Fear spread through the conference room like a plague.
Especially this powerlessness of being unable to control one's own body—it was even more suffocating than staring directly down the barrel of a gun.
Haimer stood at one end of the conference table. His gaze didn't linger for even half a second on those high-ranking officials who had already been scared out of their wits. He merely swept a faint glance over them.
Then, Haimer's gaze landed on two individuals.
One stood to the left of the head seat at the conference table. An old man with pure white hair and beard, wearing a montsuki haori hakama, looking incomparably majestic.
—Tendou Kikunojou.
CV: Tamio Ooki, KIKUNOJOU TENDOU
Aide to the Holy Emperor. Kisara's grandfather, holding the highest seat of power as a politician, and simultaneously the head of the Tendou family who manipulates the politics and economy of the Tokyo Area from the shadows. He is unnaturally robust for his age, highly regarded as a Buddhist sculptor, and even holds the title of a Living National Treasure. As a politician, he deeply loves and supports the Holy Emperor as a wise ruler; on the other hand, due to his deep hatred for the Gastrea, he also harbors animosity toward the Cursed Children.
The current head of the Tendou family. The political evergreen who had assisted three generations of Holy Emperors. And the actual person in power in the Tokyo Area today.
The other person was seated a little further away. A young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a well-tailored haute couture suit, looking refined and polite—yet the moment he saw Tendou Kisara appear, his face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
—Tendou Kazumitsu.
The current Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. At the same time, he was also Tendou Kisara's half-brother.
Haven't you heard that a scourge lives for a thousand years?
"It seems everyone is here," Haimer smiled lightly. Then, he tilted his head slightly, looking at the girl who could barely suppress her murderous intent. "These two are now yours to handle."
"Yes," Tendou Kisara responded in a low voice, her face dark.
She tightened her grip on the cursed blade Yukikage, her gaze locked onto those two figures she was all too familiar with. The flames of hatred burned fiercely in her eyes, threatening to devour whatever rationality she had left.
It had been ten years. Every single day and night. Every single moment spent enduring the torment of illness in the dialysis room.
The only thing that kept her alive... was this very moment! Was these very faces!
Meanwhile.
In this space where it seemed everyone had been frozen, the Holy Emperor, who had been in a state of shock, discovered something strange. She... seemed to be able to move?
The Holy Emperor tentatively twitched her fingers, and then her arm. She really could move. This allowed her originally taut heartstrings to loosen just a little, but what quickly surged up next was an even greater confusion.
"Excuse me... Who are you?" the Holy Emperor gathered her courage and looked toward the handsome black-haired man.
Haimer did not answer immediately. He simply turned his head, staring straight at this young Holy Emperor and sizing her up from top to bottom.
He had to admit. A pure white dress, completely spotless. A face as exquisite as a porcelain doll's, exuding a nobility untouched by the mundane world. Paired with those clear, innocent, sapphire-like large eyes that were currently filled with helplessness and panic.
She looked exactly like a blue lily meticulously cared for in a greenhouse. Pure. Beautiful. Flawless. Just like a precious flower carefully nurtured in a greenhouse—having never seen wind or rain, having never experienced pests, and having never even smelled the stench of mud.
Holy Emperor SEITENSHI
The third-generation ruler of the Tokyo Area, one of the five areas in Japan. Possessing not only unearthly beauty but also a noble will and the political acumen to push her ideals through. Despite being only 16 years old, she has garnered outstanding support from the populace across generations.
Such a ruler in this dog-eat-dog post-apocalyptic world was simply a joke. If she didn't rely on a political strongman like Tendou Kikunojou, she probably wouldn't be able to hold onto this seat for even a single day.
However, from another perspective... for Tendou Kikunojou, this was an absolutely perfect puppet.
"There's no need to panic, Miss Holy Emperor." Haimer withdrew his gaze, his tone flat. "I'm merely bringing my child to handle a little private matter, that's all."
Child? The Holy Emperor was taken aback for a moment.
Then, before she could even react, she saw Tendou Kisara already gripping her blade, walking step by step toward the other side.
Under the lights, the cursed blade named 'Yukikage' was gleaming with a chilling, cold light. The murderous intent flowing along the edge of the blade made the temperature in the entire conference room feel as though it had dropped several degrees.
