At the bottom of the ruins, pungent black smoke rose from the scorched earth.

Wada Hirayama's wrinkled, blood-stained face twitched. His turbid eyes rolled with effort, focusing on the excessively young swordsman before him.

At this desperate final moment of life-and-death and national destruction, the other party surprisingly didn't care about Sakura Country's defenses or Amaterasu's resurrection progress, but about a dead woman.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Wada Hirayama produced a broken, bellows-like rasping sound in his throat as large gulps of black blood mixed with visceral fragments spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He stared into Yasuo's unruffled eyes and suddenly burst into a tragic laugh.

"Lin Zhu... is it?"

The old man's voice was weak, capable of being blown away by the wind at any moment, yet carried the clarity of a dying flash of lucidity.

"At this point... what difference does it make whether I killed her or not?"

"I'm going to die anyway."

"Just consider her killed by me..."

Zhou Huai did not speak.

He merely looked down from above, staring at this once overbearing Sakura Country Sword Saint.

The longsword in Yasuo's hand hung slightly low, golden electrical arcs dancing on the blade's tip with a chilling sizzle.

Back then, shortly after Gandalf left, the exploration team Lin Zhu was in suffered a devastating ambush.

Immediately after, the Divine Artifact 'Pendulum of Life,' which should have been in the hands of Great Xia Nation, strangely appeared in Sakura Country.

So Zhou Huai subconsciously assumed that Lin Zhu's death was bound to be Sakura Country's murderous scheme to seize the Divine Artifact.

And among the Sakura Country team at that time, the only one strong enough to leave behind the veteran SS-Rank Expert Lin Zhu was this'Sword Saint,' Wada Hirayama.

But now, looking at the man's turbid yet candid eyes...

"Who on earth killed her?"

Zhou Huai's voice was ice-cold.

He thrust the longsword forward.

"Zzzzt—!"

The sharp sword tip rested against Wada Hirayama's throat. The scalding power of thunder pierced his skin, leaving a scorched blood mark.

"I want to hear the truth."

"Otherwise, I won't let you die so easily."

"Even if you really die, I have ways to torment your soul."

Hearing this stark threat, Wada Hirayama shuddered.

For Classer, physical death was not the end; having one's soul tormented was the ultimate terror.

He spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, his breath growing increasingly fleeting.

After a moment of silence, he seemed to figure something out, a wretched smile of relief appearing on his face.

"True..."

"I'm about to die anyway; there's no need for me to bear this guilt for those people anymore..."

Wada Hirayama lay on his back on the scorching gravel, his gaze passing through the pervasive smoke and looking toward the ink-black sky.

"It doesn't hurt to tell you."

"In fact, back then, Kim Tae-soo—the 'Iron Fist Martial Saint' of Kimchi Country—and I indeed joined forces to catch up to Great Xia Nation's airship..."

Wada Hirayama's voice was intermittent as he sank into recollection.

"We indeed fought Lin Zhu..."

"I have to admit, that old woman was very troublesome..."

"Even with Kim Tae-soo and me joining forces, defeating her wasn't hard, but completely killing an SS-Rank Expert bent on escaping was almost impossible..."

"That battle was tragic and intense."

"Risking severe injuries, Lin Zhu nearly escaped into the deep ocean with the Pendulum of Life..."

"Originally, we had both planned to give up..."

"After all, if an SS-Rank Expert is backed into a corner and chooses to self-detonate, none of us would come out unharmed."

He could imagine that scene.

Isolated and helpless, Lin Zhu was covered in blood under the assault of two experts of the same rank, yet still fought to break through to protect the Divine Artifact.

"And then?" Zhou Huai's voice deepened.

Wada Hirayama coughed twice.

"Right at that moment, someone else intervened."

"The person seemed to have anticipated all of Lin Zhu's moves, even calculating her escape route with complete precision."

"He just waited quietly, blocking Lin Zhu's mandatory path."

"By the time we caught up..."

"Lin Zhu had already died by his hands."

"It seemed to be a one-hit kill. Lin Zhu didn't even have a chance to resist."

"And the Pendulum of Life simply fell effortlessly into that person's hands."

A one-hit kill?

Instakilling an SS-Rank Expert!

How could that be?

Unless... the other person was SSS-Rank!

