"Just like we never considered that wretched mother of us a member of our family. And that's why we killed her." Tai spoke with hate residing in his voice.
"Huh?" Rai uttered in disbelief.
"W-what..did you just say?" He added.
"You mean you haven't figured it out?" Tai burst out in laughter at the ignorance of Rai.
"Surely your not that dumb to put two and two together are you Rai? And you dare call yourself an assassin?" Tai unsheated his Katana placed on his back, the Voltia symbol "V" with a spiral lace at it's center, was encrusted at the sole of the blade.
"I killed your mother the night she stood up against father for your sake. Nothing personal, I was just following orders just like I'm doing now." Tai began rotating the katana in his right hand.
"It's been a good run for you Rai Voltia, at least you and your mother have something in common." He gripped the handle of the katana upside down and applied pressure with his right foot on the ground.
"You were both killed by the best of the best." BOOM! He propelled himself forward towards Tai and the ground beneath his feet crumbled leaving a 2 meter crater, the sound generated by the power applied was close to that of the sound barrier being broken.
Getting into range, Tai swung the tip of the blade with the aim of beheading Rai smoothly.
Dust arose from the wind pressure Tai created the moment he swung his sword. "Mission accompli.. What!?" Tai exclaimed in disbelief.
As the dust settled, Tai's eyes wavered as he gazed upon Rai who caught his blade with his mere finger's. "How!?" He yelled.
Rai's silky white hair casted a shadow over his eyes, he had no expressions on his face and had remained mute all this while.
"All this time, I tried to prove myself worthy to both you and dad. You both shunned me and killed my mother and tried to kill me.." Rai spoke softly, his voice a bit deepened by rage. "No more." He added.
"Tch..Shut up!" Tai exclaimed but was quickly cut short by a round house kick by Rai to his jaw. He was sent flying a few meters backwards from Rai who stood to his feet with Tai's blade in his hand.
Memories of Rai's deceased mother rushed through his mind, including all the morals and virtue she imposed on him. "Supress those emotions."...."I didn't teach you to become a monster now did I?"..."A true assassin is one who can persevere." Were all her words that raced across his mind.
Tai grunted rising to his feet, he was utterly annoyed that a vermin like Rai had placed his hands on him. "You bastard, you're going to regret that!" Tai yelled and dashed forward towards Rai.
SWOOSH!
"Huh?" Tai became flabbergasted as he felt an overwhelming presence, Rai was right in front of him. He grabbed Tai by his forehead and smashed him into the ground, swiftly he threw Tai another 3 meters backwards.
In Rai's head, those memories of his mother's words to him were crushed, surpressed as he couldn't handle the pain anymore. "I'm sorry mom, but I don't care anymore." Rai spoke with a deep voice as he looked towards Tai's direction.
Raising the blade he held in his hand towards his face, Rai's eyes were revealed. "So I'll use everything I got."
His bloodlust and prowess awakened at that moment his eyes possessed murderous intent towards Tai. "I'll kill you..." He tightened the grip he had on Tai's blade which caused it to shatter like glass as he said "Tai... Voltia!" He exclaimed in rage.
Rai Voltia had awakened. His white hair grew longer and his nails became longer and sharper possessing the same density as that of a lions, his father's strength, speed and ability which was dormant in him rose to the surface. All these factors combined together was what the Voltias referred to as the Azashi Modo(lit. Assassin Mode) which was the ability of the Voltia that made them legendary.
Not even Tai had managed to achieve this feat yet. To awaken the assassin mode required a great deal of emotional trauma which obviously no one wants to ever go through, however due to the constant maltreatment and the reveal of his mother's killer. Rai awakened the prowess that took the Voltia's to the top, the same prowess Nick insults him for not possessing.
"What are you!?" Tai exclaimed noticing the drastic changes in Rai's body, his muscles were more toned than usual and his jawline was also affected and the most obvious change of them all was with his fingers.
"This ends now." Rai spoke softly before dashing towards Tai with an explosive force that completely eradicated the ground beneath him, the shockwave alone dispersed and uprooted all the tress in the surrounding area.
Before Tai could even react, Rai delivered an uppercut which sent him flying upwards. Swiftly following up the attack, Rai propelled himself upwards in the air and gave Tai a series of kicks towards his ribs, stomach and face before spinning his body and delivering a huge kick to Tai's stomach.
The force of the kick launched Tai into the ground, he forcefully ejected blood from his mouth as soon as his back made contact with the ground. He had his ribs broken, his right and left arms had been fractured as well as his jaw.
Rai landed right next to him and watched with pity as Tai laid helplessly on the ground. "Its over." He said raising his claws towards his face.
Rai's eyes widened instantly as a sword was rammed through his chest and through his heart. The assassin mode wore off and his body returned to normal instantly. "W-what.." Rai turned his neck slowly to see who it was that had stabbed him and it was none other than his own father, Nick Voltia.
"Father.." Rai spoke with a weakened voice.
"Arghhh!!!" Nick exclaimed as he drove the sword even deeper through his chest. He was enraged that the legendary ability of the Voltia clan had fallen into the hands of an outcast, he didn't want to believe it when he sensed it so he rushed over and found this.
Rai slumped to the ground almost devoid of all his consciousness. "Is this what I get.. for trying to gain my own family's recognition?" Rai asked himself within his thoughts as he slumped into the darkness.
"If only, mom was still alive." With those last thoughts, he died right next to his brother who was also near death's doorstep.
[System....activate.]