"Wait a minute!" Although the Holy Emperor didn't understand what a 'Familia' was, nor did she know who this man actually was, she could see the killing intent in Tendou Kisara's eyes. She genuinely wanted to kill someone.
"This is the Holy Residence! A sacred and inviolable place!" The Holy Emperor stood up, attempting to use her status to stop the atrocity about to unfold right in front of her. "No matter what grievances you have, you cannot resort to violence here! If this is for revenge, the law will give you—"
"The law?" Tendou Kisara suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned her head and looked at the Holy Emperor. The mockery in her eyes was so intense it almost materialized, causing the second half of the Holy Emperor's sentence to stick forcefully in her throat.
"Lord Holy Emperor. If the law truly worked, why is the attack from ten years ago still an unsolved case? Why are these two murderers who killed my parents still able to sit here grandly, discussing so-called national affairs with you?"
"What... attack...?" The Holy Emperor looked at Tendou Kisara in bewilderment. She then looked over at Tendou Kikunojou—who, despite being unable to move, had a terrifyingly gloomy look in his eyes—and at Tendou Kazumitsu, whose face was filled with horror.
Although she had heard some rumors, she knew very little about the specific details from ten years ago. After all, she was too young back then, and had been constantly protected deep within the palace.
"It seems you really don't know," Tendou Kisara sneered. Her laughter carried a trace of desolation. "Figures. How could a princess like you, who was pampered and raised in the palm of someone's hand, possibly know about the filth of the outside world."
Having said that, Tendou Kisara ignored the Holy Emperor. She turned her head, looking toward Haimer.
"Kami-sama, I beg of you. Release the binding on these two. I want to hear them confess with their own mouths. Let them watch as they are killed by me."
"Is that so?" Haimer raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You should know, villains die from talking too much. Even though you're the protagonist, don't get too careless."
"I am sure." Tendou Kisara took a deep breath. "Kami-sama. After I complete my revenge, I will accept whatever punishment there is. But dragging my sickly body to swing my sword time and time again over the past ten years was all for this very moment."
With that said, Tendou Kisara raised her blade horizontally, both hands gripping the hilt tightly. Her body crouched slightly, assuming an extremely unique stance.
That was not an original technique of the Tendou Style. It was an aggressively offensive posture—one that discarded all defense, born solely for slaughter.
"As you wish." And so, Haimer slowly raised his hand.
Snap! Another snap of his fingers. The bodies of Tendou Kikunojou and Tendou Kazumitsu, who were originally paralyzed, jolted violently. The binding was undone.
Tendou Kikunojou was an old fox through and through. Even after regaining his mobility, even when faced with this supernatural situation, he remained still. He merely tightened his grip on his cane, his cloudy old eyes flickering with an obscure, dim light as he stared intently at Haimer.
He couldn't read this man. Couldn't read him at all. However, the other one was different.
"Ahhhhhh!!" Tendou Kazumitsu had long been frightened out of his wits. The moment he regained his movement, survival instinct overwhelmed his rationality. He didn't choose to run, nor did he choose to beg for mercy.
Instead—he abruptly pulled a black handgun from his coat. It was something he had secretly brought in specifically for self-defense.
"You want to kill me? Are you kidding me!" The dark muzzle pointed straight at the space between Tendou Kisara's eyebrows. The distance was less than five meters. At this range, there was absolutely no way to dodge!
"!!!" The surrounding ministers, who were still unable to move, gasped inwardly at the sight. Bringing a gun into the Holy Emperor's residence—this was a massive taboo!
The Holy Emperor's eyes widened even further, her face full of disbelief. "Mr. Kazumitsu! What are you doing?! Weapons are prohibited here! Put it down immediately!"
However, Tendou Kazumitsu, completely blinded by panic, couldn't hear any of this. His hands shook violently, the muzzle locked dead onto Tendou Kisara. Since she came knocking on his door, she couldn't blame him for not holding back!
And so, Tendou Kazumitsu pulled the trigger. "Bang!" The gunshot rang out. Flames bloomed from the muzzle. In that instant, time seemed to slow down.
