Greetings, readers:
Thank you for reading this fan-made work...
1040 B.N. October 4
Life in the imperial palace adopted a dynamic as peculiar as it was absorbing. On the surface, the court observed a strategic alliance between the nation's sovereign and a young prodigy with a mysterious aura; in the shadows, reality was quite different. Tenji wore the crown of men, but I ruled the invisible network of the underworld.
During those free afternoons, when the weight of the state gave him a respite, Tenji would often arrange small gatherings in the tea pavilion. He sought to liven up the atmosphere, create camaraderie, and, above all, impress the woman who had fallen from the sky.
—Observe this, Giotto —Tenji commented one afternoon, carefully moving one of the wooden pieces carved from applewood across the primitive chessboard I myself had designed for him weeks earlier—. If I move my knight here, your defensive line is compromised. It's a flanking maneuver I learned from your previous explanations.
Around the board, the aroma of cedar incense and green tea permeated the air. For a ruler of this era, my knowledge of entertainment—inherited from my past life as Luciano Gravina—was a bottomless well. I had taught him games of wit, logical paradoxes, and advanced military strategy dynamics that left the head of state speechless.
I held one of the ebony pieces between two fingers, making it spin with calculated ease before placing it in the center.
—An audacious move, Tenji —I replied with a slight smile, keeping my voice calm and measured—. But you've left the king exposed on the eastern flank. In war, just as in shadow politics, ambition must not surpass one's guard. Check.
Tenji leaned over the board, blinking in astonishment before letting out a bitter laugh.
—Incredible... It's as if you read my thoughts three moves before I formulate them. Sometimes I forget I'm speaking with someone your apparent age, Giotto. Your mind reasons like that of an old strategist who has seen a hundred empires fall.
—Necessity teaches quickly, Tenji —I answered with diplomatic elegance, taking a sip of tea.
However, the atmosphere of camaraderie always came accompanied by a silent and almost pathetic tension. Tenji did not organize these afternoons simply out of love for the game. He took advantage of every pause, every movement of the pieces, to glance toward the raised platform where Kaguya remained seated on the silk cushions.
—Lady Kaguya —Tenji said, clearing his throat and adopting the most majestic posture he could muster—. I have ordered the merchants from the east to bring the finest silks from the capital, dyed in the very rare and new purple color. It would be an honor for me if you would accept a stroll through the cherry gardens at sunset so I could show them to you.
The attempt at courtship hung in the air with an uncomfortable heaviness.
Kaguya did not blink. Dressed in her white robes with ceremonial embroidery, the Goddess did not even bother to give Tenji a proper glance. Her albino eyes, cold as frost atop the celestial peaks, passed over the sovereign as though he were nothing more than background noise, an insignificant ornament of the palace.
—I have no interest in silks or gardens, Tenji. But thank you —she murmured. Her voice was an icy, distant whisper, devoid of any hint of human courtesy.
Immediately afterward, her eyes settled on me. The absolute coldness of her face dissolved instantly, replaced by a magnetic fixation, completely devoted to me.
—Giotto... —she spoke, and the warmth that filled her tone made the guards in the pavilion visibly tense—. The wooden piece you're holding... why did you choose to move that one and not the other? Explain it to me.
Tenji clenched his fists beneath the table, concealing the helplessness of his attempts behind a forced smile. To the extraterrestrial entity, the sovereign of the Land of Ancestors was invisible. Her entire universe had become centered on me. The unwavering confidence with which I spoke, the way I broke down the world with the tactical coldness of a mafia Don, and the aura of natural authority emanating from Luciano Gravina drove her completely wild.
—This piece represents the tactical sacrifice, Kaguya —I replied, holding her gaze without yielding an inch of ground—. Sometimes you have to surrender a minor position to force the enemy onto terrain where they cannot win.
She sketched a small, enigmatic smile, fascinated by the dominant tone of my voice and my extensive knowledge.
When night fell and the palace sank into a sepulchral silence, the protocol crumbled.
The doors to my chambers did not need to be forced. Kaguya slipped through the shadows like an exhalation of mist, seeking the bed where I awaited her. Far from the unreachable deity who terrified the courtiers, between my sheets Kaguya became a creature hungry for desire and the warmth that only I could provide.
