"What... are you doing?"
"I should be asking you that." Mature slowly shook her head.
"Lord Goenitz's orders are—"
"Goenitz?" Mature cut her off, a mysterious smile full of mockery spreading across her face. "What is he... exactly?"
"He isn't our true master."
She slowly turned to look out the window, toward the Tokyo Dome that had been completely engulfed by the "Wind of God."
The atmosphere in the VIP room had become impossibly strange.
Vice—the deadly secretary renowned for her "cold" and "lethal" nature—was staring at her sworn sister blocking her path with eyes full of confusion and hurt.
"Sister... why would you betray Lord Goenitz?"
Vice's voice remained cold as ever, but there was a tremor in it that even she hadn't noticed.
"Betray?"
Mature only shook her head at the word.
"No, my dear sister."
"I haven't betrayed anyone."
"I've simply... chosen a brighter future."
"Future?" Vice's eyes filled with bewilderment.
"That's right." Mature's eyes gleamed with a fervor Vice had never seen before.
"A brand new future, created by the hands of us Hakkesshu!"
She slowly extended her hand toward Vice, extending a "tempting" invitation.
"Join us, Vice."
"Serve the true Divine Son alongside me."
"He will lead us to the supreme throne!"
Her words, dripping with cult-recruitment energy, immediately caused Vice's already not-particularly-sharp "CPU" to completely... crash.
Divine Son?
Throne?
Sister... have you been reading some kind of weird novel lately?!
Just as she stood there torn and helpless, lost in deep "philosophical contemplation" about the meaning of life—
Everything changed in an instant!
ROOOAAARR—!!!!
A terrifying howl filled with madness and the will to destroy suddenly erupted from the hospital bed behind them—the bed that should have held a "dead man."
The next second, a purple figure radiating an aura of malevolence and evil appeared behind Vice like teleportation!
It was Iori Yagami!
The current Iori Yagami was nothing like before!
Somehow, while unconscious, he had miraculously absorbed the "Blood of Madness"—that power filled with demonic essence—from An'un's body!
His strength was skyrocketing at an unbelievable rate!
Those eyes that had always burned with madness had now become pure, emotionless crimson!
He had entered a state of "Riot of the Blood"—the terrifying "Mad Iori" mode!
"Wh-what?!"
Vice's face twisted in shock!
She could sense a deadly threat emanating from Iori's body that made even her heart clench with fear.
She tried to turn and defend—
But it was too late.
"Aoi Bana!"
"Mad God" Iori simply, casually, swiped his claws!
But that simple strike contained power terrifying enough to rip through space itself!
Pfft—!
Vice didn't even have time to scream. Three deep, bone-exposing claw marks were carved across her chest!
She crashed to the ground like a shot-down aircraft, severely wounded and completely stripped of her fighting capability.
One move!
Another instant kill!
Only this time, the one killed instantly was one of the supposedly invincible Hakkesshu!
Growl...
"Mad God" Iori slowly lowered his claws.
He didn't even spare a glance at the woman on the ground who had been completely terrified into stupidity.
He raised his head, those emotionless crimson eyes piercing through every obstacle, gazing toward the distant Tokyo Dome now completely engulfed by the "Wind of God."
Instinctively, he sensed something there—an aura of a "kindred spirit" that made even the "blood of madness" within him excited and trembling!
His lips twisted into a grin.
That smile was more deranged and cruel than any demon's!
Then his figure moved! He crashed through the hospital window and transformed into a purple meteor, streaking toward that battlefield brimming with "challenge" and "deliciousness"!
...
Meanwhile, at the KOF 96 Finals venue.
The battle had entered its desperate final phase.
Chizuru Kagura—who had just revealed her terrifying power at 80% Absolute Domain as a "hidden boss"—now knelt among the rubble, drenched in blood like a butterfly with broken wings.
She had done everything she could.
But the gap between her and Goenitz was simply too vast.
"It's over, Miko of Yata."
Goenitz walked slowly toward her, looking down from above.
"Your tenacity has earned my respect."
"So, as a gift from God, I shall grant you... the most complete death."
As he spoke, another sphere of black tempest formed in his hand—powerful enough to wipe the entire Tokyo Dome off the map.
Just at this moment of tragedy and finality—
A voice sighed softly, gentle and serene as heavenly music, echoing without warning in everyone's ears.
"Your sister only asked you to stall for time."
"Who told you to actually fight him to the death?"
The instant those words fell—
A white figure appeared before Chizuru, radiating an aura of sanctity and purification!
She wore traditional miko robes of pristine white. Her long, lustrous black hair cascaded down like a waterfall of stars.
Her face bore ninety percent resemblance to Chizuru's, but her aura was far more gentle and composed. It showed a hint of helpless indulgence.
She was like a "Miko of God" who had stepped straight out of legend!
...
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