Different Changes; And a Late Arrival

Is it over...?

Looking at the Spider Lilies blooming like a blood-red carpet, instantly covering every inch of the temple courtyard, like the never-ending flames of Naraku burning on the scorched earth of Hell, guarding the Horse-Headed Demon at the very center, Gu Mo, personally experiencing the shock of facing such a powerful Lord of Perpetual Darkness at close range, had this thought flash through his mind.

This was the final part of the scene in Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village. As long as this Horse-Headed Demon was eliminated, the first act of the novice village in the game would be cleared.

So... he should be able to go back, right?

He subconsciously held his breath, watching the black-haired girl swiftly swing her sword to meet the attack. The Horse-Headed Monster, comparable to the Ox-Head Demon from before, with a massive body like a small mountain, also let out a long neigh, swinging its serrated greatsword, also comparable to the Ox-Head Demon's spiked club, sweeping it horizontally with immense force.

There was nothing fancy about it, just an incredibly large attack range and overwhelming, unstoppable power—

Although it wasn't a forty-meter greatsword, the total length of that serrated greatsword added up to at least over ten meters, which was equivalent to the height of four or five stories.

With such a serrated greatsword wielded by a Yokai of the Horse-Headed Demon's size, the sweeping attack unleashed was simply unstoppable, capable of sweeping away a thousand armies! Even Hidechiyo didn't want to take a direct hit, because it would definitely hurt...

Gu Mo, standing by the entrance, couldn't help but squint slightly. The gust of wind rushing towards him was like a knife, stinging his face. Even though he was standing so far away, without getting close at all, he still felt as if the serrated greatsword had swept past right in front of him, grazing the tip of his nose!

If he had been any closer, he was afraid that the airflow and wind pressure generated would have been enough to cut his body in half at the waist!

Amidst the piercing howl of the wind, he squinted, vaguely seeing a head of beautiful black hair fluttering in the gale. The girl's figure was as agile as a swallow. The Horse-Headed Demon's sweeping attack not only failed to hit her, but she had already leaped up just as it swept past.

While avoiding this powerful and heavy horizontal slash, capable of splitting mountains and shattering steles, her toes lightly touched the serrated greatsword sweeping past below—

Using that leverage, she leaped high into the air, her body spinning and soaring, drawing an elegant yet deadly arc from above the Horse-Headed Demon's head, finally landing behind the Yokai. She bent her knees slightly to absorb the force, half-kneeling on the ground as if weightless, her hand gripping her sheathed sword.

Immediately after, as if the scene was delayed, dazzling and chaotic crescent-shaped arcs of light erupted above the Horse-Headed Demon's forehead. The trajectory of the slash cut through the air, shattering and intertwining... After a brief freeze-frame, the Demon Horns soaring from the Horse-Headed Demon's forehead shattered with a crash amidst the chaotic lines of slashes!

Like golden grains of rice, points of brilliant light – a large amount of high-density Essence – just emerged from the broken demon horns, and were immediately scattered by the strong wind.

Letting out a wail, the ferocious and wrathful Horse-Headed Demon's hooves went weak, and its entire body, like a collapsing mountain, heavily crashed to the ground, kicking up dust.

The bloody light in its scarlet eyes was no longer blazing, but instantly dimmed. It could no longer grip the serrated greatsword in its hand, and it also heavily slammed onto the ground, causing the surrounding ground to tremble slightly.

The exact same process, one could say there was nothing new about it—

But precisely because of this, one could see how profound the girl's fundamental skills were, honed through slaughtering these Yokai. Even when facing a Lord of Perpetual Darkness that ordinary people couldn't possibly contend with, she could make the battle take on a distinctly assembly-line feel.

Gu Mo was slightly amazed in his heart. This clean and decisive fighting style was full of the sense of swift and resolute action. Although it wasn't the first time he had seen it, it still made him feel dazzled.

It was different from the feeling of instantly killing Ape Fiends and Yokai with one strike. Although those scenes looked powerful, they were completely different from the shock and impact brought by a tiny human instantly killing giant monsters like the Ox-Head Demon and Horse-Headed Demon with the same method.

However, at the same time he was marveling, within the near black-and-white world of Perpetual Darkness, a purple light burst forth that wasn't dazzling, but was definitely noticeable!

Countless phantom-like purple blades shot up into the sky, like a dense and vast school of fish rapidly swimming and weaving through the sea, mighty and imposing. They suddenly took a turn in mid-air, and countless phantom blades fell like rain. In an instant, the ground shook and mountains crumbled!

