The man's tall body fell heavily to the ground.

The silver-haired young man shook off the blood on the blade and put it back into the sheath.

His gaze slowly slid down and fell on the strange ronin who was howling in pain not far away. His golden eyes darkened.

"Even if this man is dead, he still can't completely regain his sanity?"

From the man's words just now, he knew that this guy dressed up as a ronin should also be a swordsman like him. It was just that he was manipulated into this unrecognizable appearance.

"I've seen so many swordsmen, how can I recognize you?" The young man muttered.

He took off his white cloak and draped it over the unconscious girl's body. Then he put his left hand under her shoulder blade and his right hand under her leg, and effortlessly picked her up.

"Hold on a little longer."

Lowering his head, the silver-haired young man gently rubbed the girl's soft cheeks and whispered, "I'll take you back now."

Without hesitation, he turned and left.

"… He, Tsuru Maru." A hoarse voice sounded behind him, "You must … be … careful …"

"Ha, I know." Tsurumaru Kuninaga did not turn his head and coldly replied, "Don't worry."

A loud noise suddenly came from behind him, and then, a dazzling light illuminated the space.

When he turned back, the Fu Mourning God who finally regained some consciousness, together with the dead body on the ground, turned into dust in the air.

"Bang —"

Tsurumaru Kuninaga kicked open the shaky wooden door.

He kicked all the swords on the ground to the side to make an open space, and then carefully put Junka Hoshino on the ground.

The girl's condition was not ideal.

Old injuries plus new injuries, even if they were gradually healing under the effect of Haruaki Abe's array, brought indescribable pain to the girl.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga wiped the sweat on her forehead with his sleeve, and as if to encourage her, he gently held the girl's pale and thin hand and looked at her face without blinking.

"So this is what you look like." He murmured, "You're so powerful, but you're obviously not the type of Invincible Vajra …"

Then, hurry up and wake up. That way, you'll know what 'pain' feels like.

Just like you wanted it to be.

At this time, Junka Hoshino was once again immersed in a dream.

It was different from the previous dark dreams. This time, she stood alone on the barren ground, surrounded by swords and sabers. A bright moon shone down from above her head, reflecting the light from the sabers, making it seem as if it was daytime.

A gust of wind blew gently, bringing a lot of fine sand.

The grains of sand did not scatter on the ground. Instead, they gathered together in a very abnormal manner. From the bottom to the top, they gradually formed the silhouette of a person.

Facing such a terrifying scene, Hoshino Satsuma widened her eyes in shock.

"What are you?" she asked.

[Your injuries are very serious, and even your spiritual world is unstable.

Although I don't want to … but there's no other way. It's the first time we meet, so I can only speak like this.]

The "person" formed by the sand directly sent the voice into Junka Hoshino's mind.

[When your blood and your spiritual energy work together, you can repair the swords and summon the spirit inside.]

"Who are you?" she asked again.

[Name is Curse.]

The person slowly replied, [Right, a friendly reminder, you may feel a little uncomfortable later, so be prepared.]

The human figure suddenly collapsed, and the sand piled up on the ground, like a mini hill.

Junka Hoshino raised her head and quietly looked at the moon hanging high in the sky.

Suddenly, she grabbed the clothes in front of her chest, her legs went soft, and she knelt on the ground. There was a strong and heavy feeling of depression in her heart.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who was drowsy under the effect of the formation, suddenly opened his eyes.

The girl who was sleeping peacefully a moment ago had a pale face, her lips were purple, and her limbs were twitching unnaturally. Her whole body uncontrollably curled up into a ball and trembled violently.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga had never seen a person who was about to recover with such symptoms. He also showed a helpless expression.

"Hey, hey."

As if he wanted the girl to calm down, he held her thin shoulders and said in a hurried and anxious tone, "Did you have a nightmare? Wake up!"

[What's going on? Isn't this the formation set up by the Grand Onmyoji Haruaki Abe?]

[Is there a problem?]

For the first time, Tsuru Maru doubted his memory.

"Cold …"

"What?"

"Cold, scared."

Tears flowed down Junka Hoshino's cheeks. Her voice was unexpectedly sobbing, "Mom and Dad died …"

[Sure enough, she had a nightmare.]

Tsuru Maru, who hadn't dealt with children who had nightmares for many years, had a dumbfounded expression. He wanted to break the blade.

In desperation, he took a deep breath and hugged the girl tightly in his arms.

"It's the first time I've met a master like you."

He rested his chin on the girl's head and said helplessly, "… I say, what's going on with you?

