The chain from the original link completely disappears, and Kaito is finally freed from the Book's control. His eyes widened, then narrowed with furious realization—he had wanted to destroy everyone, to bring chaos. But before he can act on that anger, Haruki's holy chains shoot out, wrapping around Kaito's body completely and binding him tightly.
Haruki: "You're not going anywhere."
He states firmly, his holy energy suppressing any lingering darkness within the former Yakuza leader.
Hiromi: "You handled that so well."
She comments, as she watches Kaito bound and helpless. Haruki glances over, then suddenly stiffens—his senses tingling with a dangerous presence nearby.
Haruki: "It's not over yet."
He murmurs, his gaze snapping toward where the First Link's dark energy radiates through the chaos. Aaron was coming. And he was more possessed than ever. Hiromi tenses, preparing herself as the battlefield grows unbearably cold.
The obsidian fluid relentlessly drains the clones' life force, though it has faltered since the original link vanished from the pages. With two links severed, only two remain.
Kiyozawa, still carrying Amaya, set his eyes on Axel, who was starting to realize that the original link had disappeared.
Axel: "..."
As he watched, Kiyozawa's sword transformed into a wicked scythe, his face shifting until it appeared almost skeleton-like. From a distance, Kanako watched the scene unfold with Ruby the pug by her side.
Kanako: "Kiyozawa."
She whispered.
Kiyozawa flew towards Axel, swinging his scythe in a lethal arc, but Axel managed to dodge it just in time. The black liquid surged toward Kiyozawa, but he let out a piercing screech that sent visible sound waves tearing straight for Axel. The noise was so deafening that it shattered everything in the vicinity.
Axel stumbled back as the sound waves slammed into him once again. He could feel the heavy toll on his body now that the original link and the third link had disappeared. He desperately needed a backup plan, but for that to work, he would have to find a way to tame Kiyozawa.
The black liquid rain continues to pour from the darkened sky. Michael, the Wind Orb King, unleashes his wind energy to blast the corrupt fluid away, while Sebastian, the Light Orb King, stands beside him, channeling his radiance to pierce through the gloom.
Yusuke: "Dark Style: Darkness Absorption!"
His voice rings out as he unleashes his dark energy, swirling it into a vacuum that pulls the black liquid rain right out of the sky. His power surges, outshining the other Kings who had just entered the battlefield.
Sebastian: "Show off."
He mutters, squinting against the intensity of Yusuke's aura.
Axel's frustration boiled over as more Kings crowded the battlefield, ruining his focus. Kiyozawa seized the moment, swinging his scythe in a blur of motion that slashed deep into Axel's chest. Axel's eyes widened in shock as he stumbled back, clutching the wound and desperate to put distance between himself and the skeletal death angel.
As the scythe cuts through Axel's chest, the vacuum Yusuke created doesn't just stop—it glitches. The black liquid he's absorbing starts to pulse with a neon-violet rhythm, responding to the energy spilling from Axel.
Yusuke's eyes snapped toward Axel the moment the scythe connected. The "Darkness Absorption" spiraled out of control, the swirling vortex turning from a steady pull into a violent, jagged storm.
Yusuke: "Axel!"
He roared, his own shadow stretching across the battlefield like a living ink blot. The dark energy didn't just eat the rain anymore; it began to lash out at everything near Axel, trying to force Kiyozawa back.
Axel: "You piece of trash!"
He spat, his voice strained with pain.
He quickly summoned Aaron just as Haruki moved in to trap Aaron. Aaron materialized, a dark smirk tugging at his lips as he set his sights on Kiyozawa—but in his twisted vision, he didn't see a skeletal death angel. He saw Emi. With a cold, calculated motion, Aaron pulled out his knife, ready to strike the phantom of the girl he once knew.
Kiyozawa remained silent, his skeletal jaw set in a grim line. Now, it was a battle of the ages: the First Link versus the Second Link. Aaron charged toward Kiyozawa, his knife a blur of motion, until their weapons collided with a deafening crack that echoed across the battlefield.
Metal clashed again and again as the two links traded blows. Kiyozawa pulled Amaya closer, his skeletal grip tightening as he shielded her from the sparks. To his surprise, Aaron's eyes began to tear up for some haunting, unexplained reason.
Seeing those tears triggered a flash of memory in Kiyozawa—a cold reminder of what Kaito had done to both of them. Fueled by a sudden surge of dark resolve, Kiyozawa swung his scythe with a roar, slashing through the heavy chains that bound them to this fate.
The chains vanished from Aaron's body as the book's suffocating control finally snapped. Without the link to steady him, Aaron collapsed to the floor, breathless and trembling. Axel watched in total shock, unable to believe that Kiyozawa had actually managed to shatter the tether. It was as if Kiyozawa's skeletal transformation had triggered a hidden power—a raw advantage that defied the very laws written within the book.
