Deranged.

Her words had no effect; the man's gaze remained cold, as if he were looking at a lifeless object.

She was this man's daughter, but twelve years ago, he had already lost all his emotions, and she, like everyone else in the village, was a sacrifice.

But unlike others, she had the right to choose when to become a sacrifice.

Because...

An evil, eerie shadow swelled from behind the man and from his shadow; the black shadow resembled a giant spider, its scarlet eyes staring at her with malice.

It enjoys watching people suffer because of their emotions.

They also enjoy watching family members kill each other.

Twisted and insane.

"It seems you're ready."

The man seemed to have seen her death and said, "What a pity."

She just regretted realizing it too late!

With a flash, Yae Sakura, wielding her Frost Blade, slashed forward so fast that only a blur could be seen.

Kiana appeared at the door after the battle had begun, watching Yae Sakura's unstoppable attacks without worrying about the outcome of the battle.

The winner will only be Yae Sakura.

Just as he thought of this, the man in the shrine who thought he could easily win as in the past was crushed by Yae Sakura. He barely survived by dodging in terror, losing only an arm. He was also sent flying backward by the heavy blow, crashing into the statue.

The outcome was decided in an instant.

"That knife!"

The man, who should have been incapacitated, propped himself up with his remaining hand. He was no longer purely human; his eyes glowed with a red light similar to that of Evil God.

The Evil God had been watching from the sidelines, realized that Yae Sakura, like the other Demon Slayers, had the ability to kill him. The entire demon felt as if it had been doused with cold water. The shadow that had been lurking in the shrine quickly surged into the man's body, and his severed arm was replaced by a twisted shadow.

It wasn't some powerful Kishin after all.

Kiana assessed the strength of this Kishin, concluding it was likely only at the level of the Beauty Spider she had encountered in Changkong City.

It is extremely terrifying for ordinary people; unless a miracle occurs, there is almost no possibility of resistance.

But for someone wielding an imperial Edict Blade...

