Shinji hadn't flown very far. After putting some distance between himself and the ritual site, he stopped in a snow-covered valley.
The black smoke that clung to him like a shadow arrived in the blink of an eye, surging toward him in a vast, overwhelming wave.
Shinji's smile faded, and his expression grew more serious.
Even against an Overlord's power—even if it was only a fraction of it—he couldn't afford to be careless. He couldn't bear the consequences of failure.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Raising a hand, Shinji unleashed his dojutsu at the oncoming smoke.
He mainly wanted to test whether his dojutsu could affect the seemingly formless, invisible black smoke.
Whoosh.
A mighty repulsive force burst forth, and the wind and snow throughout the valley seemed to stop. The black smoke rushing toward Shinji was caught in the force and violently flung away.
"Huh!?"
Shinji let out a surprised murmur.
He'd guessed his dojutsu could counter an Overlord's power, but he'd never imagined it would be so effortless.
Tch. Is it trying to trick me?
Shinji thought the Overlord of Fear must be up to something underhanded, and that was why it had deliberately held back.
So he turned his hand over and unleashed a Banshō Ten'in, gathering all the scattered black smoke into a single mass and drawing it toward him. Without another word, he activated the Lamp at his waist, using its light to purify the smoke.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.
A fierce sizzling sound erupted before Shinji. If he listened closely, he could even make out faint curses, pained wails, and hushed sobs mixed in with the noise.
The black smoke being purified by the Lamp was also thrashing wildly, like a savage beast caught in a trap, unleashing its ferocity in a desperate attempt to break free.
But