Setsuna no Takemaru's head instantly burst into a cloud of bloody mist. A shimmer of icy blue kept the blood at bay as Mingye stood calmly.
Every arrow and spear shattered beneath his sword pressure, unable even to approach him.
"The general is dead!"
"Everyone, kill him!"
"Or none of us will survive!"
The few remaining deputy commanders barely kept their wits about them and loudly directed the troops, even as they themselves secretly retreated.
The soldiers charged at Mingye. Humans harbored intense hatred toward yokai, and the battle cries of nearly ten thousand soldiers shook heaven and earth.
But for these soldiers, who possessed little strength, to think they could hurt Mingye was nothing short of a fool's dream.
Waves of sword pressure swept away the soldiers' souls like the Grim Reaper's scythe, taking their lives.
Mingye's expression remained calm, as though he were merely chopping vegetables. It was not that he was heartless, but that here, on this battlefield, everyone before him was an enemy!
Besides, although he had been human in his previous life, he shared no common origin with the humans of this other world. Thus, he felt nothing.
His sword grew ever hotter, as though undergoing a transformation. It had devoured the evil energy of tens of thousands of yokai earlier, and now, as it slew soldier after soldier, it received an even greater boost.
The aura of Slay Gods and Demons grew more intense. Human emotions were stronger than those of yokai, and the hatred and malicious thoughts arising now made Slay Gods and Demons pulse with pleasure.
Mingye felt no stir of emotion. The moment these humans attacked him, they had all become his enemies.
Mingye never showed mercy to his enemies. Anyone who stood in his path had to be cut down!
"Aah!"
"He's a devil!"
"He's too terrifying!"
"Demon!"
"Help..."
The thunderous battle cries of a moment ago instantly became a chorus of screams beneath Mingye's sword.
These soldiers swaggered arrogantly before the weak, but when faced with a powerful, invincible enemy, they revealed every ugly side of themselves, their hearts filled with fear.
Warhorses bolted wildly through the ranks, and some unfortunate soldiers were trampled to death. In an instant, the army of nearly ten thousand descended into chaos.
No one charged anymore. They desperately retreated, fleeing for their lives! Fleeing in a mad panic!
But Mingye's sword was cold and biting. Its sword energy swept in every direction, reaping the soldiers' lives one after another.
With their commanding general dead and their morale already shattered, the army took little time to finish off.
Fresh, searing blood soaked this land once more, and countless scraps of flesh joined those already scattered across it. Life was utterly fragile at this moment.
The Netherworld Stone that Tōga had given Mingye glimmered faintly inside his robes, giving off a weak pulse.
After taking countless lives that night, Mingye had entered a peculiar state, gaining a deeper understanding of life and death.
The power of the Underworld contained within the Netherworld Stone also flowed into Mingye's mind at that moment, merging with his insights.
His eyes had long since closed, yet his hands never slowed. By the time dawn's light fully shone upon him, no enemy remained around him.
Corpses covered the ground at his feet, and blood flowed in rivers.
He stood quietly in one spot, all the blood flowing around him. Like a divine sword standing upright, he remained untouched by anything in the outside world.
"This is..."
Within Mingye's inner world, a breathtaking starry cosmos seemed to have formed. Countless stars shone amid the surrounding darkness.
An inner world-what a wondrous place. Mingye studied his surroundings curiously.
The stars around him were as illusory as castles in the air or the moon reflected in water, utterly unreal.
"This aura... seems like..."
A light suddenly appeared before Mingye, seemingly guiding him in its direction.
He followed the light, and his surroundings changed once more, becoming a pitch-black passage. Only the distant light remained unchanged, never disappearing.
Mingye sped through the dark passage, intent on discovering what secret lay within that light.
As he advanced, the light grew ever more brilliant. He was drawing closer, and the aura emanating from it felt familiar.
He already had some suspicions, but he still needed to see it for himself!
The passage was even longer than he had imagined. He was certain it was the longest road he had ever traveled in his life.
The light was dazzling, yet it could not overwhelm Mingye's deep gaze. Beneath its radiance, images gradually appeared within the dark passage.
"Huh?!"
Mingye paused, letting out a quiet sound of surprise. The images in the passage actually depicted his growth on Bluestone Mountain after coming to this world.
This light had revealed his experiences. Watching his own growth from an outsider's perspective gave him an indescribable feeling.
He had always worked hard, unwavering in his determination to grow stronger. To survive in this world, he had been meticulous, never wasting a moment.
He also saw the dangers he had encountered when he was weak. He truly had been feeble back then. Without the experiences of his previous life, he would have died long ago.
At that time, the threat of death had been what he felt most keenly. Yet now, he could dictate the life and death of countless others.
With each step forward under the light's guidance, Mingye felt his spirit becoming more substantial and firm. It was a profoundly mysterious sensation.
At last, he reached the light and saw what had been guiding him. It was none other than the Netherworld Stone.
The scene before him changed again. The Netherworld Stone projected a world of utter darkness, a world filled with deathly silence and souls.
"Is that the Underworld?"
The moment Mingye saw this scene, the name of the Underworld arose in his mind.
Mountains of corpses, seas of blood, endless white bones. Spirits and evil ghosts wandered through that dark world. It was a world entirely unlike the world of the living, eerie in the extreme.
Any living being who stepped inside would never be able to return to the mortal world.
Unless they possessed the power of the Underworld-the authority that granted passage into it.
This was Mingye's first glimpse of this world's Underworld. Although it was only an image projected by the Netherworld Stone, it shook him to his core.
This Underworld did not seem peaceful. Conflict appeared to exist within it just as it did in the world of the living.
For he saw evil ghosts devouring one another and spirits fighting. Their numbers were staggering; these were far from isolated incidents.
This was clearly a scene of a great war. Like the world of the living, the Underworld seemed to have factions fighting over territory.
"Perhaps... it's not just territory... but also the position of Lord of the Underworld, its sovereign!"
Mingye's eyes flickered. In the original course of events, Sesshomaru had slain an Underworld being who called himself the Lord of the Underworld in order to perfect the full-moon form of Meidō Zangetsuha.
But could the sovereign who ruled the Underworld truly be so fragile and weak?
Mingye suspected that being might merely have been a contender for the position of Lord of the Underworld.
After all, even a Greater Yokai like Tōga deeply feared the power of the Underworld. With Tenseiga in his possession, there was no way he would have been unable to slay a so-called Lord of the Underworld whom Sesshomaru could kill.
It was therefore quite likely that his conjecture was correct: that Lord of the Underworld was an impostor, merely a somewhat formidable yokai from the Underworld.
"Once I'm stronger, I can go take a look!"
Before you continue