Beneath the physical appearance of a young Vongola, Luciano Gravina's vast experience, unyielding composure, and visceral mastery took absolute control. In the darkness, there were no bows or divine distances. My hands held her face with a firmness that accepted no reply, and my penetrating gaze subdued her cosmic pride.
—Giotto... —she sighed, sinking against my chest as the heat of our bodies consumed the room—. You are... different from any being on this earth. I cannot see any falseness in you. You are perfect for me.
—You did not come to this world without knowing what to seek, Kaguya —I whispered into her ear, holding her with a possessive dominance that made her shudder—. You are a goddess, but when you are in this room, you belong to me.
That combination of overwhelming passion, absolute control, and unreserved physical closeness captivated her in a way that no force in the universe ever had before. Kaguya was not merely captivated; she was completely surrendered.
For my strategic benefit, this devotion was not merely a passionate distraction: it was the perfect catalyst. Intimacy with the Goddess of Chakra directly and voraciously fueled the demands of my internal system. Every night, the interface floated at the periphery of my vision, emitting an uninterrupted stream of golden notifications:
[Synchronization with Origin Energy: 66%]
[Celestial Flame Production: Increasing...]
[Sky Flame Attribute: Critical Assimilation Level]
It did not even take two full months of this dynamic in the palace for the mission's conditions to be fully met.
It was on a full-moon night. Kaguya rested with her head on my torso, breathing in a deep slumber, when suddenly Giotto stood up and left the bedchamber. The world seemed to stop in a place near the great garden.
BOOM!
A brutal and silent jolt detonated in the very center of my chest. The flow of spiritual energy within my organic network reached critical mass. I felt the structure of the aura fold and merge with the essence of my soul.
Suddenly, a flame of pure, brilliant orange erupted from my body's forehead and fists, illuminating the room with a majestic golden radiance. It was not ordinary combustion: it was the Sky's Dying Will Flame, reaching 100% of its maximum capacity and fully stabilized.
My senses exploded outward. I could feel the heartbeat of guards a kilometer away; the Vongola Hyper-Intuition expanded like a three-dimensional dome within my mind, reading absolutely everything.
Giotto's eyes snapped open, surprised by the intensity of the radiance emanating from me. He observed the pure flame on my forehead and the density of the energy enveloping the room.
[MAIN MISSION COMPLETED!]
[Vongola Sky Flame Unlocked: 100%]
[Reward: Physical and Spiritual Compatibility with Chakra]
I looked at the night sky in the darkness, feeling the golden flame burn on my forehead with scorching power, yet perfectly controlled. The time to play dice with Tenji and act as the diplomatic guest had run out. With the Goddess of this world surrendered at my feet and the power of the Vongola Primo at its definitive peak, the era of concessions was over. It was time to shape destiny to my liking...
Giotto calmed his Sky aura and returned to his bedchamber in Kaguya's arms… to give her another round of battle to celebrate his success.
That same night, at the precise moment when the System's final requirement was fulfilled and Giotto's Dying Will Flames reached their absolute fullness, the events in the palace took an inevitable turn.
Tenji, driven by a mixture of naive romanticism and desperation to win the favor of the woman he loved, decided to step forward. Holding a beautiful wildflower between his fingers—a rare flower he had specifically ordered to be found for her—the sovereign walked through the wooden corridors of the palace until he reached Kaguya's chambers.
As he raised his hand to knock on the door, silence was his only answer. He cautiously pushed open the wooden lattice and discovered the room completely empty. The bed remained untouched, with no trace of the deity.
—Where is Kaguya...? —Tenji murmured to himself.
A pang of unease pierced his chest. A dark thought, a terrible suspicion that he had spent weeks trying to bury deep within his mind, began screaming a truth that his pride and idealized love had refused to accept. With hurried steps and his heart pounding wildly in his throat, the king strode down the corridor until he stopped in front of the guest room where the young Vongola was staying.
When he peeked through the half-open door, Tenji's world completely collapsed.
There, beneath the disheveled sheets in the dimness of the room, he saw them intertwined. The impact was devastating. The sovereign felt a visceral pain, a bitter mixture of betrayal and absolute emptiness upon realizing that the only woman he desired with all his soul had given her devotion to his most trusted ally. Tenji's selfishness had blinded him, making him believe that, with the crown, time, and his attentions, he could bend the Goddess's heart. But reality was crushing.
