"What the...?"
The bandit leader glanced down the length of his blade toward Haruki's neck—and froze.
A pale, slender hand had caught the blade mid-swing. It looked delicate, almost fragile, but somehow held the massive weapon in place like it was nothing. The edge wouldn't budge an inch.
"Crack... crack... Agh!!"
Before the bandit leader could even react, something even more terrifying happened.
Starting from where Haruki's fingers gripped the blade, hairline cracks began spreading across the massive sword. Over a meter long, twenty centimeters wide, and several centimeters thick—it was a weapon designed to terrify. But now, those cracks raced down its length until, with a sharp crack, the entire thing shattered into a hail of metal shards.
Even more unnervingly, the fragments didn't scatter randomly. As if they had minds of their own, they shot straight at the bandit leader standing next to Haruki.
The man screamed like a butchered animal as a storm of shards sliced into him.
When it was over, he lay sprawled on the ground, covered in blood, gasping desperately for air. Somehow, none of the shards had struck fatal points—his throat, arteries, and vital organs were untouched.
Unfortunately for him, one vital part had not been so lucky.
"Damn it... I won't forgive you! You'll die a horrible death...!"
Realizing the state he was in, the bandit leader let out another pained howl, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Haruki, seething with hatred.
"I won't die. Everyone around me will be like me—eternal. But you? You can go straight to hell."
Haruki wasn't done.
He stepped forward, slow and steady, until he stood over the broken man, then raised his foot.
"Crack... crack."
"AAARGH—!"
A few harsh crunches later, the bandit leader let out another tortured scream, hoarser than before. His throat was already ruined from the earlier screaming.
With a single stomp, Haruki had crushed every bone in his limbs. Now the man lay sprawled like a discarded animal, utterly paralyzed.
"Just kill me already! Kill me! I'll haunt you forever!"
Knowing death was certain, the bandit leader roared his hatred at Haruki.
"Hmph. Anyone who lays a hand on my women... even if it's a ghost, I'll make sure they regret it."
Then, with a swift kick, Haruki sent him tumbling toward a nearby pile of corpses.
But his nightmare still wasn't over.
As soon as the man hit the ground, a beast the size of a calf—but with the build of a wolf—lunged out from the brush. Right in front of Haruki and the others, it sank its jaws into the screaming man and vanished into the depths of the forest.
After the slaughter, the stench of blood had drawn many carnivorous Danger Beasts from the area. But the overwhelming aura given off by the girls—though unintentional—kept them at bay. Only Haruki could fully suppress his presence. The beasts didn't dare approach, only watching from the shadows...
Haruki had already noticed one of them lurking earlier.
That's why he'd kicked the bandit leader in that direction.
Watching the man's miserable end, the women stood silently for a long while.
None of them pitied him. No matter what Haruki did, they would never object.
It was just the first time they'd seen him kill someone so brutally—and they were momentarily at a loss for words.
But deep down, they were touched. Especially by what he said:
"Anyone who lays a hand on my women... even if it's a ghost, I'll make sure they regret it."
That line struck a chord, warming their hearts.
No one noticed that when Haruki spoke those words, a flicker of admiration flared even brighter in Sayo's eyes.
In the Empire, women were rarely respected. Female generals like Esdeath were rare exceptions. Among most nobles, women were seen as nothing more than tools for childbearing. Hardly any of them treated women the way Haruki did.
To Sayo now, Haruki was the perfect man—everything a girl could dream of in her prince.
She even thought to herself... if she could stay by Haruki's side forever, even just as a maid, that might be the happiest life she could ever ask for.
...
But just as the girls were lost in their thoughts, their vigilance faded—and something unexpected happened.