The Fall of the Legend
The day after the Yusuko incident
Heart of the Kagotsuchi Empire capital – 6 PM
The sunlight began to weaken gradually, and the sky shifted from light blue to orange, then to dark red. The place was crowded and people moved in every direction. The capital gates were opened; everyone stood astonished amid suffocating silence, looking at the gate. Akayama, disguised in his second form, wearing a black robe covered in dust and blood, his left hand wrapped in bandages, pretending to limp with difficulty. Behind him was Jin, whose silk kimono was drenched in large patches of blood on the left side and his golden hair was full of dust. Behind them was a wooden cart containing a large corpse under a white silk cover, yet the white was mixed with the corpse's blood. The corpse was split into two parts, and the only visible part was the head. That corpse was Yusuko's body.
The matter was shocking to others. Yusuko, known as one of the former leaders who had never been defeated for twenty years, had been defeated by two samurai.
At the command headquarters, Akayama entered and was received by Masaru, who was wearing a faint smile and staring quietly at Akayama. He said, "It seems you survived death, boy. You must ascend to the upper floor—there is someone who wants an explanation of what happened." Then Masaru went to his office after he informed them. When Akayama and Jin reached the upper floor, the atmosphere was suffocating. They saw a towering figure—two meters tall, broad‑shouldered, with disheveled brown hair and a large beard obscuring half of his face. Few wrinkles on his face, black eyes. He wore a wide‑brimmed straw hat covering the forehead and top of the head, and a dark-colored robe open in the front that extended past the waist, with wide sleeves made of thick material. Inside it was a kimono lighter than the outer robe, closing left over right, with a wide collar reaching down to below the knee. Around his waist was a thick fabric belt holding a sword sheath. That person was Commander Takiro, one of the pillars of the empire.
Takiro looked at Akayama, the muscles around his eyes tense with anger. It seemed as though he was not pleased with Yusuko's defeat—his suspicion of me grew after this mission. Jin stopped moving suddenly upon seeing Commander Takiro; his eyes fixed on the ground without blinking or moving. His shoulders were raised, with clear tension in the neck muscles; his body was still—not a step forward or back. He had to explain everything. Akayama looked at Jin, laughing inside, "Heh… heh… I don't blame him—Takiro is one of the three leaders." The ground began cracking, and energy burst from Takiro. Lightweight objects around him were pushed back.
Akayama gave a piercing look at Takiro, pretending to struggle for breath from the energy, but inside he wore a sinister smile.
Upon focusing on Takiro's energy, I realized he was many levels above Yusuko. So he's at Level Six—but unfortunately he relies on the lightning element. From what I saw of his behavior, he's not aware of what happened in the Mage Empire yet. Well, the capital is two cities away from the Mage Empire—news may reach him tomorrow or in two days.
Takiro spoke to me with a solemn voice as he looked at me:
"I never expected that old man to fall so easily… So, let us get to the point: how did you kill Yusuko?"
Jin spoke in a weak voice, his lips trembling from fear, and he was so tense that Akayama would not be shocked if Jin died of fear now:
"We were able to encircle him, and… but his power was great and led to all of our deaths. There was a lethal wound in his chest—I was able to stab him in the chest, and by a miracle we killed him."
Takiro looked at Jin, his eyes intensifying, staring at Jin and growing angrier, and his aura intensified. He said:
"Which fool gave you that ridiculous excuse? Even if Yusuko was weaker than us, he is strong to the extent that it's impossible for you to stab him in the chest, you fool. And Yusuko is a master of ice—he can cover the injury location easily. Are you mocking me now?"
Jin became even more afraid, but Takiro changed his gaze to me and said:
"Among all people, Akayama, you are the most suspicious—especially since all your missions were second‑class missions. Now you completed a first‑class mission. All of them death missions, yet you returned alive every time. Either you are impossibly lucky… or you are not who you claim to be. Let me ask you a question, Akayama: who are you?"
Missions are classified by their difficulty into several grades:
A fifth‑class mission is for weak‑level samurai.
Fourth and third class are for killing weak Yokai.
Second class missions target strong Yokai, curses, and even bandits.
First class missions are used to kill traitorous samurai, powerful enough to challenge a leader.
But missions don't stop there—there is another level: Class Zero, which only leaders can complete, targeting Yokai classified as disasters or monsters, considered impossible even for a leader.
After analyzing the situation, I realized that Takiro was trying to bait me into falling into his trap. I gave a faint smile and, pretending to be afraid, I looked at him and said:
"It was truly luck, and as you can see, in the last mission—for example—I lured them by killing one of them and sowing doubt among them, leading to them fighting each other. At that moment only their leader remained, who was exhausted and wounded. I exploited the situation and killed him."
Then I continued my statement, hiding my smile, and said:
"As for Yusuko, I gathered a lot of information about him—I studied all his weak points, including his chest, which was the weakest area. Also, Yusuko uses the ice element, which reduced the difficulty of the fight. I used the fire element—I was able to melt the ice—and I explained everything to Jin. With our cooperation we were able to kill him. There was also a collapse of the mountain—you can send a team to verify that."
Takiro's expression shifted for a moment, then he said in a flat tone devoid of anger or doubt:
"I will watch you both closely… Do not think this victory passed without a price. I cannot leave the matter without verification."
But before he could continue speaking, a powerful explosion rang out that destroyed the headquarters. The structures collapsed into the ground and samurai fell like rain. Masaru realized the situation and suddenly moved to another place. Akayama, Jin, and Takiro managed to jump out a window. After jumping, Jin was struck by fragments of broken glass. The chaos did not stop at the headquarters—explosions began everywhere, and fire scattered throughout the capital. People began screaming and fleeing from the debris. All of this happened in a moment, and black smoke covered the area like a curtain.
After the smoke cleared, a group of people stood before us; each person wore a long black cloak reaching the ankles, made of heavy, non-shiny fabric. The cloak was wide; the face was covered by a hood attached to the cloak, and they were masked. They wore chains made of dark metal with pointed ends that emitted short metallic sounds. We took combat stances, pretending shock at their sudden appearance.
Jin gasped. Takiro stepped forward, his eyes blazing with anger. He struck his hands powerfully, then raised his right hand—purple lightning sparks exploded around him, and a powerful energy burst from him.
Takiro shouted angrily, saying:
"The Shadow Corps…" then continued:
"You have come again… but this time, you will not escape."