Without uttering a single word, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned pale and holding back tears of fury, Tenji turned around and withdrew in absolute silence.
The following morning, as the first rays of sunlight began to filter through the rice-paper windows, Giotto opened his eyes after a night of absolute fulfillment. Beside him, Kaguya rested deeply, sunk into a peaceful stupor after the exhaustion of the previous night. Without waking her, Giotto quietly rose, adjusted his garments, and left the room, heading toward the palace kitchens.
However, halfway down the corridor, his path was intercepted.
Tenji was there, standing in the center of the hallway, blocking his way. The sovereign was no longer carrying the flower from the previous night, but instead wore a severe, icy expression filled with a destructive hostility that had never been seen in his eyes before. The atmosphere around him was dense, suffocating, weighed down by the burden of unspoken truths.
Giotto stopped with complete serenity. Maintaining the composure that characterized his strategist's soul, he stared fixedly at the king, awaiting the inevitable clash that was about to begin. —What is all this about, Tenji? —I asked in a measured voice, knowing perfectly well what had happened, but demanding answers in the face of his unacceptable attitude.
The tension in Tenji that had been festering within the palace finally detonated. His face was distorted, pale from the mixture of sleeplessness, spite, and restrained rage that threatened to consume him.
Tenji drew his sword with hands trembling with fury. The sound of the metal resonated against the wooden walls, and the blade trembled violently in his hands as he pointed it directly at Giotto's chest.
—I can't take it anymore, Giotto! —Tenji shouted, his voice broken and choked by the humiliation of his jealousy—. I've given you everything, Giotto! I opened the doors of my home to you, I made you my closest ally, a friend! And you're stealing the only woman I've ever desired to love with all my soul!
Giotto could feel the System's gaze burning into the back of his neck. One mistake and he would lose all his power.
Giotto remained standing in the middle of the hall, with his hands tucked beneath the cloak of the Vongola First Generation, revealing only the serene gaze of Lesuya Sawada and the icy soul of Luciano Gravina. In his peripheral vision, the System interface marked 100% assimilation. The diplomatic game in that court was over.
—Lower the steel, Tenji —Giotto said with an almost ghostly calm, without the slightest trace of fear or aggression in his posture—. Neither of us needs tonight to end in blood.
—She doesn't even look at me! —Tenji continued, taking a staggering step forward as he tightened his grip on his sword's hilt with white knuckles—. She spends every second of the day by your side! She slips into your chambers when she thinks the palace is asleep! Do you think I'm blind? Do you think I don't realize how she looks at you, as if you were a god and I were nothing but dust beneath your feet? Tell me to my face, Giotto! Why did she choose you!?
Giotto let out a faint sigh in silence. He could sense Kaguya's chakra presence resting several corridors away. If Tenji raised his voice too much or if his killing intent disturbed the deity, she would awaken; and if Kaguya left the room and saw the king pointing a sword at Giotto, she would not hesitate for even a second to reduce the entire palace of her jealous friend to ashes. Tenji had no idea how close he was to absolute annihilation.
With tactical coldness, Giotto decided to assume the role the situation demanded. He had to become the villain in the story and shatter the sovereign's illusions to save his life.
—You're wrong about something fundamental, Tenji —Giotto spoke in a cold, measured, and forceful tone, taking a slow step toward the sword's blade without blinking—. Kaguya didn't "choose" me because I stole her from you. She simply seeks the strength, control, and determination that you cannot offer her.
—What did you say!? —Tenji's eyes filled with tears of helplessness.
—Look at yourself, Tenji. You are a sovereign, you have a kingdom, men under your command, and diplomacy on your side... but you don't have the composure to stand beside a woman like Kaguya —Giotto replied, fixing his gaze on the king with overwhelming authority—. You offer her silks, walks through gardens, and pretty words from an earthly king. But she does not belong to this land. Your love is too small for the immensity of what she represents. You're trying to fit a cosmic tide into a glass of water.
The sovereign clenched his teeth, feeling each of those words pierce his pride like a dagger.
