THE TWO OF THEM CONTINUED TO BATTLE, each swing of the swords was perfectly parried by the opposite. After many minutes of combat, Yukan lands a kick to Kunshu's stomach, knocking his foe back.

"You fight well for a crippled man," Kunshu retorted smugly as he took a glance at Yukan's mechanical right hand. "It seems you have adapted well to my gift."

This statement only seemed to add more fuel to the pyre of rage that found itself growing to immense heights within Yukan.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" he yelled out as he charged toward Kunshu. Catching the wielder of the Alpha Blade off guard, Yukan laid many hard blows on the king of Aotoshi. Yukan tried to go for a flying sidekick, but Kunshu retaliated, dodging the attack and sending his prey crashing into the walls of his palace. Kunshu took the gap he opened up to activate Deity Mode. Yukan turned around to attack him again, only to see that the murderer of his family had now sprouted wings darker than the sky outside, appearing as if a large vulture had been unfortunate enough to anger him and he decided to keep its wings as a trophy.

"So, this is what you used to murder Kadaina?" Yukan asked, taking the moment to breathe.

"Indeed," Kunshu answered, beginning to ramble. "Deity Mode has helped me through many situations, you see. A very long time ago, I was almost killed by an assassin. Deity Mode was there to save me when no one else could."

"You're sick," Akuni's strongest remarked. "You've killed so many people that I have lost track. And for what?! A sword. A sword is why you're pulling all this bullshit."

"It's not simply a sword you stupid boy!" Kunshu yelled in rage, annoyed by Yukan denying the power that the Omega Blade possesses. He swooped down and began to strike at him from the skies. With every swing of his blade, however, more of his flesh began to slowly leave his skin. Kunshu took a look at his arm during this time to see that it had been reduced to just a skeleton. At this sight, he decided to touch down for a moment.

"Deity Mode..." he huffed, "it's still incomplete?! After all this time, I still don't have this wretched form mastered?!"

"You can pity yourself later when you are rotting in hell!" Yukan cried out as he charged once more toward Kunshu, hoping to catch him off guard. Their vicious combat continued, with the rate at which the man in Deity Mode lost his skin slowing down due to the use of less energy. As he fought, Yukan's store of adrenaline began to deplete, as he grew slower as he fought, beginning to show a visible struggle with Kunshu.

"That's odd," Kashikoi's murderer remarked condescendingly. "I'm a lot older than you, yet I seem to have the upper hand."

"Shut up!" Yukan yelled as he went for another desperate strike, not knowing what else to say. Kunshu dodged the swipe of the Omega Blade as he flew up and began to brandish his Fabled Sword. At this moment, his body was almost completely skeletal, including his recently sprouted vulture wings.

"Any last words before I put you out of your mise-" He was cut off by his wings failing him, causing his skeletal form to plummet toward the stone flooring of the throne room.

As Kunshu's body made contact with the ground below him, Yukan shielded his eyes to protect them from the dust cloud that had formed. Once the dust finally cleared, Akuni's top swordsman gazed upon the spot where Kunshu had landed, only to see a pile of bones, collected in a well-built sphere.

"WHAT?!" he yelled at this anti-climatic event. He rushed over to the figure made from the bones of his biggest enemy, initially confused by what had happened.

It appeared that his foe had finally keeled over, not by Yukan's hand, but of his hubris. Eventually, however, Yukan heard a heartbeat coming from the sphere and realized that the sphere of bones was, in all actuality, a cocoon. Within this pupae, Kunshu hid from Yukan. His confusion turned to rage.

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"You coward!" Yukan yelled as he lifted the Omega Blade above his head, preparing to cleave into the protective casing. "You son of a bitch!"

As the blade began to descend upon the sphere, the orb began to glow. Just inches before the Omega Blade would cut through the sheltering, it burst open, causing another cloud of dust. The force of this opening caused Yukan to be thrown into a wall. As Kunshu emerged, he looked himself over, seeing that his attire had shifted from heavy armor to a traditional gi. The wings that sprouted from his back were much more well-kept and appeared to be more in line with those of a crow. Although his physical appearance was gorgeous and impeccable, his humanity and morality were torn to bits, with Deity Mode finally reaching the point of no return over him.

