Kapitel 377: Ch377. Ultimatum
The morning came faster than expected and Rei realized the time as the leader of his village made him soft.
He became a lot stronger since his time playing a ninja for Kirigakure but when he woke up today because his senses picked up fifteen new and quite strong signatures coming into his passive range, approaching Pieta, he wasn't happy about it.
In fact, Rei wanted to just roll over and continue sleeping.
At least, before his eyes widened at that thought. He didn't even realize how he got used to the comfort of peaceful life.
Unfortunately, it was time to be a ninja so he had to get up from his bed.
These kinds of moments made him wonder if it wasn't high time for a change in profession. Being a ninja sounded cool when one didn't have to actually live through the gritty bits full of filth, early mornings, and hard training with no stop on end.
He would also mention killing but considering some people actually enjoyed that...
Rei had a nice and plentiful breakfast... and yes, he was still totally smug about making storage scrolls capable of storing food and water even though it happened over two decades ago... managed to properly wake up, and still had time before the Yoma forces would arrive.
It was maddening how conceited these monsters were.
Rei sensed as they finally entered the town and some of them started sneaking around, probably to surprise attack the hidden Claymores.
That told Rei some of the Yomas most likely had some way to sense this 'Yoki' since they knew where the silver-eyed witches were hiding.
He quickly suppressed his chakra even further, just to be sure. He definitely did not want to have to chase them if they decided to run away. Why should he bother when these Yomas were all coming to him, gathering in one place?
The first Yoma was trying to sneak in through the underground and the Claymores that were currently right above it, hiding in a house, had no idea about its presence.
"Great. If I don't interfere somebody is definitely going to die." Rei muttered to himself in dissatisfaction. "These girls are so gonna enter Anko's special boot camp once they join our ranks. That ought to improve their spatial awareness if they want it or not."
As Rei predicted, the Yoma burst from the floor, instantly grasping one of the Claymores around her waist in a surprise attack. Its hand was actually big enough it could hold the silver-eyed short-haired blonde like a kid would a doll.
The Yoma started to squeeze, causing the woman in its grasp to try resisting while a pain-filled scream tore out of her throat as her spine started to give out and her muscles and organs ground against each other inside of her due to her waist being forcefully compressed.
Her spine already started cracking and the Yoma was about to delightfully go for the last push, intending to use its full power to squash her like a bloody grape when suddenly it stopped feeling its arm.
Purple blood started to gush out from the new stump the Yoma sported as its arm alongside the Claymore painfully gasping for air with a face full of tears and fear fell onto the ground.
The other Claymores in the room could only watch in shock as a man appeared in front of the Yoma, pitifully small compared to the massive humanoid monster, and...
The Yoma was somehow vertically split in two without him moving even an inch.
The Claymores warily watched as the man turned around and gave them a cheerful smile, "You alright?"
The women clearly did not think what to think about what just happened but they did not drop their guard. Rei was actually mildly impressed by that. At least they seemed to be trainable, unlike the Yomas.
It was then the short-haired blonde groaned, alerting the other Claymores to her presence.
"Pamela!" Shouted one of them, carefully starting to approach her downed ally without stopping to look at Rei even for a second.
...
At the same time, on a roof of a different house, another group of Claymores was lying in wait, hoping to ambush an incoming enemy.
Unfortunately for them, there was another Yoma who snuck in through the ground and was about to use the exact same tactics as the first, intending to burst through the roof from below right under the weakest Claymore in the group.
It wouldn't take a genius to know what the Yomas goal was.
Unlike the first one, this didn't aim to grab the Claymore. Instead, its claws came first and were aimed to rip the Claymore open from the middle of her stomach up, probably fully bisecting her up to her right shoulder.
Rei, or rather, another of his shadow clones as it was too bothersome to move himself at this point in time, wasn't having that.
As the Yoma burst through the roof, Rei appeared behind the Yomas target, a girl with blonde hair done in two short braids, and put his arms around her waist before jumping back, causing her to evade her untimely meeting with death.
This happened so fast, the girl didn't even manage to react, only realizing she almost died when Rei landed with her a few feet away on the roof. The girl instantly started to hyperventilate from shock... but to give her credit, for how weak she was, it was commendable she gathered her wits almost instantly.
She was like a genin on a battleground full of jonins. Her fear was understandable.
The Yoma seemed incredibly surprised that it missed its target. It was some kind of humanoid with three eyes, the third one not exactly on the forehead, rather between its eyebrows, and it also sported bat-like wings.
Rei's clone watched how the Yoma took to the skies, clearly planning to make use of its aerial advantage and do hit and run tactics against the Claymores and him who were bound to the ground.
Unfortunately for it, the skill Rei chose to reveal for the time being was his Wind Manipulation.
The Yoma did not get far as its body suddenly split, its limbs, wings, and head separating from its torso mid-air due to invisible blades of wind doing their job.
It died with the disturbing and sadistic smile still on its face as it didn't even manage to realize its demise as the parts that previously made up its body fell separated onto the ground.
