Pit-pat-pit-pat
A sound of heavy rain drops echoed in his ears, followed by the relentless, overpaced drumming of his heartbeat.
B-dum B-dum.
A tattered knight with a long, disheveled hair rose from the ground, soaked in puddles of rain and blood.
"Ugh…..."
He grimaced in pain as he lifted his head to scan the surroundings.
Red.
Everything was red.
Buildings, courtyard, training grounds, even the people; all drenched in blood.
The blood of enemies.
But more painfully, the blood of friends, comrades, his lover… his family.
Death.
Only the scent of death and blood lingered in the air of the fortress city.
'Was this necessary? Did we deserve such fate?'
Like the mutilated bodies of his fallen comrades strewn around him, Kuro himself was far from whole.
Every inch of his body screamed in agony.
But compared to the fury, hatred, and sorrow boiling inside him, the physical pain was trivial.
".... Kaishin."
Before him lay Kaishin, his subordinate and Master of the Kutara Kishidan.
His once white albino hair now soaked in crimson.
"What was so mortifying for you? So unbearable that your eyes held disbelief and rage even in death?"
Kuro reached out, gently tracing a finger down Kaishin's face, closing his eyes with reverence.
But Kaishin wasn't the only one.
"Ouchi…."
The Master of the Bokkai Kishidan stood upright, headless and armless, while still gripping his Bo-staff in defiance.
Around him, the shattered bodies of 'so-called' angels and the bodies of the Waibu Kishidan 外部 騎士團(outer circle knight orders) knights littered the devastated headquarters of the Outer Circle Knight Order.
"Everyone…..."
And then, Yeon.
Master of the Koma Kishidan.
Kuro's lover
She sat motionless, leaning against a cracked wall, a trail of blood marking her final moments.
Kuro approached her slowly.
He removed his cloak and draped it over her lifeless body, concealing the gaping wound through her chest armor... and her heart.
He lifted her head, staring into her vacant eyes.
No words came.
He had so much to say, yet something deeper silenced him.
Grittt
His teeth ground together, the sound drowning out the rain.
His first trembled, blood started to drip off of his gauntlet as his nails grinded against the metal.
His body shook, not from pain, but from rage and defiance.
Once more, he gently traced his hand down Yeon's face, closing her eyes.
With his other hand, he gripped the hilt of his cherished sword – Kuroi Kiba, the Black Fang.
A 110 cm double-edged black blade, adorned with three black wolf heads on the pommel and cross guard.
It had been less than a week since the final battle between the Empire of Mankind and the Gods and their minions.
The Emperor had fallen.
Yggdrasil, the god tree, and also the source of the empire's power vanished.
However, the war was not one-sided, many gods perished.
Only Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus remained, gravely wounded and near death.
But before their end, their minions struck.
Led by Tsuki the former master of Hikui Kishidan – the fallen knight order, now calling themselves Samurai – followed by waves of demi-human armies and the angels launched a final assault.
The knights stood no chance.
Three thousand knights, a thousand from each order, stood guard under the Grandmaster of the Outer Knight Circle, Kuro, or KuroiOkami.
They fought as a decoy, buying the time for the remnants of the order to retreat through the secret passage ways under Kamako, Kurako, and Muromachi, adjutants and second in command of each Order.
It was brutal.
A clash between knights and the so-called angels and the demi-humans.
The mermen, beastmen, lizardmen, and lesser angels, with immature white wings, were manageable.
But the three elite warriors – Mani and Sol, dark-skinned with black wings, and Metzli, pale with wings of white – were different.
Each bore wings over three meters wide.
Each matched Kuro in strength, clairvoyance, Ki-manipulation, and Bukijutsu.
While he fought against their leader, Mir – a Dragonkin and the son of Seiryu 靑龍 (Azure Dragon).
His subordinates fell.
The Knights were slaughtered.
Kuro removed his dented helmet, revealing his blood shot eyes and tangled black hair. He stood alone next to the beheaded wyrm.
---
The courtyard was silent, save for the rain.
It fell in sheets, soaking the blood-stained stone, washing over shattered armor and broken blades, the once-proud banners of the Outer Circle Knight Order lay tattered, clinging to the ruins like ghosts refusing to leave.
Kuro stood alone.
His black blade, Kuroi Kiba, rested against his shoulder, its edge as sharp as his will despite the endless combat it experienced. His cloak no more, his armor dented, and his body screaming with pain. But his eyes, bloodshot and burning, held no fear. Only an unsettlingly focused rage.
"So you're here."
Kuro felt it. The pressure in the air. The weight of their Ki and aura.
From the smoke and ruin, three figures emerged.
Mani, towering and broad, his dark skin gleaming beneath the rain. His black wings stretched wide, jagged and powerful. In his hand a massive trident, each prong glowing with divine fire.
Sol, slender and poised, her black wings curved like blades. Her Katana shimmered with pale blue light. Her gaze was sharp and calculating
Metzli, pale as moonlight, her white wings pristine despite the carnage. She held a long golden spear, its tip humming with divine thunder. Her expression was unreadable – neither cruel nor kind.
They were the gods' chosen.
