Doma paid no heed to Ren's mockery and provocation. With a broad wave of his hand, he commanded the ten Bodhisattva ice statues to attack. Under his manipulation, the ten statues simultaneously raised their hardened arms, transforming palms into fists to smash down heavily toward Ren. Each arm weighed a thousand pounds, and the statues moved with incredible speed; every punch whipped up a biting cold wind, possessing a power that was truly terrifying.
"Hmph, mere parlor tricks. You dare show off such meager skills before a master?"
Ren's lips curled upward. In a flash of flickering lightning, his figure blurred as he retreated, easily evading the statues' onslaught. The Bodhisattva fists crashed into the ground with a series of deafening bangs, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the already cratered earth.
"The size of these statues has increased quite a bit, but their movements are still just as clumsy!" Ren muttered to himself, recalling his previous encounter with these icy constructs. "No, actually, their speed has improved significantly. It's just that compared to me, they are still as slow as snails!"
As he spoke, Ren raised his shattered Greatsword and swung at the statue before him. The crimson blade sliced through the night sky. Amidst the howl of fierce sword qi, it descended like a meteor from the heavens, slamming into one of the statues.
"Earth Combat Technique: Crimson Blade: Flame Meteor!"
BOOM—
In an instant, the towering ice statue collapsed, exploding into a shower of fragments that scattered in all directions. Many shards shot toward Ren like bullets, but they were instantly evaporated by the heatwave of his sword qi, dispersing into a thick mist.
"Nothing but ice statues; they can't even take a single hit!"
With that, Ren charged toward the remaining statues. Though the Bodhisattvas looked intimidating, they were no match for him. As the statues were hacked into pieces one by one, Doma showed no sign of panic. Instead, he walked calmly toward the spot where Ren had previously blocked Kokushibo's sword qi storm.
On the ground there, a patch of bright red blood was slowly seeping into the earth. This was Ren's blood. To block Kokushibo's final strike, he had been inadvertently cut by tens of thousands of tiny moon blades, causing blood to spray from his wounds and collect into a pool.
Doma swung his iron fans, conjuring a cold wind to flash-freeze the blood. A smile played on his lips as he murmured, "Nakime-chan, I've obtained Ren's blood. Hurry and transport me back to the Infinity Castle, or I'll really be killed by him!"
"What?"
Despite Doma's low voice, Ren's keen ears caught the words. His expression changed instantly as he cried out in alarm. At that moment, the low twang of a biwa echoed in his ears. Ren watched as a portal opened beneath Doma's feet, leading directly to the Berserk Demons' Infinity Castle!
"You want to run? Not a chance!"
"Fire Combat Technique: Dragon Dance!"
Ren roared, swinging his sword with full force to shatter the last two statues before lunging toward Doma at full speed.
"Hehe, little boy, I'm leaving now. I hope we never meet again; I really don't want to see a monster like you ever again. Ciao~"
Doma waved his hand in farewell as his body rapidly sank into the Infinity Castle.
"Don't you run! Thunder Combat Technique: Thunder God's Heaven-Slaying Slash!"
Pfft!
Ren's speed exploded. The sharp edge of his Greatsword instantly severed Doma's waving arm, but Doma himself had already entered the Infinity Castle. The wooden door used for the teleportation shut with a heavy thud.
"Damn it, I was so close!"
Ren cursed loudly. If his Nichirin Greatsword hadn't been broken, making it too short, that last strike would have definitely taken Doma's head.
"Forget it. You can run, but you can't hide. It's not like I don't know where Doma is."
Ren calmed his emotions. He was certain Doma would return to the Eternal Paradise Cult. He just needed to lie in wait there to corner him.
"AAAAAHHH!"
"And me! What about me!"
"Nakime, hurry and transport me to the Infinity Castle! It's too terrifying here, waaah..."
The wailing cries of Hantengu suddenly drifted over, snapping Ren back to reality. Right—even though Doma had escaped, Hantengu was still here!
At that thought, Ren immediately swung his sword toward Hantengu's original body. Although the main body was barely larger than an ant, it could not escape Ren's eyes.
"I let Doma get away, but do you think I'll let you escape? Die right here!"
"Thunder Combat Technique: Thunder God's Heaven-Slaying Slash!"
"Wah! So scary, so scary! Nakime, hurry and send me away!"
Seeing Ren charging at him, Hantengu could only huddle on the ground, trembling in fear, waiting for the sound of Nakime's biwa to take him to the Infinity Castle. However, the biwa sound he longed for never came. Hantengu screamed in confusion.
"How can this be? Why is this happening?"
"Why won't you transport me to the Infinity Castle? Nakime, what are you doing..."
Pfft!
Before he could finish, Ren's blade severed his head, sending blood spraying everywhere. Hantengu's head rolled to the side, his face filled with disbelief. Before his head crumbled into ash, he continued to mumble.
"Why... why... why..."
"Heh, it seems your master has abandoned you!" Ren sneered. He could basically guess Muzan's thought process.
Muzan let Doma into the Infinity Castle because Doma had secured his blood. He refused to let Hantengu in because he was afraid that Ren would follow him inside! Although the Nichirin Greatsword was broken, Ren was confident he could take Muzan's head even with a broken blade. Therefore, even if it meant sacrificing Hantengu, Muzan would never allow even the slightest possibility of Ren entering the Infinity Castle.
As for Nakime, she was merely a puppet who followed Muzan's orders blindly.
The reality was exactly as Ren suspected. After Ren severed Doma's arm and nearly entered the Infinity Castle, Muzan ordered Nakime to completely seal the fortress. No one was allowed in or out; Hantengu was simply discarded.
But Muzan didn't care about the death of his subordinate. At this moment, he was staring at the frozen clump of Ren's blood, a manic smile spreading across his face.
"Hehe... hahahahaha!"
"What fragrant blood! It seems that brat has grown much stronger during this time! Even his blood has become more nutritious!"
"Well done, Doma! With this blood, perhaps I can finally conquer the sun and achieve my thousand-year-old ambition! Hahaha!"
After a bout of wild laughter, Muzan immediately stuffed the heart-sized clump of blood into his mouth, beginning to digest Ren's blood and transform it into his own power.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]