That was too much of a scare. "

[So the responsibility of the Initial Blade is actually so heavy?]

Tsuru Maru was both happy and sad.

"Okay, okay, don't be scared," Tsuru Maru comforted her awkwardly, "My name is Tsurumaru Kuninaga, can you hear me?

My name is Tsurumaru Kuninaga, a tachi born during the Heian period. It's your … Initial Blade. That's what you said before, right?

Although I don't know how you know me in human form, I'm really handsome, lively, and have a lot of personality. "

Perhaps even he didn't realize that he had unconsciously softened his voice.

"… In the future, let me accompany you and fight for you."

Under his comforting words, the girl's abnormality finally stopped.

Tsuru Maru let out a long sigh.

He reached out a hand and was about to put the cloak back on the girl's body. Suddenly, he felt a warm liquid fall on his collarbone.

'Oh no, it can't be saliva, right?' he thought uncomfortably.

The new master in his arms reached out and hugged him back.

"Hello."

The new owner seemed to want to control her emotions, but unfortunately, her calm voice was still mixed with sobs.

"… Hello, Tsurumaru Hall."

Tears fell drop by drop on his collarbone and slid down his chest, causing him to tremble.

Tsuru Maru unconsciously hugged her harder.

"My name is Junka Hoshino.

In the future … please take care of me. "

The autumn wind and the flickering lights swayed in the dark night. In the silent forest, in the silent wooden house, there were only two figures quietly hugging each other.

The next morning.

"Mine??

There are crane patterns on it, so it's called Tsuru Maru. "

Brilliant sunlight shone through the gaps between the windows, gently sprinkling on the two people in the room.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga held his original body and carefully explained it to Junka.

"Here's the knife??

It's long been lost.

I used to mind it, but it doesn't matter now. "

"It really doesn't matter?"

"Ah, yes.

But if master can help me find it, I'll be very happy. "

Junka Hoshino nodded thoughtfully.

"Then, because of my knife?

There are gentian flowers engraved on it, so it's also called 'Li Wudong'. "

She quietly said, "Why is it a gentian flower?"

"Maybe it looks more elegant." Tsuru Maru irresponsibly guessed.

Junka Hoshino nodded.

"Don't misunderstand, master, I'm a very sharp knife."

Tsuru Maru emphasized, "Whether it's treating me as a precious treasure for generations or viewing me as a work of art, I'll be bored to death."

"Then what does Tsurumaru Hall want to do?"

The girl who regained her "emotions" and was learning to "perceive" confusedly asked the Fu Mourning God beside her.

"Of course it's to go to the battlefield." Tsuru Maru said matter-of-factly.

Junka hesitantly said, "In that case, the clothes will be dirty."

"My pure white clothes, if it's dyed red on the battlefield, won't I look more like a crane?" Tsuru Maru said, "Isn't that also very beautiful?"

"… If the whole body is dyed red, then it's a flamingo.

A flamingo isn't a crane. "

Tsuru Maru was at a loss for words.

"Okay, I understand what you mean."

Junka's eyebrows curved, "Of course I'll let you go to the battlefield, this way I can maximize the strength of the swords, isn't it?"

Tsurumaru Kuninaga sighed lightly, "It's great that master can think like this."

He first stood up, then extended his hand to Junka so that the girl could use it to stand up, and then pointed at the scattered swords in the room.

"These, like me, have lost their value as weapons with the changes of time."

They originally thought that they would pass the rest of their days in boredom, but unexpectedly, they were gathered here and awakened because of someone's summons.

"A second ago, it seemed like I was still in the Pill of Three, being carefully taken care of by a cute little girl."

It was rare for him to be like an old grandpa, talking about the unforgettable past. "At this time, a group of ferocious fellows barged in and began to fight for us … Aiya, that was a familiar yet strange scene … Although I can understand, I really can't agree with it."

Tsuru Maru sighed, "Even at the end of the road, such a fragile little girl still wants to protect us.

Master, don't you think it's interesting … All this time, haven't the swords been protecting humans? "

Junka quietly listened to Tsurumaru Kuninaga's confession.

The swords protect humans, but humans also want to protect the swords.

She thought so, but she didn't say it out loud.

Because she knew that at this moment, Tsuru Maru would definitely not take her words to heart.

"That's right, master."

Tsuru Maru bent down, his eyes shining as he stared at Junka, "Do you know what the flower language of the gentian flower is?"

She shook her head.

"It's — falling in love with you when you're frightened."