Thinking of this, Haimer stepped forward.
A massive sense of oppression washed over her. Facing Haimer's gaze, Onigawara Rin felt as if the man before her had instantly become incomparably colossal. It was like a mountain on the verge of collapsing, casting a shadow that completely enveloped her.
Fear. This is the most instinctual reaction of a living creature when facing a powerful existence it cannot comprehend. However, living creatures often end up using anger to mask their fear. Just like a cat driven into a corner, bluffing by bristling its fur and hissing.
"Damn it!"
Onigawara Rin let out a low shout to dispel the trembling in her heart.
Clang—
The long sword was unsheathed. There were no flashy probing moves. Facing an opponent who made her heart palpitate, her very first move was a full-force killing strike.
Such decisiveness. Her combat awareness isn't bad, Haimer thought to himself.
What Onigawara Rin used was the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryu. Secret Technique: Dragon Tail Reversal! It focused on large-scale slashing attacks. The blade traced an arc through the air. Fast, accurate, ruthless. Enough to sever steel.
However. In Haimer's divine eyes, which had insight into the essence of all arts, the trajectory of this blade, the point of force exertion, and even the subsequent variations were all incomparably clear.
"Your heart is still too chaotic," Haimer commented simply.
Immediately after, his finger hooked slightly.
Swish—
A sharp sound of breaking wind rang out abruptly. Standing beside Onigawara Rin, Mozunono, who had been trembling, suddenly felt her hand lighten. The white telescopic baton she had been clutching tightly seemed to gain a life of its own, flying violently out of her hand.
"Eh?!"
Mozunono let out a cry of surprise. Before she could react, the baton had already crossed a distance of several meters, landing steadily in Haimer's hand.
Immediately following that...
Clang!
A crisp sound of metal colliding echoed through the corridor. The telescopic baton, which was not particularly sturdy, poked the side of Onigawara Rin's long sword with extreme precision. That was exactly the weakest point of the blade's force. The so-called 'four ounces moving a thousand pounds.'
A massive counter-shock instantly traveled up the sword hilt and through Onigawara Rin's entire arm. The web of her thumb went numb. The long sword in her hand almost flew out. The strike that was meant to be a sure kill was neutralized so lightly. The blade edge deviated from its intended trajectory, brushing past the corner of Haimer's clothes and hacking heavily into the adjacent wall, kicking up a spray of stone chips.
Furthermore...
Smack!
The tip of the baton in Haimer's hand stopped with unerring precision right on Onigawara Rin's mask. It was less than a centimeter away from that Hannya demon mask. But this was merely a light tapping motion. Yet, Onigawara Rin froze on the spot as if a binding spell had been cast upon her.
She stared blankly at the tip of the baton close at hand. Cold sweat instantly soaked her back. Because she knew exceptionally well: as long as force was applied to this baton, her head would explode like a ripe watermelon.
Haimer looked at the stiff Onigawara Rin and spoke slowly, "Your sword is bound by your heart. Or rather, bound by this mask of yours."
Under the mask, Onigawara Rin's pupils contracted slightly.
"The essence of swordsmanship is purity. Yet when you swing your sword, you are filled with self-loathing and fear of being looked at. Too many distracting thoughts."
Tap. Tap.
As Haimer spoke, he used the baton in his hand to tap lightly on that hideous Hannya mask, making a tap-tap sound.
"What do you know..." Onigawara Rin's voice was trembling somewhat, but she was still holding onto her last bit of stubbornness. "This is to..."
"To cover up your weakness?" Haimer interrupted her mercilessly. "Just like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. Thinking that if it can't see the predator, the danger ceases to exist."
"Little do you know, this self-deceiving sense of security is precisely the poison that stifles growth. Under the shelter of darkness, the soul withers, and courage wears away. Until finally, the mask is no longer protective coloration, but becomes a cage imprisoning the soul, even taking over to become that person—a part of their reality."
"Take it off."
"As long as you still admit to being a swordsman. Face the thing you fear most in your heart."
Upon hearing these words, Onigawara Rin's hand holding the sword trembled violently. Take it off? In front of this man, and even in front of Amou Kirukiru? Let him see her cursed face? That face loathed by her mother, regarded as ominous?
"No..."
She subconsciously wanted to retreat. That terror even overwhelmed the fear of death.
However, Haimer did not give her the chance to shrink back.
"Too slow."
With a light sigh, Haimer applied a slight force to the baton in his hand.
Crack—
A crisp cracking sound rang out. That hard Hannya mask, which had accompanied Onigawara Rin for several years, was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks.
Immediately after. Crash. The mask shattered completely. Countless white fragments danced in the air like withering petals.
Beneath the mask, that countenance which had always been hidden behind the hideous ghost face was finally exposed to the air. There was nothing ominous. Nor was there anything ugly. It was a delicate and exquisite face. Moreover, the fair skin beneath the mask revealed a sickly pallor due to years of not seeing sunlight.
At this moment, those eyes that were originally under the mask were filled with panic, and a trace of humiliation and indignation as if she had been thrown naked into a crowd. There were even tears seeping out from the corners of her eyes due to the sudden shattering of the mask.
"Uwah..."
Onigawara Rin let out a short scream and subconsciously went to draw her sword again. Since the side she least wanted seen had been exposed, then—
Kill him!
Kill everyone who saw this scene!
Even though her reason was sounding crazy alarms, even though her body trembled in fear, that emotion named 'shame and indignation' had completely overwhelmed everything.
However. Haimer moved directly, pinching her hands and forcing her to raise her head to look straight at him. No matter how hard Onigawara Rin struggled, she could not move a muscle.
"The so-called Way of the Sword begins with propriety and ends with the heart."
"The current you has a sword heart full of noise."
"Shame, anger, fear... these emotions are like dust adhering to a mirror surface, preventing you from seeing yourself clearly, and preventing you from seeing the sword in your hand. Such a sword heart is impure."
"However. I helped you take off the mask not to humiliate you, nor to judge your past because of it. I just want you to understand a principle. Humans, as creatures, although accustomed to disguise... They will put on various masks to protect themselves. Sometimes to avoid injury, sometimes to fit into a group, and sometimes to gain recognition."
"Such things are understandable in themselves. After all, in this world filled with thorns, baring one's true heart often means actively handing the knife that will hurt you into someone else's hands."
"But. If one wears a mask forcibly imposed by others for too long, humans will forget what the face beneath their mask originally looked like. Therefore, only by facing one's true heart can one achieve fulfillment."
"So think about it carefully."
"When you swung your sword for the first time, was it to cut down the enemy, or to cut down that once cowardly self? If you think it through and no longer want to be a pitiful worm bound by the past, but a swordsman thirsting for strength... Then come find me."
"I can take you to other worlds. In that world, there are vast heavens and earths enough to make you unable to imagine, and also opportunities enough to let that dusty sword heart of yours receive a trial."
Having said that, Haimer loosened his ten fingers. Without any support, Onigawara Rin fell onto the floor covered in mask debris like a mollusk that had its bones removed. She gasped for breath, her delicate face, now devoid of the mask's cover, mixed with shame, anger, and confusion.
Subsequently, Haimer did not look at her again. He simply turned his hand back down, palm facing up, and tapped his slender fingertips lightly in the void.
Hum—
The white Hannya mask that had already turned into countless fragments scattered on the ground seemed to have the rewind button of time pressed. Countless white fragments danced and reassembled under the traction of Divine Power.
In just the blink of an eye, that intact, hideously expressing Hannya mask was floating once again above Haimer's palm.
____
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