Kato's feet slowly left the ground as he started hovering while still speaking to the Merchant, "You should know winning this battle in a group fight is almost impossible for you. You are outnumbered. But as the heir, taking my head is as good as completing the mission so follow me if you have the courage." Even without the magic sensory device, the Merchant could still tell that Kato was the heir from the faint golden aura radiating from the boy that even faintly suppressed his own aura. A kingly aura!
After speaking, Kato flew up into the sky and the Merchant followed after him. As he followed after Kato, he still looked around and behind him but found that no one followed after them. From above him, Kato's voice reached him, "My people have faith in me. You don't have to fear that they will use dishonorable means such as sneak attacks."
After rising above the clouds in the sky, the battleground was decided and the Merchant proceeded to quickly form a separation domain. He thought Kato would try to dodge the enclosure but the latter simply stood there waiting for him to complete his preparation. "How can he be so confident? Is it just blind confidence or is he just that sure of his strength?" The Merchant could not understand Kato's thinking as a territorial domain would offer an absolute advantage to the warrior who cast it while the trapped opponent would have to play by their rules.
"Let's fight!" With those words from Kato, it was the beginning of a great battle in the sky.
As Kato's battle in the sky ensued, his twin brother was facing his own opponent on the ground. However, this was a fight against an extremely dangerous opponent, the Plague Master. This was a man whose plagues had decimated an entire province. Countless innocent women, men, and children lost their lives to the diseases unleashed by this man. As someone who always considered himself a scientist over a warrior, the Plague Master had conducted multiple inhumane experiments to improve the plagues in his possession. He used science and magic to enhance various bacterial and viral diseases and tested them on live subjects.
Seeing Skeletal Demon and Red Mist lose to their opponent in one attack, Plague Master did not dare take his chances. He instantly activated the Zombie Virus! However, instead of using it on his enemies, he activated it within his body giving himself the characteristics of the undead: his skin hardened and turned grey under his black robes; his eyes turned a greenish hue; he could also feel his heart and blood come to a stop as a unique energy replaced their functions. It was Netherworld energy!
With this Netherworld energy, his body would be un-killable unless his brain was crushed. However, he did not worry about his head as he already had sufficient protection for it. Under his cloak, one could see a greenish gold metallic glow. It was helmet and not just an ordinary one but a Spiritual item! Not only was it a spiritual item but one that possessed special effects such as reflecting attacks and enhancing vision.
Seeing his opponents, Plague Master was happy to have made all his preparations before the mission. The old woman opposite him emitted an aura of ancientness while the boy next to her had a calmness that almost made him shiver. These two were Granny Kena and Wasswa.
The old woman Kena was the woman who had welcomed Kato's group to the hut. She looked so old that even the Plague Master who was using energy from the netherworld felt that she had more closeness to death than him. He did not hesitate to use his strongest technique. Puffing up his lungs, he prepared to fire his Netherworld Plague Bullet.
The [Netherworld Plague] was his latest invention, a disease that could even infect the soul. Neither the living nor the dead were safe from this plague. With his chest puffed up, the Plague Master then leaned forward and spat out the 'diseased bullet' from his mouth as if a dragon spitting out a river. The plague bullet which was in the form of a mass of greenish energy flew at extreme speeds towards his opponents. Once this condensed mass of energy and disease hit its target, it would explode a second time and spread not just in this compound but the entirety of Sese.
The Netherworld Plague technique was as a result of Plague Master's blood and sweat. He had always been regarded as beneath [Red Mist] in terms of the lethality of their techniques as the latter could already defeat Lord Rank warriors. "With my Netherworld Plague, I have now entered that realm. No, I have already surpassed Red Mist. His poisons might have caused the defeat of a Lord Rank warrior but I'm sure my plague could kill them and turn their corpses into pus!"
