With resentment, reluctance, and a deep attachment to life, Kamo no Meihin's consciousness gradually faded away...
However, if Ryougi Raku knew his final thoughts, he would surely laugh and say, "You're overthinking it. I knew nothing about this Cursed Stone or any of that. All of this is simply due to my desire to challenge the strong and the mission given by Aoyama Yahiro. There's no conspiracy whatsoever..."
Ryougi Raku pulled his katana from Kamo no Meihin's back and kicked the body next to Nagata Teppei's corpse.
"No need to thank me. I'll just let you have a companion for the journey to the underworld!" As for whether the two would start killing each other again on the road to hell, that was none of his business!
"I'm really not very good at using this 'Instant Step' that requires turning." Ryougi Raku was quite dissatisfied with the Instant Step technique he had just used to circle behind Kamo no Meihin, which involved a turning motion.
"So, this monster should be resurrecting now, right?" Ryougi Raku looked at the Cursed Stone. Sure enough, after Kamo no Meihin's death, his life force was also absorbed by the stone. The death of the caster provided it with sufficient power all at once. The light of the magic circle gradually dimmed, and the talismans on the boulder fell off one by one. Strange black mist began to seep out of the Cursed Stone, accompanied by wails that sounded like evil spirits!
Crack—crack— The sound of splitting stone came from the Cursed Stone, and cracks began to spread across its surface. However, to Ryougi Raku's surprise, the stone did not shatter as he had expected. Instead, after the cracks appeared, the black mist grew even thicker, completely enveloping it!
The next moment, a roar—"Roar, roar, roar!"—echoed, and the black mist rapidly expanded, transforming into a monster about four meters tall and several meters long!
The monster was extremely bizarre. It resembled a lion, with a thick, mane-like black mist around its neck. But its tail, strangely, had nine appendages, echoing the legend of the nine-tailed beast associated with the Cursed Stone! The most terrifying part was the lion's head, which was densely covered with countless reddish-black eyes, radiating an aura of slaughter, curse, and bloodlust!
"It's finally out, but you kept me waiting long enough!" Ryougi Raku felt the excitement stirring deep within him. With a faint, fierce smile, he didn't give it any chance and took the initiative to attack!
"Divine Light Style Secret Technique: Heaven-Cleaving Flash!"
A hurricane-like blade shot out, carving a half-meter-deep gully into the rocky ground! For a moment, the entire open square was filled with flying sand and stones, and a fierce wind swept through the air!
The sword energy struck the demon with a roaring sound. The black mist surrounding its body churned but was utterly incapable of stopping the attack, like a mantis trying to block a chariot. Part of the black mist dissipated, revealing the monster's body, which seemed part rock, part illusion!
"Demon-Slaying Sword!" Following his sword, Ryougi Raku's steps instantly accelerated. A secret technique of the Divine Light Style, specifically for slaying demons, was unleashed. The sword carried the concept of repelling evil, slashing directly onto the exposed part of the monster's body!
"Ah——" A miserable cry rang out. The demon-repelling power of the sword caused the newly resurrected, still-confused Cursed Stone intense pain from the depths of its soul!
Ryougi Raku felt upon impact that the monster's body was as hard as rock! The illusory quality within made him feel as though part of his strength had been negated!
"Tch!" Ryougi Raku used the momentum to step into the air, employing the Void Instant Movement to leap high. To deal with such a large enemy, it was more effective to abandon some flashy techniques and wield the sword with broad, powerful strokes!
"Divine Light Style Secret Technique: Rock-Cutting Sword!" Leveraging gravity, this close-combat secret technique of the Divine Light Style was executed with an irresistible force. The power of Ryougi Raku's sword was such that even a small mountain standing in its path would be shattered!
The sword chopped into the monster's body, slicing downward. Gradually, Ryougi Raku felt his descending momentum slow. The sword had only cut halfway through its body and could go no further!
However, this strike had nearly split the monster in two. If it were an ordinary beast, it would likely have been dead by now! But for the demon transformed from the Cursed Stone, it was not fatal! The demon seemed to finally understand the situation. It swung its nine tails—which, though mist-like, actually produced a sound of tearing through the air—and swept them directly at Ryougi Raku, who was stuck in its body and unable to move!
Struck by the tremendous force of the tails, Ryougi Raku was sent flying and crashed into the wall with a bang, sending gravel flying.
