The Seitenshi's words sparked a realization in both Satomi Rentarō and Tendō Kikunojō.
Given Tendō Kisara's hatred for him, she would never give up on revenge if she had the chance. But Tendō Kikunojō wasn't her only enemy.
Many people were involved in the conspiracy that led to her parents' deaths: Tendō Kazumitsu, Tendō Hinata, Tendō Gentaku, Tendō Hiromi... and finally, the main culprit, Tendō Kikunojō.
So the question was, if her revenge was guaranteed to succeed, would she target her greatest enemy first, or last?
Satomi Rentarō, who was familiar with her personality, was certain it would be the latter. In his view, when it came to revenge, Kisara's mind became incredibly twisted. If she saw Kikunojō as her prey, she would naturally save the best for last.
Tendō Kikunojō didn't overthink it. "Quick, contact Kazumitsu, Hinata, and Gentaku! See how they are now!" he immediately ordered a nearby guard. The truth of the Seitenshi's guess would be revealed by the results of the calls.
And soon—
"Sir, Mr. Kazumitsu is not answering his phone!"
"Sir, we've lost contact with Mr. Hinata!"
"Sir, Mr. Gentaku's body was found in his office! He was killed by a sharp weapon!"
The string of reports confirmed their suspicions. Tendō Kisara had indeed begun her revenge, and she was already most of the way through.
"Miss Kisara actually did it!" Hearing the news, Rentarō's face twisted in disbelief.
He knew without being told that the perpetrator had to be Kisara herself. With her swordsmanship, in a one-on-one fight, almost no one in the Tendō family was her match.
Even though he had suspected it, he still didn't want to see her truly become a murderer. This was not the path she should walk!
"It seems they've all been killed," Tendō Kikunojō said, showing an unusual calm at this moment. "Who's next? Hiromi or—"
Before he could finish, a familiar young woman's voice cut in. "You, of course!"
Still in her JK uniform, the tall, slender girl with strikingly pale skin in her absolute territory walked in gracefully from the doorway. The cursed sword, Yukikage, hung at her waist, and a faint smell of blood lingered in the air.
"Tendō Hiromi has been dealt with," Tendō Kisara stated coldly.
Glancing at his suddenly appeared enemy and granddaughter, Tendō Kikunojō's gaze quickly shifted past her to Su Mo, who had appeared behind her at some point. Compared to his enemy, this god was a more noteworthy figure.
And just then, something unexpected happened.
"Damn it! Who are you to barge into the Seitenshi's council hall? Damn murderer, don't you know the security team is here?"
For some reason, upon seeing Tendō Kisara, Hozumi Takuto's eyes lit up. He took a domineering step forward, blocking everyone.
He pointed his pistol at her, venting his accumulated frustration while loudly trying to claim credit. "I will protect the Seitenshi!"
"Wait!"
Hearing this, the Seitenshi's already milk-white face turned deathly pale with fright. Although she wasn't sure what was happening, even an idiot would know not to draw a weapon on someone under a god's watch!
Or had this credit-hungry guard not seen the god behind her?
Hozumi Takuto naturally ignored the Seitenshi's cry. Although the girl was the nominal leader of the Tokyo Area, her actual power was limited.
Her young age, similar to Kisara's, meant she held no real authority. Even a guard dared to disobey her orders and act forcefully.
And so—
"Stop!"
Swish!
With the detestable fool's panicked shout and the sound of a light breeze, Hozumi Takuto no longer had to obey anyone's orders. Before he could fire his gun, he saw the world spin, and then he saw his own lower body.
Wait? My lower body?
By the time he realized this, his consciousness had already sunk into darkness.
Blood gushed out, staining the floor red. Hozumi Takuto had been cut in half at the waist, sent to his death.
The Seitenshi saw nothing but a flash of light, as cold as snow in the darkness. Then, she saw Tendō Kisara sheathing her sword, standing in the exact same spot as before, as if she hadn't moved an inch.
Menkyo kaiden of the Tendō-ryū swordsmanship, Tendō Kisara. In terms of pure swordsmanship, she was even superior to the Hashira like Kanae, a true modern-day sword master with the power to kill a Stage IV Gastrea in a single strike.
Her terrifying presence froze the other guards on the spot, too scared to take another step. It made the Seitenshi shiver, her legs feeling weak.
The only one who could remain calm and unfazed at the scene of a murder was probably Tendō Kikunojō.
And the only one who dared to step forward after seeing her like this was Satomi Rentarō.
"Miss Kisara! You!" he exclaimed, looking at her with a reproachful gaze, as if she had committed some unforgivable crime. But before he could speak, he was met with her question.
"Rentarō, what were you just doing? You were actually trying to save this guy?"
The only one who had shouted "Stop!" and tried to intervene was Rentarō, but he had been too slow.
Now, facing her question, he frowned deeply and retorted, "He was just doing his duty! Even if he drew his gun on you, with your strength, you didn't have to kill him!"
Hearing this, she shot back, "And what if I didn't have this strength?"
"The Seitenshi would have stopped him! And I would have stepped in!" he answered without hesitation, a standard answer in his mind.