Kuro was mortal
But he was no ordinary man.
They didn't speak or waste time. They too were exhausted from extensive battle.
They attacked.
---
Kuro barely had time to brace.
Mani lunged first, trident stabbing forward with an explosive momentum. Kuro deflected, but Sol was already behind him, her katana slicing toward his neck.
Kuro twisted his body and parried, but Metzli descended from above with her spear aiming at his heart.
Kuro rolled, the spear grazing his armor and flesh. Blood sprayed. He grunted, staggering back.
'They're coordinated. Mani's brute force, Sol's precision, Metzli's reach. I can't hold them off like this.'
Kuro blocked a strike from Sol, ducked under Metzli's sweeping spear, and kicked Mani's leg to break his stance. But they recovered instantly.
Sol's blade nicked his cheek. Metzli's spear tore through his shoulder armor. Mani's trident slammed into his side, sending him skidding across the courtyard.
Kuro coughed blood. His vision blurred.
'I need space. I need to break them.'
Kuro closed his eyes and gripped Kuroi Kiba with both hands. Rain hissed against the blade as he channeled his Ki.
The blade glowed black-blue. The air shifted. Black lightnings thundered.
Kuro opened his eyes, his pupil let out a dark crimson glow
KuroiOkami no Ikari 黑狼の怒 Black Wolf's Rage,
He slammed the blade into the ground.
Shock wave erupted, silencing the area followed by a deafening roar of explosion. The courtyard cracked. Rain froze mid-air. A dome of Ki exploded outward coupled with black and shimmering unnatural lightnings.
The half of the fortress erupted. The divine warriors were thrown back, their wings flailing and weapons scattering.
Kuro stood in the center, panting. His blade pulsed with powerful Ki as black lightning coiled around it.
'NOW!'
---
Mani recovered first, shaking his head, snarling. He charged with his flaming trident.
"Impossible! That strike was at a demi-god level! BUT! You were supposed to be at grandmaster level!"
Kuro met him head-on, their weapons clashing in a storm of sparks. His eyes cold and emotionless.
"You're Bleeding."
"A minor scratch," Mani growled. "Just Accept Your Fate."
Kuro spun, slashing upward. The trident blocked, but Kuro feinted, then drove his blade into Mani's chest.
The god-warrior gasped. "Impossible… you were clearly–"
"Going for the head? Sometimes, clairvoyance can work against you."
Kuro twisted the blade. Mani collapsed. His face still pondering how and why his clairvoyance failed him.
"MANII!!!!"
Sol crashed in, katana slicing in elegant arcs.
Kuro blocked, parried, and dodged, each movement precise and desperate.
"You're tired," she said.
Kuro didn't falter. He's gaze set on his target.
"You're next."
Sol slashed down.
Kuro tried to parry away, but Sol was persistent, gluing her katana against his Kuroi Kiba.
"This… is this Tsuki's work?"
Kuro frowned as he recognized the craftmanship of her blade.
"Heh~! Ironic, isn't it? Your most loyal subordinate, betrayed you, and forged the weapon to end you!"
Kuro gritted his teeth. His eyes grew colder as he poured more Ki into his blade. Lightning crackled as if answering his rage.
Sol did not sit idle, as she also poured her own Ki. Fire began to ignite around her as two clashed. The shock wave split the sky and the ground below them.
Kuro ducked beneath her swing, twisted and drove Kuroi Kiba upward through her abdomen.
Sol froze, her katana falling from her grip. She looked up into Kuro's eyes.
"Hehe… to think we'd fall to a mortal…"
She showed a self-mocking smile before she collapsed beside Mani.
---
Metzli descended like a comet; her spear aimed a Kuro's heart.
Kuro rolled aside, barely dodging the strike. The ground erupted behind him.
She moved with divine grace, her spear dancing like moonlight. Kuro was slower now; the wound and fatigue started to catch on to him, but his will burned brighter than ever.
"You cannot win," Metzli said softly. "You are alone."
Kuro coughed blood, then gave a ferocious smile coupled with intense bloodlust, "I carry them with me in here." Kuro patted his heart. "Every. Single. One."
He then closed his eyes, channeling every ounce of Ki into his blade. The blade glowed black-purple, pulsing with energy, transforming the air and stirring storms of lightning around it.
Metzli lunged with an equally powerful momentum. Lightning gathered and transformed into an infernal dragon head.
Kuro's strike materialized into a black wolf, howling with dense purple lightnings dancing around its fangs.
They clashed midair. light against shadow. Fire against lightning.
The force of the impact shattered the ground and split the sky in two. Rain froze mid-air. Time seemed to halt.
Then silence.
Kuro landed behind her. His Blade dripping in blood.
Metzli turned, eyes wide. Her spear shaft shattered.
A thin line of blood traced her chest.
She fell.
---
Kuro dropped to one knee, panting, leaning on to his blade.
The storm began to fade and the raining softened.
Three divine warriors lay defeated.
The gods had sent their angels.
But the KuroiOkami had answered.
He looked to the sky, where clouds parted to reveal a sliver of moonlight.
"For Yeon," he whispered.
And then, he stood.