He watched everything, hidden among the pine trees of the mountain, and delighted in the scene.
The reborn half-blood was stronger and more mature than the first time he had seen her. Her intentions were clear: she wanted blood. To spill the blood of the Hinoken leader before her, who seemed to be struggling internally to understand how they had come to this point.
"Where is he?" the warrior shouted into the mist. "Why are you pointing that sword at me? Have you lost your mind?"
"Don't worry," said the woman, a smile twisted by madness forming on her lips. "I'll take you to him… but only your head!"
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
She lunged at the warrior, who defended himself, caught off guard.
Even he, Kuro Shin—watching the scene in his true form, invisible to human eyes—was stunned by the girl's abrupt shift in personality. He smiled in euphoria. Rage was his favorite emotion—second only to fear—and that girl...
That girl burned with rage like a wildfire.
The Hinoken leader exchanged a few blows with her, none meant to harm, only to defend. The man seemed to be piecing together what she had said and what she was doing. When he finally understood, his expression twisted into deep hatred, and Kuro felt it when the warrior, with a furious and violent strike, threw the girl back using his Lumen.
"TRAITOR!" he shouted, approaching the half-blood who had fallen on the dry grass. Gasping for breath, she raised her head and grinned from ear to ear at the resentment showing on his face.
"You've been working with the enemy all this time, haven't you? ANSWER ME!"
"I don't owe you answers or respect, Tsukishiro. My enemy is—and always has been—YOU!"
"I hate Xingguo..." the young man growled through gritted teeth, gripping his sword tightly. His Lumen burst around him, sudden and unnatural for someone from Aokai. "But I hate even more those who betray their own people to side with the enemy!"
With a single leap, the girl rose into a crouched position. The way she held her sword, her stance—everything about it was typical of Xingguo. The crow circling above them—clearly on a surveillance mission—was also from Xingguo. Kuro was certain of it. And though there was no visible Lumen flowing from her, there was that primal, incendiary rage, ready to burn everything in her path.
"Aokai was never my home. You were never my people. On the contrary—you humiliated me and my family our entire lives. And today, I'll take revenge not just for myself, but for my parents and all the other half-bloods who suffered at your hands..."
She lowered her voice, and her final words came as sharp as a blade.
"You're worse than the Nefaris."
That sentence shattered the last restraints on Tsukishiro's Lumen. It erupted—vast, cold, and powerful—blasting Kuro Shin through the air.
Even as he was struck, Kuro couldn't help but laugh, struggling to steady himself. He was witnessing a battle that promised to be the most legendary since the clash between Aotsuki and the Scarlet Queen centuries ago. He only stopped being hurled by Tsukishiro's icy power after being thrown nearly a kilometer away.
He sent a command to his subordinate, who replied instantly—he was already in control of the body Kuro had chosen and was running as fast as possible toward the battlefield.
Kuro also rushed back to the place he'd been flung from. The spectacle was about to begin, and the element of surprise his subordinate carried would make the fight even better. A malicious joy radiated from him as he foresaw the devastating consequences that were sure to follow.
As he got close enough to hear the voices of the two once again, he heard Tsukishiro proclaim:
"Amara Hisakawa, you are accused of treason and attempted murder. And I, Ryu Tsukishiro, leader of the Hinoken army..."
He raised his voice—and his sword.
"For the people of Aokai, I claim your life!"