—But you... you truly deserve her —the young Vongola continued, softening his tone slightly while maintaining absolute firmness—. Although I was the one who could stand at her level in the darkness. I was the one who could look into her abyss without blinking. But my path in this palace has come to an end.
Tenji slightly lowered the tip of his sword, thrown off by the coldness of the declaration.
—What are you saying...?
—I'm leaving your palace before dawn is over, Tenji —Giotto declared, turning his back without the slightest fear of being attacked from behind—. Our friendship... and I will give you the opportunity you desire with Kaguya.
—You're leaving and simply leaving her behind? —Tenji exclaimed, incredulous and with a trembling voice—. After everything that happened between you two! Are you going to abandon her?
—Kaguya needs an anchor in this world, and I am only a soul in transit —Giotto replied, stopping beneath the doorway without turning to look back—. You are the ruler of these lands, Tenji. If you truly love her with all your soul as you claim, protect her. Shield her from the shadows and give her the future that a selfish being like me could never offer her. Take responsibility for her... because I am not going to take responsibility for her.
—Giotto... —Tenji murmured, letting his sword fall to the floor with a dull clang, completely defeated on an emotional level.
—Stay with Kaguya. It is your destiny, Tenji —Giotto declared without turning around.
Adjusting his black cloak with golden embroidery, Giotto left the private hall and stepped into the cool night air. In his mind, the System's notifications urged him to move before the deity awakened. He left behind a broken but living king, and a sleeping Goddess whose destiny was about to collide with history. Without looking back, he disappeared into the shadows of the capital.
…
As he walked alone along the forest path leading away from the imperial territory, the conflict in his mind gave him no respite. The consciousness of the young Vongola and that of Luciano Gravina clashed in a heated internal argument.
—"Ah, finally, we're done with this..." —Giotto thought, letting out a long and heavy sigh—. "It was going to be far too dangerous. That woman is an astronomical being, far too dangerous to keep close."
—"Ah, you don't know anything!" —Luciano's voice replied from within him, complaining dramatically—. "I was already becoming attached to that woman. It was incredible... I mean, she's a being from another world, but it was simply out of this world!"
—"Why do you think that way?" —Giotto questioned with annoyance—. "What we were doing was wrong. We were straying away from our objective."
—"Well, anyway..." —Luciano sighed, returning to his strategic tone—. "What's done is done. We've already fulfilled the requirement of having maximum compatibility with the Flames. All that's left is to continue expanding the underworld, complete the operational goals, and we'll obtain all the items we need from our original world to complete the Trinisette."
—"Yes, we're close" —Giotto nodded, regaining his composure—. "It's time to move forward."
While Giotto continued his journey toward the Vongola territories, the situation in the palace took on a desolate tone.
Kaguya awoke in the chambers where she had collapsed from exhaustion after the rejection. When she stretched out her hand and felt the empty side of the bed, anguish overwhelmed her. She hurriedly got up and searched for Giotto throughout every corner of the great imperial residence, but found no trace of him.
Upon reaching the main hall, she encountered only Tenji. The emperor, maintaining an expression of profound sadness but with calculated determination in his eyes, approached her.
—Giotto has left, Kaguya... —Tenji said in a measured voice—. He left last night. He made it clear that he wasn't interested in you or in taking you with him. He abandoned you.
Those words fell upon Kaguya like an axe. The most powerful woman on Earth felt abandoned, desolate, and consumed by an unfamiliar sadness.
Tenji seized the precise moment. Slowly approaching her, he offered her his shoulder and words of comfort, surrounding her with a protective warmth. To the sovereign, this was the perfect moment to grow closer to her, win her affection upon the ashes of heartbreak, and unknowingly fulfill the destiny marked for that world.
…
1016 B.N. December 4
More than twenty-five years had passed since Giotto charted the course of the underworld, and for Daemon Spade, duty coupled with monotony was a plague that only the Vongola's progress could alleviate.
Holding his characteristic monocle—his Divine Illusion Lens—Daemon walked elegantly among the dazzling crowd of the City of Entertainment. He watched with a sly smile as the metropolis, built on the borders of the Land of Lomo and the Land of Ancestors, transformed by leaps and bounds. To any inhabitant of this era, it was pure magic and opulence; to Daemon, who knew the Primo's vision, the city was beginning to create a wonderful memory of a family business: the prelude to the modern era. Lanterns that imitated the nighttime glow of great European cities, emerging skyscrapers with imposing architecture, mechanized gambling halls, and a constant flow of capital that moved the strings of the globe from the shadows.
