Three minutes ago.
On the rooftop, the hilt of the Ryūjin Jakka trembled faintly, its crimson veins flickering to life. The air warped under invisible heat, locking Kenjaku's writhing form in a vice of pure flame.
Taisai Tensei turned, stepping off the edge.
His figure dissolved into smoke.
Tensei floated, his black clothes like ink hardened against the stars. Beneath him, the outline of Japan gleamed faintly—a fragile cluster of light in the endless void.
He had been here before. After his transformation, neither suffocation nor the frozen emptiness could touch him. He had even noticed the differences—the larger coastline, the unfamiliar cities.
But none of that mattered. Only one thing filled his eyes—the ominous barrier covering Japan, ten translucent domes glimmering faintly like diseased stars.
Objective: Destroy them.
He sank slightly, his body lowering into a swordsman's stance upon an unseen plane. His right hand rested on the Yamato's hilt. Cold scabbard. Familiar touch.
He closed his eyes. A faint blue flame flared behind his lids.
Draw. So fast that only warped space and pale-blue afterimages remained in the vacuum.
His arm and blade outpaced sight itself.
Slash!
The invisible sword intent didn't cut through air—it spanned the heavens, crossing the void, striking ten perfect points below. The Yamato slid home with a soft metallic click that echoed—not through air, but through existence itself. A sound like a key turning the engine of destruction.
BOOM—!!!
Across Japan, ten coordinates erupted in blinding blue-white light.
Billions of cutting wills bloomed from nothing.
Crack—crack crack crack—BOOM!!!
The colossal barrier shattered like glass under a divine hammer. Its inner structures, intricate and ancient, disintegrated in a flood of sword light. The sound was not sound at all, but a resonance— a law-breaking vibration that split heaven and earth.
The archipelago trembled. The sky fractured. (Damn, so much hyperbole)
Mountain-sized shards of translucent energy plummeted like burning stars, smashing into cities and seas below. Explosions bloomed beneath the broken heavens. Tensei watched coldly, eyes devoid of emotion.
Mission accomplished.
He gazed once more at the scarred sky—then faded into the darkness of space, dissolving into the infinite silence that marked the end of a thousand-year conspiracy.
Back on the rooftop— Kenjaku's eyes bulged, blood seeping from cracked sockets.
"Impossible… impossible…" he muttered, voice hollow.
A sharp gust cut through the air. Kashimo Hajime landed beside him, lightning flickering faintly across his body. He had kept his distance before; even he dared not near that flame. But fear had burned into something else—excitement.
He sneered. "Kenjaku… you look pathetic."
Kenjaku didn't respond. His mind had collapsed, hollowed out by disbelief. Kashimo's gaze shifted to the Ryūjin Jakka still buried in Kenjaku's body.
"This sword… such power," he whispered, extending his hand.
But the moment his fingertips neared the blade— The red veins flared, and a wave of fire surged outward!
"Hmph!" Lightning burst from Kashimo's body, forming a protective shell. Fire crashed against lightning—crackling, shrieking, shaking the rooftop apart.
His eyes gleamed. "Interesting" He poured out cursed energy, lightning growing brighter, forcing the flames back.
The Ryūjin Jakka roared. Its blade sang with violent heat.
"Come on!" Kashimo shouted, lunging forward like a thunderbolt. A lightning-forged blade formed over his fist—then struck!
BOOM!
The rooftop exploded in light and flame. Kashimo was thrown back, leaving deep grooves across the ground. The Ryūjin Jakka didn't move. Its crimson veins glowed brighter, its fire even fiercer—unbending, inviolable.
Kashimo spat blood, grinning through it. "Never has a weapon thrilled me like this!! Today, I'll make you mine!"
He formed hand seals; lightning surged, condensing into a blinding orb.
Snakes of thunder swam within, hissing.
Just as the blast was about to release—
A voice. Cold. Dispassionate. "What are you doing?"
It came not from the front—but behind his ear. Every nerve screamed.
Instinct took over. He canceled the spell, reversed his cursed flow, pain ripping through his chest as he vanished sideways in a flash of lightning!
He landed two hundred meters away, chest heaving, blood dripping from his lips.
Empty rooftop. No one there.
Impossible. The voice was right beside him—
"Flashy nonsense," the voice said again, behind him. "What were you doing just now?"
Kashimo froze. He turned.
Taisai Tensei stood there.
When did he appear? When did he move? Kashimo's mind couldn't process it.
The lightning sphere detonated behind him in a storm of electric light— but even the raging bolts evaporated half a meter from Tensei's body, erased by unseen force.
Kashimo's attack had done nothing. He trembled, gritting his teeth. Every instinct screamed to fight— but his body knew it was useless.
Tensei's gaze flicked toward him. Cold. Impatient.
"Too much noise," he said softly. "You're disturbing me."
He moved. Kashimo never saw it. Only felt the world drop. Blood erupted from his shoulder. His right arm spiraled away through the air, severed cleanly. Pain crashed in a second later.
"I said," Tensei murmured, "you're noisy." Three flashes. Too fast for nerves to react.
Puff. Puff. Puff.
Kashimo's limbs vanished. Blood sprayed the tiles in crimson arcs. He hit the ground beside Kenjaku, a broken torso among ruins.
"You—bast—!" Desperation twisted into madness. Lightning exploded from his body. "Mythical Beast: Amber!!!"
Cursed energy ignited, life and soul burning together—
an ancient, primal aura tore through him—but then, time stopped.
His world froze. He saw it: a headless body, arcs of lightning still leaping from its neck.
His own body. Then the world turned over. Falling. A dull thud.
Kashimo's last vision—his own headless corpse, writhing faintly with residual power. And the dark figure standing beside it—still. Silent. Unshaken. As consciousness slipped into eternal night.