"Who was that person?!"

Zhou Huai squeezed these words out through his teeth.

Wada Hirayama weakly shook his head, the light in his eyes rapidly fading.

"I don't know his name..."

"He wore a black suit and gold-rimmed glasses. He looked refined and cultured, like an ordinary university professor..."

"But Kujo Koji once had a secret meeting with him..."

"I was on guard duty at the time and faintly heard Kujo Koji address him as..."

"'Mr. Duan'."

Mr. Duan?!

Hearing these words, Zhou Huai's pupils shrank.

Mr. Duan again?!

The cause of his paralysis, the rise and fall of the Zhou Family, the ruins beneath Donghai City—all had Mr. Duan's hand behind them.

Now, even Lin Zhu's death was actually connected to this Mr. Duan?

What on earth was he trying to do?

Zhou Huai's brain worked rapidly as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Suddenly, he thought of a crucial doubt.

"That Pendulum of Life—did that Mr. Duan give it to you?"

Zhou Huai stared into Wada Hirayama's eyes.

"Since he had already obtained the Divine Artifact, why would he give such a Heaven-Defying Divine Artifact capable of resurrecting the dead to Sakura Country for nothing?"

This made no logical sense at all.

In this world where interests reigned supreme, no one did charity.

Let alone with a Divine Artifact capable of changing a nation's destiny!

Wada Hirayama let out a bitter laugh and shook his head gently.

"That reason... probably only Kujo Koji knows..."

"In fact, it wasn't just the Pendulum of Life. The person who pushed Kujo Koji along the way, making him resolve to sacrifice the entire city to resurrect their ancestor Kujo Naruya, was also that Mr. Duan..."

"Kujo Koji thought everything was under his control..."

"He thought he was using the other party's power to achieve Sakura Country's resurgence."

"Little did he know..."

Wada Hirayama's eyes turned somewhat pitiful as he looked toward Takamagahara.

"He himself was merely a puppet on a string in that person's hands..."

"Not just him, but our entire Sakura Country, and even this war..."

"Perhaps it was all just a pawn on that Mr. Duan's chessboard..."

Zhou Huai's heart surged violently.

A massive web of conspiracy was slowly unveiling a corner before him.

Everything... was within the other party's calculations.

Instigating a national war between Great Xia and Sakura Country, utilizing Kujo Koji to resurrect an ancient evil god, and even the intervention of himself and others...

What kind of grand game of chess was that unseen Mr. Duan playing?

What was his ultimate goal?

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Violent coughing interrupted Zhou Huai's thoughts.

A massive amount of blood clots surged from Wada Hirayama's mouth, and the rise and fall of his chest had weakened to the extreme.

The flame of his life was about to extinguish.

"Everything that should be said... I've said..."

Wada Hirayama looked at Zhou Huai, the fear of death in his eyes gone, replaced only by calmness.

"Young man... you are very strong..."

"Dying under your sword... is not unjust..."

With effort, he moved his neck, his gaze seemingly penetrating the earth layer to look toward that distant world reachable only by the deceased.

"Next, please send me on my way... It's time I go down there to say... I'm sorry to that old fellow Soma Kosuke..."

"I hope he hasn't gone too far down there yet."

The old man's voice grew fainter and fainter, finally turning into a faint sigh.

Zhou Huai looked at this enemy who had finally laid down all obsession and stance at the final moment of his life.

In his heart, there was not the slightest pity or softheartedness.

This was war.

This was stance.

No matter how calm Wada Hirayama appeared in the end, the fact that his hands were stained with the blood of Great Xia people and that he had joined the ambush against Lin Zhu could not be changed.

"As you wish."

Zhou Huai muttered coldly.

The next second.

The longsword in Yasuo's hand stabbed downward.

"Pfft!"

The sharp blade pierced through Wada Hirayama's heart, pinning him to the scorched earth.

Violent thunder power surged along the blade, destroying the last trace of life within the old man's body.

Wada Hirayama's eyes widened, his body going stiff for a moment.

Afterward, in those turbid eyes, the last sliver of light gradually faded away, returning entirely to silence.

Above his head, the health bar that was already bottomed out cleared completely at this moment.

A generation's Sword God of Sakura Country, SS-Rank Expert Wada Hirayama...

Had fallen completely!