Chapter — Phoenix Ashes and Mass Requiem
The air screamed.
White smoke curled and twisted as the howling wind shredded it apart, clearing the battlefield at last. What remained revealed themselves — two monstrous abominations, standing tall and proud like corrupted gods.
They were Hirito's ultimate creations.
With his broken, trembling hands, Hirito lifted his bloodied face and muttered with grim satisfaction:
"Inkbound Monarch: Los Reyes del Mundo."
The ground shuddered under the weight of the summon's emergence.
The first creature stood draped in tattered, ceremonial garb once worthy of kings, now rotting and grotesque. Its clawed hands twitched eagerly, avian feet clawed into the earth, and atop its slumped shoulders rested a crown — but it wasn't a true crown. It was a grotesque cluster of snarling rat heads, their glowing red eyes twitching and whispering feverishly in unison, chattering madness into the air. In its cracked hands, it brandished a rusted blade that seemed to drip with invisible disease, embodying plague, insanity, and the decayed corpse of nobility.
And then Hirito spoke again, voice low, trembling in deranged triumph:
"Inkbound Executioner: Vile Reaper."
A second monstrosity tore into existence — a massive, humanoid figure wrapped in shadow-woven bandages, its grotesquely muscled frame flexing and heaving. Beneath a cracked, horned crown-shaped helmet, a demonic grin split its face. Its jagged, oversized blade scraped along the ground, sending up sparks and hissing embers as it stalked forward in silence, exuding pure malevolence.
Despite his shattered hands, Hirito grinned.
"These are my Special Tier Summons… S-ranked and above , created with everything I had… to fight opponents like you."
"You see the difference? They're not mere puppets anymore… they're free. Free to carry out my will in whatever savage form they wish."
He laughed — a hacking, guttural sound.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"Oh, and… thank you for killing the earlier ones. Without clearing them out, I couldn't have maintained these two."
Hirito clapped his broken hands together as blood sprayed, and snapped his eyes carried the pain of the both damaged hands.
Both monsters vanished in a blur.
FWOOSH!
In an instant, the Monarch appeared in front of Rajesh, its rusted blade swinging down with savage intent — and the Executioner materialized before Jayesh, its monstrous sword raised high.
There was no time to react.
SHLAAAK!
The Executioner's blade carved open Jayesh's chest, slicing through skin, bone, and heart in a single devastating stroke. His heart, split perfectly into two, flopped grotesquely as he managed to still pull himself backwards ,blood pouring out in endless waves.
Rajesh barely dodged the Monarch's initial swing, flipping backward and landing with skidding feet. His chest heaved. He turned — and saw Jayesh staggering beside him, blood gushing from the mortal wound.
Rajesh cursed under his breath.
"Hold on!" he barked, rushing toward his friend. "I can patch you up!"
But Hirito's laughter cut through the scene like a scythe.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"You have no idea, do you?" Hirito shouted, his voice cracking. "Once my Executioner cuts you… no healing can undo it. That's the Order I embedded in its very creation — an irrevocable curse."
"Your friend is already dead, Mr. Phoenix. Accept it."
Rajesh's breath caught — and in that instant, the Monarch blurred from above.
WHOOOSH!
It descended like a falling meteor. Rajesh's instincts screamed. His eyes sharpened — and his power ignited.
"Phoenix Rising Comet: Blue Flames!"
FWWOOOOOOM!
His entire body erupted in radiant blue fire, a roaring comet of natural, untamed energy. The Monarch was immediately engulfed in the roaring flames, its rat-head crown screeching in agony — but instead of dying, the creature leapt backwards, the rat heads gnawing and devouring the flames themselves.
A sickening crunching noise filled the air.
Hirito sneered.
"Using flames? Hah! Pointless!"
"This beast was engineered to withstand almost anything!"
Rajesh ,panting heavily. He turned… and felt his heart sink.
Jayesh… was already dead. His body slumped forward, lifeless.
Something inside Rajesh snapped.
He glared at Hirito, rage pouring from his blue-flaming form.
"Kiss your monster goodbye."
"There's a difference between flames… and true blue flames."
As the Monarch swallowed the blue flames it had devoured , a violent reaction triggered from within.
The rat-heads bloated grotesquely, veins exploding, as their insides ignited.