The Holy Emperor, pale with fright, covered her ears in terror and shut her eyes. In her eyes, at such close range, that girl was absolutely dead.
However. Clang! A crisp metallic clash rang out. Immediately after, came a streak of silver light almost untraceable to the naked eye.
Tendou Kisara's figure did not fall. On the contrary, like a ghost, she vanished from her spot in an instant. The edge of the blade sliced through the bullet, cleaving the high-speed spinning projectile perfectly in half!
Then, the figures of the two crossed paths. Tendou Kisara stood behind Tendou Kazumitsu, maintaining her sword-swinging posture, while Tendou Kazumitsu still held his gun-raising pose. Even the ferocious expression on his face hadn't had time to fade.
One second. Two seconds.
"Uh..." Tendou Kazumitsu paused for a moment. He felt his line of sight was a bit strange. Why... why was his vision getting lower?
The next second. Riiiip——! A teeth-achingly sharp tearing sound rang out. His legs were severed cleanly from the knees.
The Holy Emperor opened her eyes, trembling. Then, she saw a scene she would never be able to forget for the rest of her life. Scalding hot blood gushed out like a fountain from the stumps of Tendou Kazumitsu's severed legs, instantly dyeing the carpet red.
"My legs! My legs ahhhhhh!!!"
Tendou Kazumitsu lost all support and crashed heavily to the floor. The delayed agony shot instantly to his brain. He dropped his gun and hugged his severed stumps tightly with both hands, rolling frantically in a pool of his own blood while letting out pig-like squeals.
That sound—piercing and despairing—hardly sounded like something a human could produce.
"Urp..." The Holy Emperor paled with fright, her stomach churning violently. She covered her mouth with both hands, curling up in her chair and shivering.
Too bloody. Too cruel. She had never seen such a hellish scene. Instinctual fear made her subconsciously want to close her eyes and turn her head to escape all of this.
However, just the moment the Holy Emperor prepared to close her eyes, Haimer held her cheeks. Forcing her to turn her head back. Forcing her to keep her eyes open to stare directly at the blood-drenched scene.
"Don't close your eyes," Haimer's voice echoed next to the Holy Emperor's ear. "Miss Holy Emperor. Don't you want to govern this country well? Don't you want to protect your citizens? Then watch closely. For a flower in a greenhouse, the only way to grow is to witness death."
The Holy Emperor was forced to widen her eyes, watching the Vice Minister, who was usually so respectful and subservient toward her, now wailing on the floor like a dog with a broken spine.
Watching the ceaselessly gushing blood. Watching the ghastly white bone fragments. The Holy Emperor's body trembled violently, tears swimming in her eyes.
"It's... it's too cruel..." she said, trembling.
"Cruel?" Haimer chuckled lightly. "Then what if I told you that this man rolling on the floor right now, Tendou Kazumitsu. As the current Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, he was responsible for constructing Monolith 32, designed to defend against the Gastrea. To line his own pockets, for the sake of that filthy money, he mixed a massive amount of inferior metal into the construction materials. Do you still think he is pitiful?"
"Think about it. Once that shoddy construction project is finished. Once the Gastrea attack. How many people would he kill in one fell swoop?" Haimer enunciated his words with exceptional clarity. Every single word was like a heavy sledgehammer, smashing ruthlessly onto the hearts of everyone present.
The moment those words were spoken, Tendou Kikunojou, who had been silently standing to the side, suddenly gripped his cane tightly, his face turning instantly ashen. Tendou Kisara also hadn't expected to hear such a thing.
—The Monoliths? That was the line of defense concerning the very survival of the entire Tokyo Area!
"What did you say?!" The fury in Tendou Kisara's eyes instantly flared even brighter. She strode straight forward and forcefully stomped her foot right onto the wound of Tendou Kazumitsu's severed legs.
"Ahhhhhhhh——!!!" Tendou Kazumitsu immediately let out an even more agonizing shriek, his entire body curling into a shrimp from the pain.
"Speak," Tendou Kisara's voice was as cold as ice. "A Monolith built to those standards. How long can it hold up?"
"Ahhhh— I'll tell you! I'll tell you!!" How could Tendou Kazumitsu dare hide it anymore. "...One year..." he yelled amidst his wailing. "A year at most... the metal's magnetic field will weaken... the Monolith will fail..."
