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  Chapter 35: The Rise of the Monster**

  Kané**

  #### **Part I: The Silence After the Truth**

  Minamino dissolved into the shadows like a ghost, leaving behind only Kané's ring and a truth that weighed more than the rubble of Neversand. Akari remained paralyzed, the cold metal of the ring burning in her palm, her mind a whirlwind of images: her father, Yuzuki, the massacre of a clan, ten years of lies.

  From the debris, Zeke emerged, his head throbbing, blood running down his forehead and mixing with the fine rain. He ran to Akari, the relief of finding her alive quickly replaced by concern.

  "Akari! Are you okay? That man... he fled. What happened?"

  She did not answer. Her eyes, once full of determination, were empty, fixed on a point beyond the destruction. Zeke realized that her silence was more frightening than any scream.

  "Akari?" he insisted, touching her shoulder.

  She turned to him. The look that met him was not that of his companion, his ally. It was the look of a judge, cold, dark, and accusatory.

  "Did you know?" the question cut through the air, sharper than any blade.

  Zeke stepped back, confused.

  "Know what? What are you talking about?"

  "**DID YOU KNOW THAT KANé KNEW YUZUKI?!**" her scream was a roar of pain and betrayal, echoing among the ruins.

  The shock on Zeke's face was genuine. He did not know. To him, Kané was just a legend, the traitor of Kugutsu Island. The mention of his name in connection with Yuzuki was a puzzle whose pieces he did not possess. Seeing the confusion and fear in his eyes, Akari's fury faltered, giving way to a deep despair.

  "So... you didn't know either, Zeke." Her voice was a broken whisper. "I don't know who to trust anymore."

  She collapsed into his arms, not as a warrior, but as a lost child. The fear, the confusion, the pain of having her world turned upside down—it all came out in a silent sob. Zeke, still not understanding, just held her tightly, kissing the top of her head and stroking her hair.

  "I'm here. I will protect you," he promised, feeling the tremor of her body against his.

  "We need to talk to Yuzuki," Akari said, her voice muffled against his chest. "Now."

  "He's fighting Taida to the death. I don't know if he'll survive," Zeke replied, his concern evident.

  Akari pulled away, and the look she gave Zeke was devoid of any emotion. Cold. Calculated.

  "He will."

  #### **Part II: The Return of the Hunter**

  Yuzuki walked toward the aura of Akari and Zeke. Both energies were weak, depleted. The conversation with Taida still echoed in his mind. The mirror. The freedom in monstrosity. He wondered, amidst the debris, if he should embrace his crueler side to free himself from guilt.

  Upon reaching an open area, a devastated square, he saw them. Akari and Zeke, embracing. A genuine, rare, and fragile smile touched Yuzuki's lips. *It's good for her to have someone*, he thought. *Zeke is a good person. She needs that.* The memory of the love for his brother was the only good memory of his past, and he wished that for her.

  He approached, but stopped. Zeke's gaze on him had changed. It was not the look of an ally, but that of a hunter watching his prey. The tension was palpable. Yuzuki went on high alert, his concern for Akari turning into a sharp alarm. *Is he forcing her?*

  "Why are you looking at me like that, Zeke? What's happening?" Yuzuki asked, his voice calm, but his eyes analyzing every movement.

  — *Be careful...* — Amok's voice hissed in his mind. — *Something is wrong. He is hiding his murderous energy.*

  Yuzuki's gaze hardened. The fear that Akari was in danger, coerced, took hold of him.

  "Answer me, Zeke! Why are you like this, damn it?! Answer, damn it!"

  Zeke did not move. Just watched. And in the blink of an eye, Yuzuki's world collapsed.

  Akari, in a fluid, treacherous movement, spun in the air. Yuzuki, though exhausted, followed the movement with his eyes, but the surprise paralyzed him for a millisecond. It was too long. Her kick was not for Zeke. It was for him. Her heel struck the left side of his face with brutal force, throwing him sideways against a pile of stones and iron rebar.

  His body, already at its limit after the fight with Taida, gave way. A piece of iron pierced his leg, piercing muscle and bone. Blood gushed as a scream of pure pain tore from his throat.

  — *GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!!!* — Amok screamed in his mind. — *They're going to kill you!! Wake up, Yuzuki!!*

  Yuzuki's eyes, almost closed from exhaustion and pain, saw a shadow descending from the sky. Zeke. With the sword Rupture imbued with a white, deadly energy.

  "**RUPTURE!**" Zeke shouted, the blade descending toward Yuzuki's chest.

  In a start, as if he had drawn energy from despair itself, Yuzuki broke the iron in his leg and did a backflip, dodging the blow by a hair's breadth. But behind him, Akari was already there, her fist prepared. He used what little energy he had left to block with his right arm, knowing he couldn't dodge.

  The punch connected. The sound of breaking bones echoed. The impact threw him back, and he used the moment to do several flips, trying to create distance.

  "What is happening?!" he shouted, his voice hoarse with pain and disbelief. "Why are you betraying me? Who is manipulating you?"

