomohito’s burn wound had smacked Akari with the sudden realization that Kotogami could be hurt. And how would Kansuke fare, acting at only half power?
Tomohito frowned, seeming hesitant.
“As long as a Kotogami’s Kotogatari remains intact, we cannot die. However, when we receive substantial injuries, the condition of our Kotogatari can degrade…”
“You’re much more likely to die than I am, girly. So quit your bellyachin’.”
Akari swallowed the last of her protests then.
Kansuke didn’t seem annoyed or impatient. Rather, he was looking at her with a kind smile, his features empathetic.
“After all, I killed my own lord. Perhaps it would be a fitting end for me to die hunting down a beast for a fair maiden.”