"Yes!" Kunshu exclaimed in joy. "YES! It's beautiful. I have finally done it. I think it's time to end this little play-date. What do you think, my nephew?"

"Don't call me that," Yukan snapped as he heard his enemy's words. "Just because you got a new fancy form doesn't mean you're any better in battle. Don't get cocky."

"Oh, I wasn't getting cocky," the king of Aotoshi replied, as he descended toward the floor as an image of grace in Perfect Deity Mode. "I can assure you this will all be over very soon."

As he said that, Yukan charged in once more. Kunshu, however, had improved far more thanks to his new form. This time around, Yukan struggled to land even a single blow on Kunshu. After Yukan went for a stab, Kunshu sidestepped the attack with ease, causing the last surviving Kenshi to stumble forward.

"Don't lose your footing now," the winged man smugly called out as he kicked the back of Yukan's leg. This resulted in Yukan falling at a further distance than he would have if such a move had not been made.

The swordsman from Shirotaun was not phased by this, however, as he simply got back onto his feet once more and went in for a stab once again. Kunshu sidestepped the man once more and kicked him in his side.

"Now you're just making it easier for me," Aotoshi's greatest swordsman sighed, disappointed in how poor of a fight Yukan was bringing. "What happened to Mr. 'I'm going to kill you'?" Yukan swung once more, only for Kunshu to yet again parry the attack and kick him in the rib cage.

"That was pathetic," he said, critiquing his moves once again. "You left yourself wide open."

"I said shut up!" Yukan yelled out in frustration. Kunshu promptly delivered an elbow straight to his obstacle's eye, causing it to swell.

Yukan knew that the fight was effectively lost at that moment. If he didn't get back up, then he had no chance of victory. With that in mind, Yukan began to escape to the roof of Kunshu's palace.

"Now little Yukan is running away like a frightened rabbit," Kunshu mocked once more. "I have it all now! You can run for as long as you want, Yukan, but with this form, you will never escape me. Your blood will decorate this castle. You might as well give up now while you have some so-called honor."

Yukan managed to climb to the roof at this time, despite the pain in his entire body. He managed to accomplish the feat, only with the knowledge that death was inevitable if he did not climb up there.

Just as Yukan managed to escape Kunshu, he emerged from behind him. Yukan turned to face him and had found himself encapsulated by the elegance of the form and mesmerized by the aura emitted from the pitch-black raven wings that emerged from Kunshu's shoulder blades. Before he could fully process this image, however, he received another hefty kick to the stomach.

"Pathetic child," Kunshu scoffed at the bruised Yukan. "I'll make sure to kill your girlfriend nice and slow after I'm finished with you." The king then continued his onslaught.

"Don't you lay a single finger on her, you bastard!" Yukan yelled out before the onslaught continued. He then realized the familiarity of this occurrence and began to brace himself for the worst. In the meantime, he would try to prevent his nightmare from becoming a reality.

Yukan tried to swing the Omega Blade at Kunshu, but his foe kicked it away before punching him to the ground. As Kunshu stepped on his right arm, he let go of the Omega Blade and, before he could react to this, Kunshu kicked the blade out of his hand. Yukan watched as it fell from the roof, into the depths below them. Kunshu promptly crushed his other hand, causing him to let out a scream of agony.

"Well, I guess this is over," Kunshu remarked as he raised the Alpha Blade above his head. "Goodbye...my nephew." As the words resonated in Yukan's head, he felt all of the air leave his lungs. His death had finally arrived for him. Just as Kunshu began to slice Yukan at the throat, something from behind caused him to lose his balance, resulting in the attack blinding Yukan rather than killing him. As the blood seeped out of Yukan's eye sockets, he tried to hold the blood, all the while screaming in agony.

In a fit of rage, Kunshu turned to look behind him and saw a figure from his past. Kunshu saw behind him a man with the same two eyes that gazed into his soul when he first accessed Deity Mode. Zeronius toted his claymore, boosted with garnium, as he stared his long-lost enemy down.