As Kazuo awakened Sūijin, the snow surrounding him melted. A water helix flowed around the sword's blade and he swung the whirlpool at Kajin's flames.
With a huge splash, the fire was extinguished and steam filled the air. The two warriors, especially Kagemaru, got drenched in the process. Igniting Kajin's blade at that moment was out of the question.
Kazuo used the opportunity to his advantage. He swirled around and attacked with both swords. "Ha!" he shouted, disarming his opponent in one swoop.
The fire katana soared in the air and Kagemaru's eyes widened. At that instant, he raised both hands.
Kazuo kicked through Kagemaru's defenses and pinned him down. He stopped himself from stabbing through the Shadow Prince's heart when their eyes met. Hesitation. "Surrender..."
Without yielding, Kagemaru grabbed Kazuo by the leg. Kage genzō: Yume no Fūkei!
[
Memories of Kazuo's childhood flooded his mind. He saw the looks his parents gave him. 'You brought this upon yourself. You are no son of mine.' His father repeated. A bloodied vision of his mother asked, 'did you really want us gone, Kazuo? Had it not been for you... we would still be alive.'
Kazuo shook his head, crying. This is not real! Mom would never–He opened his eyes and drew a chokutō. "You can't scare me with this shit! I've been here before! Show yourself... Kagemaru!" He saw the Shadow Prince appearing from next to him and sliced through the projection.
Suddenly, a spotlight appeared and showed another Kagemaru, bound and gagged. As Kazuo approached with caution, he saw the shadow snakes constricting Kagemaru's psyche. He brought me here... this is his shadow plane. I gotta free him...
Kazuo slashed at the snakes but they did not budge. He tried a few more times and stopped after getting the same results. For the last time, he made the Chinmaya mudra and charged the chokutō. Raijin: Kanden! He stabbed Kagemaru's heart, zapping him and the serpents with lightning.
Once freed, memories of Kagemaru's own childhood flooded the void as he regained consciousness. Visuals of his mother being stabbed to death by Kagero repeated until he shouted. "STOP!"
[
Meanwhile, Kagero and Asuka's fight was nearing its end. Both of them looked fatigued but he had the upper hand. He struck her hand and she dropped a knuckle duster.
Asuka had several bleeding wounds on her torso. Her entire body ached with unbearable pain. She was running on her last breaths. She puffed hot air, raising one hand to block the next attack. So this is it huh? The end. If only I could break that armour of his.
Kagero cackled. "Any last words, Asuka-chan?"
"Br–Bring it!"
The Shadow King swung both weapons with full strength. Asuka saw the rods coming at her and she knew it was over. Before giving up, her luck returned. In that instant, Kagero's shadow dissolved.
"No!" Kagero raged, exposed. What did he do?
Asuka saw the opening and summed up the last of her prana. I am grounded! She made the Prithvi mudra with her working hand, took a deep breath and exhaled. A red aura exploded from the base of her feet. She channeled all that energy to her knuckle duster, amplifying her last punch tenfold.
Kagero tried blocking with both rods but Asuka broke his defenses. She punched through the rods before connecting her steel to his chest. The heavy blow sent Kagero flying backwards to land a few inches before the edge, unconscious. Asuka's aura vaporized, she dropped her duster and fell down.
Seconds later, Kazuo and Kagemaru jolted to reality. Kazuo got up quick and turned to the fight that had just ended. It's over...
"Th–Thank you, Kazuo." Kagemaru coughed.
"No, thank you... for what you did for my mother." Kazuo held back tears from falling. "I also saw what he did to yours." Kazuo's face turned red.
"But I couldn't save–"
"He murdered them, and for that... he mustburn." Kazuo walked to the fire sword and picked it up. He made his way to Kagero and saw him twitching.
The Shadow King was regaining consciousness but still unable to move. His entire body ached from Asuka's punch. He tried turning around and saw a figure approaching him.
Kazuo stood still, eyeing the man who killed his family. Rage took over and he breathed in and out. At that moment, his mind ignored the pain from his body. All he was focused on was putting an end to Kagero. "This is for Rohan, my family... This is for all the lives you took. And most importantly… this is for my mother."
As Kazuo thought about his fallen relatives and comrades, a vision from Kazuro flickered. "Great grandfather once spared your life... but I'm not him."
A gentle blue flame formed on Kajin's blade.
I cannot die here, I cannot die here! Kagero crawled like a wounded animal. "Kazuo-kun, y–you don't have to do this. After all, it wasn't me who killed your mother! She took her own life!"
"Jigoku no mon: Kasō…"
The fire burst lit up Kagero's clothes. Loud sizzling mixed in with the king's screams sounded. After a few minutes, the flames dissipated leaving behind a charred figure of what was once the Shadow King.
Kazuo kicked the body over the edge. "Hey you Shadow ninjas! If you don't wanna end up like your leader, I'd suggest you surrender!"
Everyone below stopped. The remaining Shadows, twelve of them, turned pale after seeing Kagero's burnt corpse and dropped their weapons. Soon after, they got on their knees, hands raised.
Celebrations filled the air as the surviving Lightning ninjas jumped up and down. Hideo faced his comrades and smiled. Relief filled his mind at the thought of the battle being over. "Ayame, Mikoto and I can take the wounded to the Medical Corp," he said, turning to Shin, Takumi and Kenji. "Can we leave the prisoners with you three?"
Shin nodded. "We'll apprehend them."
"Right girls..." said Hideo. "Let's go."
Mikoto and Ayame spoke at once. "Hai, sensei!"
Ayame was fair-skinned and around the same age as most students graduating that year. She had long black hair, dark brown eyes and freckles. In just six months, she thought, side-eyeing Mikoto with a smirk. She's gotten that strong!
On the way, Hideo sensed tension between the long rivals and tried lightening the mood. "You did great, both of you..."
☯
Meanwhile, a man in a black coat covering his chestnut skin had been meditating in a wooden structure filled with books. Embroidered on the back was a golden sigil of Leviathan's Cross. The man's dark dreadlocks hid much of his face but the septum and earrings' silver luster was unmistakable.
His eyelids, lips and nails were painted black and on his bare, muscular chest he had an ankh tattoo. In front of him, a shōgi board lay on the floor. It was missing two black pieces—a Knight and a Gold General. Intriguing... the monk chuckled, opening his eyes.
As he clasped his hands in a praying gesture, he teleported to a bigger shrine. Two people wearing white kimono and seated in the lotus position were startled by his sudden arrival.
"Lord Darkness?" said Daisuke, turning around.
"Hasegawa, could you excuse us?" The monk spoke with a dead calm baritone voice. "I would like to have a word with the princess."
Daisuke got up and bowed. "Your Eminence..."
Princess Rina had short, jet black hair tied in a neat ponytail and olive skin. She was tall and appeared to be in her late teens. When it was just the two of them, she spoke. "Kagami-sama… what's going on?"
"Kagero's dead."