Kairos had arrived.
Wapol didn't know when.
Maybe when the snow slipped from the branches.
Maybe before that.
His thoughts tangled together. He forced a smile onto his face, lips trembling.
"Kairos… you wanted to be king, right?" he said quickly. "Fine. I'll step down. I'll hand everything over—right now."
Kairos didn't answer.
He dropped from the tree, landing softly in the snow. Barely a sound.
Wapol kept talking.
"Being king is great. These people—there's a lot you can take from them. I know how it works. I can teach you—"
Kairos walked toward him.
Unhurried.
Each step light, almost silent.
"Wait—! I can help you from behind the scenes!" Wapol stumbled back, nearly slipping. "I'll handle everything. You won't even have to think about it. I don't need anything in return!"
Still nothing.
Just that steady approach.
Closer.
Closer.
Wapol's breathing grew uneven.
"…What do you want from me?!"
He snapped.
The last bit of composure broke.
Kairos finally stopped.
Looked at him.
"I told you."
His voice was calm.
"I'm here to spar."
A pause.
"And take the throne."
Wapol's expression froze.
Then twisted.
"…You're serious?"
Kairos didn't respond.
That was answer enough.
Something in Wapol's eyes snapped.
"Then fight me!!"
His mouth stretched open—wide, unnatural, like a beast unhinging its jaw.
The power of the Munch-Munch Fruit.
He lunged—
Shing.
A single, clean sound.
Metal leaving the sheath.
Wapol froze mid-motion.
His eyes lost focus.
Then—
lines appeared across his chest.
Thin at first.
Then deep.
Blood followed a heartbeat later.
Wapol looked down.
Didn't understand.
He hadn't seen anything.
Hadn't felt anything.
Kairos stood where he was.
The blade was already back in its sheath.
No blood on it.
Nothing.
Just stillness.
Tsubame Gaeshi.
After a year, it had changed.
Faster.
Cleaner.
No wasted motion.
For someone like Wapol—
there was nothing to see.
Thud.
Wapol fell forward into the snow.
The red spread quickly, staining the white beneath him.
Kairos didn't look at him again.
The system chimed.
"Ding: Host has defeated King Wapol of Drum Kingdom. Reward obtained: Shana Card, 1/1."
Kairos paused.
"…Shana?"
That… was unexpected.
A good pull.
Better than it should have been.
He let out a quiet breath, a faint smile touching his lips.
"Guess I got lucky."
Dalton's earlier defeat had given him another Kenshin card.
Five now.
Halfway there.
Kairos adjusted his sleeve and turned away.
The snow continued to fall.
By the time anyone reached the valley—
he was already gone.
—
That night, the guards found Wapol barely alive and carried him back.
He woke once.
Long enough to speak.
Long enough to give up the throne.
The name he left behind spread through the palace like a shockwave.
Kairos.
—
Less than an hour later—
Wapol died.
No one saw who did it.
Only that it was fast.
Clean.
And final.
By morning—
Drum Kingdom had a new king.
Whether he wanted it or not.
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