Dust rose everywhere, filling the surroundings and obscuring vision.

Gu Mo subconsciously retreated a few steps, raising his hand to shield himself from the wind pressure and the sand and dust being kicked up, but he still felt like sand almost got in his eyes, making it difficult to open them.

When the dust gradually cleared, what came into view was a tragic sight. The entire temple courtyard was a river of blood. The massive body of the Horse-Headed Demon was riddled with holes, pierced and completely pinned to the ground by phantom blades that seemed both real and illusory, imbued with flowing purple light. It was utterly lifeless.

The ground was scarred and the body was riddled with holes. From the hideous and shocking bloody cavities, hot Yokai blood surged like a gushing spring, splashing out and dyeing the surrounding courtyard ground a strange, eerie red!

At first glance, it was a scarlet ocean like blood...

As the Horse-Headed Demon died, the world of Perpetual Darkness also receded, but the dreadful blood-red color replaced the blooming and wilting of the Spider Lilies. Moreover, under a certain terrifying pressure, cold sweat instantly broke out on Gu Mo's forehead. He felt a pressure even heavier than the Perpetual Darkness just now.

It was like a person facing a top predator, the pressure from the top of the food chain, making the soul tremble. It had nothing to do with courage or will; it was simply because the world was inherently this way – just as a block of ice will only evaporate and melt under high temperatures, and the result will not be different because the ice block has "firm will" or "extraordinary courage."

His chest felt tight, he couldn't breathe, his mind knew what was happening, and his rationality told him not to be afraid, not to be afraid, but his nerve cells, under the combined action of instinct and hormones, were constantly producing the emotion of fear...

Gu Mo slightly gasped for air, his gaze fixed tightly on that strange and beautiful figure in a peculiar posture.

Suspended in mid-air, her toes about half a meter from the ground, her silver hair casually draped, having a sense of elegant nobility amidst the messiness. The exquisite golden horns shone with a full, golden-yellow light like a full moon. Traces of purple illusory flowing light circled around her like dancing fireflies...

—Yokai Transformation...

—Phantom Form...

Gu Mo instantly recognized what this was, and at the same time felt terrified. Axiu had transformed into a Yokai, just like in the story. As for whether it was due to plot inertia or some other reason, he really didn't know.

Because the information given in the game was actually very little, and the time span of the plot was particularly large, sometimes several years could pass between two missions. So many questions went unexplained, at least he couldn't fully grasp them, and therefore couldn't understand what was going on now.

Why did she still transform into a Yokai? She didn't seem to have been injured at all from beginning to end, and when she dealt with the Horse-Headed Demon, it was as clean and decisive as when she dealt with the Ox-Head Demon.

Gu Mo's mind was a mess, he had many guesses, but none of them could be confirmed. Moreover, at this moment, he subconsciously didn't dare to make any move.

Because, in the quiet atmosphere that felt like solidified air, the Yokai-transformed figure's eyes turned towards him with a cold gaze. Purple demon patterns had appeared on her cheeks at some point, and keratin layers extending from the horns on her head covered the right half of her face like a natural mask.

Noble, mysterious...

One could vaguely make out the contours of the black-haired girl's previous face, so it wasn't completely unrecognizable.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still.

Several breaths passed like this, and nothing happened. Gu Mo stared intently at the strange and beautiful figure, desperately forcing himself to calm down. He found that the girl in the Yokai transformation state seemed to be desperately suppressing something—

Although she was suspended in mid-air and didn't move after killing the Horse-Headed Demon, her body was constantly trembling slightly.

Violent...

Chaotic...

The restless, violent instinct and the gentle, rational personality were fighting each other within the girl's body. She was trying to regain her own will, but this process was extremely difficult, she was struggling exceptionally hard, and felt that her self-consciousness was being swallowed little by little by the violent waves of the storm.

Go quickly, go quickly...

Get away from here...

While it could still barely resist, it should quickly escape from its side...

The Phantom Yokai desperately suppressed the frenzy that was about to engulf it. Its body trembled but it made no move, only staring intently at the person at the entrance of the courtyard, praying that the other party would understand its meaning, or be scared away.

It really couldn't hold on any longer and might turn into a mindless Evil Spirit at any moment!

However—

"Hold on, Axiu, I might have a way..."

The person opposite took a deep breath, took out a Spirit Stone from his pocket that glowed with a faint golden Essence light like rice ears, gritted his teeth, and quickly walked towards it.

I should turn around and run right now, ignoring everything, because this scene should be considered complete. As long as I go back the way I came, based on experience, I should be able to leave this scene and return to the residential area in the real world... with the experience, Level, and loot I've gained.

