KUNSHU TURNED ONCE MORE TO YUKAN, grabbing him by his collar and hoisting the boy closer to his face.

"Listen closely now," the king growled. "Your trump card has left you for dead. I'm going to give you one last chance, Yukan. You're going to surrender this war to Aotoshi, including King Yokina, or we can get very messy and paint my walls a vibrant shade of crimson in the blood of your precious Ite."

"I told you," Yukan yelled in absolute impulsive rage, "don't you ever touch her!" In a blind attempt at dealing any sort of damage, Yukan swung in the direction of Kunshu's voice. Unfortunately, he had telegraphed the attack far too much and his foe was able to take his arm and shove him back into the ground.

"I always loved crimson," Kunshu hissed at his nephew before walking away from his bloodied body. "Such a marvelous color. I'll be sure to say goodbye to Ite for you."

Kunshu then left Yukan to rot on the roof of his castle as he went inside to tell the executioner to drop the ax. As he lay, completely silent, his mental bearings began to collapse in on themselves. He began to rise once more, only to stay in a partially prostrating position. Standing on his head and knees, he slammed his fist into the roof above him as his mind began to run on its own. All he was able to do at that moment was think as he gnashed his teeth in rage as his thoughts flew around him at a thousand miles per minute.

"Well, congratulations, Yukan," he internalized. "You did it. You officially ruined the lives of everybody around you. You let a man who helped you through thick and thin die in front of your eyes and had his most faithful pupil watch him. You dragged a peaceful nation into war and caused your king to be lying upon his deathbed as we speak. But those are only the tip of the iceberg. Not only did you drag Kadaina into a war that would lead to his death, but you also let your girlfriend, one of the few people still alive that you could trust, get killed due to your hubris.

"I hope you are happy with yourself. You've crowned yourself as the second-worst person alive. Only one person is walking this Earth that dares contest you for asshole-of-the-century. He killed almost everybody you loved and didn't hesitate to kill thousands more. That man is the cause of your rage and sorrow. You have a chance to redeem yourself by killing this man because the world depends on it. So what if you die? At least you'll prove that you gave a shit for others around you. This man may have ruined your life, but you can fight back and ruin his. And his name...is..."

"Kunshu," Yukan whispered aloud as his eyes opened, void of any features.

❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎❒︎

Still in Perfect Deity Mode, the king of Aotoshi walked into his throne room, preparing to make the command to have the ax dropped on Ite. Very pleased with himself, he hit the button and prepared to give the command. Before any sounds could come from Kunshu's mouth, however, a large hole is punctured into the ceiling.

From this hole descended Yukan, now donning white wings like those of a swan, furiously glaring at his uncle with eyes that lacked anything but a glowing white aura. His jacket sleeves had been encased by rose vines. Once Yukan touched down, he tossed a round object at Kunshu who sidestepped the object, not even phased by the fact that this was the head of the executioner. Kunshu tries to throw a left hook, but Yukan easily blocks the attack, barely flinching. One swift elbow later and Kunshu was flung into a column on the opposite side of the room. As Kunshu got up once more to examine the specimen before him, he could see the sunrise peeking over the horizon in his peripheral vision.

"Now that is fighting," he remarked at the sudden increase in strength Yukan had received. "Up to this point, it was like fighting a child. You have finally become a man!"

As Kunshu charged toward Yukan once more, the new Deity Mode user turned and caused Kunshu to collide with his knee. The white-winged man then delivered a devastating uppercut, which sent the king of Aotoshi into his throne. Yukan barely even broke a sweat as he fought Kunshu.

"Do you ever stop talking?" he jabbed. Yukan then dove straight toward Kunshu and attempted to hit him head-on. Seeing the impending impact, he managed to barely dodge before jumping onto his enemy while he was still prone. The two of them began to wrestle with one another on the ground, throwing their heftiest blows possible. Yukan managed to break the position they were in by kicking his uncle away.

"I'm going to kill you!" Kunshu bellowed as he got back onto his feet.

"Well, isn't that a familiar line," the Omega Blade wielder teased, keeping a cold tone as he spoke. "But you know what, Kunshu? I don't care what happens to me anymore. You have taken everything from me, you heartless bastard! You stole my family from me for no reason. You tried to kill Ite! You killed Kadaina. All of their blood is on your dishonorable hands!"

He charged at Kunshu once more, delivering a powerful sidekick and sending him into another column. Luckily, the columns were supported internally to prevent the roof from caving in on them as they fought. As the last Mujihina began to recuperate, the last Kenshi charged at him and sliced off his left hand. The Alpha Blade flew in the air as Kunshu's now-detached hand released it. Seeing his opportunity, Yukan grabbed the blade in the air as he kicked his foe to the ground once more. He placed both the Omega Blade and the Alpha Blade on opposite sides of Kunshu's neck, preparing to scissor his head off of his body.

"Wait!" he cried out in desperation to play one last mind game on his enemy. "You can't do this! You'll be the one responsible for killing the bloodline! The swords will be lost forever if you do this!"

Yukan was unphased by this mindless deceit. He knew very well that the blades were better off lost than in the possession of Kunshu.

"You should've thought of that before you went off and killed the rest," Yukan coldly retorted, not moving as he spoke. "The extinction of the bloodline is on your shoulders." Without any room to breathe as he finished the statement, he took a different weight off of the shoulders of Kunshu Mujihina. He made room for Kunshu's guilt to rest upon by removing his head. After nineteen months, long and painful as they might have been, his task had finally been completed. He returned the Omega Blade to its sheath before walking towards the door. Before he could take more than three steps, however, Deity Mode deactivated itself. Yukan collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. The wielder of the Fabled Swords no longer cared for what would happen to him from here on out, as his main duty had been fulfilled. Just as he thought this, he blacked out.