—Nufufu... What a sublime spectacle —Daemon murmured to himself, adjusting the brim of his hat as he observed the imposing facade of the main Vongola casino.
—You're making far too much noise with your muttering, Daemon.
A cold and methodical voice resonated beside him. Without needing to turn around, Daemon knew that Alaudi had appeared among the crowd, as silent and expressionless as usual, wearing his impeccable coat and keeping his gaze fixed on the flow of passersby.
—Well, well, if it isn't the director of the Intelligence Council —Daemon replied in a mocking tone, resting one hand on his cane—. I didn't think the great Alaudi would stoop to supervising a simple 'den of gambling and vice.'
—I'm not here for the gambling, but for order —Alaudi declared without changing his expression—. This place attracts too many high-ranking rats. A single wrong move by the nobles on this frontier and a dispute will break out, and that surveillance keeps me entertained.
—Always so devoted to duty... —Daemon let out a slight chuckle, but his words were abruptly cut short.
Through the glass of his monocle, reality seemed to distort.
Walking along the main avenue, among merchants and nobles fascinated by the luxury, were two young men of majestic bearing. At first glance, to anyone on the street, they looked like two wealthy travelers wearing elegant regional clothing. However, through Daemon's Lens, the illusion surrounding them cracked like fragile glass.
Beneath that ordinary appearance, Daemon's tool detected an overwhelming mass of life energy: tiny horns and a presence that did not belong to the mold of ordinary humans. The pair looked genuinely curious, their pale skin visible through the Lens as they wandered through the Vongola citadel, completely astonished by the magnitude of the organization.
Daemon's smile became genuinely intrigued, and his eyes gleamed with calculated danger.
—Well, well... What peculiar visitors we have tonight —Daemon said in a whisper, fine-tuning the focus of his Lens on the two people.
Alaudi, noticing the change in his companion's tone, tilted his head slightly, following the direction of his gaze.
—What do you see, Daemon? —Alaudi asked in a cold voice, subtly feeling the iron cuffs hidden within his sleeves.
—Two exquisite anomalies, my dear Alaudi —Daemon replied, concealing part of his face beneath the shadow of his hat as he watched the two young men gaze at the gambling palaces in amazement—. They are wearing a very strange disguise considering the background of this world. Could they be aliens? But their aura... their aura is gigantic, different from ours and fascinating. I don't know who they are or where those two boys came from, but they are definitely not human. Could it be that this world has space tourists?
—Aliens? EXTRATERRESTRIALS? You're crazy, Spade. That doesn't exist, but if they are dangerous and represent a threat to the Vongola, I'll arrest them immediately —Alaudi declared with deadly serenity.
—Calm down for a moment —Daemon chuckled under his breath, adjusting his monocle as he followed them with his gaze—. They haven't sensed our presence, and I feel that they don't come with hostile intentions... for now. They're simply admiring the work of our organization. But without a doubt, this encounter has just made tonight infinitely more interesting.
…
The Vongola had erected there the most imposing and majestic casino in the entire world despite the Kofun era. The entire city breathed an atmosphere of perpetual festivity: avenues illuminated by glowing lanterns, gambling palaces, theaters, gaming halls, and high-class establishments where nobles, merchants, and travelers from every corner of the world converged to spend fortunes.
For the two brothers, arriving in this frontier territory, so close to their homeland, represented an overwhelming and exciting experience full of opportunity. As they walked through the crowded streets, observing the opulence of the buildings and the incessant movement of gold coins, Hagoromo and Hamura could not help but feel a certain awe at the magnitude of what a single organization operating from the shadows had managed to build.
—It's incredible... —murmured the younger of the two travelers, stopping to admire the majestic entrance of the grand casino erected by the Vongola Famiglia, guarded by impeccably dressed guards with vigilant postures—. An entire empire dedicated to gambling, luxury, and commerce, right in this frontier territory.
—That's right —Hagoromo nodded in a thoughtful tone.
