Volume Two: The Young Man of a Thousand Faces—Truth in Disguise Chapter Forty-Two: The Eaglet in Its Nest

The sound of the hotpot bubbling was especially clear in the private room. Huo Ye remained bent over, not straightening his back. Kazama Ruri had no idea that his sister had died because of him, and Huo Ye had no idea how Kazama Ruri would react once he found out. If Ruri wanted to blame him or scold him, Huo Ye would accept it, because he had run away back then. All these years, whenever he thought of Big Sister and the Old Smoker, that suffocating guilt would seize him without mercy. He wanted to apologize, yet couldn't even find them.

Kazama Ruri looked completely at a loss. “Huo, why are you apologizing to me? We’re meeting for the first time—you’ve done nothing to wrong me.”

Huo Ye took a deep breath and said, “Your sister, Kazama Nozomi, was a soldier in our Reaper Hunting Corps before she died. Her first mission was to escort a young boy into the Calamity Wilds, a place that shouldn't have been dangerous. But an Ultimate Being appeared there. She and another soldier used their lives to hold it off, just so that boy could escape.”

Kazama Ruri suddenly understood. She asked, “That boy… was you?” Huo Ye hadn’t said it directly, but it was clear enough. Her sister had once told her she was finally going on a mission; after so much effort, she’d joined the Reaper Hunting Corps and wanted to do a good job, to one day become as great as Captain Halls.

No one had expected that her first mission would also be her last.

Huo Ye replied, “It was me. If I hadn’t held them back, they could have escaped. It was my fault; I caused your sister’s death. I don’t ask for your forgiveness, because no matter what I do, Big Sister will never come back. I owe the Kazama family a life.”

Silence once again filled the room. Huo Ye waited for Kazama Ruri’s reproach or questioning, but none came.

“Please sit up,” Kazama Ruri suddenly said.

Huo Ye straightened, eyes wide. “You don’t blame me?”

Kazama Ruri shook her head, a melancholy that couldn’t be hidden in her eyes, but she still spoke generously, “I don’t blame you. It was never your fault. No matter how strong you are now, at the time, you were just a child. Running was the right choice. If it were my sister, she would never blame you. I should be thanking you. I never knew how my sister died, but now I do. She died protecting someone, leaving as a hero, not as a meaningless casualty. I’m genuinely proud of her.”

Huo Ye couldn’t help but marvel at Kazama Ruri: she seemed delicate, but her heart was exceptionally resilient. To maintain such composure in the face of her loved one’s death—someone like her was bound for greatness.

Before Huo Ye could gather his thoughts, Kazama Ruri asked, “Huo, I have another question. Do you remember what that Ultimate Being looked like?”

Huo Ye seemed to understand and asked, “You want revenge?”

“Yes!” Kazama Ruri nodded.

Huo Ye hesitated for a moment, then said, “Alright, I’ll tell you. You don’t need to know what he looks like; he was just in human form. I know his name—he’s called Hill. Now, he’s become the Tenth Calamity.”

When Huo Ye first saw Hill, he had only just acquired a human form, but it was as though fate favored him. In just a few short years, Hill ascended to the top of the Calamity hierarchy—the Twelve Calamities.

Huo Ye only knew this thanks to Bobby.

Eddy possessed a unique ability called “Carousel.” If his skin touched the blood of any creature, he could read their memories. Although Calamities had no blood, the black liquid that made up their bodies could serve as a medium for memories. From Bobby’s memories, Eddy learned that Hill had become the Tenth Calamity and passed the information to Huo Ye.

Kazama Ruri was visibly stunned at the mention of the “Tenth Calamity,” but then she gave a wry smile. “The Twelve Calamities… truly a formidable enemy. But I think… I can give it a try. If I fail, so be it—I’ll die trying.”

Huo Ye felt no gloom at her words. Instead, he laughed. “You want to kill the Twelve Calamities? That’s a wild idea—and as it happens, I share it!”

Huo Ye was the future heir of the Reaper Hunting Corps, and his ambitions far surpassed those of his father, Eddy Halls. His goals were clear: first, to be able to independently slay an Ultimate Being; next, a Calamity-level foe; and then, finally—the Twelve Calamities!

The fledgling eagle still in the nest already harbored dreams of the vast sky. One day, they would become mighty hunters, preying on the strongest of Calamities—the Twelve Calamities themselves.

Kazama Ruri was lazy to her core, even her voice soft and languid, as if she could barely muster the energy to speak. But now, it was as if a surge of passion had filled her; her eyes sparkled. “Huo, I have an unreasonable request.”

“What is it? Go ahead,” Huo Ye replied.

“I want to join the Reaper Hunting Corps!” Kazama Ruri declared resolutely. “If I want to avenge my sister, I must meet Hill. The Reaper Hunting Corps is the strongest, the one most likely to face the Twelve Calamities. Don’t worry about my abilities—if I wished, I could become an officer, even vice president, of the Society of Truth at any time.”

Huo Ye couldn’t help but gasp. He hadn’t realized Kazama Ruri was so formidable. The Society of Truth was one of the academy’s seven great societies, specializing in spatial manipulation. For her to be able to claim she could become its vice president at will, she must be one of the academy’s top talents.

He had no doubt she spoke the truth—Kazama Ruri was not the kind to boast out of vanity.

So Huo Ye extended his hand. “Very well, Miss Kazama. As the future captain of the Reaper Hunting Corps, I welcome you and invite you to join the society I’m about to form.”

Kazama Ruri shook his hand. As if a weight had been lifted from her heart, she reverted to her sleepy demeanor, showing none of the distress one would expect from someone who had just learned the truth of her sister’s death. She said leisurely, “Very well, I look forward to working with you, Captain.”

“Yes, I look forward to it,” Huo Ye replied, not minding her use of “Captain.” He took it as a joke.

But Kazama Ruri immediately sat back down, picked up her chopsticks, and fished out the now-overcooked beef, blowing on it to cool it as she spoke. “Let’s continue eating. Captain, honestly, you had to bring up such a heavy topic in the middle of a meal.”

Huo Ye felt his worldview about to collapse. Why are there so many eccentrics at Bancroft? That was such a solemn and weighty subject, and yet she could so calmly resume eating—how large must her heart be? What kind of appetite does this girl have?

He sat back down but didn’t touch his chopsticks.

Kazama Ruri asked, “Captain, you’ve said all you needed to say—why don’t you eat?”

Huo Ye rubbed his stomach. “You go ahead—I have a stomachache.” But it wasn’t his stomach; he was so exasperated his liver ached. He suddenly wondered what all his emotional build-up had been for. Never mind—now his stomach really did hurt.

Why are there so many oddballs at Bancroft? Huo Ye couldn’t help but wonder.

After lunch, the two parted ways. At the entrance of the hotpot restaurant, Kazama Ruri raised her pristine white parasol and waved goodbye. “I’ll be there on the day the society is founded. Goodbye, Captain.”

“Alright, see you.”

In the distance, Shangguan Yudie happened to witness the scene. For reasons unknown, she didn’t step forward to greet her Little Ye, but quietly slipped away.