After the devastating explosion caused by Kinto and Kenji due to their final attack, the entire city they were fighting in, including the forest and a couple of mountains, was completely destroyed in a terrifying explosion that turned everything around it into ash.
The smoke caused by the attack was starting to clear off. Rin came out of her shelter that she hid in to avoid the explosion. She looked around and found it hard to locate Kenji and Kinto's whereabouts. Rin got out of her shelter and thought to herself, "That fight was on a whole different level. Honestly, it's going to be insane if one of them were to still be standing. Kinto, I hope you're alright."
The smoke finally cleared away. Rin's eyes opened wide on seeing Kenji laid on the ground with injuries and burns. She also saw that Kinto was barely standing. He had blood dripping from his head, hands, and the rest of his body. Kinto also had burn marks and dirt on his face and fingers due to the intensity of the battle he just had with Kenji.
Rin was in shock. She rushed towards Kinto. "KINTO...!" she yelled with worry.
Kinto told her, "Stay back! I'm not done yet, I still have things to ask this guy."
Kenji, laying on the ground in defeat, began to laugh softly and dryly. He scoffed, his face battered with blood and burns. "Well what do you know! I was defeated. Looks like I wasn't the stronger opponent. Well too bad for me, I lost."
Kinto, with a sad expression on his face, thought to himself, "I don't know why. But while I was fighting this guy, it was almost like as if I was fighting a future version of myself. Just by looking at him makes me feel like I might have or will turn out like him. I don't know why though."
Kenji then complimented Kinto, his voice weak but filled with a little bit of excitement. "Hey kid. You're pretty strong, you know? The funny thing is... you have lots of room to grow. Guess this generation of kids is stronger than expected. Well that's good for you."
Kinto asked, "Why did you turn out this way? I want to know. What happened to you?"
Kenji responded with a faint smile on his face. "Well well, trying to understand your opponent before you land the final blow, huh? That's considerate. Since you wanna know the story of this fallen villain, I'll tell you. The Iron Country was divided in two, the Land of Steel and the Elemental Clan. The Elemental Clan was wiped off the map by the Land of Steel. I was the only surviving one. Though I was a child of seven at the time, I had an incredible talent for wielding lightning and fire, and my sword skills were insane for my age. The Iron Country constantly used me for assassination missions, and the older I grew, the more I became sick of it. All that was in my mind was revenge against the part of the country that was responsible for killing the place I called home, my family."
Kenji started to cough out blood as he explained. **"Well, while I was working as an assassin for this damn country that took everything away from me, there was a man superior to me. He was an excellent soldier and a strong one too. He was also good at science and partook in a few scientific experiments. He was really nice towards me, and I looked at him as an elder brother. But eventually, the higher-ups of the Iron Country had him killed for unknown reasons. He had three kids at the time. He entrusted me with them knowing something might happen to him.
The first one was a girl. She was Rin. The second kid was a boy. At a young age, he displayed amazing skills with the sword. His name was Kazu. The last born was a boy. His name was Shouya. He was born a demon due to his mother being a demon, but she died after childbirth. Shouya was used for scientific experiments. There was nothing I could do about it. I felt helpless. In the end, the higher-ups of the country, including Lord Yamamoto, saw the kids as a threat due to them growing with strength and power faster than any other young soldier in the country could."**
Kinto then asked, "So in other words, you were protecting them from the shadows. That was really cool. How long have you been doing that?"
Kenji replied with a smirk, "Wow, I didn't even say that part yet. How did you know? You read minds or something?"
Kinto replied with a straight look, "I have an IQ of 500 as of now. It's not so hard to pick up some small pieces of info by myself."
Kenji just smiled as he continued to tell his story. "I was doing that for a couple of years, till at least they entered C-rank. I knew that if I kept on protecting them, then at some point I'd fail. So I decided to join the Dark Sign. I thought that if I were evil, then they'd hate me. I thought the hate they felt for me would force them to become stronger. Well, it looks like it worked well. Although I don't regret it, I met like-minded people who understood my pain."
Rin was heartbroken after hearing Kenji's story. She thought to herself, "It can't be! Kenji-sensei went through all that for us? Why didn't Lord Yamamoto say anything? This is... this is cruel!"
Kenji then told Rin, "Rin, don't be sad, okay? It's nothing to be sad about. I did this knowing this would be the outcome. Although I wanted to destroy this entire country for the sake of my revenge before I died, too bad the country I hated would be my grave. What a fucking terrible ending for me. But destroying this country would have taken me about a week or two. But I'm glad though, because my students I hold dear and wanted to protect are all right. Tell Kazu and Shouya to take care of themselves, okay?"
Rin began to shed more tears as she collapsed on her knees.
Kinto stretched his hand toward Kenji. Kenji's body began to emit smoke as it started turning into a bright yellow light, with Kinto's explosives mark appearing over him. Kinto, with a sad look on his face, then asked, "If it were up to me, I'd let you live. But my orders were to kill you. So, is there anything you want to say before you die?"
Kenji smiled softly. He closed his eyes and muttered, "I have no regrets at all. Thank you for understanding me..."
As Kenji's body started to heat up and turn into pure energy, he thought to himself, "Sorata, I'm glad we were friends and understood each other. Kirihai, I'm glad I was able to serve as an elder brother figure toward you. This is the end for me. And Shinki, you were really a good guy. I'm glad I met you all."
Kenji's body turned into pure yellow energy that heated up and eventually turned into a giant nuclear explosion. The explosion was able to shake the entire city and mountains with a huge shockwave and a bright light.
When the smoke cleared away, there was nothing left of Kenji except his white coat jacket.
Rin began to cry even more. Kinto hugged her, telling her, "Don't worry, I feel your pain."
But Kinto couldn't help but ask himself, "Maybe people don't just wake up and decide to play the villain. Maybe it was due to their circumstances that they turned out the way they were. But still, if this were to be my story, would I have ended up like him?"
END OF CHAPTER