Chapter 140: -137- Completely lost
"Cough... cough...!"
A bit of blood foamed from Akabane Raishin's mouth, staining the snow-covered ground red.
Ignoring his injuries, Akabane Raishin stared fixedly at Yaya, his eyes filled with a pitch-black emotion.
Yaya couldn't help but be taken aback by the intensity of that pitch-black emotion.
Because, within that emotion, there was anger, despair, and a deeply ingrained hatred.
While Yaya didn't recognize Akabane Raishin, she could guess his identity.
"You're from the Akabane clan?" Yaya involuntarily revealed Akabane Raishin's identity.
But...
"The Akabane clan?"
Akabane Raishin laughed, the laughter laced with bitter irony.
"What Akabane clan is left?" Akabane Raishin clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh, his eyes nearly splitting as he roared, "It's all been destroyed by that person! Destroyed!"
Although he had left the Akabane residence, his training grounds were not far from here, located further up the mountain. From there, he could clearly see what had happened to the Akabane residence.
Akabane Raishin continued his martial arts training while keeping a close eye on his family's residence until he saw the mansion engulfed in flames and smoke today. In a panic, he rushed back.
And then... there was nothing left.
Just like Rozen, what he saw upon his return was a hellish inferno caused by his brother, Akabane Tenzen.
His family had been massacred, and the one responsible was his own brother, whom he considered his closest kin. Akabane Raishin's emotions in this moment were easy to fathom.
In such a situation...
"No one will take my family away from me again... No one!!"
Akabane Raishin shouted loudly, preparing to charge at Yaya.
Yaya immediately boosted the magic within her, strengthening her body with "Kongouriki," preparing to face Akabane Raishin's attack.
But then...
"Don't embarrass yourself any further, you foolish disciple."
With these words, Akabane Raishin's movement came to a halt.
"...!?"
Yaya was equally surprised.
Because, behind Akabane Raishin, someone had appeared soundlessly.
It was a man, slender and delicate in build, almost like a woman.
"It seems that you were too late, Raishin."
The man approached casually, wearing a light blue kimono, a straw hat on his head, and straw sandals on his feet. His face was just as soft and beautiful as that of a woman.
Around his waist, he carried a pair of Japanese swords.
From those swords, Yaya sensed a slightly unsettling aura.
Akabane Raishin saw this man approaching slowly.
"Hibari... sensei..."
This man was none other than Akabane Raishin's master, who had taught him swordsmanship for several years — Hibari.
Akabane Raishin usually addressed him as "sensei."
Hibari surveyed the ruins that surrounded them, his tone light and mismatched with the scene, as he said, "It seems you've lost badly."
His words cut deep, delivering a psychological blow.
At least, Akabane Raishin clenched his teeth, his hatred more intense than ever.
"I... I haven't lost!"
In response to Akabane Raishin's outburst, Hibari didn't refute.
"Indeed, you're still alive." Hibari said plainly, "As long as you're alive, you haven't lost."
This was the truth.
However, it wasn't the sentiment Akabane Raishin wanted to convey.
"With your current strength, you can't possibly have a chance of winning, right?"
Hibari bluntly touched on the sensitive subject in Akabane Raishin's heart.
"I will kill him...! Akabane Tenzen!"
Akabane Raishin's words were filled with hatred.
Hibari didn't seem surprised, he just asked a question.
"By what means?"
This succinct question struck at the core of Akabane Raishin's heart.
Indeed.
By what means?
What could Akabane Raishin rely on to kill Akabane Tenzen?
Faced with a man who had mastered the secret technique of the "Crimson Wing Formation," possessing six top-tier automatons, and having world-renowned natural talent, not inferior to anyone, including the pinnacle of puppet-making skill, Akabane Tenzen, even created forbidden dolls, how could Akabane Raishin, who had been ridiculed by his clan as useless since childhood, possibly defeat him?
"I... I..."
Akabane Raishin's tears flowed reluctantly, and he confessed the regret he would never have revealed in the past.
"If only I hadn't wasted time learning useless swordsmanship..."
Before his master, Akabane Raishin voiced these ungrateful words.
"If only I had stayed in the Akabane family, if only I had diligently practiced magic from a young age..."
Such were Akabane Raishin's thoughts now.
In response...
"Ah, truly dumbfounding to hear such excuses. I never expected you'd be so naive as to use even such childish justifications."
Hibari said this with an air of ease, leaving Akabane Raishin dumbfounded.
But Hibari didn't stop there.
"Because you couldn't win, because you couldn't achieve your goal, because you're too weak, you're blaming all your failures on your swordsmanship. Truly..."
Hibari gazed at Akabane Raishin.
"Unbearable."
At that moment, a terrifying killing intent emanated from Hibari.
"Ugh...!?"
Akabane Raishin widened his eyes.
Not just him, but even Yaya was taken aback.
Because from Hibari at that moment, she sensed a deadly threat.
In other words, the swordsman named Hibari before them possessed the power to kill Yaya.
"How... how can this be?"
Yaya couldn't help but waver.
How could a mere swordsman, not even a magus, possess such power?
Not only Yaya, even Akabane Raishin found it hard to believe his own eyes.
"Sensei, you..."
However, Akabane Raishin couldn't even complete his sentence.
No, not just his words, he couldn't comprehend what followed next.
Only Yaya managed to perceive something.
She saw Hibari placing his hand on the hilt of the blade at his waist.
Immediately after...
"Boom!"
As a deafening explosion resounded, the ground beside Akabane Raishin burst open.
It was a phenomenon caused by a blade's light sweeping past Akabane Raishin.
Hibari suddenly drew his blade, with a shocking speed even Yaya couldn't catch, and sliced through the ground beside Akabane Raishin, leaving behind a horrifying chasm.
Pebbles and snow were swept up, propelling Akabane Raishin away, tumbling to the side.
Thus, Akabane Raishin was left in shock.
Yaya, on the other hand, exclaimed in astonishment.
"〈Magic Resilience〉...!?"
This was the true nature of that single strike.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
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