CHAPTER 11: I FORGIVE YOU

The chamber cracked from the fury of a beast untamed.

Kokushibo, in full wrath, unleashed a monstrous wave of Moon Breathing.

"Moon Breathing: Thirteenth Form – Eternal Devastation!"

A spiraling cyclone of crescents, sharper than any blade forged, launched from every swing.

The ground trembled, and all four—Gyomei, Sanemi, Muichiro, and Genya—were knocked back by the sheer force.

Smoke rose. Blood dripped. Silence lingered.

Kokushibo stood tall, surrounded by devastation—his blade a grotesque monument of eyes and arcs, his body now unrecognizable—barely human.

And then—a flicker.

A shard of a mirror, cracked and glimmering, floated across the battlefield—perhaps fallen from the broken walls, perhaps fate's intervention.

Kokushibo caught his reflection.

He froze.

What... was this?

This creature—this twisted husk of ambition. These eyes… these hands… Was this the strength he longed for?

His breathing slowed.

And then—a voice.

"Brother."

Time paused.

The room around him faded. And there, in the light of memory, stood Yoriichi Tsugikuni—not in anger, but in warmth. In calm.

Kokushibo's eyes widened.

"I… I don't deserve this. I abandoned everything… I envied you. I hated you."

Yoriichi smiled gently.

"I never hated you. I mourned you."

Tears welled in Kokushibo's many eyes.

"I killed hundreds. I betrayed humanity. You should hate me…"

Yoriichi stepped forward.

"I loved you, Michikatsu. And I forgive you."

The monster trembled.

His body began to disintegrate.

Ash replaced the flesh. The blade cracked.

His voice quivered as he turned back to the four slayers watching—too stunned to move.

"…You've grown strong… stronger than I ever was…"

He fell to one knee. The monstrous façade melted.

"To the one who stands with the shadows—Sahiru… tell him I remember… everything. Tell him…"

A pause. A smile.

"…thank you."

With that, Kokushibo—once Michikatsu Tsugikuni—vanished into peaceful ash, the moonlight in his blade fading at last.

Elsewhere in the infinity castle, a Kasugai crow fluttered down toward a calm shrine under shattered ceilings.

"Sahiru Orasawa! The Upper Moon One… is no more!"

Sahiru's eyes opened.

He closed them again, slowly… respectfully.

"…Rest well, old warrior."

The wind blew gently.

The battle for tomorrow roared on.