Chapter 9

There were murmurings amongst the crowd, most of which recognized Yu’s portrait. Some of the villagers visibly shrank in fear, whilst others bore confused expressions on their faces, unsure of whether to believe in the facts Rebecca had just spoken. But doubt had been sewn amongst their hearts, and Rebecca could see that.

“If you hand him over without resistance, I can promise you all that a generous reward will be given from our leader.” She continued, as arguments started to break out. Eventually an old woman called out for silence, and stepped forward to face her. 

“Whoever you are looking for is not in this village. Leave us be.” Obasan said. Rebecca just stared at her coldly.

“Hand Yamase Yu over and your people will be safe.” 

“From people like you? Never!” Obasan raised her cane and hit Rebecca’s left leg, but she didn’t flinch. Instead, her eyes flashed and the next instant the old woman fell to the ground. None of the villagers stepped forward to help her, fearful of suffering the same fate.

“Should we tell her? I don’t want to die…”

“He’s a criminal all this while? No wonder he had that shady look about him...”

“We should have never accepted him in the first place!”

The noise level rose again as the villagers bickered amongst themselves, as Rebecca allowed herself to smile slightly. The humans’ hearts were weak, still. All it takes is a little push.

Additional footsteps were heard and everyone turned towards Yuki, who was striding down the path. 

“What’s going on? Why is everyone gathered…” she then saw the figures in front of the villagers and froze upon seeing someone familiar. Her expression turned to one of utter shock, as Astrid grinned maliciously and stepped forward.

“Long time no see, Mizumo, Yuki.” Astrid gestured towards Rebecca, who pointed a finger at Yuki.

“She is the accomplice I mentioned earlier who assisted Yu in hiding.” Rebecca said, and the villagers gasped. 

“What are you talking about? Yu isn’t here. If you’ve come to stir up trouble, please leave us now!”

Even as she said so, Yuki readied one hand on the handle of her katana. Back then, when she fought Astrid in the ruined halls of Arachnid Academy, she was almost overwhelmed by her strength. Seeing her again out the blue left her speechless.

“Yuki, how could you do this to us? Harboring a criminal without our knowledge…”

“You’ve endangered us all!”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

Yuki looked at the crowd with desperation.

“You guys believe all that to be true? They don’t have a single piece of evidence to back up their claim!” she said.

“Oh I assure you, we do have evidence. Rebecca, if you please.” Astrid gestured.

Reaching into the folds of her robe, Rebecca pulled out a oval shaped device and pressed a button, which projected out a holographic footage. As it played, the color visibly drained from Yuki’s face.

The footage was of Yu murdering innocent civilians during the Human-Ergon battle. While Yuki knew of his actions then, witnessing them first hand was another matter altogether.

After a moment Rebecca switched the projection off and swept her arms outward in a gesture of triumph. 

“People…after seeing this, do you truly believe me now? Yamase Yu is a menace to be exterminated. He will eventually reveal his true colors and kill you all just as he did to the people in the footage you just witnessed. They had no warning of what he was capable of and we are here to give you that warning and prevent any further mishaps.”

At this, the villagers didn’t hesitate any longer. Two of them grabbed hold of Yuki while the rest fanned out to search for Yu. As Yuki struggled in the villagers’ grip, Astrid walked up to her.

“You seem pretty happy, living out your pathetic life.” She says, and slaps Yuki across her face.

“These four years, I’ve never forgotten how he turned his back on us. I still don’t know why Evelyn chose him…a human! Then all she got in return was her death.” Astrid seethed, backhanding Yuki again. Grabbing her face, she drew nearer.

“Tell me where he is.”

In response, Yuki quickly rear kicked the two villagers holding her hostage and spun away. She had barely gotten out her sword when it made contact with Astrid’s chainsaw. Metal grated against metal, before they broke from each other.

Amy and Sid advanced slowly, but Astrid held out an arm.

“I got a personal score to settle with her. You two go search the village.” 

“Ive got a concert in two hours. This better be quick.” Amy muttered, as she and Sid leapt over Yuki. She tried to stop them, only to meet Astrid’s chainsaw again. The force of the blow knocked her to the ground. 

Astrid leapt upon her, determined to land the fatal blow, but was blocked by two blades crossed on top of each other. She cursed and retreated.

“Who?!”

Trent stood before Yuki, a smile on his face. He slipped into a reverse Two Heavens stance, all the while keeping his gaze on Astrid.

“I didn’t ask for your help.” Yuki said, getting up.

“It doesn't matter. I help who I chose regardless if they call for it or not and I'm sure you got more important things to tackle. I’ll handle the chainsaw weilder.” Trent charged at Astrid before Yuki could respond, and she turned and ran, hoping she wasn't too late.

If they find Cassandra, its all over…