"Am I right in understanding, Shiro-san, that some cultists have settled in my clan, and it is they who are behind this revolt?" Aoi's voice was absolutely calm and measured, but within it, one could still hear the crackle of fires and the anguish of distant screams.

"That's exactly right," Stas nodded in agreement, thoughtfully observing the destruction they had caused. The water and ice created by prana slowly disappeared, leaving only muddled earth and wood chips. "Chaos has deeply sunk its rotting claws into your clan if it managed to carry out something like this."

"I don't understand," Katashi's uncle frowned, irritably running a hand over his cheek. "Who are these... chaos servants? You speak of them as if I should know about them, Sumada. But for your information, I haven't heard anything about them."

"Then your days have been very happy, human," snapped the approaching Minoru, not paying any attention to Aoi's offended face. "Chaos means terrible, all-corrupting invaders from another world. They are desperate to destroy our homes, defile our children, and kill our world itself. If they win, there will be nothing left that you know. Chaos means not war in the sense you understand; it's a matter of survival. There is no third option. And even if you don't die, believe me, you will envy the dead."

"If I had wanted to hear your opinion... yokai, I would have asked for it," Aoi retorted spitefully, turning to Stas. "Is what she said true?"

The lamia clearly didn't appreciate his disdain, but fortunately, she remained silent. Perhaps it was due to the very eloquent look that the Serpent sent her.

Minoru was a walking diplomatic scandal and did nothing to ease his work.

"Unfortunately, my companion is right," Stas sighed. "I understand it's hard for you to believe all this, but how about you let me share the facts we've verified, and we can proceed from there?"

"Alright." Aoi looked favorably at Ordyntsev, who took a deeper breath, organizing his thoughts for the narrative.

Right now, Stas absolutely couldn't afford to make a mistake. The man standing before him was extremely important to all their future plans.

It could even be said that his decision would determine whether this world would live or die.

If Aoi failed to do what he must, then the Mizuno would likely fall. The Sumada would be left alone against the Alliance. And when Chaos arrived, they would have nothing to counter it with.

The world would die, and they would face a fate worse than death.

And the Kami see, Stas didn't like that he, too, shared this responsibility. He wasn't a damn hero to protect worlds and wipe everyone's noses, trying to save everyone with the power of friendship or love.

At what moment did the situation reach the point of no return? And how did he let it happen?

"First of all, it's important to understand that Chaos loves to recruit pawns who begin to spread its pernicious influence further. Such 'sprouts' should be immediately uprooted, ruthlessly so. The reason for the latter is the power of 'brainwashing.' If a potential chaos servant has been in contact with the energy of change for even a short time, they are beyond redemption. They may look like your friend, talk the same way, but it's no longer your friend, just a puppet of chaos."

Aoi listened attentively, not commenting on what was said.

"Right now, some part of your clan is infected with this rot, and our task is to figure out who among them has fallen," Ordyntsev continued in a business-like tone, creating a plan on the fly. "As I said earlier, those who have sided with the rot are no longer your relatives or friends. They are your most cruel and merciless enemies, who will use any weakness they learned from their past life against you. This means you must forget words like mercy and compassion. We will find out who among your clan is a traitor, and then... we'll ruthlessly clean them out."

"If they are so secretive and so adept at subjugating others to their will, how will we recognize them?" Aoi's irritation finally broke through. "Or are you suggesting we kill anyone who seems the slightest bit suspicious to you, Sumada? Then nothing will be left of my clan! I'm starting to doubt the solidity of our alliance, hearing such proposals."

"And here's where someone else comes into play," Stas nodded contentedly, looking directly at Minoru. "You can sense demons and chaos, can't you? As far as I remember, you even hunted them for a while."

"Yes, I can," the lamia agreed, though the earthling didn't like the expression on her face. "But the humans who sold themselves to chaos, if they have been subjugated relatively recently, emit almost no energy of change. It will take a lot of time to check even one person."

"Damn traitors," Aoi gritted his teeth. "Any more suggestions?"

"There are," Stanislav nodded decisively. "I didn't want to mention this because my technique is still not fully refined. Nevertheless, it can detect the presence of chaos down to quite small amounts."

"You want to convince me to kill my own clansmen based on an incomplete technique? Sumada, are you insane, or am I missing something?"

"I'm afraid, Aoi-san, it's you who are missing something," Ordyntsev stepped forward, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "If we don't do something right now, it would be easier for me to turn around and go back to the Sumada, because you're all already as good as dead. Afterward, I'll start digging the deepest underground shelter so that when chaos truly invades this world, I'll survive a little longer!"

Both warmasters froze, staring at each other fiercely.

Their confrontation was broken by Kenta's cautious cough. Aoi's fiery gaze shifted to the former Rinako.

"My name is Kenta Rinako, from the clan of shadow masters. Have you heard of me, master?"

"Hmm, yes. But now you're just Kenta, aren't you, renegade?" in Aoi's voice, one could easily recognize contempt.

"You're right," the supreme nodded humbly. "Nevertheless, even when I became a renegade, I tried to maintain my reputation, and my word still carries weight."

