Without taking his eyes off Hao, he walked step by step in his direction, clutching the sword tightly. A horror movie was playing in his head. He saw Yuna, how she smiled, how she nursed him back to health and how she looked at him with her incomparable gaze, but suddenly everything went black and he saw her motionless body again. Everything was dark, cold and still. The silence that he feared and that reminded him of his parents enveloped his heart. He hated being alone, but nobody knew about it. For years he had nightmares and he tried to hide them and run away from them. Then he met Yuna. Her smile and warmth captured his heart and since then he has not had nightmares at night. For the first time after the death of his parents he felt the feeling that he had been missing for so long: love ... But now it was all over again. Everything was taken away from him and all that remained was the endless hatred of Hao. He clutched his sword tighter until his bones were white.His hand ached a little, but he paid no heed to it. His thoughts were only with Hao and no one else. Slowly he raised the sword. He was only a few yards from Hao. This stood there and grinned angrily. The spirit of fire stood next to him and his gesture made Horo understand that he was ready to attack him. But Horo was not frightened by anything or anyone. What he wanted was revenge.
"The girl was so stupid. She just gave up her life to save you. But it was all in vain, because I will destroy you here and now!"
Hao laughed. At the same time, Horo took a run and ran towards him.
"Kororo ... into the sword!"
Suddenly I was in the air and raised the sword in the air for momentum. But he wasn't fast enough because Hao built a barrier of fire that was impenetrable. Horo's sword bounced off the wall and he was hurled back. He fell hard on the floor and a little blood came out of his mouth.His breathing became heavier, but he slowly got up and tried again.
"You really haven't learned anything! But I want to play a little with you before my spirit of fire destroys you! Hahaha !!!"
At the same moment the wall of fire disappeared. Horo was surprised, but he took the chance and attacked Hao. However, this was no longer in its place. Too late, Horo realized he was in the air. Hao gave him a hard kick on the shoulder and Horo flew across the air until he fell to the ground even more roughly than the first time.
"Ah…"
He didn't have enough strength to scream because his whole body ached. His body contracted in pain, but he wouldn't give up until Hao was defeated. With a strong will, he rose. Hao's laughter could be heard again.
"Yes! I haven't had enough fun with you yet! Come on, attack me !!!"

Why did her chest hurt so much? Your body was damp, was it blood?But she didn't have enough strength to open her eyes. What happened then? She tried to remember ... Suddenly it fell like scales from her eyes. Horo! He was in danger and she rammed the knife into the brood! Was she dead yet? Now she perceived a noise. No, it was a laugh ... Hao's laugh! She would recognize it anywhere. She tried again to open her eyes, but it didn't work. She felt terribly weak, as if her energy had been drained. Now she heard another voice. Who was that? Horo? No, his voice was different. But who was it then? She listened more carefully. That was ... Arisu! And someone else was there, but she didn't know who. She noticed her head lift up and something liquid poured into her mouth. She swallowed it down. She heard Arisus voice again. Apparently she tried to tell her something, but Yuna didn't understand anything. She twitched a little because she suddenly had a little strength in her body again.Now she slowly opened her eyes. At first everything was blurry, but then she could see Arisus face.
"A ... ri ... su ..."
"Yuna, you are alive! I'm happy!"
Yuna looked to the right and she finally realized who the other person was: Ms. Hiroshi. She had loved Yuna's flowers and always asked Mr. Hiroshi to bring some for her. She was like a grandmother to Yuna.
"Woman ... Hi ... roshi ..."
"Yuna, you finally woke up. I was in the forest and picked herbs. Luckily I met Arisu. She told me everything and then we hurried to the village. When we arrived we saw you lying on the ground and we thought you were dead. Then we carried you into the hut and I gave you a Kenta herbal juice. I'm so relieved ... What happened anyway? Why are you injured and where is Katsu? "
Yuna's sadness could be seen in her eyes.
"I'm ... sorry, Ms. Hiroshi."
"Why? What happened?"
"Mr. Hiroshi ... is dead."Arisus eyes widened and Ms. Hiroshi's gaze went blank. She didn't cry, but Yuna knew she wanted to.
"It's my fault, Ms. Hiroshi. I was late and couldn't save him ..."
Ms. Hiroshi tried to pull herself together and hide her grief. Her voice was trembling.