Boom! The moment those words were spoken, it was like a heavy bomb detonating in the conference room. Everyone present, including those officials who still couldn't move, widened their eyes in disbelief.
—The Monoliths. Those were massive black walls built with a special metal that released a magnetic field to repel the Gastrea. The sole barrier protecting the Tokyo Area from those man-eating monsters! If they failed... then that would mean...
Thinking of what could happen a year from now, everyone's face turned horrifyingly pale, and a fear that seeped deep into their bones instantly enveloped the entire room.
"See?" Haimer's voice chimed in right on cue. He released his hands from the Holy Emperor's cheeks, but did not allow her to look away. "Once the Monolith collapses. Tens of thousands of Stage IV, and even Stage V Gastrea will swarm into this city. When that time comes, it won't be just one person dying, but thousands upon tens of thousands. Even the entire population of the Tokyo Area will become monster food. Including you, Miss Holy Emperor."
"And all of this was just to exchange for numbers in your Vice Minister's bank account," Haimer pointed to the twitching mass of mangled flesh on the floor. "Now. Knowing he did such a thing, Miss Holy Emperor, do you honestly still think he is pitiful? Even if he were to be sliced into a thousand pieces, he'd still deserve a worse death, right?"
"..." The Holy Emperor stared blankly at Tendou Kazumitsu. She had always believed that these officials assisting her, while perhaps a bit opportunistic, were at least working for the sake of the country.
But now, bloody reality tore her fantasies to shreds. Was this... the country she governed? Were these... the retainers she relied upon?
"Hmph," Tendou Kisara let out a cold snort. She flicked the blood off her blade, looking down at Tendou Kazumitsu from above, her eyes devoid of mercy. "Tendou Sword-Drawing Art: Zero Style Form Three—Agi Akutouken. How is it, dear brother? That's the name of the technique that cut you. It's a technique I created myself."
"It is both one strike, and two strikes. The speed of the second strike breaks the sound barrier. You didn't see it clearly just now, did you? Not even being able to see the technique that cut you, how truly pathetic."
Tendou Kazumitsu had no mind to listen to this right now. He was in so much pain he was about to pass out, his face covered in a mix of snot and tears, looking absolutely disgusting.
"Next. The second matter," Tendou Kisara's gaze grew dark. This was also what she cared about the most. "Ten years ago. That night. The Gastrea attack. Why did only my parents die that night? Why did a wild Gastrea appear in the heart of the heavily guarded Tokyo Area, inside the Tendou family estate?"
Speaking of this, Tendou Kisara's voice was already trembling somewhat. It was an anger suppressed to its absolute limit. "Spit out... the whole truth!"
With her final words, the ten years of resentment Tendou Kisara had pent up completely erupted. She raised the cursed blade. The freezing edge of the sword pressed directly against Tendou Kazumitsu's neck, even digging in enough to draw a thin line of blood.
The icy touch caused Tendou Kazumitsu's screams to halt instantly. Stared down by those eyes, Tendou Kazumitsu was so terrified he could hardly breathe. Fear made him momentarily forget even the agonizing pain of his severed legs.
"N-No... I don't know... I don't... know anything..." he shook his head desperately, his eyes darting around in evasion. "It was an accident! It was a Gastrea attack! It had nothing to do with me!"
"Nothing to do with you?" Tendou Kisara's face was cold. Her wrist applied a bit of pressure. The razor-sharp edge instantly sliced through the top layer of skin on Tendou Kazumitsu's neck. Blood quickly flowed down his neck, staining the collar of his expensive shirt red.
The threat of death was right before his eyes. Tendou Kazumitsu broke down completely. He turned his head pleadingly toward Tendou Kikunojou, who wasn't far away. "Grandfather! Grandfather, save me! Save me!"
However. This old man, who normally doted on him so much, right now just stood there in silence, his face sullen. He didn't even spare him a second glance.
As an old fox, Tendou Kikunojou was very clear on the situation. Speaking up now meant drawing fire upon himself. In front of this unfathomable man, whoever stuck their neck out first would die. Sacrificing a grandson to save himself—he had done the math perfectly.
