The Matsue Domain.
Kenjaku stood on a rise, a pitch-black blade planted in the ground before him.
The Soul-Devouring Blade.
Its edge was buried in the earth, its dark surface gleaming coldly, like a frozen fissure beneath the sunlight. Kenjaku looked down at it, then raised his head toward the distant ridge, already battered beyond recognition.
Waves of cursed energy rolled in from that direction, one after another, like two giants tearing into each other.
Before the battle, Kashimo had specifically instructed him.
"If the fight gets troublesome, please send the Soul-Devouring Blade over."
Judging by the frequency and intensity of those cursed energy fluctuations, things had probably reached the "troublesome" stage.
Kenjaku withdrew his gaze and brought his palms together.
Blood-red cursed energy began gathering in his palms. It was the distinctive hue of Blood Manipulation, thick as congealed blood, churning, compressing, and condensing between his hands.
He drew a deep breath.
He thrust both palms forward.
"Piercing Blood."
Highly pressurized cursed energy erupted from his palms like a blood-red laser, striking the very end of the Soul-Devouring Blade's hilt with pinpoint accuracy.
Boom!
That terrifying force ripped the Soul-Devouring Blade out of the earth, sending it streaking toward the battlefield in a flash of black.
The blade tore through the air with a piercing whistle that echoed across the mountains.
Kenjaku stood where he was, watching that streak vanish beyond the limits of his vision.
"Don't go dying on me."
He murmured it so softly that even he could barely hear himself.
Meanwhile, Kashimo and Zenin Sawa had once again locked themselves in close combat.
Fists blurred and kicks howled through the air. The two traded blows along the mountain road, each collision leaving fresh cracks in the ground. But this time was different. Like an inescapable shadow, Agito stayed glued to Zenin Sawa's flank. Whenever Kashimo's fist was about to break through Zenin Sawa's defenses, the Chimera Beast cut in from the side, blocking the lethal blow with its enormous body.
A whipping kick swept toward Zenin Sawa's waist.
Agito thrust an arm across and took the kick head-on. Thunderclap scorched the fur on that arm black, and its muscles trembled under the impact, but it did not retreat. Kashimo used the contact to flip away, swiftly retreating to open up some distance.
He landed ten paces away, staring at the man and shikigami before him.
He took a breath.
Troublesome.
He could not finish Zenin Sawa quickly. The man's hand-to-hand skills were inferior to his, but with Agito's support, his defenses were almost airtight. Every time Kashimo's fist was about to break through Zenin Sawa's guard, Agito crashed in like a wall.
Likewise, he could not finish Agito quickly.
Every time he blasted a gaping hole through the Chimera Beast's abdomen, Zenin Sawa's attacks reached him before he could follow up. Piercing Water, Piercing Ox's charges, and Max Elephant's jets of water all forced him to retreat, to defend, and to watch helplessly as Agito filled that hole with Reverse Cursed Technique.
Then it all started over.
Kashimo stood still, his breathing slightly quickened.
Tricky.
Several ideas ran through his mind, only to be rejected one by one. Electromagnetic Cannon needed time to charge, and at this range, Zenin Sawa would never give him that time. Close combat offered no way around Agito's interference either.
He watched the man opposite him, still standing straight despite his heavy breathing, and the Chimera Beast, already healed and ready to fight again.
This is getting a little troublesome.
"What's wrong?"
Zenin Sawa kneaded his left shoulder, a smile spreading across his bloodstained face.
"You look pretty frustrated."
Kashimo did not answer. He stood where he was, breathing steadily, his gaze resting on the man and shikigami opposite him, his expression unreadable.
"Hmph."
He snorted, his voice as calm as stagnant water.
"Bullshit."
Zenin Sawa's smile stiffened for an instant.
Kashimo suddenly raised one hand, palm up and fingers spread, as though waiting for something to fall into it.
Zenin Sawa frowned.
Then he looked up.
Something was falling from the sky. A pitch-black shadow traced a straight line through the sunlight, drawing closer and becoming clearer with every instant.
A blade.
Its pitch-black surface gleamed with a dark, cold light as it dropped toward Kashimo's outstretched palm.
Zenin Sawa's pupils abruptly contracted.
He did not recognize that blade, but he could feel the cursed energy radiating from it, chilling and intense, almost solid.
Whatever that thing is.
If Kashimo gets it...
I'll lose for certain.
"Agito!"
Zenin Sawa's voice exploded across the battlefield.
But Kashimo was faster.
The instant his hand touched the hilt, the Soul-Devouring Blade seemed to come alive. The blade hummed, and cursed energy poured from the hilt into his palm, spreading up his arm and through his entire body. He did not look at the blade, did not test its balance, did not waste a single movement.
He turned.
He swung.
White light flashed-the afterimage of a blade moving at unimaginable speed, a fissure torn through the air before it had time to close. Agito did not even have time to make a sound before its enormous body was severed at the waist. Momentum carried its upper half another two steps forward before it crashed to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust.
That streak of white still lingered in Zenin Sawa's pupils.
He did not look at Agito's remains or check whether the Chimera Beast could still heal. The instant the white light vanished, his hands were already forming a seal.
"Domain Expansion-"
His voice was hoarse, almost a roar.
"Shadows of All Creation!"
The shadows came alive again. They did not spread-they erupted. A black tide exploded beneath Zenin Sawa's feet, expanding in every direction at astonishing speed. This time, it was faster, fiercer, and left even less room for escape.
Kashimo raised his blade and dashed forward.
The edge swept across the boundary of the shadows, but they gave him no opening. The black shell closed with unstoppable force, swallowing him and Zenin Sawa together.
The domain's shell sealed completely.
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.
In the distance.
Fenghua stood at a bend in the mountain road, her gaze fixed on the solidified black hemisphere. She blinked, feeling something peel away from her body: Kenjaku's cursed energy, melting like a thin layer of ice in the sunlight.
The Manipulation Technique had been released.
She flexed her fingers and tightened her grip on the emerald-green Ruyi Staff. The cursed technique Kenjaku had placed on her allowed her to share Kashimo's vision, while also letting Kenjaku follow the battle in real time.
As for why Kenjaku had not used it on himself...
Fenghua did not dwell on it.
Whatever the outcome, the man with stitches across his forehead had already achieved his goal.
But that was a matter for later.
She brought her attention back to what was in front of her.
Along the mountain road, the Zenin Clan's sorcerers were pouring in from every direction. Some carried blades, some formed hand seals, and others summoned shikigami. They had only one target: that solidified black hemisphere.
Fenghua stood across the path they had to take, the Ruyi Staff held horizontally before her.
Her task was simple.
Let no one interfere with this battle.
Before you continue