Bursting from the black shell, Natsuki gasped, his body drenched in shadowy ink and strange warmth. He stumbled forward, coughing violently as steam hissed from his skin. His limbs trembled—but he was alive.
"...What just happened?" he muttered, clutching his chest. "How... am I alive?"
A voice—cold, mechanical, yet oddly present—echoed inside his mind:
> [YOU HAVE BEEN RESURRECTED BY THE INK MASTER SYSTEM. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?]
Natsuki froze. "Wait... where is that voice coming from? Who—what—are you?"
Before the system could answer, a memory surged through his mind like lightning.
> "Mr. Natsuki!! Don't leave me!!"
Rumi's scream.
His eyes widened.
"Rumi!" he shouted, spinning wildly. "Where is she? Where's Rumi?!"
The system responded immediately:
> [TARGET: RUMI – CURRENT STATUS: CAPTURED]
[ENEMY: GAMAKICHI – LOCATION: UNKNOWN]
[ESTIMATED DIRECTION: SOUTHBOUND – TOWARD THE ONI STRONGHOLD AT THE TWIN PEAKS.]
Natsuki's heart dropped into his stomach.
"...She didn't make it to the village?" he asked, his voice barely audible.
> [NEGATIVE. GAMAKICHI INTERCEPTED THE SUBJECT.]
[THE MOUNT — 'SOUSUKE' — ATTEMPTED TO DEFEND HER AND WAS TERMINATED IN THE ALTERCATION.]
The words hit harder than any blade.
"Sousuke… is dead?"
Tears welled in his eyes, running freely down his ink-slicked cheeks. He fell to his knees, clutching the earth beneath him.
"That stubborn lizard…"
His hand clenched tightly around the grass as grief twisted into fury.
"That bastard took him from me…"
He stood, snatched his bag, and drew his kunai in one swift motion.
"Alright, voice in my head—Ink Master, system, whatever you are—where exactly is Gamakichi headed?"
> [THE ONI TEMPLE. LOCATED BETWEEN THE TWIN PEAKS. SOUTH OF THE THUNDER PLAINS.]
Natsuki nodded once, sharply.
"That's all I need."
Without hesitation, he broke into a sprint, wind trailing behind his every step. The black ink on his skin glowed faintly with each movement, pulsating with strange new energy.
> [ARE YOU NOT CURIOUS… ABOUT WHAT THE INK MASTER SYSTEM REALLY IS?]
"Right now," he growled, "I care more about saving Rumi. If you brought me back, then you clearly need me for something."
He paused just long enough to speak clearly, as the wind whipped around him.
"Help me get her to Shin-Kage Village alive… and after that, I'll give you whatever you want."
> [IS THAT A CONTRACT? YOU MAY REGRET IT.]
Natsuki's eyes burned with rage as he pushed harder across the terrain.
> "If it's for that kid... then I won't regret a damn thing."
The system paused, almost as if amused.
> [CONTRACT RECORDED.]
[IN EXCHANGE FOR PROTECTION AND POWER, THE HOST OFFERS SERVICE TO THE INK MASTER.]
[UPON SAFE ARRIVAL OF THE CHILD TO SHIN-KAGE VILLAGE, CONTRACT NEGOTIATION WILL RESUME.]
[UNLOCKING CURRENT ABILITIES…]
Suddenly, a massive scroll unfurled onto Natsuki's back, paired with a black, rune-etched ink brush. Both pulsed with strange energy as if alive.
> [NEW ABILITIES UNLOCKED:]
---
☉ BEAST SCROLL
You may summon any beast that you draw. Strength and type of beast are determined by the quality of your ink, detail, and available mana.
☉ COPY ARTIST
Once you learn the name of an ability, you may copy it by writing its name and placing your hand on the scroll.
---
> [USE THESE TOOLS WISELY. WHATEVER YOU DRAW… BECOMES REALITY.]
Natsuki slowed to a stop atop a jagged hill, panting. The scroll thudded against his back with weight, but it felt natural—like it had always belonged there.
He reached behind him, fingers brushing over the brush's hilt.
"...Anything I draw becomes real?"
A slow, dangerous smile spread across his face.
"Good."
He looked up toward the distant Twin Peaks, where storm clouds churned and red lightning lit the skies.
"I'm going to make sure ever bastard oni in that temple chokes on there own blood."
Without wasting another moment, Natsuki yanked the giant scroll from his back, unrolling it with precision. He knelt, his hand gripping the obsidian brush as he dipped it into the inky well that shimmered with unnatural sheen.
"Let's see how this works..."
With a few swift, confident strokes, he began to draw—an eagle, wings stretched wide across the parchment. Its feathers were etched with precise detail, black and white, with fierce, predatory eyes locked forward.
As he finished the last line, he slammed his palm onto the inked beast.
"Summon."
Mana surged from his body, flooding into the page. A gust of wind howled around him as the drawing glowed and peeled itself from the scroll—transforming into a massive, living creature.
