Chapter 78

The boy had angered all these pantheons with his actions up until now. From blatantly releasing his senses to suddenly attacking a Principal Clan, all of this was more than enough reason for numerous gods to attack. Though Shiva found it quite funny that as soon as the blonde transformed, they turned timid.

He could still feel their gazes upon Igor, yet none of them stepping forward due to his presence and the redhead's power.

"Weaklings."

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|DxD|

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Suou couldn't take it anymore. His clan with over thousands upon thousands of strong warriors was being laid to waste in his generation. Their corpses littered the tiles and the roofs and blood splurt out of those with severed stumps like a fountain.

Yet he could do nothing to help. His legs were useless and he couldn't use the power of the Vermillion Bird. It was as if something was blocking the connection he needed to fully utilise the power. It served as further proof to him that his clan was left to die in the hands of the redhead. But he could still use his normal fire manipulation. Futile as it may be, he didn't know what else to do. So out of desperation, he futilely began firing fireballs at the red flash.

His voice was hoarse, tears of pain rushing down his eyes.

"STOP! STOP IT! PLEASE!!!"

His dignified appearance had crumbled down in the face of reality. The very scenario he was afraid would happen was being executed right in front of his eyes. His eyes trembled with every thud of a corpse and his heart bled with every scream he heard. His mind was reaching his limits, his breaking point approaching.

Yet Igor did not stop. He continued killing and crippling his way through every single clan member until there were only a few dozen left. Few dared to fight back, none left a scratch. With only a single crimson aura blade laced with the darkness of the world, he tore his way through the army of fire-wielding men.

Suou could only watch as hundreds of years of history was gradually snuffed out right in front of his eyes. It was a horrifying sight that was burnt into his brain. For the last few minutes, his mind was on the brink of losing sanity, but his strong will held him together. Yet, he was gradually approaching his limits.

And that limit was reached when right in front of his eyes, Igor punctured the heart of his first-born son.

"NOOOOOO! MY SON! YOU KILLED MY SON!!!!"

Suou had already long guessed that two of his children, Kazuhiko and Takami had died in Kuoh. He beared through that. Despite it hurting, he remained strong. But his heart could not bear to see the heart of his child punctured right in front of his eyes. Witnessing and speculating were two very different things.

And right now, he was witnessing.

"DIE!!! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! DIIIIEEEEE!!!!"

Tears were flowing out of his eyes as he unleashed fireball after fireball in fatherly rage. Igor paid little attention to his rage and continued doing what he was doing.

Su Su Su Su

*Puchi!* *Puchi!* *Puchi!* *Puchi!*

His next kills were the average men of the Himejima clan. But they were not his targets. He had a good memory and a keen ability to sense auras. He did not expect that his last kill would be Suou's son, but it gave him an idea.

The redhead was not ignorant. He was very knowledgeable that leaders of clans will never have just one son. There must always be more, and he will find them all. In order for Suou to feel the most pain, he spread his senses in order to find the person with the most similar aura to him or the other son he killed.

Su Su Su Su

He continued killing while Suou crawled over towards his son with a heavy heart. The elderly man appeared to have lost any connection with the world. All he did was mutter "My son. My son." over and over again with tears in his eyes. He loved his clan, but his own blood was lying dead on the ground. Cruelly killed in front of him, Suou could only wallow in grief.

On the other side, Igor had spread his senses until he heard someone shout.

"You killed my brother!"

Turning around, he was able to spot a bare-chested middle-aged man carrying a sword in his hands. His body was trembling, his eyes teary. Yet his glare was filled with killing intent. In response to that, Igor gave a smile before appearing in front of the man and grabbed his throat.

Suou who was grieving noticed it and bellowed out.

"Leave him!!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!"

He released a very powerful fireball with the intent to drive Igor away from his second-born, the last of his bloodline.

But…in a twisted turn of events, Igor didn't jump out of the way. The redhead, without hesitation, tightened his grip on Suou's son before placing the man on the path of the fireball.

"?!"

Suou could only watch with a horror-filled gaze as Igor used his son like a human shield.

"..."

He couldn't even hear his son scream in pain as the last thread of sanity in his mind finally…snapped.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!"

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|DxD|

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Igor silently watched as Suou screamed like a madman. The elderly patriarch had finally lost his mind, the events of today having borne too much strain on his mental state. Igor could recognise that lost look on the man's face. It was the same as looking in the mirror and only through seeing Suou suffer did his anger lessen.

Suou valued his clan highly and placed the rules above all else. The Himejima clan was his life, his pride, and his reason for existing. He placed the clan above even his own feelings. Under his care, the clan had been elevated to greatness and its strength had skyrocketed under his leadership. He had planned the clan's development for the next century and even trained all his sons into capable men that would aide his successor without fail.

Yet all it took was one single order to shatter everything within a day. His clan, his legacy, everything was gone. He couldn't bear it anymore. He couldn't bear to see centuries of history decay in his hands. And his final breaking point was losing two of his children in front of him.

Igor watched in silence as Suou gripped his head and began bashing his skull on the ground. His eyes were empty without a trace of pity for the elderly man. He could imagine his pain because he felt it. He felt it when Shuri's lifeforce vanished like a candle in the wind. He felt his pain when her head lifelessly tilted to the side.

Suou finally knew his pain, and his vengeance was complete.

"You have taken from me, so I have taken from you."

He dropped the burnt corpse of Suou's second son before slowly walking over to the man, yet Suou was not aware of Igor's approach. Blood covered his forehead like a curtain of red, his eyes blood red from the amount of grief he felt.

