After Taiko shattered the shrine wall with his punch to Kira, Miral didn't flinch. Instead, a cold smile spread across her lips as she said in a mysterious tone, "I had no idea our guests were so powerful..."
But before anyone could respond, a strange creaking sound echoed in the hall, as if the shrine itself had begun to breathe. From the shadows, swarms of monsters, their bodies twisted and their eyes blazing red, rushed towards them at incredible speed.
Minamoto didn't hesitate. He pulled out the chain that had been wrapped around his arm, inflated it forcefully, making it heavier and longer, and then charged like a storm, shouting, "I'll turn this hall into their graveyard!"
The chain hit the ground before hurtling upward, crushing a number of monsters in an instant.
Haeru Shin, his eyes glowing, leaped amidst the massive bodies, clutching his shortsword. "It's not fair that I'm deprived of some fun!" he said, smiling impetuously.
He charged like an arrow, his sword slicing through the air, leaving trails of blood in his wake.
Korol, on the other hand, moved with eerie silence. He reached behind him and drew the large scythe, which shone with a deadly coldness. He disappeared for a moment, then suddenly, the heads of several monsters rose into the air and fell at once, blood pouring out like black rain in the dim firelight.
Taiku was preparing to charge towards Meral to finish him off, but the rubble suddenly shifted behind him. Kira emerged from the dust, his face bloodied but his eyes burning with a strange fervor. He smiled a maniacal smile and said hoarsely, "Your name... was Taiku, wasn't it? I loved you. Come... let's fight to the death!"
He pounced on Taiku with lightning speed, like a bloodthirsty beast.
Amidst this madness, there was something strange. None of the monsters that filled the shrine approached Kaito, as if something invisible was protecting him or as if they had been ordered to avoid him.
Miral noticed this, raised her eyebrow with a sly smile, and whispered aloud, "After all... the stranger has returned."
A moment of profound silence fell between the clanging of swords and the screams of the monsters, as if her words had unleashed a new curse that would change the course of the battle.
Kaito stood amidst the chaos, as the sounds of battle and the screams of monsters echoed throughout the shrine. His heart was pounding, but his mind was consumed by an internal conflict.
"These are different... Their power is unlike anything I've seen before. Especially that pair..."
He raised his eyes to the bound Hana, her face filled with fear, and felt something ignite inside him.
"I'll try to save her... using my power. But... I've relied solely on instinct so far. If things get out of hand... I might kill her. But who cares? If that's the price... so be it."
At that moment, Kaito's eyes blackened completely, except for their gleaming silver pupils, which shone like stars in the pitch-black night. Around his eyes, six black slits erupted, extending across his cheeks like living curse marks that pulsed with every breath.
He began to walk steadily toward Meral, his inner voice seething like a simmering volcano.
Miral turned towards him, looking directly into his dark eyes, a cold smile plastered across her face, as if she had been expecting him all along.
"Do you want to start now?" she asked, her tone calm yet threatening.
Suddenly, a set of terrifying eyes surrounded Miral, glowing in the void around her, staring in all directions. Then, slowly, one of them turned a deep red, glistening like fresh blood, before speeding toward Kaito at incredible speed.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
"I won't be able to avoid it... I don't know how to use this power... Only instinct controls me now."
At a crucial moment, Kaito's hands erupted in a strange flame; two black auras, interspersed with a glowing white, intertwined like night swallowing dawn. He unconsciously raised his hands, and as soon as the aura touched the advancing eye, it exploded into flying fragments, dissolving into the air like burning ash.
Everyone took a step back, while Kaito stood still, his black eyes shining with silver pupils, as if a new monster had just awakened.
End of chapter.