Even if this sword can only unleash a small portion of its power now, it is still Edict Blade. Compared to this imperial Edict Blade, which can only unleash a portion of its power, this Kishin is at best an elite monster.

~~~~~

31

Chapter Thirty-One: Madness

My sense of self has long been distorted.

He lost himself when he succumbed to the power of the Kishin, committed unforgivable sins, and abandoned the basic principles of being human.

The numerous evil deeds he committed over the years have fundamentally warped him.

But after being severely injured by the person she had always regarded as weak, who thought she could control and kill her at any time.

His twisted mind and extinguished humanity couldn't help but feel anger, but this rising anger wasn't directed at Yae Sakura.

It was the knife in her hand!

Even if it were reduced to scrap metal, he would still recognize the knife.

This is an item that has been enshrined at Yae Shrine for generations.

It is a god that was once enshrined at the shrine.

--Frost God!

Yae Sakura is still the same Yae Sakura. She's his daughter, raised right under his nose, and he knows very well how powerful she is.

Her current immense power.

It was all because of the knife in her hand.

Frost God!

The Evil God parasitizing him urged him to escape, but the man, a puppet and servant, rebelled against the parasite for the first time out of overwhelming rage.

"Frost God, hahaha, so it really does possess the power to inflict divine punishment!"

The man's laughter was somewhat manic, his red eyes fixed on the Frost Blade in her hand that was displaying divine power.

He had fearfully prayed for the protection of the Frost God, begging that the Frost God would, as rumored, punish the evil spirits.

But no matter how much he prayed...

No miracles occurred.

He initially believed it was all a lie. In order to protect his remaining relatives and survive, he had no choice but to act according to the evil spirit's wishes, killing his wife with his own hands, tearing apart his moral compass, and becoming an evil spirit who colluded with the Evil God.

But now, the Frost Blade in Yae Sakura's hand clearly tells him that the Frost God truly possesses the power to inflict divine punishment.

He wasn't the only option.

He was angry; he was filled with hatred.

If only this sword, which had been worshipped at the shrine for hundreds of years twelve years ago, could have exerted even a fraction of its power to contend with the demons.

He wouldn't have turned into this inhuman, grotesque state out of despair!

The parasites were restless, urging him to escape.

Ultimately, its will prevailed over the man's obsession; without a second thought, it manipulated the man's body to escape.

It nearly died at the hands of the Demon Slayers twelve years ago and harbors a deep fear of them.

Whether she remains stubborn or suddenly realizes her mistakes, whether she feels hatred and pain, none of that matters; it won't affect Yae Sakura's mood in the slightest.

The fear, pain, and hatred of the past twelve years materialized into a determination for revenge at this moment.

Kiana, standing at the door, only saw the Frost Blade in Yae Sakura's hand emitting a blinding white light. She instinctively turned her head and closed her eyes, almost getting blinded by the white light.

A white light accompanied by a roar.

Kiana felt a chill run through her body and opened her eyes, only to find to her surprise that the shrine had been frozen by the power of the Frost Blade.

Holding her sword, Yae Sakura pinned the man to the ground with her Frost Blade. The thing she had always wanted to do had finally come true, and she had achieved her revenge. But she felt neither relieved nor satisfied.

A hint of scarlet appeared in his eyes.

She drew her Frost Blade and slashed at the man with hatred, blood splattering out and splashing onto her face. Yae Sakura, her heart filled with the eruption of hatred, even thought about...

Did his blood originally have a temperature?

Such a cold-blooded and cruel beast.

So they can die just like people, with hot, bright red blood flowing through their bodies?!

Kiana thought the matter was over and wanted to go talk to Yae Sakura, but after taking a few steps, she saw Yae Sakura venting her anger and was too scared to go any further.

The evil spirit that caused all the tragedy has melted away like snow under the recent burst of Frost Blade.

Yae Sakura can only vent her frustrations on men.

Kiana could understand her reasons for doing so, and felt that what she did was perfectly acceptable, but the scene was so brutal...

She wasn't unfamiliar with dead people.

I've seen things even more horrific than this, but this was different. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, one cut after another, with blood gushing out everywhere.

It looks exactly like a dismemberment scene from a horror movie.

In this situation, no normal person would dare to approach casually.

One cut after another.

Until it was no longer recognizable as a human.

Yae Sakura stopped moving, trembling.

He stood there staring at the pile of minced meat on the ground, lost in thought, and remained motionless for a long time.

Kiana waited for a while but Yae Sakura didn't make any other moves, guessing that she might have calmed down by now.

Not daring to look at what was on the ground, Kiana whispered her name: "Sakura?"

Yae Sakura remained silent for a moment, but finally reacted, slowly turning around to face Kiana.

Standing beside the corpse, she was the first to be splattered with blood. Except for the knife, which was unstained by blood, her hands and face were covered with the splattered blood, and later her shrine maiden clothes were stained with blood.

The eyes were also an abnormal scarlet red.

He looked somewhat deranged and terrifying.

Seeing Kiana's pale face, she swallowed back the words she was about to say, thinking that Kiana was probably scared.

She had a deep-seated hatred for the man, but to outsiders, he was ultimately her biological father, her blood relative.

She killed her own father in front of Kiana and tore him to pieces.

Kiana would feel fear.

It's normal to want to stay away from her.

When she called out, Yae Sakura turned around, most likely having calmed down. Kiana, seeing how she looked like she could scare someone half to death just by walking around, quickly walked up to her.

Seeing the bloodstains splattered on her face, he didn't even feel dirty and used his sleeve to wipe the blood away from her face.

"It must have been very painful."

Thinking she would lose this friend, be filled with fear, and be alienated, Yae Sakura stared blankly at Kiana in front of her.

Kiana looked into her eyes and saw no fear, no distance, only a heartache that touched Kiana's soul.

"I..."

Her voice was a little hoarse.

He uttered only one word, then shut his mouth, unsure of what else to say.

The crimson in his eyes was fading.

"... Thanks."

Yae Sakura expressed her gratitude once again.

Not only did he offer her the help of Frost Blade, but even at this moment, he still stood by her side and did not dislike her because of it.

"We're friends."

Without water, they could only wipe off a little bit temporarily. Kiana wanted to ask her to leave together, as the smell of blood in this place was too strong.

He killed my mother.

Kiana, who had wanted to find another place to talk, swallowed her words and looked at Yae Sakura, listening quietly to her voice.

"Shortly after my mother gave birth to my younger sister."

Kiana stared wide-eyed at the inhuman mass of flesh on the ground.

"Twelve years ago, he encountered this evil spirit in the back mountain. Under the evil spirit's coercion and enticement, he personally pushed his wife, who had just given birth to his daughter, to the evil spirit."

She was in the room at that time.

I witnessed my mother being pushed by my father to be food for evil spirits, being dragged by my father, and being unable to do anything but cry out.

"A year ago, he sacrificed my sister to the evil spirit in the same way."

She tried to run away with her sister, but they were caught and brought back. Last year she resisted, but to no avail.

Just like him today.

In the past, she posed no threat to the evil spirits. More than being eaten, the spirits were interested in seeing how long she would endure before finally having a complete mental breakdown.

"I hate him!"

I wish I could grind him to dust!!!

Yae Sakura is explaining to Kiana.

Kiana didn't mind her recent act of desecrating the corpse, but she wanted to tell Kiana her reasons for doing so.