Seeing that, the Claymores instantly turned towards Rei who was still nonchalantly holding one of their comrades around her waist, and their guard was instantly raised.
They clearly did not like the situation since Rei had in his hands one of them and they also realized it was him who killed that Yoma.
Their eyes held resignation. They knew they would not be surviving a fight with someone who could do... that to an Awakened Being. But there was also a determination to fight to the last breath.
Rei smiled in satisfaction at their reaction and lazily put his chin on the shoulder of the slightly shaking woman in his arms as he spoke, "Don't you have other things to do than staring at me as if I was some kind of pervert?"
...
On the square, lizard-like massive Yoma was fighting another group of Claymores and managed to score a hit against one of them, pushing its open hand against her while she was mid-air, jumping towards it. The Yoma's hand suddenly stretched, planning to squash the Claymore like a fly on the brick wall of the nearby house.
The Claymore would most likely survive it with multiple broken bones if the Yoma stopped its attack once it broke down the wall with the Claymore's body but Rei's clone could see in its eyes that it wanted to push its hand forward until the Claymore was just a mangled mess of flesh.
He quickly sent a wind blade, separating the stretched arm from the Yoma's body and saving the Claymore's life despite the fact she did destroy a brick house with her body and many of her bones were broken because of it.
That woman was out of commission and would not be getting up anytime soon.
But at least she was still alive.
...
Rei made exactly twenty-four clones, one to watch over each Claymore. The Yomas clearly aimed to kill them in a way that was not instant, their attacks aimed to tear off limbs while also bisecting their target at the waist. This way, the Claymore they hit would be still alive for a few tens of seconds, feeling the pain and being fully aware her death was coming while only able to quietly dread it.
It was a cruel way of fighting but it was also the sole reason why the Claymores had even a remote chance at winning.
The Yomas were stronger than the Claymores. So much it wasn't even funny. The only reason why the Claymores could fight them was that the Yomas were playing with them.
There were only two more Claymores Rei's clones saved from certain death. Others were doing pretty well for themselves even though they were slowly being pushed back as the Yomas started to surround them.
Injuries slowly piled up, as Rei's clones only saved those in deadly situations and things like a torn arm were completely within the acceptable range, and the longer the fight dragged on, the less Claymores were able to properly fight.
The revealed clones of Rei didn't join the fray, they just sat on the nearest roof and watched the fight.
The more desperate the situation became, the more Miria, the leader of the Claymores and the strongest of the ones gathered in the town, was looking in the direction of Rei's clones.
Rei saw Miria's looks but he wasn't about to interfere until he felt the Claymores were sufficiently despairing.
It took another half an hour and by now, the last remaining Claymores capable of combat were gathered in a circle in the middle of the town square, surrounded by the Yomas who were having a lot of fun, while in the middle of the Claymore encirclement were all their members too injured to continue fighting.
The situation seemed hopeless enough for them so one of Rei's clones finally stood up while the remaining four revealed clones poofed out of existence, and smirked at Miria whose eyes outright begged for help.
The clone spoke, giving her his ultimatum. "I will give you a choice. I can help you survive. All of you. But you all will have to desert the Organization and become mine. What about it? A cheap price to keep your lives, no?"
Kapitel 378: Ch378. Decision
Hearing the ridiculous proposition of the Yoma who for some reason seemed to save five of her comrades from certain death before it decided to just observe made Miria's despair only increase.
She had no idea what a Yoma of his strength would want with Claymores but probably nothing good. She heard a few stories about Riful, the Abyssal One of the West, the strongest Awakened Being in the western part of the world. Riful supposedly enjoyed torturing Claymores in various ways until they either died or awakened and even then, Miria heard that Riful killed every awakened one she didn't deem strong enough.
Miria shuddered at such a fate but the lives of her comrades depended on her decision. Her options were not great. Certain death or servitude to a Yoma who wanted who knows what with them.
Because that's what the man obviously was. There was no male capable of matching even the weakest Claymore in the world.
The only males capable of doing that were the former warriors of Organization before it started to use solely females because males usually awakened of their own volition rather than trying to suppress it.
The problem with male Awakened Beings is that they are all centuries old at this point. Experienced and incredibly strong. They all were exceptional warriors even before they became Yomas too.
The one in front of Miria, however, seemed to be even stronger than that.
For all Miria knew, the man in front of her could be another Abyssal One, Isley of the Northern Lands!
She saw how easily he dispatched the other Awakened Beings that were all male themselves. She didn't really see what he did. She didn't see him moving but... he had to move to cut the Yomas, no?
Yet, Miria, one of the fastest Claymores of the current generation, so much that it earned her the moniker of Phantom because she left after-images of herself after moving, couldn't even perceive his movements!
'Not accepting his offer is certain death.' Miria bitterly realized and gripped the handle of her sword tighter, 'We will either die to the Yomas surrounding us or he will get bored and slaughter us all alongside the Yomas. Dammit! I didn't survive for so long to die like this!'