"The reputation and word of a renegade," Aoi grimaced but continued to listen, which was a good sign.

"As you see, I have once again found those, or rather, the one whom I will follow," Kenta's tone became even more serious, though it seemed it couldn't be more so. "And I swear to you by my name and all that is dear to me, Shiro-sama has worked very hard to fight chaos. Once, he looked so deeply into the abyss that we almost lost him. Yet, I know of no one more versed in battling the forces of doom. If he cannot aid you, then no one can."

Stas met the testing gaze without flinching.

It was time to press through the last of his resistance.

"Aoi-san," Ordyntsev paused. "Think about everything Katashi-sama believed in..."

"You wouldn't dare." The warmaster's gloves creaked as they clenched tight.

"Yes, Master Katashi set a very high goal. Nevertheless, we all believed in it; otherwise, I wouldn't be here. Give us all a chance to solve this problem. Otherwise, you understand what will happen next."

Having said all he wanted to, Stas fell silent for good. Yes, playing on these "emotional strings" was risky, but he believed he had calculated everything correctly. Aoi loved Katashi and would do anything to save him.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

And between the lives of his clansmen and his nephew, Aoi would choose...

Silence hung in the air. The supreme Mizuno thought. Katashi's uncle couldn't make a hasty decision. Too many lives depended on his choice, both guilty and innocent.

Only when the warmaster's shoulders dropped in defeat did Stas realize he had won. The leader of the Mizuno agreed to trust the Sumada.

"I don't understand," Mizuno said slowly as the silence became uncomfortable. "Why did they do this? To betray their own clan, to betray us all - it's unthinkable, just unthinkable. My head is starting to hurt from all of this."

"It's not so much about your clansmen as it is about the power of chaos's influence," the Serpent's voice clearly conveyed regret and even sympathy. "Don't judge them harshly; they were probably subjugated against their will. Yes, we can't save them, but sooner or later, we'll be able to avenge them. The main thing is to regain control."

Aoi looked up, surprised and grateful. He hadn't expected such tangible support and understanding from the eerie serpent-eyed man standing before him.

'Maybe there's some sense in the alliance with Sumada after all.'

"Chaos knows how to subjugate the mind, break the will, and crawl into your brain so that you won't notice anything until it's too late. A random whisper, a slight headache, strange thoughts. Everything happens imperceptibly, and then, you find yourself ready to go to war for your new masters."

"If you really know what to do, then what's the plan?" Aoi finally acknowledged Ordyntsev's expertise.

"We will act decisively and mercilessly," Stanislav concluded firmly, a new, somber feeling flashing in his eyes. "And may the Kami aid us today. Their help will certainly be welcomed."

*****

'First, we should visit the minor clans subordinate to Mizuno, which, although they do not have such overwhelming power, constitute a significant part of their military might. Most importantly, they are the least enticing target for the chaos worshippers.'

Aoi fully understood that they could not immediately secure the support of loyal troops, for if the latter were to arrive in the Mizuno domain, they would instantly alarm their adversaries.

That meant they had to prepare first. The choice fell on the most distant clan quarters, located far beyond the city limits.

The problem was that due to the uncertainty of the situation, all these small clans residing there were hesitant and tried not to meddle in politics.

Aoi, however, couldn't care less whether they wanted to assist or not.

And considering that there were now four supremes with him, one could imagine his "persuasive power."

The gates of a small but wealthy clan quarter flew open from a fist strike, practically coming off their hinges.

The Iriki clan fighters, appearing from everywhere, looked in horror at the notorious Water Strangler approaching them. A very angry Water Strangler.

"Aoi-sama!" a man around forty-five rushed to greet the second most important leader of the Mizuno. His temples had already touched with light gray, but it was clear that he was in excellent shape. "Wait, what happened?! Why are you here?"

"I don't have much time," Aoi ignored all the speaker's words, staring at him with an unblinking gaze. "And I'm not going to waste it on your questions, Kuso. Right now, I need your fighters. How long will it take you to gather your best forces?"

"Aoi-sama, I beg your forgiveness, but you understand the difficult times we live in!" Kuso waved his hands, starting his usual spiel. "I would like to provide you with fighters, but I need to take care of the safety of my family..."

Kuso continued to say something, but he was troubled by the stares of the people who came with the clan head's uncle. They looked at him very strangely. Even stranger were their signs, which clearly belonged to Sumada.

"Therefore, I'm afraid I can't provide you with fighters right now," Kuso finished his thought.

"So you refuse to fulfill the vassal oath given by your ancestors to the Mizuno clan?" Aoi asked absolutely calmly, which seemingly confused the head of this small clan, who considered himself the most cunning.

"Aoi-sama, I wouldn't like to call it that, but..."

"I see," the Water Strangler nodded, then turned to those standing behind him. "Kill everyone; only five must survive. Their health doesn't matter."

"Hai."

The clan head next to Aoi made a sluggish, disbelieving step back. His eyes widened in horror, and his legs refused to move any further.

The Mizuno had just ordered the slaughter of his entire clan - it was a scene beyond his worst nightmares.

"No, you can't..."