  There was no answer. Zeke and Akari walked toward him, together, relentless.

  — *They are not being manipulated, Yuzuki* — Amok replied, urgency in his voice. — *I don't feel any presence or energy in them that isn't their own. Get out of there now!! They're going to kill you.*

  Yuzuki looked at Akari. Her face was bathed in tears, a mask of pain as she attacked him. Zeke, on the other hand, had the cold look of an assassin.

  He looked for a way out, an escape route. He had to escape or he would die there. But before he could even try, a colossal shadow materialized behind him. Zyon. The two-meter-plus Kugutsu, with his crystalline blue eyes and the fearsome chainsaw sword.

  "Damn it!!" Yuzuki shouted.

  In a second, Akari and Zeke were by his side. A kick from each hit his ribs simultaneously. And then, Zyon came next, screaming like a titan.

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  "**TECHNIQUE: REND!!**"

  The chainsaw screamed, calling for blood. The volcano-red energy surged before Yuzuki, who was stunned by the kicks.

  #### **Part III: The Guardian's Roar**

  "**AKARI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!**"

  Soken's voice tore through the sky. Kaien descended in a swift dive, the green fire of his breath sweeping the battlefield and forcing everyone to retreat. Soken leaped from the dragon's back, caught Yuzuki's wounded body, and placed him on Kaien.

  Kaien roared in anger at the sight of his master, bloodied, almost dead, betrayed by his own companions.

  "**BASTARDS!! I'LL KILL YOU ALL! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!!**" Kaien said, his voice a thunder of fury.

  Akari, startled by the intervention, shouted, "Kaien, don't get involved! He's a traitor! Run from him!"

  Zeke tried to run through the houses to reach Kaien. "He's using us!"

  Kaien stared at the two of them. His gaze, once that of a loving dragon who cared for them, was now that of a monster about to devour them. A raw, heavy energy emanated from him, and Akari and Zeke felt it. They stopped their pursuit.

  And Yuzuki, in the arms of his most loyal guardian, managed to escape.

  The Rise of the Monster**

  #### **Part I: The Banquet of Ashes**

  Akari wept, kneeling on the rubble of Neversand. The tears traced clean paths on her face, dirty with soot and blood. Zeke hugged her, a gesture of comfort that seemed hollow amidst the vastness of the destruction and the betrayal they themselves had committed.

  Skull's invasion had been stopped. Victory, somehow, had been achieved.

  From the depths of the tunnels, the people of Neversand emerged. First, a murmur, then a clamor. Cries of joy echoed through the ruined streets. Fireworks, saved for a celebration that seemed impossible, exploded in the still-gray sky, painting the clouds of smoke with vibrant colors.

  "YUZUKI! YUZUKI! YUZUKI!"

  His name was a prayer, a hymn. The hero of Neversand. The man who cured leprosy, who faced a dragon, who freed them from the Leper King. Children ran, shouting his name. Soldiers, from generals to recruits, searched with their eyes for the city's savior.

  Akari and Zeke, in the middle of the crowd, felt a chill. The love emanating from these people was a knife in their hearts. They knew Yuzuki was not there. They knew they had almost killed him.

  The crowd found them. Hands pushed them forward, upward, toward an improvised altar made of planks and stones. They were applauded, their names shouted, but the main request was one:

  "Where is Yuzuki?"

  Nina was on the altar, her face radiant with victory. But her smile faltered when she saw Akari's expression. Zeke stared at her, a fixed gaze that made her uncomfortable.

  "Where is Yuzuki?" she asked, her voice still loud, but now tinged with concern.

  Silence. Akari and Zeke did not answer. The celebration faltered. The clamor turned into a confused murmur, and then into a unison cry.

  "YUZUKI! WHERE IS YUZUKI?"

  The boos began. Distrust spread like a plague. It was then that an eight-year-old boy, his face dirty and his eyes wide, ran to the altar, his trembling finger pointed at Akari and Zeke.

  "They are traitors!" he shouted, his childish voice cutting through the air. "They killed Yuzuki! They betrayed him! I saw it! I saw it with my own eyes! We were hiding in the rubble!"

  Akari recognized the boy. He was one of those she had saved from the Skull mercenaries. The irony was so cruel that she almost laughed.

  The silence that followed was absolute, heavy, deadly.

  "**SAY IT'S A LIE, AKARI!**" Nina shouted, despair in her voice. "**ANSWER, DAMN IT!! Do you have any idea what you've done? If the Leper King or any empire finds out our hero was killed, Neversand will fall!**"

  "He was using us!" Zeke retorted, his voice loud, desperate. "We found out that..."

  "**YOU FOOLS!**" Nina's voice was a thunderclap. "**Do you have any idea what you've done?! I told everyone to call a truce! You've ruined Neversand's only chance to survive!**"

  "He's a monster and he was..." Akari began, her voice weak.

