Chapter 317: Crimson Night
Lee Chae-rin, cradling the black sword steeped in Armament Haki, murmured between tears and laughter. This was captured by Momiji's powerful perception. Momiji tilted her head in surprise; she hadn't expected to have misjudged someone.
No, perhaps it wasn't a misjudgment. Rather, this [Strong]-tier rookie, who had some fame in the Nexus and was once favored by [The Final Day], had only truly begun to unleash herself at this moment.
Previously, she had been trapped in a false persona she created for herself, unconsciously confining her power within that cage.
Humans are animals that set limits for themselves.
For example, when a person is suggested to have a terminal illness, they think about their decline every day, despairing and suffering over it, and their body gradually moves toward real decline.
A person cannot achieve what they have convinced themselves they cannot achieve.
Although Lee Chae-rin didn't limit herself in exactly that way, her combat style and choices were still influenced by others' opinions, her own reserve, and her pride.
For instance, her obsession with achieving a sword technique capable of splitting mountains with a single slash stemmed from her desire to surpass Hawkeye—to surpass the version of herself that trembled before Hawkeye's sword.
But after enduring various blows, and having her dignity and innocence stripped away by Kaito Shirogane, she was like a white swan pressed into the mire. Finally, she stopped obsessing over those boring things.
She began to feel her distinct malice.
The thrill of slicing through a human body with a single stroke, the pleasure of an opponent completely unable to keep up with her swordsmanship, and the look of despair as they gazed up at her—these were the things she craved.
Lee Chae-rin hugged her sword. Her skin was cut by the blade, but the stinging pain only delighted her more. For a moment, she felt her heart was broken, but then, she realized something even more profound.
She had finally reclaimed her [Heart].
Boom!
The Black Knight was a step too late. Having lost his helper, he charged again, but Lee Chae-rin was already moving like a ghost.
The reason the power system from the One Piece world remained popular and enduring, and to some extent even more versatile than the Chakra system, lay in the fact that although this set of Taijutsu, Haki, and Devil Fruit powers didn't have a massive array of accompanying abilities and bloodlines like Chakra...
This set of abilities was extremely comprehensive and could be perfectly adapted by Reincarnators of almost any other power system.
Even Reincarnators using Battle Qi or Soul Power would find Haki useful if they mastered it.
Furthermore, Observation Haki, to a certain extent, possessed the effects of both a martial arts grandmaster's [Pre-Initiative] and a Mystic Eye user's [Future Sight].
Armament Haki, while greatly enhancing physical defense, also granted the user a certain degree of immunity to special abilities.
The power of the heart, the power of will—these were powerful systems independent of energy systems.
From [Spiral Power], [WAAAGH Field] (Ork logic), [A.T. Field] (Absolute Terror Field), to simple Haki—these were all powers transcending the level of matter and energy structure; they were powers of the incomprehensible.
Although her ability level hadn't changed, Lee Chae-rin's strength had significantly declined after being captured by Kaito. But at this moment, that lost power seemed to return.
Her eyelids lowered, a pleasurable smile on her lips. Although her Observation Haki hadn't reached the level of foreseeing the future, she could still easily sense the Black Knight's movements.
Under her transcendent trait [Godspeed], the extreme speed generated by the Black Knight's explosive physical strength couldn't even touch the corner of her clothes.
Hum!
In an instant, the sound of swords being drawn and the woman's increasingly distorted laughter filled the air. Sword lights slashed from all directions.
The Black Knight shielded his body with his hands. His body, reinforced by both Magical Energy and Battle Qi, was struck by slashes again and again. His silver armor began to shatter, and wounds on his body multiplied.
He roared impotently. The blood mist spread wider and wider, and his body swelled further. But the woman's figure was everywhere, sword lights were everywhere, and his flesh was being torn apart.
Momiji withdrew her gaze. she felt she had seen something good. The current Moon Fiend was worthy of her acknowledgment, having transformed into a truly powerful Reincarnator.
Boom!
Her figure shattered in an instant. Blazing white smoke roared out like a giant python. Kaito's eyes turned white, his body expanding until he was not much smaller than the Black Knight.
He punched Momiji's body to pieces, but there was no sensation of hitting flesh.
Kaito looked up at the white moon phase and the crimson night sky. He stood still, not pursuing blindly.
This special celestial phenomenon was definitely not real. The reason being, that dull white full moon did not bring the corresponding enhancement to his [Silver Wolf Under the Moon] transcendent trait.
Adhering to the principle that the [Nexus]'s judgment had the highest priority, Kaito guessed that Momiji's Title Ability, [Crimson Night], was likely some kind of illusion or illusionary realm.
