Have You Ever Been Kicked by Light?

Flower Capital, main building.

The air hung heavy. The scents of spice, wine, and women had yet to fade.

Then an invisible pressure crushed everything into dead silence.

Kurozumi Orochi sat slumped on the floor, utterly broken.

"Wh-what is going on?!"

His voice cracked, hoarse and thick with tears.

He scrambled backward on hands and feet, his fingers slipping against the floor through sweat and terror.

"Those daimyo..."

His pupils trembled.

"They were... they were taken out just like that?!"

The scene kept replaying in his mind—

One kick. One finger.

And then they were gone.

Snot and tears ran down his face. The so-called shogun looked like a dog with a foot on its throat.

Crackle—

The air shuddered. Lightning burst forth.

A bolt struck out of nowhere right in front of him, its blinding white glare tearing across his vision.

Kurozumi Orochi went rigid.

The light faded.

Rock stepped out of the lightning, his cloak falling around him as arcs of electricity coiled through the air.

Black-and-red lightning slithered outward like snakes. The entire main building began to groan under the strain.

Crack—

Wooden beams shook, walls split, and pillars tilted.

It seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

Kurozumi Orochi froze completely, his eyes stretched wide.

The whites showed all around them. His mouth hung open, but no sound came out.

Drip.

The sound of liquid came from beneath him.

Rock frowned slightly, disgust flashing in his eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey."

"I mean—"

He looked down at Orochi.

"You're the ruler of a country. Is that all the nerve you've got?"

Kurozumi Orochi shook uncontrollably, as though a natural predator had fixed its gaze on him.

The chill reached beyond his body, into his soul.

"Wh-what do you want?!"

The words scraped out of his throat.

"Stay