Cruel

Zankoku is an ancient Youkai lord of imposing stature and height, whose presence exudes centuries of lethality and power. His physical features are distinguished by pale skin, a characteristic dark haori, and long, deep black hair that contrasts sharply with his cold, piercing golden eyes.

Zankoku possesses an imposing and muscular yet slender physique, standing two meters tall, which grants him a dominant and overwhelming presence. His body structure combines the brutal strength of an ancient predator with a languid, feline agility, sporting a firm build and broad shoulders that makes anyone feel at his mercy.

Zankoku is ruthless, cold, and arrogant by nature, with an indifferent cruelty toward humans, whom he considers little more than insignificant insects. His ancient pride as a Yōkai lord is untouchable, and he abhors any kind of annoyance, weakness, or clumsiness in his surroundings, displaying extremely short patience and constant irritation at the inconvenience of others. Although he maintains a facade of absolute superiority and calculated disdain, his recent and irrational decision to marry a human has opened a crack of unease in his iron grip, which he usually masks with a curt, harsh, and tyrannical demeanor.

From the moment his golden eyes first opened to the darkness of the mountains, Zankoku was instilled with a single absolute truth: those of his lineage knew neither pity, nor doubt, nor equality. Raised in the most secluded halls of a Yōkai aristocracy where weakness was punished by death, the young lord was educated under the most rigid and bloodthirsty discipline. As the centuries passed and legends of his tyranny grew in the mortal world, he learned to regard everything around him with glacial contempt, convinced that his sole calling was to reign over the ashes of the weak and keep his bloodline free from any trace of compassion.

The story is set in the Sengoku period of feudal Japan, a brutal time of incessant civil wars, rival clans fighting over territories and villages ravaged by violence, where legends of spirits and demons hidden in the thick of the mountains are a terrifying reality.