"Rumble"
Countless shattered stones and roof tiles, accompanied by the sound of collapse, splattered outwards. Two figures leaped out from the scattered dust, landing steadily on the ground: Kenmyo Isayama and Fushiguro Toji.
The Isayama branch family residence in front of them had been shattered by the unrestrained Cursed Energy and was now completely enveloped in smoke. It wasn't until a flash of red sword light cut through the pervasive smoke.
A graceful figure, with the broken ruins as a backdrop, was slowly approaching.
"This is truly amazing, this is my power."
Isayama Mei's cold, crimson lips curved slightly upwards, and she cradled her pale face, revealing an intoxicated smile.
Illuminated by the dense crimson Cursed Energy, her posture swayed. Her disheveled white hair drifted with the fluctuations of the Cursed Energy, and her blood-red pupils were filled with a frantic intertwining of "bloodlust" and "madness," shimmering with an alluring light.
"If I had possessed this power earlier, then the inheritance of the Isayama Family would have already been mine."
Isayama Mei's tattered, elegant light blue kimono was half-stained with blood seeping from her wounds. These were injuries Fushiguro Toji had previously inflicted with the Heavenly Restriction. The initial thrust that pierced her body was merely an appetizer; he had ultimately almost severed Isayama Mei's body along with half of her shoulder.
Since Fushiguro Toji decided to act, he would certainly not hold back. Emotions like pity, sympathy, or mercy never seemed to appear in this unruly man.
Even if it wasn't a Cursed Spirit, or a woman? He would still cut her down without hesitation.
But now, besides her torn clothes, there was no sign that Isayama Mei had been split in two by the Heavenly Restriction. As the crimson Cursed Energy flared, the several ghastly wounds on her body gradually healed, revealing smooth, fair skin.
"Sister Mei."
Kenmyo Isayama looked at Isayama Mei, who was now completely different from his memories. The sadness on his face flickered away, replaced by extreme coldness.
Although he had a bad premonition when he smelled a faint stench of decay from Sister Mei earlier, when he saw that Sister Mei was almost unharmed despite the injuries inflicted by Fushiguro Toji—injuries that would have caused even a Jujutsu Sorcerer specializing in martial arts to die in regret—this bad premonition was confirmed.
Kenmyo Isayama had lost another sister, in the true physical sense.
The current Isayama Mei must have been killed by some unknown entity, which then occupied her body, amplified the malice in her heart, and was manipulated by her obsessions from years ago.
"Alas, it is the Isayama Family that has wronged you."
Before Yomi-nee was adopted, the original heir to the Isayama Family should have been Isayama Mei. She was mainly hampered by her father's disgraceful past from years ago, which caused Isayama Naraku, Kenmyo Isayama's maternal uncle, to look down on her. He then adopted Yomi-nee, who had superior talent to Sister Mei, as his adopted daughter.
To have everything that should have been hers taken away by an "outsider," it would be abnormal not to harbor resentment.
That's why years ago, Isayama Mei desperately tried to prove that her talent was capable of bearing the future of the Isayama Family. She even dared to single-handedly exorcise two Grade 1 Cursed Spirits when her rank was only a Second-Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.
Although successful, the injuries she sustained required seventy-two hours of emergency rescue in the ICU to pull her back from the brink of death.
But even so, Isayama Naraku, Kenmyo Isayama's maternal uncle, still gave the "Nue," which symbolized the legitimate lineage of the Isayama Family, to Yomi-nee, announcing it at her coming-of-age ceremony in front of many guests.
Kenmyo Isayama remembered clearly that Sister Mei's wine glass had dropped to the floor, her eyes turned red, and then she lowered her head and hurried out of the banquet hall.
When he found Sister Mei, she was curled up alone in a corner, crying.
The location was their secret base, where the four of them loved to stay in the Isayama Family's ancestral home when they were children. On the wall were still carved a few crooked words: "Mei, Sakura, me, Yomi, the four of us will always be together!" It was carved by Sister Mei with a small knife when she was a child.
After a moment of silence, Sister Mei said that if something wasn't meant to be, it simply wasn't. It was better to let go early, as forcing it would only affect the feelings between the four of them.
Kenmyo Isayama understood that although Sister Mei resented Yomi-nee, it was not to the extent of wanting Yomi-nee dead.
Fortunately, in this world, he and Isayama Sakura could act as a neutralizer. Otherwise, given the cold personalities of both Isayama Yomi and Isayama Mei, it might truly lead to a situation where they would never speak to each other again, or even sisters fighting to the death.
Now, upon learning the truth, Sister Mei was absolved, but the price was truly exorbitant, so exorbitant that Kenmyo Isayama found it unbearable.
The picture of the four of them was now reduced to two.
"Crazy woman."
Fushiguro Toji, with murder in his eyes, rested the blunt side of his blade on his own neck and scoffed dismissively. Just as he was about to strike again,
A voice stopped Fushiguro Toji. It was Kenmyo Isayama.
"Uncle, lend me the Heavenly Restriction."
"Huh? Boss, isn't my Soul Release Blade still with you?"
"Less talk."
Fushiguro Toji was always a chatterbox, so grumbling at Kenmyo Isayama was normal.
Watching him look reluctant but having no choice but to comply, Kenmyo Isayama merely shook his head.
Both the Soul Release Blade and the "Blade of Prospero" would cause damage to the soul. If possible, Kenmyo Isayama still wanted Sister Mei's soul to be as complete as possible, to be liberated from this body corrupted by defilement.
Kenmyo Isayama snatched the Heavenly Restriction from Fushiguro Toji's hand, gripped the sharp blade, and vanished from his spot.
The next second, Isayama Mei's body, before she could even react, was tragically torn apart by the blue blade. Her torso, arms, and body were ripped into pieces, and hot blood gushed out in large quantities, splattering everywhere, with blood foam spraying into the air.
"This is the first time."
As Isayama Mei wailed in pain and regenerated, Kenmyo Isayama turned his body and lunged forward again, reversing his grip on the blade and cleanly carving several bloody holes into the figure, then, without a moment's hesitation, he chopped off her head.
"Second time."
This Sister Mei was not truly immortal.
Kenmyo Isayama noticed that she seemed to consume some energy when regenerating, and the crimson Cursed Energy on her body would decrease.
So, as long as he killed her enough times, it would work.
"Sister Mei, rest in peace."
Sister Mei's blood continuously splattered onto Kenmyo Isayama's face and clothes. He wasn't sure if it was blood or something else, but his vision gradually blurred, yet the blade in his hand never stopped.
Kenmyo Isayama inflicted fatal wounds on Isayama Mei immediately upon her regeneration, repeating the process. His decisiveness even frightened Fushiguro Toji, especially when he saw him, with red eyes, swinging a butcher's knife at his former family member.
Until Kenmyo Isayama saw that Sister Mei could no longer regenerate, and a blood-red stone appeared before her.