Chapter 92: Retribution Part 1

Chapter 92: Retribution Part 1
My fingers twitched, longing for the feel of a blade. My lips trembled with the rage I'd caged for too long before they finally stretched into an empty, cold smile. 
"You really knew how to get on my nerves, huh?" I whispered, the words thick with venom. "You never fail at all."
A flicker of something—was it satisfaction?—flashed in Uncle Hajime's eyes, but he didn't speak.
Cretheus stepped closer to me, close enough for his heat to calm the tremble in my limbs, but not enough to hold me back. He knew this wasn't his fight to lead. This was mine.
I drew in a few steadying breaths before meeting their eyes with quiet resolve. "Worry not, Uncle," I said with a faint smile. "Bringing ruin to the Azai Clan was always part of my destiny, just as I vowed in the heart of the Adamantine Volcano."
I gave a mock curtsy, the gesture laced with icy grace. "As a deity, I, Kasumi, Goddess of Gallant and Retribution, intend to keep that promise."
Some people lurking in the dark shifted, and in the blink of an eye, figures lunged from the darkness. Steel clashed, grunts echoed, but none of them reached me. Thaddeus moved like a phantom, blade singing through the air. Theodore's arrows struck with unerring precision, while Cretheus met the attackers head-on, his fists crackling with raw energy.
Not a single touch grazed me. They never got the chance.
Around me, silence fell like a shroud, broken only by the crackle of Cretheus's energy fading from his knuckles and the soft hum of Theodore's bowstring relaxing.
I stepped forward, the soles of my boots brushing over ash and blood. Uncle Hajime hadn't moved. The elders behind him stood rigid, but fear rippled in their eyes now, no longer the kind they masked with pride. This was the fear of inevitability.
"You speak of destiny," Uncle Hajime said finally, voice light as ever, though a faint tremor betrayed him. "But you're still flesh and bone, Kasumi. Still just a girl pretending to be a goddess."
I smiled again. This one was slow, sharp. "Pretending?" My voice rang clear, steady. "I suppose I should thank you then... for forging me in the fires of your betrayal, uncle."
A gust of divine power pulsed from my core. The sigils on the chamber walls flickered in response, ancient runes glowing silver-blue as they recognized me, not as kin, but as reckoning.
The earth rumbled.
The elders began to chant in desperation, clasping some jewelry that contained incantations, hands raised in trembling defense, but their magic recoiled the moment it touched mine. Their wards shattered like glass under divine force.
I raised my hand, fingers splayed as moonlight gathered at my palm, swirling into a radiant spear of energy.
"This proof is enough that I am associated with the Moon Goddess," I said softly, almost mournfully. "And Father protected me because how dangerous it would be if my real identity was exposed, given how I told who I really was back then, the greed of the four clans has shown." 
And with a whisper to the Moon Goddess above, I let it fly.
My gaze bore into them, heat pulsing beneath my skin as a sharp ache bloomed in my fingertips. With a soft, wet snap, claws erupted from my hands. They were gleaming and eager.
"This ends now." My voice was low, steady, and laced with finality. "Your last breath belongs to me."
I sprang forward, fury coiled like a blade, ready to strike.
Several of my uncles, Uncle Hajime, Uncle Haruto, and Uncle Akio surged ahead, forming a barrier in front of Great Grandma Hinata and Pops, their bodies tense and magic crackling at their fingertips. But I didn't flinch.
Instead, my lips curved into a slow, chilling smile just as three shadows moved into place around me. Thaddeus, Theodore, and Cretheus, stepping in with silent coordination.
Without a word, they launched themselves toward my uncles, tearing through the lines, forcing them to scatter, to divide their strength.
And in that fractured moment, I closed in fast and merciless. No room for mistakes was my motto for this night.
If they were going to use an incantation jewelry to put another barrier, that would be futile now. I could easily nullify it, and the incantations that came from the blessings of my mother. 
So when Great Grandma Hinata and Pops cast the same barrier spell on me, I merely lifted a hand and wiped it away with ease.
