Piercing shrieks echoed relentlessly across the deathly quiet square of the Osaka Colony.
Less than a minute into the battle, the Twelve Heavenly Generals' once seamless coordinated formation had already been shredded to pieces by Yoru alone!
"Aaaaargh!"
Three screams blended almost into one.
The three Generals leading the charge were feinted by Yoru's sharp Fake Rainbow, immediately followed by a backhanded horizontal slash from Setting Sun Transformation, carving three terrifying, bone-deep scorch marks across their chests!
The extreme heat of the Bright Red Nichirin Sword not only charred their flesh, but instantly severed the central hubs channeling cursed energy through their bodies!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Like kites with severed strings, the three Generals flew backward and slammed heavily into the rubble. Though not dead on the spot, they were thoroughly stripped of the ability to fight on.
"Bastard!"
Seeing three comrades crippled in an instant, the Tengu leader's eyes turned entirely bloodshot.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that his elite regiment, undefeated in the Heian period, would be beaten so miserably at the hands of a modern person possessing no cursed energy!
"Fall back! Everyone, fall back!"
Forcing down the suffocating terror in his heart, the Tengu leader roared at the top of his lungs.
"We can't even touch him in close combat! Open the distance and carpet-bomb him with your strongest techniques!"
Hearing the leader's command, the remaining eight Generals felt granted an enormous pardon, scrambling backward desperately in an attempt to open a safe distance from Yoru.
"Form the array—[Da'anheitian]!"
The nine ancient Special Grade Sorcerers still capable of fighting endured the domain backlash, squeezing out every scrap of their remaining cursed energy without reservation!
Buzz—!
Nine unimaginably massive streams of cursed energy converged violently in midair, manifesting into a pitch-black energy sphere that radiated an aura of pure destruction!
The energy sphere resembled a miniature black hole, warping and collapsing the surrounding space violently beneath its terrifying gravitational pull!
"Die! Turn to nothingness along with this barrier!"
The Tengu leader roared madly, shoving forward violently with both hands.
Sufficient to completely erase the entire city of Osaka from the map, the black energy sphere came crashing down toward Yoru with the momentum to annihilate everything!
This strike was the crowning achievement of the nine joining forces, its power surpassing even the Maximum of an ordinary Special Grade Cursed Spirit!
Confronting this cataclysmic, terrifying blow,
Yoru showed no intention of dodging; instead, he slowly came to a halt.
Within his deep red eyes, the patterns of the Transparent World had spun up to their absolute limit, laying bare even the internal cursed energy structure of that black energy sphere.
"The power is decent indeed."
Gripping the hilt of Shiranui with both hands, Yoru slowly raised it overhead.
"However, the speed is too slow, and there are far too many flaws."
"Furthermore, in the presence of the sun's radiance, any darkness is nothing more than a futile struggle."
Whoosh—!
Yoru drew a deep breath, his lungs producing a low rumble like the working of bellows.
At that moment, the deep red Slayer Mark on his forehead flared with unprecedented, brilliant radiance!
Along Shiranui's blade, the bright white heat capable of melting space itself drew inward to the absolute limit, condensing into an intensely deep dark-red gleam!
"Total Concentration, Sun Breathing, Tenth Form."
"Beneficent Radiance!"
Boom—!
A low shout erupted from Yoru.
A colossal spiral pillar of deep red fire, formed of pure heat and sword intent, surged upward from below with unstoppable force to pierce the heavens!
Like a fire dragon roaring forth from the depths of hell, bearing the absolute power to purge all impurities in the world, the pillar collided head-on with the descending black energy sphere!
Sizzle, sizzle—!
There was no one-sided, instantaneous obliteration as expected!
The moment the deep red pillar of fire clashed with the black energy sphere, the terrifying gravitational pull of Da'anheitian actually began to frantically devour the Bright Red Nichirin Sword's intense heat!
"Break for me...!"
The Tengu leader burned his life force recklessly, causing the black energy sphere to swell abruptly and physically push back Yoru's fire pillar!
Rumble!
The ground beneath Yoru's feet collapsed instantly; the monstrous gravity forced his legs to bend slightly, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"Very good... Now this is darkness worthy of my blade!"
Yoru inhaled sharply, driving his lungs past their limits in extreme overdrive as the deep red Slayer Mark spread all the way down his neck!
"Haaaaah!"
With Yoru's sky-shattering roar, Shiranui's blade flared with unprecedented, blinding light, its temperature surging once more to an unbelievable order of magnitude!
Before the limit-transcending Beneficent Radiance that could scorch souls to cinders,
the Da'anheitian, which condensed the full power of nine Special Grade Sorcerers, finally let out the sound of strained fracture after a full ten seconds of deadlock.
Like leftover snow beneath a scorching sun, it was pierced right through the center by the terrifying deep red fire pillar, torn apart, and completely vaporized into nothingness!
"No... That's impossible..."
The Tengu leader stared blankly at the massive pillar of fire that continued to spiral skyward as if seeking to burn through the heavens, sinking completely into an abyss of despair.
The ultimate combined strike of the nine had actually been killed in one swing?!
Just what kind of monster was this man?!
Rumble—!
Before they could recover from their shock,
the soaring spiral fire pillar reached its peak and detonated violently in midair, turning into a sky full of meteor-like, deep red sword rain that poured down mercilessly upon the nine Generals below!
"Aaaaaaaargh!"
Amid waves of agonized shrieks,
all nine Special Grade Sorcerers, who had once reigned supreme in the Heian period, were battered down and suppressed into the ruins by the descending Beneficent Radiance!
The hardened ancient armor on their bodies melted like paper beneath the residual heat of the Bright Red Nichirin Sword, the terrifying burns leaving them without even the strength to twitch a finger.
The Twelve Heavenly Generals were completely wiped out!
The entire square sank into deathly silence once more.
Only the rustle of the breeze sweeping across the scorched earth remained, as if recounting the one-sided slaughter that had just ended.
Tap, tap, tap.
Crisp footsteps echoed in the ruins.
Yoru slowly sheathed his blade. Panting lightly, he gently wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth. Although his deep red eyes remained calm, they held a touch of invigorating battle thrill.
Though he had won this battle, it had genuinely expended a tremendous amount of physical and mental energy.
He walked over to the Tengu leader, whose mask had shattered and whose face was filled with despair, looking down at him from above.
"Are these the Twelve Heavenly Generals you took such pride in?"
Yoru's voice was very soft, yet carried an absolute pressure that could crush a soul.
"Four hundred years of slumber seem to have made you forget what true power is."
The Tengu leader panted heavily, looking up at the godlike, invincible man before him; not a single shred of will to resist remained in his eyes.
Before such absolute violence capable of cleaving even rules, all pride and self-esteem seemed utterly laughable.
"We... have lost..."
The Tengu leader bowed his head with great difficulty, his voice terribly hoarse.
Looking down at the ancient monsters whose spines had been thoroughly shattered, Yoru slowly extended a hand.
"I don't like killing those without the ability to fight back."
"However, I also won't leave danger behind me."
A flash of chilling murderous intent crossed Yoru's eyes.
"Submit, or die."
"Choose one."
Faced with Yoru's grim-reaper-like ultimatum, none of the Twelve Heavenly Generals lying in the ruins dared hesitate.
Struggling and supporting one another, they dragged their battered, broken bodies and dropped to one knee before Yoru in unison, deeply lowering the heads they had once held so proudly.
With the submission of this strongest sorcerer collective of the Heian period,
the Osaka Colony—an ultimate trap upon which Kenjaku had placed high hopes—had failed to bury Yoru, and instead infused another terrifying ancient power into his already invincible Shura legion.