Rajesh pointed a burning finger.
"My blue flames are backed by nature itself…"
"They burn not flesh… but essence."
BAAAAAANG!!
The Monarch exploded from the inside out, vaporized into ashes in a brilliant blast of blue fire.
Hirito staggered back, stunned, unable to hide the horror on his face.
Rajesh dropped to one knee, blue flames flickering dangerously. His Phoenix power was collapsing.
Then — darkness.
In the endless whiteness of an internal plane, Rajesh found himself sitting… staring down at a tiny baby Phoenix nestled in his palm. The bird blinked up at him, innocent, glowing faintly.
Rajesh chuckled softly.
"You've grown smaller."
The bird nodded.
Rajesh sighed.
"I know my time's up…"
"But give me one last shot to kill that bastard. Please."
The bird chirped — and fluttered up to perch atop Rajesh's head.
And then —
Reality snapped back.
Rajesh's body erupted in twin colors — radiant blue and furious red flames entwined around him like twin dragons. The ground beneath his feet melted with every step.
Hirito's face drained of all color.
"W-what…?" Hirito stammered.
"This…this can't be!"
FWIP!
Rajesh vanished in an instant, faster than any eye could follow.
The Executioner swung its massive blade desperately —
SCHLAKKK!!
It sliced off Rajesh's arm — but the limb regenerated instantly, sprouting back in a second.
Rajesh grabbed the Executioner's head.
"Phoenix Sunburn."
BOOOOOOOM!!
The Executioner was vaporized instantly, disintegrated into nothingness. Flames expanded outward in a gigantic circle, a blazing inferno swallowing everything — including Hirito.
With his broken hands useless, Hirito could do nothing but scream as the flames consumed him.
The explosion shot into the sky a pillar of blue and red fire that reached the heavens.
Far across the city, Sir Caelum Veyne skidded to a stop on a rooftop, eyes wide as he gazed at the distant inferno.
"What in God's name…?" he muttered.
The heat was so fierce he had to shield his face even from miles away.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Hunter Association facility — a new tremor rocked the building.
Kazuki, trapped within Mujin's Roman Cube, placed his palm against the cube wall. Instantly, the cube's mass multiplied tenfold, causing the entire construct to collapse and shatter with a deep, sickening crack.
CRRRAAASSSH!!
Kazuki straightened his clothes , stepping free out.
Mujin gritted his teeth, realizing the truth.
"Mass Manipulation…" Mujin whispered. "A perfect counter to my kind of teleportation…"
Kazuki smiled thinly.
"You're right."
"My boss told me everything about your ability."
"You're already dead."
Kazuki raised his hand.
"Mass Manipulation: Gravity Mass!"
BOOOOOOM!
The entire facility shook violently. Mujin's body was pinned to the floor with an earth-shattering crash, his weight multiplied a billion times over, unable to even lift his head.
Kazuki strolled past him casually and retrieved the box containing the Yggdrasil piece.
The door burst open and it was another Hirito, gasping and covered in burns, stumbled inside.
Immediately, the increased mass crushed him too, slamming him flat against the floor.
Kazuki sighed in annoyance.
"Idiot."
"You don't step into a battlefield when I'm fighting."
He crouched over Hirito, placing a hand on his back and lifting the pressure slightly.
"Where's your main fighter?" he asked.
Hirito chuckled weakly.
"Dead."
Kazuki said
"Huh, so who the hell are you?"
Hirito replied saying,
"That was the real me out there,I'm just a clone."
Kazuki narrowed his eyes.
"Hmph."
He dragged Hirito to his feet, and together they walked out of the shattered facility, climbing atop the massive, summoned bird waiting outside.
As they took off into the sky, Kazuki asked:
"Why the hell would you create a clone of yourself… and keep it alive when you're dead?"
Hirito's clone smiled wickedly.
"Because I can draw myself back to life."
"A little trick I engineered… to keep learning and fighting forever.**"
"A second life for every failure."
Kazuki shook his head.
"That's sick."
Far away, in an undisclosed underground lair, a new meeting stirred.
Huey strapped on his long coat, chains writhing at his sides.
Silas leaned against a pillar.
"Where are you headed?" Silas asked, voice low.
Huey smiled thinly.
"Greenland."
And then — silence.
The war was far from over.