Shadow of Supremacy… and The Shadow Corps
Heart of the Capital
Screams began rising throughout the capital. Multiple explosions occurred in various locations across the capital. The black dust resulting from the explosions resembled gray fog with a sharp sulfuric smell mixed with the scent of burnt wood from destroyed buildings, causing anyone who inhaled it to choke—some fainted.
The source of the explosions was undetermined, but precise. As the corpses of some samurai, whose defenses had fallen, began to scatter, many members of the Shadow Corps appeared. They began killing anyone in their path.
A person tried to flee; burn marks were clear on his shoulder and right hand. He began screaming, "Aaaah! My hand!!" He tried to run forward, repeating his words in fear. "I'm going to die! I'm going to die!! If I don't escape."
While he fled, behind him rang a metallic sound rapidly heading toward him. As all the residents fled, they only heard "KLANG!!"—the metallic clang of a dark chain with a pointed end that struck his forehead.
The same happened to anyone who tried to escape. The beautiful capital sunset turned into a sunset soaked in blood.
Destroyed Samurai Headquarters
Takiro's aura had become stronger and more lethal, with purple lightning sparks everywhere. Breathing became difficult due to pressure emanating from him. Beneath his feet lay debris of burned wood, originally part of the destroyed headquarters. He pressed down with his feet. Underground, sparks crackled between his right and left foot. In front of him stood three Shadow Corps members. Takiro raised his left hand and, with his second finger, pointed at the person in front. His face showed no expression. In a solemn tone he said: "Number One."
He dashed at insane speed toward the member in the middle of the three, leaving those beside him behind, facing the monster alone rushing at them. His cloak covered his face so no fear appeared before Takiro, but inside the fear peaked. He pulled the dark chain wrapped around Takiro's left arm. He tightened his body, attempting to pull Takiro and throw him onto the debris or at least dodge—because confronting Takiro was impossible. He summoned his power.
Akayama looked at him and thought in disappointment: "Level Nine? This is the limit he reached."
With the palm of his hand, Takiro broke the chains. The man's eyes widened in shock. "How did he break them? They were made of Korogan metal."
The man took a step back but before regaining balance or planting his feet on the ground, Takiro punched him in the face, sending him crashing into the destroyed debris at immense speed. His body was filled with Takiro's lightning. Suddenly:
"CRAAASH!"
A violent lightning explosion shattered the wood and stained the wreckage with blood. Takiro shattered his body; fragments of his face scattered on the ground. Only his chest remained. His head was pulverized along with his bones.
The second man tried to strike Takiro from behind. He removed hidden chains and, due to black dust obscuring vision, threw his dagger at Takiro's back. Before the dagger could penetrate the back, Takiro caught it with his right hand and tossed it aside as if it were a toy. Takiro drew his sword—a black katana made of dark steel enveloped in lightning. It appeared before him. The man could only react by finding himself split in half. His first half fell, and his entrails hit the ground. It smelled disgusting. The third decided to flee—he was not foolish. He took a smoke bomb from his hand, but before throwing it to escape, Takiro's sword was already lodged in his chest.
Akayama tried to appear shocked and afraid of Takiro's power, but inside he thought differently: "Seriously, is this even a battle? I was expecting some excitement. It seems the only interesting thing was the headquarters explosion. Too bad." He turned back and stammered: "I'll go fetch support before things get worse."
At the same time, Jin was confronting a member of the Shadow Corps with his sword, but he was wounded in his left elbow with a deep slice. His hand was fragile due to Yusuko's mission and the damage sustained. Jin fell to the ground, his hands scratched and bleeding heavily. After falling and his defenses collapsing, the other attacked, exploiting his weakness and attempting to finish him. Before he was killed, a circular formation of lightning appeared in front of his abdomen. One second felt like an hour to him. Fear emanated from the electric circle.
BOOM
It exploded in his body, tearing him into shards. Only his open mouth remained. Jin was shocked. He looked ahead to see that Takiro had done that with a wave of his hand: "How? Is this the power of a commander?"
Takiro had used only a fraction of his strength, yet had crushed them.
Jin, bleeding, placed a white cloth on the wound and asked Takiro: "Who are the Shadow Corps? And how do you know them?"
Takiro's left eye fixed on Jin. He answered without turning his head, in an angry voice: "They are an elite assassination group from an organization known as Nefaria."
