Who Gave You the Courage

The Hiyori projection on the sixth floor gave Theresa and the others quite a bit of trouble. Even Han Jiang was struck by a fireball when he failed to dodge in time.

All the way up, the three of them had not had a moment to rest.

After dealing with the gatekeeper of the sixth floor, the three stopped.

"The thing on the seventh floor..." Theresa gripped her spear tightly and stared at the door leading upward.

"It's God's Evil Face," Hiyori immediately added.

The three of them looked at Hiyori at the same time. She was the good side, so she surely knew more about this so-called evil side than they did.

"Um... that's all I know. And, and, it's very powerful."

"The Tenshukaku problem has to be resolved sooner or later. Now it's time to show you the strength of an S-rank Valkyrie." Theresa spoke to Han Jiang with a proud expression.

"Let's go. The longer we drag this out, the more likely something will go wrong." Yae Sakura nodded.

Han Jiang handed Jizo Mitama to Yae Sakura. Only in her hands could it display its true power.

When the door to the seventh floor opened, the Tenshukaku began to shake violently.

"Watch out!" Hiyori cried out.

Crack!

Instead of a staircase appearing as before, the ceiling above them began to fracture.

The entire seventh floor began collapsing onto the sixth.

After the shaking subsided, the sixth floor was a complete mess. Looking up, they could see straight through to the roof.

Boom!

Before long, a massive phantom leaped down from the seventh floor and landed steadily in the middle of the sixth.

"It actually self-eroded! It's Jizo Mitama!" Hiyori shouted when she saw the phantom.

"Jizo Mitama?" Yae Sakura watched the enormous black shadow warily. Five hundred years ago, she and Kallen had defeated it together once.

The black shadow gradually became clearer, taking the form of a giant warrior wielding large swords in both hands.

Theresa grabbed Judah and charged at Jizo Mitama. Judah fully unfolded, and streaks of golden light transformed into spears that continuously attacked Jizo Mitama.

Yae Sakura also made her move. The Key of Erosion had been created specifically to counter the Erosion Herrscher.

Han Jiang and Hiyori hid to one side. Turning his head, Han Jiang asked, "Can you protect me when things get dangerous?"

Hiyori nodded. "As beings from the same source, I can stop its movements for a moment."

Han Jiang gave an affirmative hum, drew his twin blades, and charged in.

Perhaps because it had only just broken free from its seal, Jizo Mitama was still largely in a phantom state, gradually gathering energy to restore its entire body.

Under the trio's constant attacks, Jizo Mitama's body began to suffer damage. Its energy-devouring speed increased, and its form became increasingly solid.

Roar!

With a furious roar, Jizo Mitama's energy erupted, forcing all three of them back under the pressure of the dense power.

"We need to speed this up. It's about to fully recover!" Yae Sakura flashed to Jizo Mitama's side and increased the frequency of her attacks.

Theresa nodded, and Judah transformed once more.

Countless chains shot out from within the cross, wrapping around Jizo Mitama. Yae Sakura's Key of Erosion had absorbed enough Honkai Energy and began to emit black Blade Aura.

Bound by Judah's chains, Jizo Mitama revealed its true form and began struggling continuously. The sixth floor was filled with the clattering of iron chains.

"This thing is a tool that only knows slaughter. It has no consciousness!" Hiyori said, her little face tense as she stood on Han Jiang's shoulder.

"After the evil side self-erodes, its strength increases drastically. I just hope the two big sisters can defeat it!"

Han Jiang tilted his head. "What about you?"

Hiyori paused, then said, "The two of us will act at the critical moment. This thing has a fatal weakness, but we can only find it after it's injured."

Roar!

Unwilling to be suppressed by Theresa and Yae Sakura, Jizo Mitama plunged its two great swords straight into the ground. An energy storm once again ravaged the Tenshukaku.

"Watch your feet!" Hiyori clutched Han Jiang's hair to keep from being blown away while loudly warning the three, "It will use energy to burst up from underground and attack everyone."

Han Jiang scanned the surroundings. Energy overflowed everywhere in the room, making it impossible to detect where Jizo Mitama was gathering its power.

Suddenly, Han Jiang's instincts stirred. He kicked off with both legs and rolled forward a short distance.

Crack!

The ground exploded a moment later, and energy shot upward, blasting a huge hole through the roof with a thunderous boom.

Han Jiang swallowed. If that dense energy hit him, even grazing it would injure him; taking it head-on would mean death.

With Hiyori's warning, none of the three were hit by the energy surging from underground. Instead, half the Tenshukaku's roof was blown away.

While they were dodging, Jizo Mitama finally broke free from Judah's chains. Its twin swords swung toward the nearest target, Yae Sakura.

Yae Sakura leaped nimbly aside, dodging the massive Tachi and casually leaving a deep wound on Jizo Mitama's body.

More than half of Jizo Mitama's armor had shattered, and Theresa seized the opportunity to attack as well.

"Be careful. Jizo Mitama's blade energy is terrifying." Hiyori kept warning the three of them.

Theresa and Yae Sakura were the main attackers. At most, Han Jiang could provide support; more often, he was dodging attacks.

Jizo Mitama was enormous, and its attacks carried immense force. Taking even a single hit was unbearable.

But it was far too slow. As long as Han Jiang focused, dodging its attacks was not difficult. What he feared was that it possessed area-of-effect attacks.

Perhaps because Theresa and Yae Sakura had beaten it too badly, Jizo Mitama began swinging its twin swords and devouring the energy around it.

The three of them felt as though they had been caught in a hurricane, their bodies continuously dragged toward Jizo Mitama.

"It's going to split apart!"

Just as Hiyori warned, Jizo Mitama split into two, becoming two giant warriors.

One of them tangled with Theresa and Yae Sakura, while the other charged straight at Han Jiang.

Seeing this, Yae Sakura turned to help Han Jiang, but Hiyori shouted, "Big sister, that one is fake. Just focus on dealing with the other one."

"How strong is the fake?" Han Jiang kept retreating.

Hiyori thought for a moment. "The fake only has half its strength. Once the real one is killed, the fake will disappear on its own."

Only half its strength... maybe I can test myself against it too.

Han Jiang activated Domain: Turning a Hundred Refinements, gripped his Tang Dao, and leaped toward the fake Jizo Mitama.

Jizo Mitama likewise raised its twin swords and slashed at Han Jiang. Without dodging, Han Jiang gritted his teeth and met the blow head-on.

You only have fifty percent of your strength, and you dare clash with me head-on? Who gave you the courage?

Smack!

The next instant, Han Jiang was sent flying by the other party's great sword. Fortunately, the Pulse Tang Blade was of exceptional quality and did not chip.

Driven back continuously by the opponent's enormous force, Han Jiang finally crashed into a pillar and dropped to the ground.

Half of Jizo Mitama's strength was still far stronger than an ordinary A-rank. For someone like Han Jiang, who was barely B-rank, it was already a blessing that he had not been killed in one hit.

Peh!

Han Jiang spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, scrambled to his feet, and fled, all while complaining to Hiyori, "Didn't you say it only had half its strength?"

Thanks to Black Ink Moon for the 100 reward!!! Thanks to Moufa for the 100 reward!!! Thanks to Lonely Sky for the 400 reward!!! Thanks to everyone for the recommendation votes!!!