With a slight push, Ryougi Raku emerged from the rubble. He glanced at the broken sword in his hand and casually threw it to the ground. The sword was made of ordinary steel, not a treasured blade. The moment it pierced the demon's body, it had been contaminated by the corrosive black mist. Coupled with the powerful force of the tails, the sword had finally succumbed and snapped in two!
The demon did not continue its attack but stared intently at Ryougi Raku. The countless eyes on its head gleamed with murderous intent. The black mist shrouding its body churned like dark clouds. The massive wound that had nearly split it in two was slowly healing as the black mist adhered together! Though it lacked rationality, it possessed a fighting instinct and knew that recovery was its top priority at that moment!
A trickle of blood flowed from the corner of Ryougi Raku's mouth; clearly, the previous blow had not been light!
"Hehehe! It seems I'll have to get serious!" He laughed like a madman, yet his face was extremely calm. His eyes, which had been tightly closed since he was struck, gradually opened, revealing a pair of strange orbs!
The whites of his eyes turned black, like those of an evil spirit, while the irises turned white, pale and terrifying! This inversion of black and white was precisely the characteristic described in the Divine Light Style as surpassing human limits and becoming something inhuman—"Ghost Eyes!"
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The Ghost Eyes retained the basic functions of ordinary mystic eyes, such as hypnosis and suggestion, but for Ryougi Raku, their most important aspect was their manifestation, which carried the concept of transcending humanity!
When using the Ghost Eyes, Ryougi Raku could feel that his entire being had been elevated. The Power of Origin, which he usually wielded, became even more effortless to use. The pain during combustion analysis was greatly alleviated, and many profound things that were normally incomprehensible were now effortlessly analyzed as expected.
His right hand burned with blood-red flames. His mind recalled the moves of a favorite character from a game in his previous life. On a whim, he swung his right hand forward: "One Hundred and Eight Styles of the Yagami School!"
Although he did not know any of the Yagami School's techniques, he could easily execute similar moves!
This time, the flames were not like before—merely a form that caused no harm on impact, simply a manifestation of analysis that clung to anything. These blood-red flames were like real fire, burning at hundreds of degrees, even distorting the air with their heat!
This was another application of his Power of Origin that Ryougi Raku had discovered. After comprehending a concept, he could materialize it through the flames, using it as a means of attack or defense.
During more than a year of training, he had witnessed the magnificent eruption of the volcano in the crater and had even used his own power to analyze the flowing magma. Although the concept of magma, as a part of nature, was extremely profound, through his own efforts, Ryougi Raku had partially deciphered it. While his flames could not reach the thousands of degrees of magma or embody its boiling intent to annihilate enemies, he could still materialize a temperature of several hundred degrees!
The flame shot out with overwhelming force, striking the lion-fox monster and sending it stumbling. The several-hundred-degree heat scorched its body! But the demon was, after all, the Cursed Stone. That level of heat would have long incinerated an ordinary human, but to it, it was insignificant. However, after the high temperature of the flame dissipated, it did not vanish but continued to cling quietly to the black mist, flickering.
Though the demon felt no harm from the flame, it still mobilized its own power to extinguish it. To its surprise, it found that neutralizing that small flame required a tremendous expenditure of energy!
Ryougi Raku had not expected a simple move like that to have any effect on the demon; it was merely a whim inspired by a favorite character. Next, he continued to let the flames burn on his hands, transforming them from palms into claws. He leaped forward, his sharp claws dancing up and down, each strike causing the demon's protective black energy to churn violently!
The monster was completely unable to adapt to Ryougi Raku's rapid attacks. Its large size made it clumsy against a petite and agile opponent like Ryougi Raku. It jumped up and down, occasionally banging its head against the wall, but still could not hit him. Although it was not afraid of the flame's temperature, prolonged exposure would lead to cumulative damage, eventually causing its demise!
Though it lacked rationality, it possessed a fighting instinct. It roared—"Ao!"—and when Ryougi Raku struck again with his claws, it gathered all its strength, condensing the black mist into one spot. The black mist moved extremely fast, and this time, Ryougi Raku was caught off guard, his old force spent and new force not yet generated. He was immediately enveloped.
Feeling the black mist's corrosive power intensify dramatically, Ryougi Raku had no choice but to switch from offense to defense, using the flames to protect his body and resist the erosion!
Seeing that it had finally caught Ryougi Raku, the demon was overjoyed and opened its mouth to bite down, intending to swallow him whole!
"Hmph!" Ryougi Raku snorted coldly upon seeing the demon's attempt to devour him. He instantly altered the nature of his flames, shifting from the magma-like temperature to the demon-repelling power of his "Demon-Slaying Sword."
