A monk? Takasugi was familiar enough with them to know that they didn't practice violence and weren't particularly in the habit of arming themselves, but fear was a good catalyst for change. The desire for self-preservation could bring a man to forsake everything, including his belief system. A man like himself had nothing more left to fear after the things he'd seen -countless men slaughtered by fowl creatures from distant planets.

Self preservation, he had plenty, but not as a result of fear. For him, it was simply a matter of revenge and stifling the wild cries that echoed from within. It was passion that guided his fingers and nothing as singular and irrelevant to him as fear.

When the laughter died, a smile remained, tugging at the corner of his mouth. "There's very little I haven't already seen. I assume you've already found a way to survive through the night."