He still tried to say something, but his tongue was firmly stuck to his palate.

Now he knew why Aoi's warriors looked at him so strangely. How else would you look at, essentially, a dead man?

Kuso knew that his clan had been having trouble with the Mizuno lately, but he couldn't have guessed that it would all end like this. After all, this was the Mizuno, not the crazy Hizoru or Sumada!

He wanted to shout for his clansmen to run, but he could only watch as the three supremes began to reap a sad harvest.

The Kuso clan was never famous for having supreme warmasters. They always prided themselves on having the largest number of advanced and veteran advanced ones.

However, against real gods of war, all they could do now was die.

He was forced to watch as everything he had lived for turned to ash under the piercingly bright purple rays or washed away by mighty waves, turning into nothing but soggy, ground-up debris.

The third Sumada moved through their yard so fast that all his warriors who came to greet the invaders died within mere dozens of seconds.

The last of them tried to run, for the thought of resistance was beyond them, but Aoi's warriors knew no mercy.

Aoi didn't stand still either. His water spheres were like gravitational bombs, pulling in all surrounding objects and then crushing them under unimaginable pressure.

His supreme subordinate operated more with long water whips, slicing through those trying to escape.

There was no more room for words and mercy.

Small wooden houses, baths, warehouses, and other buildings - all disappeared in the frenzy of heartless elements.

Women, children, the elderly, all of them perished within minutes, not even realizing what had killed them.

Kuso's soul was torn asunder as he watched the death of all his kin and loved ones, mesmerized by the terrible spectacle.

However, the soul's anguish was quickly overshadowed by physical pain.

Aoi's gnarled fingers pierced his flesh and seemed to plunge into his very heart, which was somewhat true.

Then, the fingers were pulled out, but the fallen head of the now-destroyed clan no longer felt it.

Aoi had just used one slow but effective technique. The prana, released from his palms, surrounded and destroyed all prana channels going from the core.

It was like cutting all the threads of a ball, leaving the "ball" itself hanging in complete darkness, thereby depriving Kuso of the chance to ever become a warmaster again.

The pain was so hellish that the writhing clan head didn't even feel when he was grabbed by the leg and dragged into a pile where several bodies already lay.

The air was thick with an intolerable stench of burning, swiftly dispelled as the remnants of the quarter, ravaged by the ether, were finally flooded with water by Minoru.

"Let's go," Aoi said curtly, turning around and walking out without looking back. Behind him, staggering and falling, moved the five survivors, doomed to become an example.

The last to leave was Shiro the Serpent.

The earthling's sad gaze swept over someone's destroyed house. He found it difficult to say how many innocents had perished by his hand today.

And he was not at all comforted by the fact that otherwise, they would have died anyway, although he would not have been involved.

But if he had refused, Aoi might also have considered it a betrayal, but already from the allies.

Today, a new burden was placed on his soul, leaving him at a loss as to what to do with it.

Stas turned around and, without looking back, followed the other warmasters.

He felt lousy.

*****

"W-what is this?" an old man gasped, half-choked. He was the head of the next clan they came to.

"This is Kuso Iriki and the remains of what once was his clan," Aoi's chopped words sounded in the air like the cracks of a whip, causing those around the warmaster to flinch at every sound.

They couldn't be called cowards, but what was happening here now was a serious challenge to their psyche.

For centuries, the Mizuno took care of the minor clans, and the latter reciprocated.

The vassals had grown accustomed to the water clan considering their opinions. They expected conversations and discussions, but they got only one thing: "Submit or die."

Aoi's hand clutched Kuso's hair and lifted his lifeless head, showing a bloodied face with empty, dead eyes.

"This traitor refused to fulfill the vassal oath to my clan. The punishment for this can only be one: death. His entire clan was destroyed, and the same fate awaits the rest when we are done."

The head of the Yusa clan unconsciously licked his suddenly dry lips.

"I will ask this question only once. When will you provide all your warriors under my command?" the Water Strangler repeated the same question, looking at the immobile ranks of the Yusa clan.

"We honor the vassal treaty, Aoi-sama," the old man knelt and bowed his forehead to the ground. "We will provide them right now."

"Excellent," Aoi's cheek twitched. "Hurry up. We have many more to visit."

With instructions received, the Yusa clan quickly came into motion. Nevertheless, Stas and his companions kept getting tense and puzzled looks. No one understood why the uncle of the clan head was standing among the Sumada.

In the future, this could lead to problems, but for now, they had other concerns.

"Did you feel anything?"

"No," Minoru and Stas shook their heads negatively. "There is no presence of chaos here."

"That's something, at least. I don't believe we'll continue to be so lucky."

Stas silently shook his head. He wouldn't call all that was happening "luck."

The only thing he hoped for was that everything they did was worth it.

Earlier, talking about sacrifices and the price to be paid for victory over chaos, Stas Ordyntsev thought abstractly.

He set himself a goal and did everything possible to achieve it, convincing Katashi's uncle of his correctness.

But then, he was forced to face what sounded so simple "on paper."

Now, he had to find out why civil wars are rightly deemed one of the worst, if not the worst, types of wars.