With a thought from Kaito, strong Soul Power began to emerge. His pupils moved rapidly, observing the surroundings, wanting to figure out the woman's intent and the effects of this environment.
[Calamity Yin Spirit] activated. A Yin Spirit with shoulder-length hair appeared from behind Kaito like a shadow.
It was also the first time Uchiha Madara had appeared in the material world completely as a Yin Spirit. Without the constraints of a physical body, his strength was also significantly affected.
"Choosing me over that white-haired brat in this situation... I assume you need these special eyes?"
Uchiha Madara crossed his arms. He was arrogant, but his grasp of combat was very clear.
As a Yin Spirit or soul body, his performance wasn't as good as that frivolous white-haired guy (Gojo Satoru).
Since this man claiming to be his host wasn't someone lacking in combat command like Obito, there was only one explanation.
His scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan spun, taking in the strange surroundings.
This kind of illusion not constructed with Chakra wouldn't be directly reflected by the Sharingan, but correspondingly, he could still detect some clues about this 'technique' built upon spiritual power and negative energy.
With his back to Kaito, Uchiha Madara walked backward. Suddenly, his Sharingan spun rapidly. In front of him, the ground began to surge. The dark, dull lava seemed to flow like magma once again.
Pitch-black skeletal remains emerged from it.
It was a man wearing a black robe with several Soul Rings appearing on his body.
Uchiha Madara met the man's gaze. The Sharingan spun, and Genjutsu was already cast.
Kaito, meanwhile, stood still, indifferent as he watched figures emerge from the magma in front of him one by one. There were completely different energy auras, and a looming sense of death.
This so-called [Crimson Night] seemed to be an illusionary realm that summoned the dead in some form.
Hum!
A loud sword hum resonated. Silver armor shattered. The huge body was directly severed more than halfway by the sword light; even a small part of the head was sliced off.
The Black Knight roared. While Lee Chae-rin's sword momentum hadn't yet left his body, he suddenly reached out and grabbed one of her arms, ripping it off.
His strength was so immense that he tore it off the instant he grabbed it.
Lee Chae-rin seemed to feel no pain. Her feet tapped rapidly. The black sword in her hand was instantly reversed. Following the pull of him tearing off her left arm, she flew backward and upward. The black sword hooked onto the Black Knight's neck, and her body twisted violently.
Squelch!
A fountain of blood shot into the sky. Lee Chae-rin stood on the spot, holding her sword in one hand, bathed in the blood raining down from above, her expression one of delight.
She understood why Kaito had laughed that day when she said she wanted to pursue a regenerative bloodline.
Strength wasn't that kind of thing. Lacking regenerative ability wasn't a decisive weakness. Only the sword not being sharp enough, only her own weakness—those were the true flaws.
On the other side, Kaito shook his head and sighed.
"So it's this kind of ability. What an indirect effect."
"Don't you want to kill me, Momiji..."
His [Killing Intent Perception] detected no killing intent. She seemed only to want to trap him. This wasn't the result he wanted.
Kaito suddenly turned around. Intense Qi gathered at his fingertip. The Dodon Ray shrieked as it fired. The target was precisely the warehouse Momiji had been protecting earlier.
Inside, presumably, were the production and technical personnel captured by the Reincarnators on orders from [The Final Day].
Buzz!
The Dodon Ray fired轰然. Subsequently, a red fireball shot out from the direction of the warehouse simultaneously. The two collided in the middle, stalemated briefly, and then exploded in mid-air.
Momiji waved her hand to disperse the smoke of the explosion in front of her. At this moment, gathered before her were over a hundred dead souls emerged from the magma.
These were Reincarnators whose deaths she had witnessed. Whenever the Crimson Night descended, these Reincarnators would be summoned to fight for her.
Momiji's eyelids lowered.
"Mercenary Tao, could you give me a moment?"
Only now did Kaito look past the figures of the hundred dead souls to see the warehouse behind Momiji. Inside, corpses were strewn everywhere. A Reincarnator wearing a black suit and a black fedora was looking at him with great interest.
Seeing Kaito's gaze turn to him, the man took off his hat.
"Mercenary Tao, I've heard of you. His Crown also appreciates your strength. Why not join our [The Final Day] and change this mediocre world together?"
Momiji was enraged by the behavior of this Title Level Reincarnator who had sneaked in here. Instead of ambushing her, he chose to silently massacre the ordinary production personnel he couldn't take away.
She didn't give Kaito a chance to speak. She swung her hand down. In the next moment, energy fluctuations of Soul Rings, Battle Qi, and Magic erupted instantly. Even above that, characters carrying special power began to be written in the air as she chanted.
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