A few days after the battle with the shadow puppet, Kojin sat at a round table inside a huge hall located in the city of Raijin. The air was tense, thick with unspoken worries. Across from him sat Shouya, the Lord of city of Raijin; Najenda, the Lord of the Lightning Country; and Lord Yamamoto, the lord of the Iron Country.
Kojin bowed his head slightly. "Thank you all for coming. I'll keep this brief. Lately… I've had a bad feeling. Strange things have been happening, and it's only getting worse."
Najenda tilted her head, eyes narrowing. "Before we get to that… Kojin. What happened to your arm?"
Kojin glanced at the bandages wrapped tightly around his hand. His expression darkened. "Let's just say I got into a crisis. Trust me, you don't want to know."
Shouya leaned forward, her gaze sharp. "I felt a heavy shock that shook the entiriry of my country a few days ago. The wastelands that connected Raijin to your city were completely obliterated. Was that your doing, Kojin?"
With a weary sigh, Kojin nodded. "Yeah. And in case you haven't heard—my city was attacked. The enemy sent a shadow puppet. Its strength was on par with A-rank. Its power was immense… I had to go all out just to bring it down."
Shouya's lips pressed into a thin line. "So that explains your injuries." She turned toward Yamamoto. "And you've been unusually quiet. What's on your mind?"
Yamamoto's heavy brows lowered. "I have much to say. I was hoping to speak of it during this meeting."
Kojin explained "Setting all that aside, there's something you should all know. A war has been proclaimed on my city. By one of the Dark Sign members—Sorata." His voice grew heavy. "He's… strong. Around B-rank level."
Shouya's eyes flickered. "B-rank? Only a handful of my solidiers can even reach that level. And Sorata… isn't he your oldest son? The one who went rogue? The news spread out a couple years back.".
Kojin didn't say a word.
"No wonder he's powerful," Shouya muttered. "Asking my soldiers to take him down would be suicide."
Yamamoto cut in sharply. "Kenji of the Dark Sign has also declared war—on the Iron Country." His fists clenched. "My strongest soldier barely survived facing him. If anyone's going to deal with him… it'll have to be me."
Najenda folded her arms, she added. "Strange, isn't it? Two of the Dark Sign's strongest, both proclaiming war at once. They've been the most feared criminal group in the world for three years now, and their leader, Ukina… she's a monster. Strong enough to destroy entire countries on her own within mere moments. Even if we banded together, I doubt we could take her head-on."
Kojin's voice was grim. "Which means only one thing. Ukina is planning something. A war."
"A war?" Shouya repeated, startled. "Against who?"
Kojin's expression hardened. "Against humanity itself."
The room fell silent.
Shouya's eyes widened. "…The Battle of Humanity? That sounds like an endgame."
And then—
"Heh… you're right. It is an endgame for you losers!".
A chillingly sweet voice echoed from above.
The four rulers looked up—and froze.
There, perched casually on the walls with a smile as sharp as a blade, was Ukina.
None of them had sensed her enter.
"Ukina…" Kojin muttered, his fists tightening.
She clapped softly, her grin widening. "As sharp as always, Kojin. To predict my move before I even announced it… as expected of you."
Shouya leapt to her feet, fury blazing in her eyes. "Who the hell are you?!"
Najenda's voice was sharp with warning. "Shouya! That's Ukina—the leader of the Dark Sign organization!"
Ukina tilted her head innocently. "Oh, don't be so harsh. Kojin and I were once friends, after all."
Kojin's eyes narrowed. "So my prediction was right. You really do want to start a war. But why, Ukina? Why destroy humanity? What's your goal?"
Shouya immediately got annoyed, red energy started to flicker all over her body. "It doesn't matter what her reasons are! She's evil and psychotic—she needs to be stopped!"
In a blur, Shouya charged towards Ukina. Her fist rocketed forward with a tramendous amount of energy.
BOOOOOOM!
The conference hall exploded in a storm of dust and rubble.
But when the smoke cleared—
Ukina stood untouched, smiling calmly. She held Shouya's fist in her hand as though it were nothing.
"That punch was pretty weak, you know?" Ukina teased. "I could barely feel it."
Her hand in which she had caught Shouya's arm with glowed—then erupted a burst of energy.
CRASH!
Shouya was blasted across the room, her body slamming into the wall with bone-cracking force.
Ukina dusted her hands off. "If that's all it takes to beat you, then you're nothing but weak and useless."
Najenda's eyes sparked with yellow lightning as she raised her hand to strike, but Kojin barked, "Wait!"
He stepped forward, glaring at Ukina. "Ukina! Stop this! What's your goal?! What the hell are you planning?!"
Ukina tilted her head, a grin splitting across her face. "Asking questions is irrelevant now. All I can do is watch as everything falls into place."
Kojin's teeth ground together. "Enough riddles. Tell me your plan!"
Her eyes gleamed with malice. "Fine. My plan… is to erase this world's system of power. To strip away energy. To end all supernatural abilities. In one month's time, I'll unleash a grave danger upon the world."
The Lords froze in shock. "What the hell did you say?", Najenda asked with shock.
"Meet me on the Deserted Continent of War. Bring every army you have. That's where humanity's fate will be decided. The Battle of Humanity begins there."
Yamamoto's voice trembled. "Erase powers from the world?!"
Kojin slammed the table, standing. "Do you have any idea what that means?! You'll plunge the world into chaos! The balance of existence itself will collapse! Even if you succeed, everything will crumble! You know that, don't you?! Answer me, Olivia!!"
Ukina's grin twisted into something devilish, her eyes glowing.
A dark portal opened behind her, its pull warping the air.
As her body began to sink into it, she whispered one last taunt:
"That's my problem to face. The fate of the world is sealed. In one month, prepare your armies. I will unleash over a thousand shadow puppets upon every single city in the world, including yours. The Battle of Humanity begins now."
And with that, she vanished into the portal, her laughter echoing long after she was gone.
The chamber fell silent—save for the crackling ruins and the stunned, fearful breaths of the Lords.
End of Chapter 8