"I'm the one talking to you right now. It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin." Seeing this, the mockery in Tendou Kisara's eyes grew even thicker. She twisted her wrist.
The tip of the blade slashed straight down Tendou Kazumitsu's cheek, from the corner of his eye all the way to his chin. Scalding blood slid down Tendou Kazumitsu's cheek, making his face look like a bloody gourd.
So this is it. Is this what revenge feels like? Watching the person who had once humiliated you wail in agony. Watching someone high and mighty plummet into the mud. This thrill of holding someone else's life and death in your hands... was absolutely addictive!
At this moment, Tendou Kisara had fully entered the zone. That hatred suppressed for ten years had finally found an outlet. Coupled with the fact that she had just received Haimer's promise, she was a vengeful demon, ready to devour anyone in her path. As long as she could get the truth, she wouldn't mind turning into a monster herself.
"If you don't speak, I will chop off the rest of your limbs, piece by piece, right now. Until I whittle you down to a human stump."
"I'll count to three. One. Two."
Tendou Kisara's voice didn't have the slightest inflection.
A madwoman! She was completely insane!! Stared down by those eyes, Tendou Kazumitsu's psychological defenses collapsed utterly in an instant. He had zero doubt that this crazy woman would actually go through with it!
And so, just as Tendou Kisara was about to say "three."
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Just don't kill me! I'll tell you everything!"
"It's all... it's all father's fault!" Tendou Kazumitsu screamed in breakdown, a pathetic mess of tears, snot, and blood. "Father wanted to expose the Tendou family's shameful secrets! Whether it was the Monolith construction funds or the Tendou family's other gray operations, father held a massive amount of evidence enough to expose the entire family! He wanted to make all of the family's gray income completely public! We kept trying to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen! If we didn't kill him! The entire Tendou family would have been ruined! Ruined!"
"Hinata was in charge of the security shifts that night! He intentionally pulled the two guard squads that were supposed to be at the back gate, leaving only two scapegoats! Gentaku handled silencing the press! He used his connections in the Metropolitan Police Department to suppress all the on-scene investigation reports, and even had the bodies cremated directly before an autopsy could be performed! Even that Gastrea... that Stage I Gastrea, was brought in by Kitoshi through underground black market channels!! That's how he made his start in the first place!"
Tendou Kazumitsu spilled the entire rotten mess that had been kept tightly under wraps for ten years in one fell swoop.
The hand holding Tendou Kisara's blade trembled. But it wasn't over yet.
"A-And..." Tendou Kazumitsu shakily raised the hand that was still stained with his own blood. His finger wavered. Ultimately pointing at the old man standing at the head of the conference table, who, despite facing such a scene, remained entirely composed and silent. "And Grandfather! He was the one who gave the order! He told us to do it!"
"He said that father's whistleblowing would destroy the Tendou family! That it would make us lose our current status! So we had to clean house! For the family's reputation! To protect the status of everyone else in the family! It was Grandfather who decided to intentionally release a Stage I Gastrea to kill father and mother, to stage it as an accident!!"
BOOM—! The moment those words were spoken, the entire conference room fell into a deathly silence. Even the air seemed to freeze over.
Although the ministers present had long heard rumors of the Tendou family's methods, and their own hands weren't exactly clean either. However—personally orchestrating the murder of one's own son and his family. And doing it using the most atrocious means possible—a Gastrea. This was simply way too deranged! Even a vicious tiger doesn't eat its cubs! This was pure insanity!
Beyond that, the one who took the heaviest blow was none other than the Holy Emperor. This young ruler was currently looking at the old man she had always respected like a father with an extremely foreign gaze.
—Tendou Kikunojou. The aide who had assisted three generations of rulers, hailed as the stabilizing pillar of the Tokyo Area, who had always taught her to be benevolent, just, and to work for the country and its people. The wise man hailed as the final line of defense for the Tokyo Area. Was actually the mastermind who orchestrated the murder of his own biological son? Merely for the sake of... the family's reputation? To cover up embezzlement? Was he even human?
"Sir... Kikunojou..." the Holy Emperor's voice quivered. She tried to find denial on Tendou Kikunojou's face, or even just a hint of wavering.
However. There was none. Nothing at all.