The black-and-white eagle burst from the parchment, its wingspan wide enough to eclipse the sun above. It screeched, powerful and regal, soaring into the sky with a trail of ink swirling from its tail feathers.
With one smooth motion, Natsuki threw the scroll back onto his back and leapt onto the eagle's back, landing in a low crouch.
"Take me to the Twin Peaks."
The eagle obeyed without hesitation.
It shot forward, cutting through the sky with terrifying speed—like a blade slicing air itself. Clouds split in its path as the plains shrank below, and the mountainous silhouettes of the Twin Peaks grew ever closer.
Within minutes, the eagle arrived above the jagged spires.
Natsuki stood up mid-flight, eyes fixed on the massive temple carved between the twin mountains. Oni guards patrolled the gates, towers, and courtyards, their monstrous forms hulking and armored. Flaming braziers lit the outer walls, casting an ominous glow across the temple's blood-red stone.
"So that's the oni temple..."
His eyes narrowed.
"I'd be an idiot to just barge in."
He exhaled slowly.
"As much as I want to slaughter every one of those disgusting freaks… I'll need to be smart about this if I want to save Rumi."
With that, Natsuki crouched, then sprang off the eagle's back, flipping through the air and landing silently on a cliffside ridge overlooking the structure. The eagle let out one final screech before dissolving into streams of ink and returning to the scroll slung across his back.
Without missing a beat, Natsuki unfurled the scroll once more.
"Time for some recon."
His brush danced quickly across the page, drawing small, detailed insects—winged creatures designed for surveillance.
In moments, dozens of tiny ink-bugs buzzed to life, their wings whirring softly like a low hum of bees. Each one shimmered with faint black mana, pulsing from their cores.
"Go," he commanded, pointing toward the temple. "Find Rumi. Show me where they're keeping her."
The swarm shot forward, scattering in waves across the sky and vanishing into the temple's shadows.
Natsuki sat back on his heels, breathing heavy.
"That draw took a lot out of me…"
He wiped sweat from his brow.
"...but I've still got enough mana left in the tank to pull this off."
His eyes scanned the terrain below. Oni guards continued their slow patrols, unaware of Natsuki's presents
— Inside the Oni Temple —
[Rumi's POV]
The air was heavy.
Thick incense choked the corridors of the oni temple, its bitter scent mixing with the damp, moldy stench of old blood. Rumi sat trembling in a cell of carved stone, the bars shaped from bone—polished and unnaturally warm to the touch.
She hugged her knees to her chest, her small body dwarfed by the shadows that danced on the walls. Her once-white dress was now streaked with dirt and dried tears.
"Mr. Natsuki..." she whispered.
Her voice cracked.
She tried to be brave like her mama asked, but it was hard. The oni that took her was terrifying. The big red one with horns. He kept laughing as he carried her through the gates, like she was already dead.
Footsteps echoed down the hall.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
Rumi's body stiffened. Her breath caught in her throat.
A monstrous shadow passed by the bars, tall and wide. Its face was wrapped in bandages, and its teeth were too big for its mouth. It paused, sniffed the air, then moved on.
She didn't move until it was long gone.
Her hands clutched something close to her chest—a rolled-up canvas, tucked inside her backpack.
The painting.
The one Mr. Natsuki made of her and Mama.
She wouldn't let it go.
She couldn't.
"I'm not gonna cry," she told herself, voice shaking. "Mama said… to be strong."
Outside the cell, the guards chuckled.
Inside, Rumi shivered.
---
— Cliffside Overlook, Twin Peaks —
[Natsuki's POV]
Natsuki's eyes fluttered open.
"Found her."
The bugs returned one by one, landing on his scroll like homing birds. As they touched down, images imprinted directly into his mind—blueprints of the temple layout, guard routes, and most importantly... Rumi's location.
A cell beneath the west wing.
He grit his teeth. "So that bastard really did throw her in a cage…"
One image lingered—Rumi, huddled in the shadows, clutching that painting like her life depended on it.
The sight made his chest ache.
"…I'm coming, kid."
He unrolled the scroll again, this time moving with sharper, more methodical precision. He began sketching quickly—a shadowy raven, inked with sleek wings and glowing eyes.
"Scout ahead. Find a route through the roof. No contact. Just observation."
The raven blinked to life, gave a low caw, and vanished into the darkness.
This time, Natsuki didn't draw.
Instead, he wrote—carefully etching the words Blade of Cinder onto the scroll with bold, steady strokes.
Then, placing his hand firmly over the inscription, he whispered:
"Copy Artist: Activate."
A pulse of mana surged through his palm.
In an instant, a katana of crackling ash materialized in his hand—identical to the one Gamakichi had conjured. Its jagged edge shimmered with infernal heat, trailing faint wisps of smoke.
Natsuki smirked.
"Good thing I remembered the name of your technique, Gamakichi," he muttered, eyes sharp with vengeance.
"Now let's see how your blade handles the taste of your own kin's blood."