The last few chapters may just be the best ones in the series for me.
As someone who hated Kouen the most in the series, to actually feel sympathy for the guy is a tremendous achievement when it comes to character development. This seemingly cold and elitist man, who wanted to introduce a caste system to the world, a system so despicable to me that it makes my stomach churn, has earned my genuine pity, to the point that I don't even want to see him die anymore. The fact that he actually feared Gyouken but still felt this immense resentment towards her and just buried these feelings, for the sake of what he thought was right and for the better of his people, earns so much respect from me. He's like a sane and mature version of Haku.
@Razh:
Hope Alibaba comes back in time to stop the execution or something. Kouen deserves better than to get decapitated by that little shit (or whoever the executioner is). Does Haku have a personality disorder?
I honestly think Haku is legitimately insane, in the sense that he probably now has a whole list of mental illnesses, all the result from the horrible shit he experienced and the things he saw.
Makes you question things about people in real life as well. Hell, you and I come from a region where absolutely horribly unspeakable things happened, I know some people who endured and saw bottomless evil, yet most of these people didn't snap, while some others…
Maybe it's just inherent mental strength, support from family and friends, etc.