The faint light seeping from the gray sky barely touched the battlefield, but what was happening there was enough to shatter any illusion of calm.
"It's time to take this fight to the next level, Ashin," Raizen said. "Phantom Body!"
In an instant, the ground trembled, the air shook, and then he vanished. No, he didn't vanish. He became unbelievably fast. On top of that, five copies of his body appeared.
Five figures surrounded Ashin.
Gray, cloned phantoms, glowing with blood-colored auras, moving in wicked harmony. Each had a quarter of Raizen's strength, but together… they choked the space.
"Haha! What do you think, Ashin? This is my new technique. These are not mere illusions—they can hit you. Watch carefully, little one… I will show no mercy now."
Ashin stepped back. His aura flared. Five stars of Blood Madness ignited inside him like a volcano.
His strength, speed, and reflexes doubled. But he wasn't facing raw power—he was facing trickery and demonic tactics.
One clone lunged from the right. It had copied the Sky Panther Rune, moving insanely fast. As Ashin tried to strike, it swapped places.
The real Raizen appeared behind him.
A blood-stained fist flew—Devil's Eye Fist.
Three bloody strikes tore through the air. Each had shocking force, twisted angles, like monsters with their own will.
Ashin tightened his body, activating the Blood Bear Rune. His skin hardened like iron armor.
He blocked two strikes…
The third pierced his shoulder.
Blood splattered—but he barely flinched.
Raizen smiled. "Hah, it seems that wasn't enough to bring you down, Ashin. Then let's go!"
"Blood Shock!"
Boom!
A wave of blood sound tore through the air like a deadly pulse, flowing from Raizen like a hellish heartbeat. It struck Ashin directly.
His limbs trembled, his ears bled, and his knees buckled under the shock.
Raizen gave him no chance to recover. From the pale mist, a massive fist emerged—three meters wide—ripping the ground and crushing everything in its path.
Ashin activated the Sky Panther Rune, turning part of his body into liquid blood, then slipped away.
But he wasn't running.
He was preparing to counter.
The air grew heavy… as if blood boiled in the sky.
Ashin stood in the storm. The cloned phantoms kept pressuring him, and at any moment, the real Raizen would emerge from the illusion.
The attacks didn't stop. There was no set pattern.
Ashin unleashed blood chains in all directions, twisting and piercing, trying to locate Raizen. But Raizen…
Kept swapping places with his clones at terrifying speed.
Every time a clone was destroyed, another took its place. Strike from the front, then a blood shock from above.
Ashin activated the Blood Crocodile Rune. Liquid dragon scales formed around him, hardening against the waves of attacks.
But he was still being pushed back.
Suddenly, the Devil's Eye fist grew… then exploded into a giant eye.
Five meters wide. Hovering above Raizen. A hellish eye… spewing evil.
A beam of blood shot from it, tearing through space.
It pierced Ashin's aura, revealing his secrets, distorting his thoughts, terrifying his cells.
Ashin gritted his teeth, then exploded in anger.
He unleashed his blood chains, enhanced with three runes, like red meteors tearing through space—directly at the eye.
The beam detonated, sending blood flying, destroying the ground and shattering rocks.
Ashin was thrown into the air, his skin torn, but he did not fall.
He stood… with difficulty… blood running from his chest.
His body no longer moved properly. His knees trembled, his vision blurred, his organs screamed.
Raizen had not yet used all his cards.
The five clones merged into one.
Now, this single clone carried 75% of his strength, swapping places with Raizen every time he attacked.
In an instant, Raizen appeared in front of Ashin and struck with a spear—then, in the next moment, he was behind him, launching a blood shock—then from above, the Devil's Eye fist smashed down like a hellish hammer.
Ashin… was collapsing.
Raizen activated Devil's Eye and four-star Blood Madness. His speed, defense, and attack were at their peak.
Strike. Shock wave. Fist. Clones. Eye. Rune. Every skill connected to the next.
Raizen had become a machine of blood and death—relentless and flawless.
Ashin used everything he had: five-star Blood Madness, triple runes, blood chains, and iron skin.
But in the end…
He was forced to retreat.
Raizen stood before him. The Devil's Eye rotated, the massive fist ready, and the blood beam began to condense.
The sky screamed.
And the blood… would decide the outcome.