Kiyozawa: "A Death Angel has many abilities."
He said, his skeletal voice echoing through the rain.
Kiyozawa: "My father gave me his power, and you took half. Now, I'll reclaim the rest."
Axel growled, his face twisted in a snarl of rage. Ignoring the wound in his chest, he turned and vanished into the chaos, immediately going in search of Kaien.
(At the other side of the battlefield).
Haruki looked up, watching as Axel flew toward an unknown location. He had no idea who Axel was hunting, but the desperation in the air was clear. Beside him, Hiromi watched Axel's retreating form as she activated her God's power once again, her aura beginning to shimmer.
Hiromi: "Blue Cross, let me handle this."
She declared. Without waiting for an answer, she flew off, trailing a streak of celestial light behind her.
Haruki: "Go. I believe in you."
He said, his voice firm. Hiromi flashed a determined smile before she flew off, heading straight toward Axel.
Axel desperately tried to reach Kaien, but Mochizuki suddenly blocked his path. Black liquid collided with black flames in a violent explosion of dark energy. Just then, Klaudia appeared alongside a mysterious black figure, using her blood control to seize Axel's movements. Simultaneously, Takumi activated his time freeze, locking Axel in place as Mochizuki's black flames engulfed him.
Seeing her opening, Hiromi gathered one hundred percent of her God's power. With a roar, she punched Axel squarely in the chest, the impact shattering the final, jagged chain that linked him to Kiyozawa.
The book weakened even further now that the links were all severed. With no one left to feed on, the ancient object finally switched off, its dark glow fading into nothingness. Axel's power plummeted, leaving him gasping for air as he struggled to stand—only to collapse back onto the ground, defeated.
Hiromi: "You're under arrest."
She declared, her voice echoing through the settling dust.
Just then, Kiyozawa appeared. The skeletal form dissolved, and he transformed back to his normal self, still safely carrying Amaya in his arms.
The mysterious black figure gestured, and suddenly Mochizuki, Klaudia, Takumi, and Kaien vanished into thin air. Only Kiyozawa remained, still standing in the wreckage. Hiromi finally deactivated her God's power, breathing heavily as the exhaustion from the massive effort took its toll.
Hiromi: "Kai..." She whispered, her voice trembling.
Kiyozawa ignored her, walking slowly toward the defeated Axel.
Kiyozawa: "I'll be taking my father's power now."
He said coldly.
The Black Figure (Narrating): Orbs can consume another's power... through cannibalism.
Hiromi's eyes widened in horror. She forced herself to her feet, stepping directly between Kiyozawa and Axel.
Hiromi: "Remember me from before? You called me a fake police officer."
She said, her gaze steady despite her fatigue.
Hiromi: "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."
Kiyozawa: "You're too weak to fight me."
He said, his voice was cold and steady.
But as the words left his lips, he felt it—Amaya's life force was shattering within his arms. His eyes widened, and he stopped in his tracks. The terrifying glow red vanished, and his eyes returned to their natural gold, wide with a sudden, agonizing realization. Amaya was dead.
Hiromi's eyes widened, and she began to tear up as she witnessed the raw depth of Kiyozawa's grief. In the background, Hayden and Rin stood silently among the few remaining Kings, watching as the others retreated into the shadows.
Kiyozawa let out a broken cry, his gold eyes blurred with tears, as Amaya's body began to fade. He reached out to hold her tighter, but she slipped through his fingers, disappearing completely from his arms and leaving him holding nothing but the cold.
Hiromi immediately pulled him into a tight hug, her arms wrapping around him with desperate strength. Kiyozawa's eyes widened as he stared at her in total shock, his breath hitching. For a moment, he froze—but the weight of his grief was too heavy, and he was far too broken to pull away or complain. He simply stood there, anchored by her touch as the rain began to fall.
Hayden: "Take care of Axel."
He commanded, his voice echoing in the quiet aftermath. Rin nodded and stepped toward the broken villain, quickly arresting him as he lay powerless in the mud.
Hayden then walked over to where Hiromi was still holding Kiyozawa. He looked down at the grieving young man with a stern but not unkind expression.
Hayden: "You have a decision to make right now."
He said firmly.
Kiyozawa looked up at him, his golden eyes shimmering with unshed tears, the weight of Amaya's loss still heavy in his chest.
Hayden: "You come work for Holy Corporation."
She declared, his voice cold and official.
Hayden: "You could keep your Yakuza status and face the consequences, or I'll arrest you right now for the kidnapping of those children—along with a laundry list of other charges."
Kiyozawa's eyes widened, a dangerous red glow flickering back into his pupils. He knew that joining Holy Corporation was exactly what his father would have wanted for him, but he also knew the truth: it would be a prison. To them, he wasn't a recruit; he was a threat that needed to be kept under a microscope.
