Chapter 93: Retribution Part 2

Chapter 93: Retribution Part 2
My eyes wouldn't leave Uncle Hajime as I was walking towards him with a bloodlust flowing inside my body. The pain of seeing my father flashing before my eyes made me want to end his life as soon as possible.
"Come on, my little niece." Uncle Hajime smiled. "I'm sure that you can spare me. I have spent my entire life supporting you." He fluttered his eyelids, looking at me innocently. "After all, it was the other four elders who had told me to bring disaster to Hideyoshi and to you. I am only following their orders."
"You asshole, Hajime!" Pops shouted angrily while in pain.
I clenched my hands, facing him, preparing myself to attack him. "Forgive me, uncle. But I know very well how you envy my father," I said bitterly. "How he stole your glory... or must I say," I paused and stared at him. "He was always a befitting Alpha of the Red Sun Pack, not you, a coward brother of his."
I would never forget how Father died in front of me. I would never forget who had him killed. 
Everything. I would never forget the Azai Clan who turned their back on my father... my lovable father, who had been kind and obedient to the Azai Clan ever since he was born.
And the world he promised to me... He would suppose to spoil me. I would suppose to grow up as he would see me get married to my own mate. But it never happened.
"Because of you!" Anger started to sip on my bones. "You have taken the only person from the Azai Clan who cared about me!" 
I couldn't help myself anymore as I lunged in his direction. Uncle Hajime smirked and managed to block my attack with his arms as his shield. 
"The glory is always mine. What Hideyoshi had was borrowed power because I let others think he's the best!" he said mockingly. "But all in all, I am the real one. I am the real heir! And he's not!"
He had gone insane... I squinted my eyes. 
As our bodies collided, a guttural snarl tore from my throat; the crack of his claws against mine reverberated throughout the blood-stained hallway.
As I strained against his guard, my anger becoming more by the moment, I spat, "You call that glory, uncle? You slaughtered your own brother and watched his daughter suffer just to satisfy your fragile ego."
Veins pulsed in Uncle Hajime's neck as he clenched his teeth. "You believe that kindness and dreams are the foundation of this world? Your father would have ruined everything I bled for because he was so naive!"
I gave him a slap across the face. He staggered to one side but did not fall. I prevented him.
He howled and staggered back as I whirled, slashed low, and caught his ribs.
"You bled for nothing but your pride!" I roared. "You didn't build this clan. You poisoned it." The anger I felt had started to consume me. I could even hear my father's devastating voice when he told me that I must run away.
I would never forgive the elders of the Azai Clan. They were the cause why my father and me suffering in their hands!
He lunged toward me again, feral and desperate, but slower now. I ducked beneath his arm, twisted, and slammed my elbow into his spine. He collapsed onto one knee, coughing blood.
"You think you're strong now?" he wheezed, trying to rise. "You think you're better than me?"
"I don't need to be better than you," I said, stepping behind him, grabbing a fistful of his hair, and yanking his head back. "I just need to end this curse."
He growled. "I am still your elder—"
"You were never family!" I exclaimed angrily.

How dare he even claim that he was still the elder! I would never acknowledge anyone from the Azai Clan anymore! They weren't. I considered my family!
I raised my claws, my father's face flashing behind my eyes—his smile, his warmth, his promise that he'd always be there.
But he wasn't.

Because of him.
I gave a last scream and pressed my claws into Uncle Hajime's chest.
He jolted, gasping for air.
And then there was quiet.
Dead, he sagged forward.
Trembling, my breath broken and sharp, I stood over him.
The weight of years—of grief, of fury, of longing—began to bleed out of me all at once. I stumbled back, staring at my bloodied hands, unsure if they still belonged to me.
"I have finally avenged you, Father..." I murmured as tears cascaded down my face.
"Kasumi..."
I turned to see Cretheus, slightly wounded while watching me. Behind him, Thaddeus and Theodore were approaching. They were bloodied, bruised, but alive.
I collapsed to my knees.
It was over.
The smell of burning resentment and blood filled the air, making it heavy. The hall that had been alive with snarls and cries was suddenly filled with silence, which spread in like fog. I remained kneeling, fingers soaked in crimson, chest heaving with exhaustion and everything I'd held back for years.
Finally, I had taken the revenge I so wanted to take on the elders of the Azai Clan. They were the root of the evil that had been harbored in our clan. It was finally time to end it.
"Kasumi..." Thaddeus' voice broke gently through the quiet.
I didn't respond. My eyes were still locked on Uncle Hajime's body, sprawled across the floor like a shattered memory that had finally come undone.
Amongst the elders, he was the one I had been locking my eyes on. My hatred of Father's brother was palpable that his death wasn't enough for me. 
"I hope he rots in hell..." I muttered bitterly, silently praying to Mother to make his spirit suffer even after death, that he might never reincarnate ever again.
Cretheus limped closer and knelt beside me. "It's not just over, Kasumi," he said gently. "This is just the beginning. You severed the chain. What comes next is yours to shape."
Theodore stood over Uncle Hajime's corpse, his jaw clenched tight. "The other elders?" he asked.
"Gone," Thaddeus said grimly. "Either by our claws... or by their own fear. But Hinata is still alive and tied up."
I searched the chaos until my eyes found Great Grandma Hinata. Her face had gone ghostly pale, her fear unmistakable the moment our eyes locked. 
My legs were shaking beneath me, but Cretheus was already at my side, slipping his arm under mine and steadying me with quiet strength.
Blood clung to my fingertips as I lifted my hand toward her, my lips curling into a cold, hollow smile.
"Great Grandma," I said, my voice low and cold. "An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth." I took a step forward, blood still dripping from my hands. "The Azai Clan ends with me."