LANYA STOOD BEHIND THE CRIMSON CURTAIN IN A XANTHIC DRESS, a hint of nervousness upon her face. As she peeked out from behind the curtains, she was hit with the sight of tens of thousands of people waiting for her coronation. Before she could take all of it in, she hurriedly hid behind the curtain once more.

“Is something wrong?” Zero asked, noting Lanya’s anxious behavior.

“It’s nothing,” the soon-to-be Queen of the Joined Nations responded. “I’m just a little nervous is all. There are so many people out there, so many people looking to me to help their lives out.”

“I understand that you’re anxious,” he replied, “and I know that you may not want to take the lead for such a large population, but they need a leader. I can’t do it and Musuko isn’t willing to take full control either. You, on the other hand, are exactly what the people need and you are exactly what the people want.”

Lanya let out a sigh.

“Okay,” she said in a hushed tone, “I’m ready.” She walked out from behind the red curtain, her yellow garments providing a hint of joy to an otherwise dreary period in Akuni and Aotoshi’s histories.

“We are all gathered here today for the coronation of Lanya Kenshi," the pope declared to the audience. "Would you please rise?"

“Let us skip the dramatics for now," Lanya called out to the people below. “You need a leader, and I wish to take that role as soon as I can."

“By the power invested in me," he exclaimed as he placed a new crown on her head, "I crown thee Queen Lanya the Survivor."

“Thank you, sir,” she began before turning once again to her audience. “Citizens of Akuni and Aotoshi, we have been under attack for roughly a week. A cruel underground organization of terrorists known as the Saisei Coalition has wrought havoc upon Akuni by killing its king. They burned down the nobility’s villas and killed our queen just a few days later. Fortunately, during the battle, we were able to stop these agitators and take down their leader, Kasegi Shokin. A few stray members of the Coalition may still exist, however. We shall not show any mercy toward these traitors. Only once every one of those hellions in their amethyst cloaks is dead and gone will we rest. If we do not stop the remaining roots of this weed, then how will we ensure the protection of our people? Who is to say that I am not the next target? It is through this threat of further disarray that I propose you aid us in our war against the Saisei Coalition. We will likely fail if we neglect to take action against them and that you will be left without any protection yourselves. Once Akuni and Aotoshi fall, we can be certain that Medikai will fall soon afterward. We cannot allow this to happen. It is an honor to lead you all and, with these blades, I vow that it will be my mission to eradicate these regicidal maniacs.”

The crowd roared with approval. The frightening hostility toward the Saisei Coalition that Lanya showed may not have been easy to understand for many in attendance of her coronation, yet only a few could bring themselves to not empathize with her cause. She wished for little more than to avenge the death of her parents, just as Yukan had done when he was crowned King of Akuni and Aotoshi. The attendees were willing to assist in any way they could.

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Following the coronation, work continued restoring the villas. The bodies were being disposed of and brought to a common grave for them to be buried in, their faces so greatly covered in soot and their bodies already so deteriorated that one could not discern any one corpse from the other except in size. Zero arrived at the site soon after the construction workers. A few minutes later, Satsujin Oritsu walked onto the site.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he called out to his friend.

“Satsujin!” Zero called out, approaching him to give a proper greeting. “It’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it? I hadn’t expected this to be where we have our reunion since...well, since before all of this.”

“What are you even doing here, anyway?” Satsujin inquired.

“I’m helping these people rebuild the villas and hopefully we can find some sort of lead as to how to stop the Saisei Coalition from causing any more harm. How about you?”

“Well, I came here to do the same thing. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed yet.”

“Noticed what?”

“Look at Kasegi’s body.” He gestured to the corpse, its eyepatch slackened and no longer covering his right eye. “Notice how one eye has already deteriorated while the other is still fresh, just as much as it had been at the start of the battle.” Satsujin plucked the eye out of Kasegi’s head, removing the eyepatch entirely. He then turned to walk away with the eye.

“Where are you going with that?” Zero called out as Satsujin began to walk away. “Don’t you think that you should bring it to the authorities?”

“That is my plan, Zero. After they’re done inspecting it, we can mount it in a museum as a trophy of Akuni and Aotoshi’s victory over these monstrous men.”

“Very well then. So long, Satsujin.”

Zero and Satsujin left in opposite directions, with Zero returning to the wreckage site and Satsujin leaving to head to the investigators. Just as he was getting ready to give them the eye, however, an idea ran through his head, one which curdled his blood in fear. Members of the Saisei Coalition were still out there. What if they were to sack the museum and take the eye back? Even more, somebody could just take control of the Coalition in place of Kasegi. Satsujin realized that he would need to aid in the fight. He rushed to find any information on the location of the hideout with the intent of destroying it before crushing the prosthetic eye.