Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

The three members from the guild kept Kakashi and Eya under their wands as Father walked to the stair.

Hitori grunted. He was squatting on the ground, his back was hurting, and so was his jaw. The blood mixed with his sweat and dropped down his chin to the wooden landing.

Hitori took deep breaths to control his panting. He heard a metal clank against something soft, Hitori raised his head and found a black metal box flying towards his head.

He saw Father's leg raised in the air, behind the box, near the stairs. "Take your fucking box," he said.

Hitori raised his hand and grabbed the box, but fell on his butt. He felt the gun against his hip. He pushed himself off the ground and got to his knees.

He looked at the box in his hands. It was just as new, just covered in dust from the side. He glared at Father again.

His frown expanded. "I told you… not to glare at me!"

Hitori continued. He lifted his upper lip and spat on the floor by him. Father clenched the wooden railing, he looked behind him, then laughed.

"You bastard… you brat… the typical friend of Jigoku and the man sleeping with that slut. You bastard… you do not know how what I did for Jigoku…"

He turned, and Hitori released his glare. He held the box and rose from the floor. His pain was mild, not severe. He had gone through a treatment worse than this before, yet he had survived.

Father walked towards the room after turning. Hitori watched from the landing, but he needed to hide from the people downstairs, so he climbed the first step.

"I gave him everything," Father cried, "everything after Akemi shattered my dreams. I gave him love, money, beating, magic, and whatnot. But he refused to accept me."

Hitori was not in the mood to hear his monologue, but he needed time to figure out things, too. He checked on the three members first. They held their wands still, they would not drop their guard so easily.

Father continued, "He was conspiring with Kaki to run away with him. Fortunately, I heard him. I gave him and his mom a good beating that day. But that bastard then ran without his mom."

Hitori froze on the second step. He clenched the box in his hands. "Even his mother? He went that far…" Hitori muttered to himself.

Father bent down to grab something off the floor. He rose and continued, "It was the same with that bitch. I gave her a good beating. She was pregnant and HIV positive. Is that what I hoped for from her?"

Hitori climbed another stair. Now he could see Father. He was holding a wand given to Hitori by Kamiya. He frowned, what is he planning? He thought.

Hitori stopped halfway through the staircase. He had his wand to attack, then why did he take Hitori's wand?

To find the answer, he had to wait. The middle man glanced at Hitori. "Stay back, brat. Stay where you are," he said.

Hitori glanced at him. He took a step back and went to the corner, near the wall. He kept Father in his sight as he bent to put the box on the stair.

"I hoped she would take over as the guild leader." He pulled the wand in front of him and studied it. "I had allowed a woman to take over the family's legacy as the guild leader…" Father continued.

Only he knew what he was thinking. He held the wand in between his fingers, then dropped it, still holding it in a pinch. He released the wand, then grabbed it before it could drop.

"A dinosaur's core…" he muttered.

Hitori stopped midday. He rose and eyed Father. Hitori remembered when Kamiya had given him the wand, a wand that was worth thousands of yen.

"Hm… he spent a lot of money for a wand… that I could SNAP in a second."

"No…" Hitori said. He shook his head. His heart was beating faster than before.

"All the thousands of yen would be wasted in a second…"

"No… you can not." Hitori wanted Father to break the wand. The moment he does will be the moment he will have a bullet in his head.

Hitori lifted his hand, took another step back, and moved his hand to his back. He swept it under the jacket and grabbed the cuboidal block of metal. Hitori took a deep breath and got ready to pull the gun anytime.

"He was not the only one playing 'Super Spy'. I knew everything he did, well, most of the things he did," He lowered his voice with every sentence he said. He looked at Hitori and anger formed on his nose again. "I told you…" he said, "do not show me those eyes!"

Father threw Hitori's wand and fired a spell at him.

Hitori clenched the handle and pulled the gun as he jumped to the landing. He banged on the landing but landed on his feet.

He saw a beam piercing through the wall where he was standing before. Then Hitori looked downstairs. He had gained people's attention.

Father stood in the porch and fired another spell at Hitori. Hitori rolled to the lower stairs, holding the gun in front of him.

"I thought he was going to break it!" Hitori grunted. "But he just wanted a wand." He looked at the gun, he found his thumb moving to the barrel's end. He pushed the gun's safety.

"Come out, you thief!" He heard Father.

Hitori moved his hand over the gun's barrel and grabbed it at the end. He gulped and listened to Father:

"If you do not… your friends will… no," he lowered his voice again, "you will lose this wand."

Hitori clenched his jaw. He pulled the barrel to the end and released it. Everyone downstairs heard the cocking of a gun, but they refused to believe a mage teen was carrying a gun.

Senso closed his eyes. He was concentrating on the little noise transmitted through the walls. He leaned on the wall and listened. He saw the image of Kakashi and Eya, Father, three guild members, and finally Hitori.

Atama glanced around the room. "Something is going on upstairs. Shall we leave, Senso-sensei?"

Senso did not reply. He lowered his head and put his right hand across his chest in the kimono. He grabbed the dagger he was holding in his armpit.

Then they heard a bullet shot. Senso jumped away from the wall. The bullet shot injured his ear, but he controlled himself and pulled the dagger from the sheath.

The men bolted from their spot and raced to the stairs. The women got up, shrieked, and left the room. The people outside jumped from the chairs and rushed inside.

Atama jumped and turned to the staircase. "We need to stop them!" he whispered in Senso's ear.

Atama closed his eyes and was about to chant a spell when Senso's eyes glinted. He opened his eyes and stepped forward.

"I have got it," he muttered and drew his dagger.