Demon

An enormous, boundless black shadow appeared underwater at some unknown time. As Lu Ban looked around, the blackness, thicker than the dark clouds in the sky, covered the entire visible surface of the sea.

Within that darkness, something eerie was brewing.

On the other side, boarding action had already begun, and the shouts of battle were deafening even in the wind and rain, while the clash of swords was sickening.

With a single stroke, Ayame severed the head of a soldier, the blade swishing blood as it fell, without the slightest resistance.

She wielded the long sword as if it were an extension of her body, and in a short time, it was as if she had set up a sword array, making it impossible for anyone to get close.

Standing at the entrance to the cabin, Ayame acted like a gatekeeper, blocking all enemies who tried to enter the cabin.

"I am Senri Jubei, the instructor of the Mushin-ryu Changfeng Island, here to subdue the enemy general!"

A soldier wielding a samurai sword approached Ayame.

He was tall, and the knife in his hand was gleaming and incredibly sharp.

"Kill!"

The soldier shouted and stepped forward, sword raised.

With a flick of Ayame wrist, almost without any effort, the soldier's movements, accompanied by his shouts, came to an abrupt halt.

He had already rushed past Ayame, his movements frozen, his face still contorted with the same ferocious expression he had shown at the beginning.

Only a bloodstain appeared on his neck.

Snap—

The swordsman's head, of unknown style, fell to the ground, rolled several times, and finally stopped when it hit another person's foot.

"She's just a woman, let's... let's attack her together!"

A soldier from somewhere shouted something, and several soldiers rushed forward with their weapons, not even noticing whether the person who shouted had joined the charge.

Moments later, these soldiers also fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Evil, evil spirit!"

Under such circumstances, the morale of these attacking soldiers quickly collapsed. Many of them did not have a strong fighting spirit to begin with, and faced with such a terrifying enemy, it was already a miracle that they did not run away.

Ayame remained silent. She glanced at the small boat next door, where most of the enemies were attacking. The other boat was receiving less attack and was gradually sailing away from here. She felt somewhat relieved, but her attention remained more focused on the current battle.

Only by winning this battle can we think about the future.

Just as Ayame finished off another soldier who had rashly stepped forward, a figure appeared in front of her.

The other person was wrapped in bandages and looked ferocious and terrifying.

Instinct told Ayame that the other party was extremely dangerous and unlike any enemy she had encountered before.

"This isn't it either. Where did the guy who could take down Flash go?"

Thunder looked at the woman in front of him. Although she was very strong, and could survive for at least two or three worlds even in other realms, it was a pity that she was not Chosen of the Gods.

His hands turned into mist, and the bandages flew off.

Click—

Ayame swung her longsword, instantly cleaving the Gray Fog and bandages in two. However, such a physical attack could not cause any damage to the Thunder.

His body turned into mist, bypassing the long sword that slashed through the air, and he tried to grab Ayame's neck.

However, Thunder did not notice that Ayame's longsword was gleaming faintly at that moment.

The characters engraved on the blade seemed to have a mind of their own, twisting and writhing. When the blade touched the body that had turned into Thunder mist, the characters spread onto the mist.

The once ethereal mist suddenly seemed to have taken on a physical form. Thunder felt a sharp pain as he discovered that his Gray Fog was being eroded by the words on the blade. His thoughts became sluggish, like rusty gears, and countless incomprehensible murmurs surged in, attempting to dominate his mind.

This knife is poisoned!

The Thunder immediately realized this.

He retracted the mist that had extended from himself, and at the same time, expelled a box from his body.

The box fell to the ground, opened, and made a crisp musical sound.

This is a music box.

The sound was clear and melodious, like a lullaby, standing out exceptionally well amidst the deafening shouts and storm.

Ayame took a half step back, her long sword drawing out countless characters in an attempt to envelop the Thunder.

But the music box suddenly became distorted and monotonous, like a radio without electricity.

As the music changed, Ayame felt a chill run down her spine.

Her movements became sluggish, as if she were entangled in a fishing net, and each lift of her hand seemed extremely difficult.

Even more terrifying, Ayame felt her head throbbing, and those past memories that shouldn't have been recalled swirled in her mind along with her delirious ramblings, refusing to leave.

On the deck, near the cabin, all the soldiers, friend or foe, fell into a state of fascination after hearing the music box. Some began to laugh wildly, drool dripping from their mouths; some began to wail and cry their hearts out; and some began to obsessively stab themselves with their weapons, letting the blood flow without moving.

No, I need to wake up.

As this thought arose in Ayame's mind, her fingers brushed against the blade of her knife.

The twisted, writhing words crawled up her arm, and in an instant, an even more tragic whisper echoed in Ayame's ears.

When she came to her senses, she felt a chill in her chest.

A gray, translucent blade pierced through Ayame's chest, and the scalding blood mixed with the rainwater, flowing onto the stained deck.

Ayame got a closer look at the guy wrapped in bandages.

She saw a bright red eye.

Immediately, Ayame pushed it away and threw it into the sea, where it quickly sank.

Thunder entered the cabin, paying no attention to what lay beneath the surface.

As the Ayame sank into the icy seawater, the pain from the wound seemed insignificant.

As she watched the light from the water gradually dim, she suddenly felt a warmth.

In her fading consciousness, Ayame saw a huge black shadow slowly rising from the seabed.

The enormous black shadow enveloped everything and contained everything.

As more and more people fell into the water, their shadows enveloped them one by one, their colors growing ever deeper.

When the shadowy figure touched the bottom of the ship, something strange happened.

Lu Ban saw a loud bang come from the half-sunken warship that had been attacked by Laika.

The next moment, the seawater around the warship began to boil violently, and countless black tentacles rose from the seabed, binding the ship tightly. Then, before anyone could react, the entire ship was dragged into the sea.

The violently surging waves made everyone lose their footing. Lu Ban's small boat was trying to escape in the chaos, but the dark shadow had already covered the entire sea area.

"Something terrible has happened."

As Lu Ban sighed, he gripped the Amber beside him tightly.

Immediately afterwards, countless tentacles rose from the sea, pulling all the ships, whether from the Amber family or the Wa Island Grand Shrine, into the water without discrimination.