Scarlet pierced heaven and earth.
Everyone in South Los looked up, and all they saw was red.
And...
A bloody stench.
It smelled like blood mixed with entrails left baking in the June sun for a whole day, then tossed into a cesspit to ferment for three more.
Blech!
People immediately began vomiting.
And as they vomited, their expressions turned vacant.
As though...
Their souls were leaving their bodies!
No!
Their souls were truly leaving their bodies!
One translucent spirit after another was sucked out of its body, about to drift toward the scarlet river in the sky.
This was the Mystic Art the Blood Marquis had created himself: "Blood River."
In the name of "blood," it devoured the souls of all things, constantly strengthening itself until its surging flow became endless and unbroken. No spirit that entered it could escape. All would be devoured and enslaved.
Anyone who stood before the "Blood River"...
Would be crushed.
Even Old Lion was no exception.
In a single instant, Old Lion pushed both [Distortion], the inherited Mystic Art of the Theophat Psychic Order anchored in "life" and "death," and his "space" Talent beyond their limits.
Hum!
A distinctive golden light formed a shield before Old Lion.
But,
It was useless!
Even prying at "time" once again did no good.
Bang!
Crack!
The golden shield shattered the instant it collided with the "Blood River."
"Life and death?
"Life and death cycle endlessly within the 'Blood River.' What can your [Distortion] do?
"Space?
"My 'Blood River' is boundless. How could your space possibly transport you out of it?
"As for time?
"Within the endlessly surging 'Blood River'...
"There is no time!"
The Blood Marquis laughed.
He was different from the Count of South Los and the Grand Duke of North County.
He knew Old