This is the choice that can maximize my benefits. The Dungeon is already cleared, there's really no need to take risks at the very end. Anyway, the girl's usefulness to me is not as great as before, and although she's a little special to me, she doesn't know me...

I'm a stranger to her, so I originally had no obligation to do anything...

At this moment, many thoughts flashed through Gu Mo's mind, finally converging into one sentence that echoed repeatedly in his heart.

It's already cleared... it's already cleared...

He told himself that at this time, he should be a little selfish. As long as the Dungeon was cleared, what happened next didn't matter, even if it was a flood, it wouldn't affect him anyway. There was no need to care so much.

But... he couldn't do it.

He might not be noble, but he had his own bottom line. At least for now, he wasn't willing to become the kind of person he despised. Rather than leaving a knot in his heart afterward, constantly regretting and questioning himself, it was better to make a choice that felt right now.

With that thought—

Although his heart was pounding wildly, and the terrifying, almost tangible pressure made him feel like he was suffocating and couldn't breathe... strangely, he felt his mind completely clear, and his heart was calm and peaceful, experiencing an unprecedented sense of relief.

He walked step by step against the pressure, under the Phantom Yokai's cold gaze, as fast as possible, his face pale but without fear.

Coming before the strange yet beautiful figure, Gu Mo held the palm-sized Spirit Stone in his hand and tentatively offered it to the Yokai Transformation Hidechiyo. In the story he knew, Tokichiro used the power of the Spirit Stone to save Hidechiyo who was about to fall to the Yokai side.

The Spirit Stone was useful, but how should it be used?

Should it work by just getting close? But why is there no reaction?

Gu Mo was anxious. He decisively focused his attention and pressed the "Use" option on the Spirit Stone in his hand. The next moment, the Spirit Stone shattered, and the pure Essence seeped into his skin like water in his hand, or seemed to evaporate into the air, and was absorbed just like that.

His heavy body suddenly felt much lighter, his stamina recovered somewhat, and his mind was also clear...

Instant effect, but this isn't the effect I want! This isn't for me! Dammit, how can I use this thing on someone else? Isn't there an interaction option for me to choose?!

He gritted his teeth tightly, trying to keep his voice calm: "Don't, don't worry, I have two more here, it's okay..."

The Phantom Yokai floating in front of him looked down at him, its eyes exceptionally cold, with terrifying, sharp waves of killing intent and bloodthirsty light constantly shifting in its pupils. But its body trembled even more violently, yet it made no movement.

Behind this calm, an unusually huge wave was suppressed!

The second Spirit Stone was still held firmly in Gu Mo's hand, showing no abnormality, which made him even more anxious. Could it be that because of his interference, the Hidechiyo of this world was really going to become a Yokai?

After all, if it weren't for his intrusion, when she finished clearing Thirteen Cherry Blossom Village at her own pace, dealt with the Horse-Headed Demon, and fell into Yokai Transformation, Tokichiro should have arrived just in time, right? But now... the monkey hasn't arrived yet.

Thinking of this terrifying possibility, Gu Mo clenched the fist of his other hand, his nails digging into his flesh.

However, at this moment, the floating Phantom Yokai suddenly landed on the ground, resting its hands on the ground as if it had lost all strength. The purple phantom light flowing on its trembling body gradually faded, and its long, flowing silver hair faded from its bright silver color, turning back to its original black.

The black-haired girl, who had returned to her original appearance, let out a long breath, looked up at him, and just managed a weak, relieved smile before her head tilted, and she completely collapsed onto the ground.

Did the Spirit Stone work...?

Gu Mo was stunned for a moment, but looking at the unresponsive Spirit Stone in his hand, he immediately denied this possibility. So, that meant Axiu had completed this self-rescue entirely through her own will, without any external help?

He squatted down, helped the girl up, and checked her. He found that she had just fainted and her breathing was still steady. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yo, I'm late—"

Just then, a voice greeting him came from the gate behind him.

A middle-aged man with somewhat cunning eyes appeared there. Seeing the brutal scene inside, like Hell with rivers of blood, he was shocked. He looked intently and saw a young man kneeling on the ground, supporting an unconscious girl.

"You... you are the famous Exorcist?" The man looked a little confused and opened his mouth, "I thought it was just one person. Did you come here overnight?"

"..."

"..."

"Yes, I... we all came to this village last night."

Looking at the still unconscious black-haired girl, Gu Mo was silent for a moment, then twitched the corner of his mouth and answered carefully.