"Nefaria?"
"You know Nefaria as a rebellion against the three empires. It is not an organization but a state conducting experiments on humans—this state united with the Yokai. Unlike others, they did not move openly, but accepted Yokai. They only carried out assassination missions by dispatching that corps. The Shadow Corps specialized in assassinations since they rarely fought face‑to‑face. One of their most notable assassinations was killing the Mage Empire's ambassador. A great war would have erupted if it weren't confirmed to have been done by an external party."
Before Takiro could finish, a member of the Shadow Corps appeared behind him and injured Takiro from his back. He laughed: "If Assassin Number Two fails to hit you, that doesn't mean I can't."
Before Takiro could respond, an explosion destroyed four buildings right in front of him. Takiro thought in anger: "Those scoundrels—they lack samurai honor. They excel only in betrayal instead of honorable combat. They are like snakes. But one thing I'm sure of: there must be a traitor among us—someone who gave them the perfect time to strike."
"Samurai were defined by battlefield rules known as samurai honor. Anyone who violates them would be executed by the ruler. These teachings came from the era of the first emperor, formerly known as the shogun. They entail face‑to‑face combat, no betrayal or killing from behind, not killing the weak, respecting a strong opponent, refusing to fight for money, not desecrating an enemy's body, not using vile tricks, acknowledging defeat with honor, and not fleeing. What made Takiro furious was that the Shadow Corps did the opposite of all these."
Destructive power erupted and black lightning covered the area. Takiro's eyes intensified, veins in his hands emerged, and with a wave of his hands, he pierced four buildings. He moved forward at full force and with a punch to the center of someone's chest, he shattered the body and bones. The fourth member fell much as the first, body crushed like a smashed doll with limbs severed.
Takiro looked up and saw reinforcements had arrived to fight the Shadow Corps—but it turned out this was only the beginning. A sinister aura emanated from them. Their dead bodies began to move. Takiro stared at them, shocked. The twisted bodies rose; they no longer resembled humans—transformed into monsters with broken teeth turned into fangs. They were like werewolves, yet their power was truly terrifying. Their form was strange—so strange that they resembled broken toys a child could still play with. Takiro thought to himself in astonishment: "What atrocity has Nefaria reached?"
One of them launched an attack, approached Takiro directly. Takiro decided to take it seriously. He advanced. Their hands collided, shaking the ground, scattering debris, causing the place to tremble. Energy sparks emerged again.
Meanwhile, Akayama was soaring between rooftops, smiling as he reverted to his original form. His long silver hair covered his left eye. His right eye bled crimson. He once again wore the straw Ronin hat to hide his smiling features. As he moved, he thought inside:
"It was good I pretended I was going to fetch support. I decided to return to my true form so suspicion wouldn't rise further. I remembered something: everything began going according to plan. I knew they would suspect me from the start, so I killed a member of Nefaria, impersonated him, and gave them the ideal time to strike."
A sinister smile formed on my face. I climbed atop the roof of one of the collapsed buildings, looking over my artistic tableau. A member of the organization tried to kill me, attacking from behind, but I drew my sword and the only thing that fell was his rotting head—and his remains fell to the ground with his filthy blood that stained my tattered clothes.
I surrendered to reality: "I must buy a new black kimono."
But then I sensed a powerful energy—very strong—from one of their Shadow Corps members. He appeared in front of me, displaying terrifying power. I wondered: "How? This person in front of me is stronger than Takiro and Yusuko—are they disguised?"
When I scrutinized his form, my suspicions were confirmed. I didn't feel an assassination aura—but instead of a dagger, he held a katana—and his energy was different from the others.
"He's at Level Four, at least."
He lunged, drawing his sword to cut me, but I dodged. What shocked me was that he managed to scratch me—even though I evaded. I decided to take this fight completely seriously.
"This speed is not Level Four! It is Level Three or Two—is he a Ruler?"
I smiled, and my eyes became more bloodied.
Suddenly, a world formed whose ground was blood-red. The moon was crimson, the sky blended red and black, and even the leaves were covered in blood. It was a lifeless world—a world symbolizing my nature: "Blood." I looked at him, still smiling, and said in a loud, hoarse voice:
"Welcome to my artistic tableau—now show me what you've got."
End of Chapter