As the technique neared Granny Kena and Wasswa, [Plague Master] was even more excited. Granny Kena did not hesitate to stand in front of Wasswa before opening her mouth wide as if swallowing. What happened next shocked everyone to the core as the plague virus was swallowed into her mouth. It was like her mouth was a bottomless pit.
Watching her, the Plague Master surmised that she had decided to sacrifice herself to save Wasswa and everyone in the compound by swallowing the plague. He couldn't help but let out a maniacal laugh, "he he he he he he. Admirable but it's all useless, useless, useless! Useless, you hear me!" Seeing the old granny look uncomfortable, he couldn't help but continue his mockery, "You sacrificed yourself and for what? Let me let you all in on a secret. This plague has been modified by me to turn whoever comes into a contact with it into another 'primary point'. After you die, your body shall become the new source of the plague! He he. Regret it now old coot?"
However, it didn't seem as if the old woman listened to him. Wasswa was also looking at her in a concerned manner but after almost swaying for a bit, the old woman stood firmer than ever.
"Buuuurp," she let out a loud burp of white mist. Plague Master could not believe his eyes and ears. 'A burp? Is that all? That's my strongest attack here. Even if you don't die can't you just be affected slightly?' Seeing his attack neutralized like nothing, he could not help but ask, "You, who are you?" His voice was even slightly trembling.
"You don't deserve to know." It was Wasswa's voice that answered him.
Wasswa knew this old granny very well as she was their father's chief physician. She was also one of the elders of the royal clan from the very same generation as Kagona. She was not just an ordinary elder but one of the 5 Grand Matriarchs of the clan.
Wasswa did not plan to waste anymore time exchanging words with the enemy. He stretched his hands and out of thin air, a pair of gloves with claws was equipped. These metallic gloves had multiple contractions that could extend and retract the claws with a thought. From the spiritual energy fluctuations surrounding them, they were clearly high level Heaven Grade Spiritual weapons!
With a flash, Wasswa had already arrived a few meters away from Plague Master. However, Plague Master had already prepared his next attack ready to retaliate.
'I won't make it in time, I have to use it', seeing his enemy almost fire his technique, Wasswa shouted, "Stop!" One would think: 'why would the enemy stop just because you said so', but Plague Master's body momentarily came to a pause!
As Wasswa and Plague Master passed by each other, the latter had already lost his head! Wasswa had immediately taken off Plague Master's head in that short instance of pausing. This was because of a fearsome ability of the royal family called the [Divine Decree]. This ability could command or weaken other warriors. However, the stronger the warrior was, the more they could resist it. Wasswa could only hinder his opponent for a few microseconds but this was more than enough time for him to behead him with his speed.
"The Royal Divine Doctor, the Angel of Mercy Kena. I should have recognized you sooner." As the gloomy rain continued falling, the Plague Master's decapitated head uttered in a hoarse voice while still in Wasswa's hand. Under the effects of zombification from the zombie virus, he would not die unless his brain was destroyed. Plague Master already knew some of the techniques of the royal family and was not as shocked by the Divine Decree. What shocked him the most was the failure of his Netherworld Plague; a technique he believed could kill a Lord and even endanger a King Rank expert.
His suspicions on the Granny's identity were proven as even after Wasswa touched him, he was still unaffected. Similar to poison masters who had toxic skin from the strong poisons stored within their bodies, a plague master's skin also harbored extremely fearsome diseases that would kill or severely weaken those who touched their skin. Wasswa clearly had high resistance to diseases but given the young boy's strength, he was nowhere near a Lord Rank expert let alone the King Rank. Seeing how Granny Kena had swallowed his attack like nothing, he guessed that she was also responsible for Wasswa possessing this immunity.
"Who knew you were still alive; I guess it is too late for me to regret anything now, sigh."
"It is." These were the last words Plague Master heard from Granny Kena before his head was crushed in Wasswa's hands. His blood and brain matter were washed away by the rain and mixed in with the mud. The last of the lieutenants in the 12 Martyrs of Death had met his end.