The skin on his left shoulder and arm had ulcerated over a wide area, while blisters from steam burns covered his cheeks and neck.
The bone spike in his right shoulder was still embedded in the muscle, its broken end jagged. His feet were bound by water whips, leaving him unable to move.
He simply stood there. Barefoot, covered in blood, with hardly a patch of uninjured flesh left on his body.
Mizunotsuki Shigure descended from the eastern high ground. His footsteps were light, making almost no sound on the sand.
He stopped three steps in front of Kutsuki Baidiao.
He had remained nearby without making a move to deny Kutsuki Baidiao any chance of escape. But honestly, he was likely the strongest of the four clan heads. Even the head of the Kaguya Clan was no match for him.
Kutsuki Baidiao looked at him.
His breathing was labored, his chest heaving like a bellows. Blood seeped from the wound in his right ribs with every breath.
Mizunotsuki Shigure raised his right hand.
An ice blade condensed in his palm. Its blade was transparent and so thin it was nearly invisible, with only its edge glimmering in icy blue light.
Kutsuki Baidiao did not dodge.
He had already reached his limit. He knew he could neither run nor evade this strike.
The moment the ice blade pierced his heart, his body shuddered. Then every tense muscle went slack in an instant.
The water whips slid from his ankles. His body toppled backward.
Kutsuki Baidiao lay flat on his back upon the sand of the dry landscape garden, amid concentric circles ruined by his footsteps and blood.
His dark gray yukata was more than half soaked through with blood, while the faded blue sash remained tied around his waist.
His eyes