"Hajime!" Great Grandma Hinata screamed in horror and called for my uncle when I went after her, but Pops blocked my way and used his fist to punch me away, which I immediately blocked his attack using my arms. 
I stepped back, smiling while Pops' face darkened. "Don't even think of going after us," he said. "I might not be as strong as my nephews, but I used to be the Alpha of our pack." His face looked smug. 
I tilted my head, studying Pops like a curious predator. "Used to be, Pops," I echoed softly, the words like coals rolling off my tongue. "That's the difference between us."
A ripple of divine light shimmered along my arms as I steadied my stance. Pops' smugness faltered for just a second, just long enough.
I moved.
The ground cracked beneath my feet as I shot forward, ducking his second strike and twisting behind him. My claws sliced through the air, catching the edge of his coat as he spun. I didn't need to land a killing blow yet. I just needed him out of the way.
And that's exactly what Cretheus did, as if he could read my mind.
"I am almost an Alpha, old man. Perhaps, we can be a match." Cretheus grinned before glancing at Uncle Akio's unconscious body.
Cretheus faced Pops without a word.
Two alphas. One past. One present.
They circled each other with the stillness of predators before the pounce. Their breaths came out in low snarls, teeth bared, shoulders squared. Neither shifted fully—this wasn't a battle of beasts. This was personal.
Pops struck first, fast and brutal. His fist cut the air toward Cretheus's jaw, but Cretheus ducked low and drove his shoulder into Pops's ribs, sending him skidding back across the stone floor.
Dust and blood stirred in the air.
But Pops recovered fast—too fast. He twisted, launched forward with a snarl, and this time, Cretheus met him. Their bodies collided like colliding boulders, fists pounding flesh, claws tearing at muscle, growls rumbling from deep within their chests.
The clash was primal.
Savage.
Decades of suppressed fury poured into every blow they traded. Blood spattered the floor with each strike, but neither relented. Cretheus took a brutal hit to the side of the head, staggered, and still didn't fall. He grabbed Pops by the throat and slammed him into a pillar, stone cracking behind him.
"You don't scare us anymore," Cretheus growled, eyes blazing.
Pops laughed, even through the choke. "You should've died like your brother did."
Cretheus didn't flinch. His grip tightened. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be following him soon, old man." He took a glance at me. "I still have to marry and impregnate my mate over there." He winked at me.
I playfully rolled my eyes, suppressing the smile that was trying to reappear before turning my attention to Thaddeus and Theodore, who were busy dealing with Uncle Haruto.
Out of three of my uncles, Uncle Akio was the weakest to deal with. With Cretheus' experience in the battle, he was able to take him down at ease. On the other hand, my other uncles were different, especially Uncle Hajime, who was the Alpha of the Red Sun pack.
Thaddeus ducked under a wild swing from Uncle Haruto, slipping to the side like smoke. The older werewolf was a wall of raw muscle and rage, snapping and swiping with sharpened claws and bared teeth.
"Your kind never learns," Uncle Haruto growled, fangs slick with spit. "Rebellion runs in your blood like rot."
Thaddeus didn't answer with words. His blade flashed. He knew very well that the insult wouldn't affect the way he was fighting.
Uncle Haruto snarled in pain as steel sliced a line across his chest. But even wounded, he charged, fists like iron.
Theodore stepped in without hesitation, loosing two arrows in rapid succession. One pinned Uncle Haruto's shoulder, the other his thigh, staggering him mid-rush.
"I don't miss," Theodore said calmly, nocking a third.
Uncle Haruto ripped the arrows out with a roar, blood spilling onto the floor. "Cowards!" he spat. "Both of you!"
Thaddeus leapt at him before he could finish the insult, slamming Uncle Haruto into the wall. He held his blade against his uncle's throat, their eyes locked.
It didn't escape in the very corner of my eyes when Uncle Hajime seemed like he was about to reach the door to escape. My eyes caught on a chair and threw it in his direction before glaring at Great Grandma Hinata, who had Cretheus tied her hands behind her.
"Don't even attempt to escape. I have my eyes on you," I said to my uncle.