  "**SO WHAT IF HE'S A MONSTER?!**" Nina interrupted her, pragmatic fury in her eyes. "**He was saving us! Do you really think I don't know what he is? To fight monsters, we need to create our own! My parents died for being too kind!**"

  Akari and Zeke fell silent, crushed by the brutal logic of reality. The crowd, once festive, was now an angry beast.

  "Kill them! Kill the traitors!"

  #### **Part II: The Traitors' Escape**

  A soldier pulled Nina down from the altar. The next second, flaming arrows hit the wood. Zeke and Akari dodged, leaping to the rooftops as spears were thrown in their direction. But the city was a sea of people. There was nowhere to run.

  Wind and fire magic, conjured by the mages of Neversand, exploded around them.

  "They want to kill us, Akari! We have to run!" Zeke shouted.

  "What have we done, Zeke..." Akari lamented, her guilt paralyzing her. "I should have talked to him... confronted him with words..."

  "We already did! There's no going back! The whole city is going to kill us! We have to run now!"

  But it was too late. Thousands of mages, on rooftops and streets, joined their voices in an ancient chant. The air grew heavy. Akari and Zeke's feet became slow, their bodies heavy as lead. A golden energy trapped them on the roof where they stood. A one-square-kilometer seal, shining with the fury of a betrayed city.

  "My God, we're not going to make it..." Zeke shouted, desperate.

  The crowd roared.

  "You will die! You killed our hero in cold blood! You will die!"

  "What have we done..." Akari murmured, her face bathed in tears, with no will to react.

  It was then that the sky exploded. Thunder. A light show. Golden lightning fell from the sky, forcing the mages to create barriers to protect the population. A bright, white light, as fast as a comet, passed by them, grabbing Akari and Zeke and tearing them from the golden seal. The light made a sound like thunder. It was Gotier.

  Using Don'yoku's power to move like lightning, he was saving them. But the cost was visible. Sweat ran down his face, his breathing was ragged.

  "Let's get out of here! They're going to hunt us down and kill us!" he shouted, his voice full of urgency. "What the hell did you do?"

  They ran for hours, toward the forest, the river, anywhere that offered refuge.

  #### **Part III: The Confrontation in the Cave**

  They found a damp, dark cave. The sound of dripping water was the only noise besides their heavy breathing.

  "What the hell did you do?" Gotier asked again, anger and exhaustion in his voice. "I know you didn't attack Yuzuki. What happened?"

  "They weren't lying," Zeke replied, his voice low.

  Gotier laughed, a hollow, joyless sound. But when he saw Akari's face, he stood up.

  "**What the hell did you do!! You killed Yuzuki!**"

  "No!" Akari replied, her body trembling. "But... we really did try to kill him."

  "Stop asking questions, this is not the time!" Zeke said, trying to protect Akari.

  Gotier cursed him.

  "Shut up, you idiot! You tried to kill Yuzuki! Do you have any idea what the hell you've done?! Where is he?"

  Zeke stood up, facing Gotier.

  "You tried to fight him in the library, remember, Gotier?"

  "I tried, Zeke! And I was wrong! I had to talk to him, not try to kill him! Yuzuki is a bastard, but he never tried to kill us! You're fucking crazy!"

  Gotier's words hit Zeke like a punch. He had tried to be strong, but the truth was overwhelming. They had acted on impulse, without measuring the consequences. Akari, without strength, whispered, "Please, stop fighting... I can't believe I tried to kill the only person who trusted me."

  "He's manipulating us, that's what he wants!" Zeke insisted.

  Gotier looked at Zeke and slapped him hard across the face, knocking him down.

  "You disgust me. Idiots. He's a bastard, a manipulator, a son of a bitch. But kill him? What the fuck was that? I'm not defending that bastard, but he would never do that to us."

  Zeke, frightened by Gotier's reaction and words, finally gave in.

  "My God, what have we done..."

  Akari told him everything. About Minamino, about her father, about Yuzuki's original plan.

  "Did you even think they could be half-truths?" Gotier questioned.

  Akari remembered Yuzuki's betrayal when Alkaraz pursued him, the lies, the omissions. The anger and confusion made her explode.

  Gotier turned to Zeke.

  "You had to control her! Your love for her affected your judgment! You stupid idiot!"

  Zeke fell silent, accepting the accusation.

  "What are we going to do, Gotier?" Akari asked, frightened.

  Gotier looked at the two of them, his face grim.

  "Now, chaos and hope no longer exist. I know Yuzuki very well, because I was once like him. What kept him on a leash was us. You took away what stopped him. Now he's loose. And I'm afraid of what might happen."

  A terrible image formed in the minds of the three: the world in flames, bodies piled up, and Yuzuki sitting on top, smiling.

  "Now, Mao is free from us," Gotier concluded. "That was all that demon wanted."

  #### **Part IV: The Awakening**

  Far away, in a safe place, Yuzuki opened his eyes. He was lying on a soft bed, his body covered by a clean sheet. The pain had subsided. He felt... rested.

  But when his gaze focused, he saw his reflection in a nearby mirror.

  His eyes were no longer green.

  They were red. Red as blood, as fury, as a newly awakened hell.

  And he was smiling.