Kiyozawa pushed Hiromi away gently, knowing she was too exhausted to move on her own.
Kiyozawa: "You just want to watch me because you see me as a threat."
He said, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and grief.
Kiyozawa: "I know this is what my father would have wanted, but I refuse to be caged."
Hayden's expression darkened; he didn't like that answer. Deciding to take him by force, Hayden unleashed his power, using his own blood to seize control of Kiyozawa's body. Hiromi watched in total shock as Kiyozawa's limbs locked into place against his will.
Hiromi gasped, her hands trembling as she watched the red threads of Hayden's blood bind Kiyozawa like a puppet. The warmth of the hug they just shared was still on her skin, making this sudden act of cold authority feel like a physical blow.
Hiromi: "Hayden, stop!"
She cried out, her voice cracking. She tried to summon a spark of her God's power to intervene, but her energy only flickered weakly, a faint blue glow that died out as quickly as it appeared.
She looked from Hayden's stern, uncompromising face to Kiyozawa's trapped, grieving eyes. To her, this didn't look like justice—it looked like the very thing they were supposed to be fighting against.
Hayden: "Hiromi, he's a criminal."
He said, his voice was cold and devoid of emotion.
Hayden: "We are officers; we have a duty to enforce the law, regardless of the circumstances."
He didn't look at the tears in her eyes or the way Kiyozawa's body strained against the blood-red tethers. To Hayden, this wasn't a tragedy—it was a successful operation. He tightened his grip on the blood-control, his expression as unyielding as the Holy Corporation itself.
Thick black smoke suddenly flooded the area, and Hayden, along with everyone nearby, was forced into a dead halt. It wasn't just their bodies—their very shadows were being controlled, pinned to the ground by an invisible weight.
The Black Figure materialized from the gloom, its presence cold and suffocating. Without a word, it seized Kiyozawa and teleported him away in a flicker of dark energy.
Hiromi: "Who... was that?"
She managed to whisper, her vision blurring. As the shadow grip finally released her, she collapsed, falling unconscious onto the cold pavement.
A few days had passed since the Goat Cult leader's arrest, and a heavy silence finally settled over the city. After the chaos that had unfolded, the mysterious figure had simply vanished, leaving no trace behind.
Hiromi eventually woke up in a sterile hospital room in Orbpan. The bright, flickering neon lights of the facility hummed above her.
Hiromi: "Kiyozawa."
She whispered, the name catching in her throat as the memories of the black rain and the shattering chains came rushing back.
Widespread searches for Kiyozawa were launched across Orbpan, but there was no trace of him or the black figure. The Holy Corporation had already officially declared him a fugitive, putting out a massive bounty on his head: dead or alive.
Incarcerated for their respective crimes, Kaito, Aaron, and Axel are held in high-security detention. Despite their imprisonment, their status remains unchanged: they are assets owned and operated by the Bottom Corporation.
(Meanwhile in the USA Human).
(Dark Orb King)
Yusuke: "Hand over a minority. I've decided to collect one."
The assistant brings out a Black family.
Yusuke: "I said a minority. In this zip code, these are the majority. Bring me something... rarer."
The assistant quickly corrected himself.
The assistant: "Sorry sir, I meant the minority."
He pushed the family forward again.
The assistant: "This family is African American, sir. Is that what you wanted?"
He asked nervously.
Yusuke corrected impatiently.
Yusuke: "That's majority. I meant Caucasian or Asian."
He paused, then added dismissively.
Yusuke: "Caucasian is in the minority here."
The assistant flinched, clearly flustered by the mistake.
The assistant: "R-right away, sir."
He scrambled to find a different family for Yusuke's inspection.
The black family looked at Yusuke with hurt expressions, clearly offended by being called a "majority". They were painfully aware that in this country, they were often treated as second-class citizens, a "minority" in every sense of the word. The father spoke up quietly.
Carter: "Sir, we are a minority here."
His voice cracked slightly with emotion.
Carter: "Being black in this country is not easy."
The mother and two kids nodded in agreement, their eyes welling up with tears.
Yusuke let out a short, sharp exhale of derision.
Yusuke: "That's the problem with your world—you're addicted to the word 'minority' because it feels like a shield. I'm looking at the birth rates and the mapping, not your 'hardship.' If you want sympathy, find a priest. If you want the truth, look at a map."
The father's jaw tightened, his hands clenching at his sides.
Carter: "You can say all that with a face full of data, but you don't know what it's like to be pulled over for driving while black, or to watch people cross the street when your son walks down it."
He didn't even blink.
Yusuke: "Correct. I don't. Because that is a social anecdote, and I am looking for a demographic rarity. In this country, you are the growing majority. Now, get them out of my sight. Assistant, I'm losing my patience."
