| The Cyber Ascension | Arc 8 — "The Bloodlines and Carnage" | Volume 8| Chapter 87. : "The Arrival of Yuzurei" |
The sky above the 2nd Heaven tore open like paper.
A massive portal of swirling obsidian and electric blue light erupted, sending shockwaves across the charred battlefield. From its heart emerged a giant cursed seal box, etched with countless incomprehensible sigils and runes that writhed as if alive. Smoke poured out like a tide of black fog, suffocating the battlefield.
Jin Yuan: (gasping)
"What the hell is that…?"
Karasuya:
"…uh??"
Sanji Youta: (maniacal)
"COME! MORE BRATS!!"
The cursed box exploded into a blinding flash, shattering smoke and ash across the scorched trees.
From the blinding blue-black smoke, a figure stepped forward.
He was unnervingly calm. Neck-length white hair fell messily over a scarred left eye. He held a katana hilt in his mouth, two more in his hands, the fifth dangling from his belt. His presence radiated a chaotic, unsettling certainty—a predator unconcerned with the lives around him.
Jin Yuan froze. His heart skipped a beat.
Jin Yuan:
"Y-Yuzurei…?!"
A cold, uneasy sensation crept up their spines.
Eirien:
"Who is that…? You know him?"
Jin Yuan: (shakily)
"I… I knew him. He's my best friend… in the future."
Haruko:
"Future?! What the hell!?"
Kiyoshi:
"…ehh???!"
Jin Yuan:
"I'm not from here… I came from the future to stop this war… but… I don't know how he arrived here… without any time-travel powers like me."
The man—Yuzurei—stood motionless, his gaze cutting through the haze. He wore a simple black kimono over a black shirt and hakama, his dark purple hair falling slightly over glowing purple eyes. Every detail about him radiated silent menace.
Jin Yuan:
"How are you here, Yuzurei?! Why?!"
Yuzurei: (coldly)
"Shut up, liar… I don't like talking to liars."
He threw one katana into the air, drew another in each hand, and readied the fourth—his mouth still gripping the fifth hilt.
Then, the impossible happened:
A massive black bird emerged, its wings lined with blue flames of ethereal fire. Its eyes burned with unnatural intelligence. Its roar split the sky, beautiful yet terrifying, shaking the remnants of smoke and ash across the battlefield.
Karasuya: (aghast)
"What… the hell is this interruption?"
Yuzurei leapt onto the bird, now holding two katanas in each hand, his fifth still clutched between his teeth. The black-blue flames blazed brighter as the bird rose into the crimson sky, its wings casting eerie, writhing shadows over the battlefield.
Sanji Youta: (snarling)
"UGLY BASTARD!"
He intertwined his hands, dark blood flames erupting violently from his massive katana—the ground itself cracking under the intensity.
Sanji Youta:
"NAROUISHINA!"
The black-blue flames from Yuzurei's wings clashed with Sanji's blood flames, sending shockwaves that reduced the distant mountains to molten slag.
Yuzurei laughed, a chaotic, bone-chilling sound.
Yuzurei:
"HEE HAAWW! UGLY F*CKERS!"
He lunged, riding the bird like a living weapon, cutting through Sanji Youta's attacks with impossible speed and precision.
Sanji Youta: (gritting teeth)
"Stop being… annoying!!"
He swung his colossal katana—but Yuzurei vanished mid-air. The bird swooped, carrying him through the fiery sky. Two of his katanas fell to the ground.
Yuzurei: (mocking)
"WHAT A PITY FOR THE KING OF HELL!!!"
Jin Yuan staggered back, eyes wide:
"Impossible… he knew… he knew Sanji Youta! But how…?"
Karasuya: (grim)
"Stop interrupting."
He interlocked his hands, attempting to shrink the battlefield into a 99-meter Lunar Cage.
Yuzurei: (smirking)
"Nice try."
With a violent surge, he tore through the invisible barrier, unbound, untouchable, moving with a deadly, unpredictable rhythm that made Sanji Youta's brute strength seem trivial.
Sanji Youta cut off Yuzurei's arm—but the black-blue bird swooped, catching him mid-leap. Yuzurei's missing limb regenerated instantly, katana in hand once more, his movements blindingly fast.
Yuzurei:
"WHOA WHOA!! NOW THAT'S NOT FAIR AT ALL!!"
The bird ascended into the blood-red sky, wings slicing through clouds, black-blue flames burning so bright the moon dimmed beneath the darkness of smoke and flame.
The battlefield shivered under their combined might.
Everyone watching:
The 2nd Heaven, already broken by fire and blood, felt as if it could collapse at any moment.
Jin Yuan muttered, jaw tight:
"…This… this is bad… this is really bad…"
Haruko tightened her spherical barriers, sweat beading on her forehead.
Kiyoshi's grin faded; his eyes widened as the scale of destruction dawned on him.
The arrival of Yuzurei had shifted the balance of power completely—and no one could predict what would happen next.