—That's right —his older brother agreed with a slight smile, assessing the impeccable organization that maintained order amid the festive chaos—. An invisible domain that pulls the strings here.
The younger brother laughed softly, adjusting the covering of his cloak before turning toward the illuminated entrance.
—Well, Hagoromo, we didn't travel all this way just to philosophize about the power of having fun. You said that tonight we would forget about our family's duties for a moment.
Hagoromo let out an amused exhalation, conceding the point with a nod.
—You're right, Hamura. The atmosphere of this place is... contagious. I admit that my curiosity to see how these famous Vongola 'games of chance' work is getting the better of me.
—Then let's not waste any more time —Hamura said, gesturing with his hand toward the golden arches of the establishment—. Let's try our luck in there. If this empire was built on cunning and fortune, let's see if luck is on our side tonight.
Both brothers entered the grand casino, mingling among the crowd and unaware that, in the dimness of the upper terraces, invisible eyes had already begun studying the singular nature of their presence.
As they crossed the heavy gates of carved oak and glass of the grand Vongola casino, the senses of the two brothers were assaulted by a whirlwind of sensations. The atmosphere was boiling with commotion and opulence. The metallic clash of thousands of gold coins echoed in every corner, mixing with the rustle of the green felt on the tables, the clinking of the nobles' crystal glasses, and the booming laughter of fortunate merchants. A faint aroma of expensive leaf tobacco and aged sake lingered in the air.
Hamura, driven by a more emotional, impulsive, and less sober nature than his brother's, was immediately drawn to the majesty of the great betting wheel: the roulette. The constant spinning of the polished wood and the rattling of the white ball set the rhythm of ambition in the hall.
—Hagoromo, look at this! —Hamura exclaimed, his eyes shining with fascination as he approached the gaming table—. It's fascinating.
—Hamura, I don't think we should get distracted by these trivialities —Hagoromo warned in a reserved tone, crossing his arms as he observed the table with evident doubt—. Nothing in this place is as simple as it seems.
However, Hamura ignored his brother's suspicions. He placed a small pouch of silver coins on one of the numbers. The croupier, a man of elegant vest and an impassive expression, he spun the wheel. The ball made several rattling revolutions before landing exactly in the slot Hamura had chosen.
A few minutes later.
—Winner! —the attendant announced, pushing a juicy pile of chips and coins toward him.
—Hahaha! See, Hagoromo? It's a piece of cake! —Hamura proclaimed with a smile of earned arrogance, carried away by his winning streak.
In the following rounds, Hamura's luck seemed unbeatable. He won again and again, accumulating a small fortune on the green felt. What the brothers did not know was the golden rule that governed that empire of chance: the House always wins. Everything was coldly calculated. The roulette mechanism included subtle tricks to inflate the gambler's ego, feeding his greed so that he would risk increasingly outrageous amounts until he ended up losing not only what he had won, but everything he possessed.
And the blow did not take long to come.
In a single daring move, encouraged by the false sense of invincibility, Hamura bet his entire winnings. The ball spun with a dry click and landed in the opposite slot. Within seconds, the golden streak evaporated. Trying to recover what he had lost, Hamura bet both of their travel reserves... and lost them completely.
—This is absurd... That ball changed trajectory at the last moment! —Hamura protested, clenching his fists in frustration.
—The game is over, sir —the croupier intervened with a cold smile—. If you have no more coins, you must clear the table.
—We have nothing left, but I demand an explanation! —Hamura angrily protested.
At that instant, four burly men dressed in dark suits and intimidating expressions appeared behind them. They were the casino's thugs.
—If there are any problems with the payment, take it up with the boss... he wants to see you in the office —one of the men declared in a raspy voice, grabbing Hamura by the shoulder.
Hagoromo frowned, but before causing a disaster in the middle of the main hall, he nodded slightly toward his brother:
—Let's go see the manager.
They were led through a private red-carpeted hallway to a luxurious office at the back of the establishment. Behind a mahogany desk sat the casino manager, a robust man who enjoyed a cigar while reviewing the account books. Around him, six heavily armed thugs guarded the perimeter.
The manager looked up disdainfully, exhaling a dense cloud of smoke.