But Igor remained unfazed. He conjured a very long aura blade that he swung around, bisecting any clan members that were trying to run away. With Suou driven to insanity, there was no need to let any of them live any longer than necessary.

All this time, his steps never faltered nor did his hand waver. Among the toppled bisected corpses were buildings that were also slashed apart. Buildings that were once the immense pride of the Himejima now toppled to the ground. The dust from an impromptu demolition enveloped the entire clan like a dense mist, signifying an end to the prosperous Himejima Clan.

He had accomplished his goal of driving Suou beyond the brink.

"What you are feeling now, what you are experiencing, you almost made me like that."

His voice was devoid of any excitement, of any satisfaction.

"I have lost my aunt to you, someone I considered a mother in this world. You have lost your clan and your sons, the things you were a father to. I am no longer angry at you as we have both lost things we hold dear. From now on, we are equal."

He stood right in front of Suou who was a crippled mess in front of him. With his mind broken, he was no longer immune to Igor's oppressive aura. Although the redhead wasn't doing anything, just his presence alone was enough to arouse Suou's instincts to make himself seem as insignificant as possible.

Right now, the elderly man was a pitiable mess. He was crippled, fated to never feel his lower half again. His mind was broken, the loss of his clan and his sons having sent him beyond the brink. He could never sire an heir again and he was already old.

From a normal standpoint, there was no point in killing him. But…

"I hold no hatred for you anymore. But you must die."

He grabbed Suou by the scruff of his robe and held him up.

"You must die because you are the patriarch."

*Puchi!*

Raising his hand, he decisively pierced Suou's chest and ripped out his heart. He watched coldly as Suou gradually lost the light in his eyes, blood streaming from his mouth. Yet there was not an ounce of fear nor pain on his face. It was as if his soul had died and his body was just following after.

Igor did not avert his eyes for a single moment. He wanted to witness this to the very end, to see this grudge reach its conclusion. It was his resolve to see everything through that made him continue to watch as Suou's lifeforce faded away.

When Suou finally stopped breathing, Igor dropped his corpse to the ground. He looked around and took in the sight of the carnage he wrought. The beautiful compound that was the hallmark of Japan's history was now a treasure trove of horror.

Owner-less limbs lay strewn all over the place. Among the few headless corpses lay hundreds of bodies with sizeable holes in their chests. Dozens of ripped-out hearts still continued to beat, their rhythmic sounds resounding in the silence of the vicinity. Hundreds had already pumped their last, the lack of fresh blood and oxygen having drained their vitality.

Igor did not avert his eyes. He took in everything with an impassive expression. The walls were dyed with streaks of blood while the cobblestone pavements had turned into a sea of blood. It was a crimson nightmare filled with the groans of dying men. He could feel the dwindling lifeforce of those who's limbs he ripped off. Out of the hundreds he maimed, less than ten were still breathing. Yet in the following minute, all of them died one by one. Everyone had died.

He turned to look at Suou's corpse, his expression hollow.

"I will leave you a full corpse. Consider it my last mercy to you."

His aura was calm like a gentle flame. That fiery aura that threatened to unleash untold damnation was now like a simple woodfire. His gaze was calm as he looked at Suou's corpse. The elderly man died with his eyes open, the expression on his face contorted in fear.

Igor only paid brief attention to Suou before turned to look far off into the distance. Just a few kilometres away, he could feel the energy signatures of several thousand more Himejima clan members. He already guessed that they were the women and children of the clan.

He stood still without moving, his senses still on them. He could "see" how all of them were huddled up together, their individual auras fluctuating in distress.

"..."

He wouldn't let them go.

Tswii!

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|DxD|

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Igor appeared above a forested region. He could feel the clustered energy signatures hidden underground. The signatures were lighter, less tainted with darkness. There were also numerous smaller life signatures he could sense. They were the women and children of the clan, the lifeblood that could rejuvenate the Himejima name.

His hand trembled slightly, his resolve wavering in the face of having to slaughter innocent lives. It was a heavy burden in his heart, a battle between his ideals and the desire to prevent future enemies. As much as he wanted to let them go, he could not afford not to.

With a trembling heart, Igor raised a hand to the sky.

"Forgive me-"

Shiva appeared next to Igor and grabbed his hand.

"That's enough, Dimori."

"But-"

"I said that's enough. You have already reached your limits."

It was true. His had gone through too much in a single day and everything had taken a toll on his mind.

"If you continue, you will lose everything."

Shiva couldn't let Igor continue any further. He knew that if he let him continue with his actions, it would kickstart a downward spiral into insanity. He did not want that to happen to someone as promising as Igor.

"The moment you hesitated was your mind, your soul telling you to stop."

"..."

Igor clenched his fists, his frustrations making themselves evident. He did not want to do this, but he felt it was necessary. If he did not kill off all the Himejima, then it would be the same as giving them a chance to seek vengeance.

It was why even in the face of his heart refusing, he relented.

"But I can't. I can't leave things to chance. I don't want to leave here, only for the sons of those I've killed to seek revenge. I have slaughtered husbands and fathers. I've destroyed their homes. They WILL want revenge."

His body began trembling.

"Even if…even if the consequences involves losing my mind, I cannot let threats to those I care about remain alive. I've already lost aunty. I…I don't want to lose anyone else."

Shiva sympathised with Igor…for only a brief moment.

Slap!

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AN

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