"No ... It's not your fault, Yuna. I know you would do anything to save Katsu."
"Why are you hurt?" Asked Arisu.
"I wanted to save Horo."
"I do not quite understand…"
"You don't have to understand that at the moment. We have to do something about Hao. If this continues, he will destroy our entire village. Ms. Hiroshi, you must be strong now!"
Ms. Hiroshi looked Yuna in the eye. Even though she was badly injured, the determination could be seen on her face.
"Yuna, you are badly injured. You need to rest."
"No, it doesn't work. I can't watch Hao destroy the villagers."
"But…"
"No. Please let me."Ms. Hiroshi just couldn't stop them. She took a small can out of her pocket.
"Here, this is an ointment. It helps with all injuries."
The mayor's wife covered Yuna's injury with the ointment and wrapped a bandage around her body.
"Thank you."
"Tell me one more thing: who is this Horo?"
"He's a shaman, about my age, and his name is Horo Usagi. I don't know much about him, but he showed up in the forest a week ago and was badly injured. I then nursed him back to health. He always wore a mask . "
Ms. Hiroshi seemed lost in thought.
"You mean he was wearing a mask?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Does he have blue hair?"
"Uh ... yes. What about him, Ms. Hiroshi?"
"Yuna, are you sure his name is Usagi?"
"Well ... He told me it was his name. But he hesitated when he gave me his name. I'm not sure if his name is really Usagi."
"And does he fight with a sword?""Yes! How did you know? Do you know him?"
"I don't think so ... It can't possibly be true!"
"Tell me already, Ms. Hiroshi! Why do you know so much about Horo?"
Ms. Hiroshi hesitated a little, as if to make sure she wasn't wrong in her assumption.
"His real name is probably Horo Usui."
Yuna was paralyzed. She just couldn't believe Ms. Hiroshi pronounced that name.
"Usui ?! Am I wrong or do you mean ..."
"No Yuna, you are not mistaken."
"But then that means that ..."
"Yes, Horo is the son of the protector of the village of Chiyo. His parents were among the elite shamans, just like your parents. The Asakuras and the Usuis were the strongest shamans in our village."
"Mr. Hiroshi told me about it, but what happened to the Usuis? Why do they no longer live in the village? And why do they have a son?"
"It was a long time ago ... Back when you weren't born, Hao wanted to destroy the village.Fortunately, the Asakuras and Usuis protected Chiyo. We were not afraid of Hao as our village had very strong shamans. But we didn't expect Hao to trap us. One evening his shamans appeared and lured Horo's parents out into the forest. Unfortunately, we noticed too late that Horo's parents were no longer in the village. However, when we got to the forest, they were gone. Suddenly Hao appeared. He told us that he injected a potent poison into Horo's parents and took them into his captivity. It was clear to us that he wanted to take out the elite shamans in our village in order to destroy Chiyo. We intended to storm into the valley of darkness to save her. But Hao threatened to kill her on the spot. We didn't know what to do ... "
"And what happened after that?"
"The village was at a loss. We couldn't put the lives of Horo's parents at risk. Suddenly we received a message from a shaman.He said that Horo's parents somehow escaped. We were both happy and worried because the Usuis were badly poisoned and they couldn't get very far. We tried to find them immediately, but unfortunately they had disappeared without a trace. At that time we thought they were dead. "
"And how is it that they have a son?"
"I'm not sure, but I suspect that somehow they survived."
"And why are you so sure that Horo is one of the Usuis?"
"The mask and the sword were the heirlooms of the Usuis. These are passed on from generation to generation."
"Now I understand ... So Horo is also from the village of Chiyo."
"Yes, Yuna. But there is one thing I don't understand. Why didn't Horo's parents come back to the village?"
"I find that very strange too, Ms. Hiroshi. But we don't have time to think about it now, we have to help Horo. He's definitely fighting Hao!"
Yuna got up immediately and she was amazed that her body hardly hurt any more.The Kenta herbs really are a miracle cure. Unfortunately, they cannot resuscitate a dead person. Because otherwise she could Mr. Hiroshi ...
"Wait Yuna!"
"Why? We mustn't waste any time."
"There's something else I haven't told you."
Yuna listened.
"What?"
Ms. Hiroshi's gaze became very serious.
"There is a way to destroy Hao!"