—So, two brats try to get clever at our tables, and now they have nothing with which to pay their debts... —the manager said with overflowing arrogance—. Do you even know where you're standing? This casino belongs to the Vongola Famiglia. In this world, there is no force, king, or army that can stand against our organization, which works solely for the entertainment of the people. We Vongola are fair people in this business, and those who owe us pay with work... or with their lives, and I don't want to have to choose the latter.
—We don't owe your crooked business anything —Hamura replied, feeling his inner energy ignite with anger.
—Shut your mouth, trash! —one of the thugs shouted, throwing a punch infused with a level of physical strength noticeably superior to that of an ordinary human. The Vongola personnel were highly trained soldiers.
However, the attack was fatally slow for Hamura.
Hamura blocked the impact with his forearm without flinching and returned with a direct elbow strike to the aggressor's face, sending him crashing into the wall. The office descended into absolute chaos in the blink of an eye.
The remaining thugs charged violently, drawing weapons and unleashing their martial training, but the brothers' superiority was overwhelming. Hagoromo moved like a shadow, dodging the thrusts and taking down three men in succession with precise strikes to pressure points. Hamura, venting all his frustration, unleashed a barrage of blows that destroyed the coffee tables, the glass windows, and the mahogany desk.
The manager fell to the floor in terror, watching as his best men were crushed and his luxurious office was completely reduced to rubble.
—Monsters! What kind of creatures are you!? —the manager shrieked, crawling toward the corner.
—Let's get out of here, Hamura —Hagoromo said firmly, grabbing his brother before he could destroy even more of the already-ravaged building.
Both of them leaped through the shattered office window, landing on their feet in a back alley in the dimness of the night. They hurried away from the establishment, making their way into the silent alleyways on the outskirts of the city to evade security.
However, as they turned a corner into a dead-end passage, a dense and unusual mist began to materialize over the ground. The air became strangely heavy, and an overwhelming presence froze them in their tracks.
From within the dense mist, a tall figure with a monocle gleaming in the darkness and an enigmatic smile stepped forward. At his side, leaning against the stone wall with a relaxed posture but a sharp and unpredictable gaze, stood another man wrapped in a cloak that seemed to fluctuate like a cloud.
Demon Spade and Alaudi —the Vongola Guardians of the Mist and the Cloud— emerged from the silence, completely blocking the brothers' escape route.
The mist descended thickly over the cold tiles of the alley, muffling the distant bustle of the great casino. The presence of the two figures blocking the exit cut through the air with suffocating pressure.
Demon Spade let out a low, enigmatic chuckle as he elegantly adjusted his monocle.
—Kufufu... Look, Alaudi. Whenever I visit one of your jurisdictions, I always find surprises. I already found all those youngsters suspicious when they entered the casino... They looked considerably stronger than normal. My insight is incredible, don't you think, Alaudi?
Alaudi did not respond immediately. He kept his hands buried deep in the pockets of his dark coat, his icy gaze fixed on the two brothers. The night breeze gently stirred his golden hair. Finally, he broke the silence with a voice so icy that it seemed to freeze the moisture in the air.
—You have destroyed Vongola property. And that is paid for here.
Hagoromo and Hamura exchanged a quick glance. Instinctively, they separated by two meters and assumed fighting stances. Although the presence of those two men commanded respect, the brothers' confidence in their brute strength was immense; they were convinced that no one in these lands could rival the blood that flowed through their veins.
However, their confidence would soon collide with an implacable reality. Neither Hagoromo nor Hamura had ever received formal training in martial arts or hand-to-hand combat; their way of fighting was based purely on innate reflexes, overwhelming strength, and instinct. And standing before them were not ordinary fighters, but the pillars of the Vongola Famiglia, its Guardians.
—Out of the way! —Hamura growled.
With a fierce stomp that cracked the stone ground, Hamura propelled himself forward like a meteor. The air exploded in his wake as he launched a direct punch at Alaudi's face. The blow carried enough power to demolish a retaining wall, but what it found was not flesh or bone, but a level of technical mastery infinitely superior to any street fight.
