Chapter 124: The Sprite Unbound
A spiderweb of shocking cracks erupted across the surface of the stone stele.
The Shrine Maiden's seal was broken!
The demon king that had once instilled primal fear in countless shinobi was preparing to dominate the world once more.
Click, click, crack—
The fissures spread, consuming the entire stele. Wherever they traveled, the intricate sealing formulae carved into the stone crumbled into dust.
BOOM!
Without any further warning, the center of the stele exploded outward. The sealed gateway within it vanished, and in its place, a rift tore open in the fabric of reality itself, exposing a dark, chaotic space that thrummed with malevolent energy.
"This is...!" Huang Quan stammered, his face drenched in a cold sweat. He stumbled backward in a panic.
In the next moment, countless black, writhing tentacles shot forth from the rift. They were accompanied by a horrifying, soul-scraping shriek—a sound that seemed to emanate from the deepest pits of hell, instilling a fear that chilled the very soul.
The black hole at the stele's center acted like a massive wind vent, a gale of frigid, foul-smelling air blasting outward.
Huang Quan's black hair whipped around his face, his robes flapping violently as his unsteady body was forced into a continuous retreat, unable to withstand the concussive force of the wind.
Aizen, in contrast, stood perfectly calm and still, as immovable as a great mountain, utterly unaffected.
His eyes peered into the endless darkness within the rift, a spark of intense expectation igniting in their depths.
Suddenly, the flailing tentacles froze mid-air, as if controlled by a single, powerful will. Simultaneously, a heavy, ancient voice, laden with the weight of countless years, echoed through the silent underground chamber.
"Ahhh... How nostalgic... Have I finally returned to the world?"
Though the voice sounded old and weak, it was saturated with an unspeakable evil—eerie, bizarre, malevolent, and ghostly. The level of sinister charm it possessed was something even the demons of hell could not hope to match.
Hearing the voice, Aizen's brow furrowed slightly. He could sense it—an ancient soul was awakening at the heart of the rift. As it gathered its strength, the evil aura grew denser, more potent.
A monster.
"Congratulations on your return, Master Sprite!" Huang Quan cried out feverishly, dropping to one knee in a gesture of pious worship.
"You are...?" the Sprite's voice questioned, echoing from the void.
"Have you forgotten, Master Sprite? I am Huang Quan!"
Huang Quan looked up, a look of fatalistic determination in his eyes. He knew he was on the precipice of the power he had dreamed of. The next step was to use his Dark Medical Ninjutsu to merge with the Sprite. Then, the thousands of Undead stone statues would rise at his command, destroying the Five Great Nations and building his thousand-year empire!
"Huang Quan..." the Sprite's voice held strong doubt. Having been entombed in dust for so long, it had no memory of such a person.
"Have you forgotten? I, Huang Quan, used a fragment of your power to create a survivor, a shinobi who could command the Ghost Legion!"
Huang Quan suppressed his inner ecstasy, forcing his voice to remain calm.
"Why have you summoned me?" the Sprite asked, its voice still weak. In its current state—a mere soul, its true body sealed away in the Swamp Country—it could not exert its full strength.
"The times have changed," Huang Quan declared. "This is the perfect moment for you and I to join forces, the optimal time to establish the millennium kingdom! Of course," he added, casting a meaningful glance behind him, "Lord Aizen contributed greatly. He is the primary reason the seal was broken."
He sought to divert calamity, to direct the Sprite's nascent hatred toward Aizen.
"But... where is my physical body?" the Sprite's voice rasped. "With only my soul, I will dissipate in moments. And as for this 'Lord Aizen' you speak of, you mean that little—"
The Sprite's words cut off abruptly. Something unbelievable to Huang Quan was happening. The Sprite's voice began to tremble.
The moment its attention settled on Aizen, its voice shook. This indicated that Aizen's very existence inspired terror in the ancient monster!
"The first time we meet. You are the king of this Undead Legion, are you not?" Aizen asked, his eyes narrowing slightly, an irresistible question in their calm, unwavering depths.
"Y-Yes... Who are you?" the Sprite stammered. "You have a body... you are human. But why do I sense the aura of a soul within you?"
There was undisguised shock in the Sprite's voice. It could vaguely sense that Aizen's identity was not entirely... human.
"Well, human or not, your timing is perfect," the Sprite's tone shifted, filling with a voracious greed. "I happen to lack a physical host. Your unique body will serve as an excellent container for me!"
"How boring, to resort to conflict so quickly," Aizen said, a faint smile on his lips. "King of the Undead Legion, why don't we... converse?"
He rested his hand on the hilt of his Zanpakutō and slowly, deliberately, drew Kyōka Suigetsu from its scabbard.
"Would you care to look upon my blade?"
Holding the hilt, the sharp edge pointing downward, Aizen leveled Kyōka Suigetsu before him. "This... is Kyōka Suigetsu."
For some reason, seeing Aizen's action filled the Sprite with a profound sense of unease. "What are you trying to do?" it demanded suspiciously.
Aizen smiled slightly, his tone conversational. "I wish to... ask you a question, King of the Undead Legion."
"Are you satisfied with who you are now?"
The Sprite roared in anger. "What are you talking about?!"
Aizen was unperturbed by the outburst. "Have you ever considered taking a step forward? Does it not feel to you as if the world is not as it should be?"
"Come. Aid me. Submit to me."
"In doing so, I will grant you... more powerful strength. And an entirely new world."
A heavy, tense silence fell over the chamber. The Sprite did not immediately respond.
After a long pause, it let out a wild, furious laugh.
"Ha! Preposterous! Utterly ridiculous!"
"This 'new world' you speak of? 'Taking a step forward'? Don't make me laugh!"
"I am the master of this world! The founder of the Millennium Empire! The King of the Undead Legion!"
The Sprite's voice roared with incandescent rage. "You insignificant ant! Nothing can surpass me! There is no 'new world'! I will crush you, you humble insect!"
Dozens of the black tentacles, now under the Sprite's direct control, shot toward Aizen with lethal intent.
Aizen did not anger. He remained elegantly and indifferently poised. The corners of his mouth curled upward into a subtle, knowing arc.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu."
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