"Welcome to my aquarium~!" Rain Maiden plunged her hands into the torrents of sewage erupting from the ground. In an instant, a towering wall of water—ten meters high—encircled the entire street.
Asari Ugetsu's clogs sank slightly into the asphalt as it liquefied beneath him, high-pressure water—exceeding two hundred atmospheres—rushed inward from every direction.
Shark-like constructs emerged from the current, their jagged teeth rotating like high-speed propellers.
With unwavering resolve, Asari reached for the handle of the long, unadorned blade sheathed at his waist. The moment the Rain Ring embedded in the scabbard made contact with the surrounding waters, faint ripples spread—resonating as if the rain itself were harmonizing with the very breath of the sky and earth.
The first shark lunged toward him with relentless force. But the instant it met the edge of Asari's blade, all water within a five-meter radius froze—completely still. Even the falling droplets hung midair, suspended in time.
"Requiem: Sanzu River Overture — Calm."
Asari murmured the incantation like an ancient lullaby. His blade arced through the air, drawing a crescent-shaped path. The severed water held its cross-section in place, as if the blade had cut through time itself, isolating this moment from the chaos surrounding them.
Using this suspended slice of reality, Asari stepped lightly atop the still water, as if walking on glass. The tip of his sword barely touched the surface, sending delicate ripples outward.
"Rain brings peace to all things," he whispered. His voice lingered on the quiet surface, imbued with ancient power that brought stillness to everything it touched.
His eyes were calm, profound—as if he could see the hidden essence of all creation.
A shrill scream shattered the silence. Rain Maiden slapped the water violently, and the once-serene wall churned with fury, boiling from some unseen rage.
Under her control, hundreds of tons of polluted water coalesced into a grotesque, fanged maw that lunged at Asari with crushing force.
But as it neared the First Rain Guardian, it struck something immovable—an unseen barrier—and disintegrated instantly.
Within three feet of him, the water thickened to a glue-like consistency, sluggish and powerless. Where his blade passed, it left only fading ripples—ripples that held no harm.
Seeing her attack dissolve so effortlessly, Rain Maiden's expression twisted in fury. "Not fun! This isn't fun at all!" she shrieked.
With a manic grin, she tore off her soaked skirt. Her legs liquefied into twisting columns of water, burrowing deep into the asphalt below.
The entire Hell's Kitchen sewer system trembled in response. The pipes groaned. Torrents of sludge surged downward, gathering into an over-pressurized vortex that threatened to devour everything.
Asari's expression turned grave. His hand pressed gently against the vibrating scabbard, a heavy sense of foreboding gripping his soul.
From beneath him came a metallic whine, like the cry of a sinking submarine. Dark, briny water—stinking of rust and decay—began to ooze up from the cracks, as if some ancient leviathan was waking from its slumber.
Fish-scale patterns shimmered across Rain Maiden's skin. Her voice deepened, resonant and distant, like a call from the ocean floor.
"Let me show you the sea Master Byakuran gave me!"
She flung her arms wide. From the swirling waters emerged pale phantoms—drowned souls, their vacant eyes filled with sorrow. They reached for Asari, clutching at him, dragging with icy hands.
A thick mist settled on his blade. As he cleaved through the apparitions, the sword sang—a resonant chime like a church bell, as though it could wash away corruption and bring absolution.
To Rain Maiden's astonishment, the purified ghosts placed their hands together in solemn thanks before dissipating—grateful for the mercy of their release.
"You dare turn the dead into weapons?" Asari's voice cut through the pressure, calm but firm. He walked toward her, step by step, balancing atop ripples that flickered into existence beneath his feet.
"Have you ever heard the real sea weep?" he asked, eyes glistening with sorrow and wisdom.
"Requiem Finale."
The moment his blade touched the water again, the entire vortex stilled. The angry torrents, the shrieking undead—everything froze, subdued by a force beyond reckoning.
"Illusion?" Rain Maiden gasped. Her tsunami had become a mirror.
In its surface, she saw memories she had buried—Okinawa's shattered shorelines… the fishing boat crushed under Byakuran's submarine… the agony of branding the Mare Ring into her flesh in desperation.
The scenes were knives, piercing her heart without mercy.
"This is the resonance of rain," Asari said, letting the tip of his sword fall gently. Purified water coiled around him like a loyal spirit, rejoicing in his serenity. "Every raindrop tells the truth."
His voice was soft, yet carried the strength to mend shattered souls.
Rain Maiden shrieked in despair and detonated the Mare Ring embedded in her chest. Tentacles erupted from beneath her skin, transformed by deep-sea mutations, lashing out at him like monstrous serpents.
But before they could land, the attack slowed. Then stopped. Suspended in air, as if time itself refused to move forward.
The blade flashed.
In that instant, she heard it—the rain of Kyoto, centuries ago—the mournful song of the "Munian no Chi," Asari's final technique. It had once cut down his own kin.
Now, it whispered to her.
And she saw it—her sin, in full. But also… the first glimpse of hope.
"The final chapter of the requiem," Asari murmured, "must be written by the hands of the repentant."
The Mare Ring clattered to the ground.
Above Hell's Kitchen, dark clouds gathered.
Then came the storm.
A downpour unlike any other. Fierce. Cleansing. As if nature itself had risen to purge every inch of filth, every drop of blood.
The rain fell like arrows, piercing the night sky and washing clean the hearts of all who witnessed it.
It raged. Then slowed. Then ceased.
The world emerged from the storm reborn.
Asari slowly slid his blade back into its sheath. A final drop of blood clung to the steel, then fell to the earth, swallowed quietly.
He turned and gazed at the newly-washed street behind him. Blood and sin had been scrubbed from the pavement. Only stillness remained.
Not far off, Rain Maiden knelt beside a puddle now clear as crystal. She stared at her own reflection—twisted, fragile, and deeply human.
In the still water, she seemed to see not just her face, but her soul.
She whispered, barely audible, "So... the sea... was meant to be gentle?"
Then, her body fragmented into a mist of raindrops. They drifted upward, light as air, vanishing into the sky.
Gone.
Asari looked up.
The storm had passed. The sky was clear. White clouds drifted lazily. Sunlight scattered through them, casting shifting patterns across the earth.
"The rain has stopped."
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Bonus Chapter - 150 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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