With an imperceptible movement of his head, Alaudi tilted his face barely a millimeter, allowing Hamura's fist to graze past his cheek. The shockwave of the phantom blow tore through the passage and ripped a tree from its roots behind the Guardian, but Alaudi did not even blink. Taking advantage of Hamura's excessive momentum, Alaudi seized the young man's wrist, redirected his trajectory, and delivered a devastating knee strike to his solar plexus, followed by an open-palm strike to the chin.
The impact resonated like a dry detonation. Hamura was sent flying backward, bouncing against the tiles until he came to a stop beside his brother.
—Hamura! —Hagoromo exclaimed, grabbing him by the shoulder as his brother got back to his feet coughing, his gaze burning with rage and astonishment.
—I'm fine... That guy isn't normal, and I'm not saying that because of us! —Hamura huffed, readjusting his stance.
Both brothers adopted a much more serious attitude. Realizing that brute force would not be enough, they launched themselves into the attack simultaneously in a pincer formation. Hagoromo went for Alaudi's left side with a low sweep aimed at breaking his legs, while Hamura attacked from the right with a barrage of high-speed punches.
The battle intensified violently. The passage became a field of debris: the brothers' missed kicks shattered the brick walls and raised clouds of dust and stone fragments. However, Alaudi moved like a fluid shadow among the attacks. He dodged with millimetric precision, using short evasions, deflecting blocks, and lethal counters that struck the boys' joints and weak points.
Although the boys possessed physical strength absurdly superior to that of any human and tremendous endurance, Alaudi held his own against both of them at once through sheer experience, refined combat technique, and a subtle use of the Cloud Dying Will Flames at 10% of their capacity. He could have subdued them much sooner if he had wanted to, but Alaudi was testing their limits; the boring routine of directing the intelligence services of the organization called CENDEF had become monotonous to him, and these young men represented a fascinating enigma.
The clash of fists and the icy breeze generated by their movements echoed through the passage. Hagoromo managed to land a direct blow against Alaudi's arm guard, causing the Guardian to stagger backward several meters, leaving drag marks across the pavement.
Demon Spade, calmly leaning against a pillar, began to applaud with feigned admiration.
—Kufufu... Well, well! These two are ridiculously strong, Alaudi. Why don't you use your propagation ability? Ah, right... your Cloud pride won't allow you to. But I will. These guys are definitely something different.
—Don't interfere, Demon —Alaudi declared in an icy voice, adjusting his fists.
—Too late, my dear friend —Demon Spade smiled.
Suddenly, the mist floating along the ground began to rise in hypnotic spirals. The atmosphere changed abruptly; the sound of the city disappeared, and the passage seemed to multiply into infinite dark mirrors.
Hagoromo and Hamura came to an abrupt halt, disoriented. They tried to focus their vision, but their senses were completely deceived by the illusion of the Vongola Mist. Space, distance, and direction lost all meaning to their minds, inexperienced in the arts of illusion.
—What... what is this place? Come out and show yourselves! —Hamura shouted, spinning around while throwing punches into the air that only passed through the mist.
—Hamura, stay calm. It's a trap for your senses... —Hagoromo warned, but before he could formulate a strategy, the mist condensed behind them.
Without making the slightest sound, Alaudi emerged from the illusory veil like a ghost. With two sharp, precise strikes charged with energy, applied to the base of each of their necks, he abruptly cut off the circulation of their senses.
Hamura and Hagoromo's eyes rolled back. Their overwhelming strength and divine lineage could not make up for their absolute lack of tactical experience against the elite of the underworld. Both fell unconscious onto the stone tiles, while Demon Spade's mist slowly began to dissipate.
Alaudi gazed at the two unconscious young men at his feet, coldly adjusting his sleeves.
—Take them to headquarters —Alaudi said, turning around—. Primo will want to know what kind of specimens have been wreaking havoc in our territory.
...
"Hello everyone, it's been a while since I posted something. To be honest, I want to finish the Giotto arc and I had to write some scenes like the +18 one. I want to highlight that I think I'll upload another chapter after this one. I advanced a lot, I just need to edit. And well, right now I'm feeling a bit unwell, and honestly, I don't know if depression or the desire and obligation to publish this is stronger than my pain, but I'll try anyway. Right now I'm editing the next chapter, and well, I wish you all a happy reading."
Happy reading! Bye-bye!
— Wissumi Wizaki
Until the next chapter!