Tendou Kikunojou stood at the head of the conference table, still like a silent mountain. Even facing his own grandson's accusations, the Holy Emperor's questioning, Tendou Kisara's glare that looked ready to devour him, and the surrounding eyes staring at him as if he were a monster. He not only didn't show the slightest bit of panic, he didn't even twitch an eyebrow. An apathy that chilled people to the bone.
"Kazumitsu." Finally, Tendou Kikunojou spoke. His voice was deep and hoarse, yet it carried a specific majesty and oppressiveness unique to someone who had spent years in a position of high power. He didn't even cast a single glance at the grandson who had cried himself out of human shape, wriggling on the floor like a maggot. He merely spat out a single sentence indifferently: "Are those your last words?"
"Wh... what...?" Tendou Kazumitsu's shrieks of frantic pleading were suddenly cut short, as if an invisible hand had clamped down on his throat. He stared blankly at his grandfather, seemingly failing to understand the meaning behind those words. Everyone around, including the Holy Emperor, was equally taken aback.
"To save your own life, you bite blindly like a mad dog. Dumping out the family's internal secrets like taking out the trash. Even going so far as to trample the Tendou family's dignity underfoot in broad daylight, all to wag your tail and beg for mercy. It is utterly unsightly!"
"Kazumitsu! I had originally thought that despite your greed, despite your incompetence, despite the stench of dirty money clinging to you that makes me sick! I thought that, since you were born into the Tendou family and carry Tendou blood, you would at least possess a shred of backbone as a son of the Tendou family! Even if you had to die, you should die with some dignity! It seems I overestimated you after all."
Having said that, Tendou Kikunojou slowly lifted his heavy eyelids, looking straight at Tendou Kisara.
"That's right," Tendou Kikunojou admitted openly. "The order for the operation that night was indeed given by me. Just as Kazumitsu said. It was all orchestrated by me."
BOOM—! He confessed to it himself!
The Holy Emperor seemed to have been drained of her last ounce of strength, slumping weakly in her chair with hollow eyes. He admitted it... He actually admitted it...
"Why..." the hand with which Tendou Kisara gripped her sword was trembling violently. Even though she had expected it, even though she had hated him to the bone for a long time. But hearing her own biological grandfather personally confess to killing her parents... That shock still made her feel as though her chest were being ripped apart.
"That was your son!!" Tendou Kisara roared, her voice laced with blood-weeping hatred. "He was your own flesh and blood!!"
"So what?" Faced with his granddaughter's questioning, Tendou Kikunojou shot back coldly. "Kisara. You are still too young. In this position, at the heart of this country. There is nothing more important than the name 'Tendou Family'."
"Your father..." At the mention of his deceased son, a complex emotion flashed through Tendou Kikunojou's eyes, but it vanished in an instant, replaced once again by coldness. "He was far too naive! And far too foolish! To actually delusionally seek so-called justice in this filthy world. Attempting to expose the family's internal money flow, trying to ruin the foundation built by generations of the Tendou family in a single stroke! His very existence! Was a malignant tumor to the Tendou family! If I didn't excise this tumor, the entire family would have been buried along with him."
"Therefore." Thud! Tendou Kikunojou struck his cane heavily against the ground. "Everything I did was necessary! For the survival of the family! For the greater good! Even if it is my own flesh and blood, if he becomes a stumbling block, he must be eliminated! This is the resolve I must bear as the head of the Tendou family!"
"Furthermore, this wasn't just for the Tendou family! It was for this country! Without the Tendou family's grip on politics! Without me strategizing from behind the scenes! Do you really think this crumbling Tokyo Area could have held on until now! For the greater good, sacrifices are necessary! Even if that sacrifice is my own son!"
A madman. They were all madmen! This was the only thought running through the minds of everyone present.
Even Haimer, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow upon hearing this. How interesting. After all, setting morals aside, purely from the perspective of a final boss's self-discipline, Tendou Kikunojou was an absolutely flawless candidate.
Ruthless enough, decisive enough, cold-blooded enough. Capable of brutally murdering even his own flesh and blood. Especially since he had constructed a perfectly self-consistent logical loop for himself. He wasn't making excuses. He genuinely believed from the bottom of his heart that what he did was right. Even killing his son or his grandson—as long as it served this concept, he considered it to be correct.
