In the center of the throne room, Hachi and Munisai found themselves fighting dozens of enemies coming at them from all sides.

Their Signs were versatile and unfamiliar, their weapons and items even more so.

And to make matters worse, some villagers and guards that were clearly under some kind of spell, were mixed in among the enemies, forcing the two fighting to hold back.

Despite them having been on the verge of going all out, they had to now try and avoid fatally wounding the innocent.

Around the rest of the throne room, another chaotic battle was ensuing, and the guards who were free of the spell’s influence and had been on duty, were now quickly being overwhelmed.

The only one who had been standing his ground was the Castle Guard, Kenzo, one of Munisai’s best students of his generation.

But could he really handle hundreds of villagers rushing in with no afterthought for their own health.

Aki will be giving birth soon… I… I don’t want my child to be born into a clan that has lost all meaning of peace…

That’s right, those thoughts had been with him ever since he met Lawkey when he came to meet the Shadow Queen.

Kenzo had already heard the rumors of what Lawkey had done, of what he could be and the danger he posed to the clan.

However, upon seeing him, and how he was acting with his Sensei, Kenzo couldn’t bring himself to see the kid as a threat. He was just glad that the Kerberos incident went without any casualties, and that he could receive compliments for their upcoming firstborn from the Sensei he admired most.

He wanted his own child to grow and train under his Sensei too. And for that to happen, the dutiful Castle Guard had to make sure none of the enemies rushing in would interrupt the battle happening behind him.

Even when all the other guards fell, Kenzo held his ground.

He used the back of his sword and sheath, trying not to kill any villagers, but he could feel himself losing control a few times while knocking them out too quickly.

He bit his bottom lip, his body quickly giving out from being overwhelmed. While he tried to hold back, none of his enemies did.

They stabbed, clawed, punched, kicked, even headbutted him all over.

He felt his body go numb as it continued to bleed out. Both his nose and tongue were overwhelmed by the smell and taste of rust and metal caused by the blood.

He clenched his teeth and continued to fight, his body on the verge of betraying him.

And yet, he managed to hold out for quite a while until most of the rushing enemies were lying beneath his feet.

He looked up to check and saw no one else rushing in from the front, before completely collapsing on the ground, having succeeded at his task.

He hadn’t used his Sign, nor his practiced Stances. How could he when he needed to make sure most of the charging attackers survived?

“...”

The last thing he glimpsed was the sight of the two legends of the Kage Clan going up against dozens of hardened and experienced enemies.

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Even though the throne they were defending in the distance was empty, he knew they wouldn’t hesitate to give their lives for it.

He smiled as his consciousness drifted away.

What am I even thinking… Sensei…Commander…

The Sword Saint and the Glaive Master…

Together they are… unstoppable.

And just like Kenzo had thought as he passed out, the battle had ended with the two Great Powers of the Kage Clan standing back to back.

“Hah… Was that everyone?”

Munisai asked as he leaned on his crutch.

“Heh… Why? You think you can keep going, old man?”

“Haha… That takes me back… I’m just warming up…”

As Hachi made sure there were no more enemies coming his way, he tried to lighten the mood a bit, causing a nostalgic moment for Munisai.

They had both suffered some injuries, but no one had been able to land a fatal blow on either of them. They had worked perfectly in unison to make up for their shortcomings, with Munisai staying on the low, and Hachi using his glaive to defend against anything coming from on high.

As corpses and bodies laid around them throughout the throne room, the sight of them standing there covered in blood would have sent cold shivers through any experienced fighter’s back.

However, the only one who had been alive and conscious to witness it all now was Hideyoshi. He had hidden behind one of the pillars inside the throne room, knees shaking at the massacre in front of him.

Every time one of his lackeys went down, his heart skipped a beat.

Now, he was the only one left with the two strongest in the clan, even the sight of them panting heavily made his hair stand on edge.

Wait… That’s it! They have definitely exhausted their Signs and energy by now! Those freaking monsters!! He thought to himself as a wide grin appeared on his face.

And then Hideyoshi’s eyes were drawn to a discarded sword on the ground.

“...”

His entire life, he had believed he would simply use his brains to outsmart and defeat his enemies. He saw no need to train his body or swordsmanship.

He could never even understand his daughter who kept wanting to improve her fighting skills. Even back at a young age, he had lost all hopes for her being useful to him.

And yet, by some chance, she had left him a weapon he could use fully. A weapon he could shape the way he wanted, train the way he wanted, and use the way he wanted. All HIdeyoshi needed was to establish dominance, even if it meant by force.

That’s all his grandson was to him in the end, a tool, a weapon.

He had made sure that Kojiro learned swordsmanship for one simple reason, getting close to Munisai. However, occasionally, he would find him training by himself with a smile on his face.

Not the creepy smile he usually wore, but a genuine happy smile.

That made Hideyoshi disgusted.

What was so good about swordsmanship anyway?! How hard could it even be?!

He thought to himself as he picked up the sword.

Munisai and Hachi had been trying to recover as much of their strength as possible, but they still couldn’t quite move their bodies from where they stood.

“D-drop your weapons!”

“!”

They simply glanced at the conniving middle-aged man, holding a sword in front of him. The blade kept repeatedly getting pulled to the ground, before the man forced it back up with all his might.

Why the hell is this thing so damn heavy?! He thought inwardly as he sweated buckets, trying all the while not to make any changes to his stern expression.

“I said, drop them! D-don’t make me use violence!”

“...”

Munisai and Hachi made brief eye contact as Hideyoshi kept getting closer.

And then they turned their heads back at him, their eyes staring daggers into his soul.

“W-what do you think you’re doing?!”

Without entertaining a response, the two simply stomped their crutch and glaive respectfully, forcing him to reflexively fall on his behind again.

“D-dammit! D-don’t come close! What are you going to do to me?!”

The two hadn’t even moved a step yet, but from the man’s perspective, their presence had somehow grown bigger and closer, encompassing his entire vision.

“Y-you monsters!!”

“Hideyoshi, for the crimes you have committed against the Crown, you will rot in a cell for the rest of your life, as Her Majesty has commanded.”

Hachi still managed to do his job as the Commander of the Royal Guard. Taiga had left her intentions in his care before leaving, after all.

“N-no! This isn’t over! I will… I will bring more! I-i won’t die here--!!”

“?!”

Munisai’s and Hachi’s eyes went wide in shock as a sudden sword stuck out from the shadow beneath Hideyoshi, and out of the man’s chest.

“Blergh!!” The man spat out his guts, then tried to look back into his shadow to see two blood-red eyes glaring back at him, “Y-you!! You’re mine…! You useless… traitor!”

“Good riddance.” Was the only thing the voice said as the man squeezed out his last breath.

What happened after that was only kept between three individuals.

Each had their reasons for secrecy, but in the end, neither of them wanted to remember the ugliness of it, let alone utter it out loud.

In the end, it was the Great Powers of the Kage Clan, along with the valiant effort of one dutiful Castle Guard, that ensured the victory over the invasion hidden under the pretense of a revolution.

It was on this day that a new Great Power had been born into the clan, ensuring the next generation of honorable defenders of the village.

Beside the Shadow Queen herself, the Sword Saint and the Commander of the Royal Guard, Kenzo would be recognized for his efforts on this day, earning him the title of the Unyielding Sentinel.

However, the coma the dutiful Castle Guard and the soon-to-be father had found himself in, would unfortunately prevent him from even knowing about all this.

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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]