Carter: "You want to collect us like we're some kind of specimen? You're no better than those who put us in chains!"
Yusuke didn't flinch. He didn't even look at the finger pointed in his face. He simply pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and buffed a nonexistent speck of dust from his sleeve.
Yusuke: "Chains are a human invention for human problems. I'm not interested in your history books or your tears."
He finally looked up, his eyes as flat and vacant as a reptile's.
Yusuke: "I am interested in what is becoming rare. And right now, in this room, the only thing rare is silence. Assistant—remove this 'majority' before I decide to collect their silence instead."
A sharp intake of breath echoed through the room. The mother couldn't hold back her anger anymore. She stepped forward, her voice trembling with rage.
Destiny: "How dare you speak about our history like it's nothing? Do you know how many of our ancestors were beaten, whipped, lynched because they were black?"
She clenched her fists tightly.
Destiny: "And now you just stand there with your fancy suit and your cold words, acting like we're less than human."
The kids looked scared, clutching onto their parents legs.
Yusuke: "Humanity is so obsessed with the 'why' of their suffering. You think because your blood was spilled, it makes you unique. It doesn't. It just makes you part of a very large, very loud, very common demographic. I'm not acting like you're less than human—I'm acting like you're exactly what you are: a statistical surplus."
Carter's face contorted with anger, his voice shaking with emotion.
Carter: "You're heartless! You're standing there talking about us like we're just numbers on a page, not real people with real lives and real families! You think you're so special because you've got money and power? You're nothing but a cold, calculating machine!"
The mother began to cry softly, the kids breaking down into sobs.
Carter: "You're worse than any slaver, any bigot, any hateful person I've ever met."
Yusuke: "You want to talk about oppression? Please. You live in an era of 'Black privilege.' You are the ones erasing Caucasians from the map, one forced representation quota at a time. You get away with crimes that would bury anyone else, and yet you still have the audacity to cry victim."
His eyes flashed with a cold, predatory light. A slow, jagged smirk pulled across his face as he reached into the air, the space around him shimmering as he drew a massive, obsidian-black scythe from the void.
Yusuke: "You want to be a minority so badly? Fine. I'll take you in. I'll show you what real oppression looks like. It isn't a social debate—it's a harvest."
The room fell deathly silent, the only sound of the ragged, hitching breaths of the children. The mother's scream was a thin, desperate thing as she scrambled to shield her kids.
Destiny: "N-no... please! You can't just take us! We have rights! We have families!"
Yusuke didn't even blink. He ran a gloved finger along the obsidian edge of the blade, his smirk widening until it felt more like a wound than an expression. The steel didn't reflect the room; it seemed to drink the light.
Yusuke: "'Rights' are the bedtime stories humans tell themselves so they can sleep without fearing the dark. But the dark is here now, and it doesn't care about your paperwork."
He took a slow, deliberate step forward, the scythe humming with a low, predatory vibration.
Yusuke: "You wanted to be the 'oppressed minority' so badly? Congratulations. You've finally found someone who will treat you exactly as the statistics dictate: as a surplus. A harvest. A footnote."
The air in the room didn't just turn cold—it turned stagnant, like the breath of a tomb. The American guards, men who were used to standard protocol and human laws, stood frozen.
Their training hadn't prepared them for a man who could tear a hole in reality with a piece of obsidian steel. They watched, paralyzed, as the very concept of "The United States" dissolved in the face of Yusuke's dark authority.
The guards stumbled back, their boots scuffing against the floor in a frantic, uncoordinated retreat. They were terrified. They were looking at a man who didn't just break the law—he rewrote it.
Yusuke stood over the huddling family, the shadow of his scythe stretching across them like a shroud. He didn't look angry anymore; he looked satisfied, the smirk of a man who had finally found the "correct" placement for a piece of data.
Yusuke: "Consider yourselves lucky. You've been complaining about the 'oppression' of your world for so long that I've decided to grant your wish. You are no longer citizens of this rotting Republic."
He slammed the butt of the scythe into the floor, and the ground began to bleed a thick, oily darkness that started to pull at the family's feet.
Yusuke: "Welcome to Orbussia. You wanted to be a minority? In my world, you aren't even a statistic. You're just fuel. I'm going to show you what real, unfiltered oppression looks like—where your 'rights' don't exist and your history is a forgotten whisper in the dark."
The family screamed as the black liquid began to pull them down, their hands clawing at the floor in a desperate attempt to stay grounded. The mother's cries echoed through the room as she watched her kids being dragged into the darkness. The father's face contorted with anguish and despair, his screams becoming hoarse from the strain.
Carter: "No! No, please! We didn't mean it! We didn't really want this! Please, bring us back!"
The darkness swallowed them whole, their voices fading into muffled, distant screams.
This will continue in the next chapter.