For years now, Miria survived one suicide mission after another. The Organization clearly wanted her dead because she was 'half-Awakened' and then for trying to uncover the truth behind them and the only reason why she was not yet declared rogue with multiple single-digit Claymores hunting her was that she was the current number 6.
She might not be able to match any Claymore below her number since that was the league of the real monsters but warriors of her strength were not easy to get and that saved her from such a fate so far.
But apparently, this whole mission was just one big disposal of troublemakers.
Miria didn't have any illusions about Yomas. Since the man on the roof was certainly a Yoma himself, he would definitely be like the others and despite his cheerful and approachable facade, there would be sadistic and cruel nature hidden underneath it. Yet...
She glanced at her comrades who were looking at her with almost pleading worry, apparent unease, and, much to Miria's shame, a hint of hope on their faces, and at that moment, her mind was made.
'Even if we become his playthings, at least we will survive.' She wryly smiled, knowing that if the man really wanted to torture them into awakening, many of her comrades alongside her would rather choose death at that point. But... Miria couldn't make that choice for others. 'It's the only way.'
"I can't speak for you!" She loudly exclaimed, getting the attention of other Claymores while being grateful that this display seemed to be amusing for the Yomas surrounding them, so they just watched the drama unfold without attacking. "But I think we should accept the... offer."
Miria's tone was a level quieter with a hint of resignation and defeat. Usually, suggesting to surrender to a Yoma would quickly get her many cries of outrage. Doing that would be the quickest way to get on the hit list of the Organization and be hunted down by numbers one to five, the strongest Claymores the Organization currently had.
The Claymores around Miria clearly recognized that fact too, if the cynical and bitter smiles on their faces were any indication. There were only a few weaker Claymores that seemed highly uncomfortable but the higher-ranked ones understood her, in many cases already disillusioned with the Organization after experiencing their own shares of hardship.
After all, if they were not troublemakers, they would not be here.
"Heh, we are dead either way so what does it matter if the organization hunts us or not?" Helen exclaimed and grinned, breaking the pensive mood of the group, "I'd rather take my chances with him." She gestured with her head towards the man on the roof, showing she supported Miria's decision.
Miria was grateful for that but she also knew she could count on Helen, Deneve, and Clare as they also knew the Organization wanted them dead from their past joint mission where they almost died because the Organization 'accidentally' didn't give them enough information and sent them to hunt a male Awakened Being far above their strength.
Surviving that was frankly a miracle.
"I agree." Deneve also revealed her opinion in her usual reserved manner.
While neither Helen nor Deneve was one of the five leaders, they proved their worth during the previous battles so the other Claymores had quite a bit of respect for them.
No other Claymore expressed her agreement verbally but Flora, the current number eight, looked around at her comrades. She didn't like this one bit. She felt helpless and as calm as she looked, she didn't want to die.
She didn't train until her hands bled and her arms refused to move from repeating the motion of sheathing and unsheathing her blade so much it became second nature to her.
That's why she pursed her lips and also reluctantly agreed, "Fine. From the looks of it, we are all in agreement." She turned to Miria and nodded at her.
Miria was shocked that Flora accepted so readily. She pegged the mild-mannered woman that was like a sheathed blade most of the time as someone who would vehemently protest this because she thought it wrong but... apparently the Windcutter was not as loyal to the Organization as it first seemed.
Well, figures. She also wouldn't be here if she wasn't causing trouble.
Miria turned back to the man sitting on the roof and shouted, "You heard us. We agree to your terms!"
"Yes?" The man lifted his eyebrows.
"Yes!" Miria exclaimed nervously as the thought that this was just some elaborate play to mentally torture them crossed her mind.
"Hmm..." The man gave out a long thoughtful hum and Miria suddenly remembered something she saw on one of her missions where a high-ranked noble hired her to deal with a Yoma.
Swallowing her pride, she gritted her teeth. "Yes, Master."
That seemed to work as the man stopped his thinking and looked at her... before he snorted and slowly started to get up, "Oh, well. I guess I should do my part of the deal if you are willing to go that far, Miria-chan."
Miria grimaced at that and tried to ignore the silent snickers of Helen behind her as the tips of her ears definitely turned red.
One Yoma had clearly had enough of just observing and screamed in a tone that suggested it found this whole situation extremely entertaining, "Ha! You bitches think he can help y-"
It didn't finish its sentence because...
Suddenly, all the Awakened Beings in the surrounding stopped in their tracks and uncountable slash marks started appearing all over their bodies as their sadistic expressions full of enjoyment turned into bewildered ones... and suddenly they all burst like a balloon, smearing the town square with their purple blood and small bits that were previously their bodies.
Watching the spectacle, the Claymores couldn't believe their eyes as their jaws dropped from sheer shock and Miria was certainly not an exception.
Her feet betrayed her and she ended up dropping on her posterior, her legs folding next to her as she couldn't find words to describe her current feelings.
In the end, she could only bow her head to the man in resigned gratitude, relieved her decision seemed to be a correct one.
She just hoped this relief will last.
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