Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

"Yes! After Kyo-san took his second hand, he opened himself to Kyo-san. He then came upstairs to stop you from killing his son, but ended up breaking his arm."

Hitori gulped. "He let him go? How? Why did he listen to that bastard father?" Hitori demanded. "He should have ended it, right? He should have kicked him instead of listening to him. Do you not suspect—"

"Do not even say that, Hitori-san. We Akira is alive today, that is because of him. Please. Do not do that to him." Eya held her hands under her chin, ready to wipe her tears any second.

"Then why not? Why—"

"Dynamite," Kakashi said. Hitori frowned at him and bobbed his head. "Kamino had the building on dynamties. He threatened to blow the building the moment we tried to kill him."

"Dynamites? Is he insane?" Akira groaned. "What is wrong with this man?"

"Everything is wrong with him." Hitori rubbed his forehead, then pushed back his hair.

"The switch was on him. If he died, the building will go on lockdown and boom. Everyone would have died."

Hitori stared at him blankly for a moment. "I am going to my room," he said, and no one stopped him this time.

But as he grabbed the door handle, Kakashi said, "No fucking action. Do you understand?"

Hitori nodded. "Yeah, I do. No action."

Kyo-san had done something big for him. But why did Kamino set dynamites under his own house? It was wrong to call him a traitor father.

Although he did not do his best to protect his son (not sure if he wanted to), it seemed like he was not even aware of the incoming attack. He acted as fast as he could. He could not take his son and run, so he set dynamites.

He was trying to save his son. But then why offer to help Kyoryu? And, why break his son's arm? Was he really betraying his son and family?

That made Hitori wonder– what happened to Onogi's mother?

But Kyoryu did not let him think about that for another minute. They heard the thumping of stairs as Kyoryu approached them. He had his wand drawn and a tense expression on his face.

"I heard it," he said, looking at Kakashi, then at Eya, "I heard the Guardian Spirit."

Eya's face was already pale, and now Kakashi followed her. "W-What did he say?"

"I can not see him, but he told me that he is coming– his prey is coming right into the trap."

Hitori narrowed his eyes and lowered his eyebrows. "Tengoku," he muttered.

"They are coming?" Akira, who was close to the window, turned and pulled the curtain to peek outside. He shook his head and came back. "I do not see anyone out there."

Kyoryu nodded. "I searched too. No one's out, but the spirit said so, and they are never wrong."

"Prepare then," Hitori said. "Get ready for an assault. We will stand firm on his house."

"And it said one more thing," Kyoryu said. He was not worried, but the number tensed him. "They are coming in massive numbers– above fifty."

That fact did not bother Hitori. "Of course. Were you thinking that he will come alone or in tens after checking on the house?" he said.

Akira was sweating. "What do we do? We can not defend against that number."

"We can. It will be hard, but we can defend them," Hitori said. He walked to his room. "We will have to defend them. And that is not an option– it is a compulsion. I am waking Reon." He went into the room.

Kakashi turned and ran to the door. He opened it and looked outside. The darkness covered the area from three meters onwards. He would have sensed it if they were anywhere near.

He closed the door and came inside. From the room, Hitori came out with Reon behind him. All of her sleep vanished and fear took over when she heard his name.

She came with a gun in one hand and the magazine in another. She checked the bullets, then pushed the magazine inside. She held the gun in front of her and cocked it.

"Anything?" Hitori looked at Kakashi as he crossed the hall.

"Nothing. And it is too dark to see anyway."

Hitori walked past him and grabbed the curtains aside. Yes, as Kakashi said, it was too hard to see anything, but he still kept staring through the glass.

"We need to cast a protection spell," Eya broke the silence. "Kyo-san, help me."

Kyoryu nodded. "Form a barrier as close to the house as possible. We do not want to waste our mana." They climbed the stairs and went upstairs.

"Reon, come upstairs." Eya stopped on the landing and called her.

Reon glanced at her and smiled. "Sorry, I need to be here with Hitori."

Eya smiled back. "Alright. Be safe. Look after her, Hitori-san!" she called and went to the first floor.

Hitori stood steady, staring at the darkness. "Of course, I will," he muttered.

The Guardian said they were coming, but where were they? Just then, Hitori heard a whisper. He jerked around, but no one was standing close enough to whisper in his ears.

Kakashi had taken the backside and Akira was covering the left side. He gulped and went back to the glass. He heard the whisper again. This time, clearer than before. "He has arrived," it said.

"H-Hitori!" Akira shouted. "D-Did you hear that?"

Kakashi called from the kitchen, "It is the Guardian. But wait— why did you hear it?"

Hitori ignored them, he focused on the outside. Silence, nothing moved. Then suddenly, he heard numerous guns cock.

"Boys!" someone shouted, "ready!"

Hitori's eyes widened when he recognized the voice. Then he heard Kakashi grunt. "He is here."

Hitori raised his wand and heard: "Fire!"

"Hitori and Akira, take cover," Kakashi muttered and Hitori bent, then jumped over the sofa.

Bullets shattered the glass in the hall and made their way into the hall. They were showering the house with bullets.