"Therefore—" Tendou Kikunojou looked down at Tendou Kazumitsu, who had long since been scared senseless on the floor. "Kazumitsu. Since you are already a cripple and have utterly disgraced the family. Rather than living like a dog, it's better to perform your final loyalty to the family right here. Just die."
The moment those words dropped, Tendou Kazumitsu was struck as if by lightning. His lips trembled, wanting to say something, but no sound came out. Fear. Despair. He looked at the grandfather who used to be so majestic and awe-inspiring to him, yet now he felt as though he was looking at a devil.
"N-No... No..." he shook his head frantically, trying to crawl backward. But his severed legs made it completely impossible to move. He could only struggle in vain within the pool of blood.
"What? Did you think someone was going to save you?" Tendou Kikunojou looked at him coldly. "Do it! Kisara! Since you want revenge, start with this disgraceful piece of trash! Kill him! This time, it's not just for yourself, but to act on my behalf! To clean house!"
"Sister... I'm your brother..." At this point, Tendou Kazumitsu didn't even have the strength left to beg for mercy. The moment he heard Tendou Kikunojou tell him to die, his world had caved in.
Now, seeing Tendou Kisara walking toward him, he merely raised that blood-stained hand on pure instinct, as if trying to grasp onto some life-saving straw. "We... we even played together when we were little... Look... I'm already like this... I'm already a cripple... Please... don't kill... Don't kill me..." He cried until his face was covered in mucus and tears. Groveling to the extreme.
But Tendou Kisara just stared at him coldly. Her eyes devoid of the slightest shred of pity. "Brother? When my parents were brutally murdered, why didn't you remember I was your sister? When I was kneeling in the rain, begging you all to let me see them one last time, why didn't you remember I was your sister? When you all carved up my family's inheritance, why didn't you remember I was your sister? Now you remember? It's too late."
Tendou Kisara slowly sheathed her blade. Click. A soft sound rang out. The tsuba clicked perfectly into place against the scabbard.
Seeing this, a look of wild ecstasy instantly erupted in Tendou Kazumitsu's eyes. She sheathed her sword? She actually sheathed her sword!! Did she really care for their past ties? Was she really going to let him go?!
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you..."
"I think you misunderstood something," Tendou Kisara cut short Tendou Kazumitsu's profound gratitude. "Tendou Sword-Drawing Art: Zero Style Form Three—Agi Akutouken. Like I said earlier. This is the technique that cut you. It is both one strike, and two strikes. The first strike cut off your legs."
"As for the second strike... What I cut wasn't your legs. Because the speed was so fast that it broke the sound barrier. So fast that your pain receptors haven't even registered it yet. So fast that your body tissues haven't even realized they've been split apart."
"But that's fine. Calculating the time. It should be about time."
What? Tendou Kazumitsu was still stunned. He didn't understand. What did 'about time' mean? In that brief instant, he hadn't felt any new pain. He only felt... like his body was a bit light?
Then. Under Tendou Kazumitsu's confused gaze. A line of blood. Appeared dead center on his forehead.
Then. This blood line extended downward along his forehead, the bridge of his nose, his lips, and his chin. Passing through his Adam's apple, his chest, and his stomach. As though an invisible paintbrush had drawn a red line right down the middle of his body.
"Uh...?" Tendou Kazumitsu opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something. However, the next second. Squelch——!
That line of blood violently burst open. A sound like an overripe watermelon splitting apart rang out. Tendou Kazumitsu didn't even have time to let out one last scream.
The next second, under the gaze of those eyes filled with bewilderment. His body. Along that red line. Shifted left and right.
The once human-shaped Tendou Kazumitsu. Right under the watchful eyes of everyone present. Like a watermelon sliced directly down the middle. Cleanly and neatly. Split completely into two halves!
Splat. Thud—! The two halves of his ruined corpse slumped away from each other. Copious amounts of blood and internal organs spewed out instantly, as if squeezed through a high-pressure hose!
In the end! Throughout the entire conference room! Only the muffled sound of those two halves of a corpse collapsing under gravity remained, accompanied by the subtle gurgling of pooling blood!
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