It Died Fast-and Painfully

The man in white cloth closed the black leather booklet, his tone still quite polite.

Bai Zhu stood at the edge of the shattered hall, looking down at the transparent containers below.

The curse on his lips went unspoken.

He gripped Hozukimaru, his fingers slowly tightening.

The man in white cloth raised a hand, and the dark red lights on both sides of the altar brightened in a circle.

"Outsider, there is no need for you to be nervous."

"Your power does not belong to this world. Mother can grant you new life."

"Wash away your old name, cast aside your fear, embrace brand-new power, and you will become Mother's closest child."

Bai Zhu raised his head and looked toward the altar below.

"New life?"

His voice was low.

"The last time I heard that phrase was from one of your Sankara avatars."

The man in white cloth paused.

Bai Zhu smiled.

"What a coincidence. It died fast—and painfully."

As those words fell, every gray-robed figure crouching in the circular hall shuddered.

The deacon clung to the control console, his teeth chattering so hard he could barely speak.

"H-He really is that..."

The man in white cloth did not get angry.

He even tucked the black leather booklet under his arm and lightly clapped his hands.

"Awaken."

Behind the altar on the lower level, the wall emitted a grating sound.

A suit of Black Gold armor peeled itself out of the wall.

Then came a second.

A third.

A fourth.

Chains snapped one after another. Knight swords slid from their slots and were seized by armored hands.

Bai Zhu swept his gaze over them.

There were not many—just over a dozen, perhaps.

But the candle-flame patterns on every one of their chests were deeper and larger than those on the