The demon swallowed Ryougi Raku in one gulp, but the next moment, it felt that what it had swallowed was not the delicacy it expected but something highly toxic. An intense pain erupted from its mouth, accompanied by a continuous sizzling sound, as if its soul were burning. With a cry of agony, it spat Ryougi Raku out like a cannonball!
Using the force, Ryougi Raku landed safely on the ground. However, the black mist had not completely dissipated. The amount condensed earlier was so vast it had become almost tangible. Switching concepts again, the flames shifted from demon-repelling back to high temperature, slowly burning away the black mist enveloping him!
Although the demon-repelling power was a natural enemy to such monsters, Ryougi Raku had never actually witnessed the concrete manifestation of the demon-repelling concept. Unlike magma, which he had observed firsthand in the power of nature and analyzed with his own strength, the demon-repelling power was only a superficial understanding derived from a sword technique. He was not proficient in it and it was far from the level he could achieve with a sword.
Now that his sword was gone, he held little hope for his demon-repelling power. Using this unfamiliar, unmastered ability was extremely draining, so he decided to abandon it!
The switching between these concepts was also part of his Power of Origin—the power to create and destroy all things. If Ryougi Raku could comprehend the concepts of the entire world, he would truly be omnipotent!
The Cursed Stone finally forced Ryougi Raku away. Immediately, the countless eyes on the lion's head flashed, and shrill howls erupted as the eyeballs gleamed. Phantoms of evil spirits, baring fangs and claws, rushed toward Ryougi Raku, carrying a curse that felt almost tangible!
Seeing those eyes clearly, Ryougi Raku felt a sharp pain deep in his brain, recognizing it as a curse-like mental attack. Combined with the onslaught of evil spirits, an ordinary person would have been terrified. But he remained calm. With a thought, the blood-red flames flickering on his body to dissipate the black mist suddenly surged, completely enveloping him, making him resemble a god of fire! The clinging black mist was instantly shattered by this sudden burst of power!
The flames gathered, forming a wall of fire that blocked the path. Its nature also transformed into the Yin-Yang barrier he had just analyzed! Though its form was different, its function was the same. This fire barrier imbued with the power of Yin-Yang magic was truly the bane of these monsters, completely blocking the mental attacks and evil spirits outside.
The next moment, Ryougi Raku turned defense into offense. The barrier transformed into magma, and with a single surge, it completely dispersed the evil spirits!
While the compound eyes on the demon's head flashed, it was not idle either. It opened its huge mouth, and a terrifying black orb composed of black mist gathered within!
With a roar, the energy ball solidified and shot toward Ryougi Raku like a hurricane!
Due to the immense force of the demon's breath, Ryougi Raku had been pushed from the open square against the wall. The space here was narrow, leaving him no room to dodge!
"I can't completely avoid it! It seems I can only take it at the least cost!" Facing this situation, Ryougi Raku remained calm—a trait honed through his nirvana-like training. He quickly made a decision and found the position where he would sustain the least injury.
At the critical moment, most of his body dodged the black orb, but his left arm was grazed by its edge! A bone-deep pain shot through him, but Ryougi Raku's will was as strong as steel. Unfazed, he pushed off with his feet, completely escaping the orb's attack range!
The black orb hit the wall. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only an eerie hissing sound. Looking back, even Ryougi Raku's mouth twitched. He saw the entire wall melting like chocolate, a large hole corroded by the orb. The remaining force continued to eat through the wall, producing a sound like bubbling poison, utterly terrifying!
Looking at his left arm, although he had used his power to protect the entire left side of his body at the moment of impact, the black orb's density was horrifying, having undergone a qualitative change. His power was insufficient to completely defend against it. Several gruesome wounds were corroded into his arm: the skin and flesh turned black, part of the bone was exposed, and the muscles were eroded. It looked extremely frightening!
But Ryougi Raku did not care in the slightest. To him, this was a minor injury! With a thought, the Power of Origin expelled the remaining corrosive energy from his body. His entire left arm healed at a visible rate, like a newborn reorganizing its form. In the blink of an eye, the wounds vanished without a trace!
As long as his soul remained and his consciousness was indestructible, Ryougi Raku possessed perfect immortality! Unless he encountered an overwhelmingly powerful enemy who could kill him repeatedly in a short time, each death severely damaging his soul and will, leading to true death through mental collapse! Otherwise, as long as his soul endured, even if reduced to ashes, he could resurrect from nothingness! It could be said that even the strongest could not kill him in a single strike!