Unfortunately, Tendō Kisara didn't see it that way.
"Sorry, I don't plan on entrusting my life to others..." She shook her head, then glanced at Su Mo behind her. "Besides, drawing a weapon in front of Lord Su Mo is in itself a capital crime!"
"..."
With the mention of the god, Satomi Rentarō was finally at a loss for words.
While he was speechless, Tendō Kisara had more to say. She glanced around, finally confirming her location. It was normal for the Seitenshi and Tendō Kikunojō to be in this office building, but one thing was not.
"Ren... Satomi Rentarō, can you explain?" the long, black-haired girl asked, her voice colder than ever as she said his full name, questioning her only employee. "Why are you here? Why are you with this old bastard?" She had already sensed something, but she couldn't believe it.
At this, Satomi Rentarō unexpectedly lifted his head and said with righteous indignation, "I came to inform them, to stop you!"
"You want to stop my revenge?" Tendō Kisara looked at him in disbelief, her eyes filled with an indescribable disappointment. "Have you forgotten that half of your body was also destroyed by them!"
Half of Rentarō's body was a mechanical prosthesis. He also had a great enmity with the Tendō family.
"The dead are gone, but the living must move on!" Satomi Rentarō began his talk-no-jutsu with heartfelt sincerity. In a sense, he truly believed this. Compared to revenge, wasn't it more important for the living to live their lives well?
Tendō Kisara, not being eloquent, was a little stunned by his words. "You mean, I should give up on revenge? Let go of the man who killed my parents?"
"Yes!" Rentarō nodded firmly. "If your parents were still alive, they probably wouldn't want to see you become like this. Besides, even if you kill Tendō Kikunojō now, what would it change? The result of revenge is nothing but blood on your hands and emptiness."
His talk-no-jutsu left her a little dazed. If she were alone, she would likely have missed her best chance for revenge. But thankfully, she wasn't alone. She had a god behind her.
Most of the time, the purpose of a god wasn't to slay demons, but to provide emotional comfort.
And so, subconsciously, she turned to the person she now trusted most. "Lord Su Mo, is my revenge... truly meaningless?"
To this question, Su Mo answered without hesitation. "Someone solely focused on revenge does have a high probability of falling into a state of bewilderment and emptiness afterward, not knowing what to do."
At these words, Rentarō's face lit up. As expected of a god! He supports my idea!
Tendō Kisara was also slightly taken aback. She had to admit that besides revenge, she had nothing. So, was this state really unhealthy, really wrong?
Before she could fall into confusion, Su Mo spoke again. "However, this emptiness is a normal phenomenon. Even without the goal of revenge, most people still don't know what they should do."
His words made her eyes brighten.
"In fact, if you replace 'revenge' with any other concept, like 'success' or 'chasing a dream,' the previous statement still holds true. People fall into a state of confusion after completing a set goal. It has nothing to do with revenge; it's simply a necessary part of the human journey of finding one's direction in life."
"You mean...?" she asked with great anticipation.
"I mean, since the dawn of time, courtship, unity, and revenge have been perfectly normal social instincts. If you want to do it, after weighing the costs, then just do it. After you're done, you can think about what to do next. Every stage has its own challenges. As long as you're alive, you can't be without purpose."
After hearing Su Mo's words, even the Seitenshi's eyes lit up. So this is how a god understands human behavior?
Having received support, Tendō Kisara had an epiphany. Right! So what if I feel empty? If being solely focused on revenge is an unhealthy state, then after my revenge is over, I can think about a new life, right?
In that case, not only should she not stop her revenge, she needed to speed it up.
"Wait!"
Seeing her so easily relieved of her worries by Su Mo, Rentarō was stunned for a few seconds, then continued to wave his hands. He couldn't refute Su Mo's words; even a protagonist's talk-no-jutsu was completely ineffective against the truth. But he still couldn't accept her "falling" like this.
So—
"Miss Kisara! Think of your parents! Even if revenge itself is blameless, if your parents were alive, would they want to see you become a murderer?" he tried to appeal to her with family ties.
However—
"If your parents were alive?" Su Mo suddenly repeated his words. Then, he looked at Tendō Kisara and said something that stunned everyone.
"I almost forgot! Since your wish for revenge has been granted, after this is over, I'll resurrect your parents as well."
Meow meow meow?
Su Mo's tone was incredibly casual, but everyone who heard him was stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
Resurrect?
"L-L-Lord God!"
While Tendō Kisara was speechless from the shock, the Seitenshi couldn't contain her own shock.
She looked at Su Mo with awe, bowed respectfully, and then asked cautiously, "Please forgive my rudeness, but I have something to ask you... Did you just say that you can bring the dead back to life?"
If she remembered correctly, Kisara's parents had died many years ago.
"Mm," Su Mo nodded casually, not ignoring her. "This world has no reincarnation, so it's a bit simpler. I can just turn back time."
Hearing his confirmation, everyone was shocked once again.
Time, space, life, death, causality... a god who can manipulate even these concepts at will is no ordinary conceptual god. This is something only a One True God could do!