"Akuma, follow your dreams, no matter what", Takara's words really resonated with Akuma. He couldn't just sit around and give up his dream. If he wanted it enough, he would have to find a way to do it.
And he already had.
"Thank you", he had to acknowledge Takara's help. Without her, he never would've accepted that even unconventional methods are worth it if you want the result enough.
And Akuma's method may be the most unconventional of them all.
"You're the strongest if no one's stronger than you", his reasoning couldn't be flawed. But now he needed to take action.
The journey that lay ahead would surely be difficult, but Akuma was ready.
Whatever path he took, he wanted to become the saikyo - he had to - and so he decided.
He would just kill everyone stronger than him.
Then, he would be the strongest.
Surely.
With that decided, only one question remained - where to start.
Akuma did have a pretty good idea about that.
He would return to that house, not only to get revenge, but to increase his rank. This was perfect.
He left the hospital unannounced. He couldn't tell the others where he was going, maybe that was because he knew it was wrong.
Even if he knew it, he didn't care.
Morals would only slow him down.
Luckily, in the time he was hospitalized, his griffin core had settled, and he no longer needed the chariot, plus, he could finally test out the second stage - fusion.
As soon as he thought about it, his transformation began. Claws grew from his hands, and jet black feathers - even blacker than Akuma's black hair - grew all over his body. Lighter and softer than air, sharper and more durable than daggers.
It was amazing. The wings that sprouted from his back were more perfect than any others.
His vision improved drastically. He could see clearly for miles. He couldn't help but wonder how it would stack with the enhanced vision skill.
Around his neck grew a black fur mane, like that of a lion, while his teeth grew out like fangs.
Akuma couldn't help but excite himself. He felt almost like an angel of death - and he was about to become one.
He began to fly towards the house, but, as he came close, he was forced to acknowledge that he still wouldn't be strong enough, so he made a plan. A plan involving the infinite chain of death.