Bai Mo Awakens

The One-Horned Demon spoke in a mocking tone as it strode closer, step by step, toward Bai Mo and Na'er.

It was a language Na'er had never heard before, but she could understand the undisguised greed and malice on the monster's face.

Overwhelming fear seized her tiny body, yet when she looked at her gravely injured brother lying behind her, she still gathered all her courage. Spreading her thin arms like a mother hen protecting her chicks, she firmly shielded Bai Mo behind her.

Her voice trembled with fear, yet it was remarkably clear. "Monster, don't come any closer!"

Behind her, Bai Mo, whose consciousness was already beginning to blur, endured the tearing pain in his chest and forced his eyes open.

He stared at the One-Horned Demon in horror because he understood what the monster had said.

It was neither the Chinese he knew from his previous life nor the common language of this world, which was nearly identical to Chinese. It was clearly... Japanese?

In an instant, countless chaotic thoughts exploded through his mind.

Was this monster not native to this world? Like him, was it also a transmigrator from another world?

Was this truly the Douluo Continent he knew?

But the agonizing pain from his chest came in waves, shattering his tangled thoughts time and again, leaving him no chance to think further.

"Hehe, what a brave little girl."

The One-Horned Demon let out a nauseating chuckle. It stretched out its long tongue and licked its fangs. "Then I'll start with you. I'll eat you first, then slowly savor your brother."

Before it had even finished speaking, it pounced again.

But at that moment, a small golden figure darted out like lightning and planted itself firmly in front of Na'er.

Its back arched as it bared a mouthful of tiny sharp teeth at the approaching One-Horned Demon. Threatening, youthful growls rumbled from its throat.

It was Fufu.

The instant the One-Horned Demon met Fufu's pure golden beast eyes, its charging body abruptly froze.

An indescribable chill surged from the base of its spine to the top of its head, leaving its entire body unable to move.

This feeling... was far too familiar.

It was like the time it had accidentally encountered one of the Twelve Kizuki—a supreme, irresistible suppression born from the hierarchy of life itself.

It could not understand how such a tiny thing, looking no different from a rich family's pet, could give it such an intense sense of impending death.

Its reason screamed madly, warning it to flee at once.

But the scent of the two children's flesh and blood, along with its craving for power, had already burned away its sanity completely.

"Get out of my way, little beast!"

Enraged by its instinctive fear, the One-Horned Demon ignored the intense sense of danger and roared as it swung a claw at Fufu.

At the same time, Bai Mo's consciousness was falling into boundless darkness.

Yet at the end of that darkness, an extreme unwillingness, fury, and desire to destroy everything before him erupted like a volcano.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

His heart suddenly began pounding like a war drum, and scorching golden blood surged through his veins at an unprecedented speed.

Just as the One-Horned Demon's claws were about to come down, and Fufu's limbs sank slightly as the mysterious golden vertical mark on its brow began to split open, ready to reveal a majestic vertical eye—

Bai Mo, who had been on the verge of death only moments before, suddenly shot out from behind Na'er, moving so fast that he left only an afterimage.

A wisp of golden flame ignited out of nowhere around his swinging right fist, instantly enveloping his entire hand.

The flames carried an astonishing heat wave, warping even the air around them.

"Bang—!!!"

Like a ripe watermelon smashed by an iron hammer, a dull explosive crack rang through the hut.

The One-Horned Demon's head was completely blasted apart by an unstoppable force the instant it came into contact with that fist wreathed in golden flames.

The red-and-white filth and blood had barely splattered out before the golden flames swept over them, instantly vaporizing them without a trace.

The One-Horned Demon's headless body stiffened sharply, then crashed to the ground without another sound.

"B-Brother?"

Na'er's purple eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at Bai Mo, who stood before her with flames burning on his fist.

"Fufu?"

Fufu tilted its head and let out a puzzled cry. The vertical eye on its brow, which had already opened halfway, instantly shut again, returning to an inconspicuous vertical mark.

Bai Mo lowered his head and looked at the quietly burning golden flames on his hand. Then he gritted his teeth and made a mad decision.

He grabbed the golden flames and ruthlessly pressed them against the bone-deep wound in his chest.

"Sizzle—!"

With a sound like roasting meat and the smell of scorching flesh, wisps of white smoke rose into the air.

The extreme pain made his entire body tremble uncontrollably. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back, and he even bit through his lip, yet he did not let out so much as a muffled groan.

Under the scorching golden flames, the torn flesh was forcibly charred and fused together, while the surging golden blood was forcibly stopped.

He had to do this.

Otherwise, he would surely die from excessive blood loss.

As for the flames on his hand... he had no idea where they had come from.

He only knew that, at that moment when death had been imminent, a force had inexplicably surged from the deepest part of his body. He had merely followed his instincts and released it.

"Brother!"

Na'er let out a scream, more terrified than she had been when facing the monster.

Watching her brother burn his own body with flames, tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string.

She scrambled to Bai Mo's side and reached out with her little hands, only to stop midway, too afraid to touch the charred wound that was still smoking.

"Does it hurt... Brother, does it hurt? Don't let anything happen to you..."

Her voice was thick with tears, filled with anguish and helplessness.

Bai Mo drew a deep breath, and even that breath seemed to carry the smell of burnt flesh.

He raised his left hand, the one without flames, and gently placed it on Na'er's head. Gathering all his strength, he barely forced out a smile uglier than a cry.

"N-No... it doesn't hurt."

His voice was hoarse like an old broken bellows. "Be good, Na'er. Brother... is fine."

But at that moment, Na'er's pupils suddenly contracted. Her gaze passed over Bai Mo's shoulder and fixed on something behind him.

"Brother!"

She screamed again. This time, it was no longer out of distress, but sheer horror.

Her small hand pointed behind Bai Mo, trembling violently with fear.

Almost at the same time, Fufu let out another threatening growl, and all the golden fur on its body stood on end.

Bai Mo's heart jolted. Enduring the agony throughout his body, he turned toward the sound.

Against the wind and snow outside the door, the headless corpse that should have been thoroughly dead was swaying as it slowly climbed back to its feet.

At the severed stump of its blasted neck, flesh and blood writhed and multiplied like living things, frantically trying to rebuild a head.