Fantasy Library.

Chapter 506 Giving You a Chance to Make a Move
In the pitch-black moonlight, deep in the desolate mountains, under the watchful and vigilant gaze of Aize and his companions, a beast-shaped mass covered in mud slowly emerged from the bushes.

It was covered in a miasma that seemed to drip black mud, and its hollow eyes were fixed on the front, or rather, on Aize and Asahi Yoshino. Although it did not release any killing intent, it released a malice that was as real as a substance.

The intensity of that malice vividly illustrated the word that Yoshino Asagi and the others kept on their lips—"curse."

"coming!"

Cong Yu, who was tightly clutching Aize's clothes, exclaimed in surprise, instantly igniting the tense atmosphere on the scene.

"call!"

A sludge-like, beast-shaped mass suddenly leaped out, transforming into a black shadow that rushed towards them with a chilling gust of wind.

Its target was Azer, who stood at the very front and had been calmly watching it.

"Don't think about it!"

Before Aize could move, Hitachi Mako, who was about two steps behind him, moved first.

Suddenly, Hitachi Mako flung out her kunai, sending it slicing through the air as it met the oncoming evil spirit.

"Oh!"

The sharp kunai struck the charging evil spirit, producing a dull thud.

As if struck by a blunt object, the evil spirit flew backward, and the kunai that collided with it also flew back, only to be caught again by Hitachi Mako.

"Shh!"

The defeated evil spirit seemed to have truly turned into a puddle of black mud, first melting away and then quickly returning to its original state. It was in this way that it was able to stand up, rather than struggling to get up with its limbs.

After getting up, the black mud mass immediately extended tentacles, which, like the kunai from before, sliced ​​through the air and pulled out directly.

This time, its target was not Aize, but Yoshino Asatake, who was standing at the very back.

Even though it was Hitachi Mako who attacked it, it ignored Hitachi Mako as an outsider, only having eyes for Aizawa and Asagi Yoshino, and completely disregarding Hitachi Mako.

Hitachi Mako seemed to have gotten used to the way the evil spirits acted. Without the slightest hesitation, she cut in front of Asatake Yoshino, brandishing her kunai to meet the oncoming tentacles.

"Oh!"

The sharp kunai struck the attacking tentacle, but just like before, it produced a dull thud once again.

Just as Hitachi Mako had said, the kunai in her hand had no effect on exorcising evil spirits at all; it couldn't even break through the evil spirit's tentacles.

However, the tentacles that came rushing in with great force, tearing through the air, were bounced high away by Hitachi Mako's counterattack.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...

The tentacles, not to be outdone, attacked from several directions, only to be met with equally fierce counterattacks from Hitachi Mako.

Hitachi Mako calmly deflected the attacking tentacles time and time again. Even though the tentacles' attacks were powerful and heavy, and each one seemed to blend into the surrounding darkness, making it difficult to catch their shape, the female ninja in her protective role was still able to accurately deflect them, preventing them from getting close to Asatake Yoshino behind her.

"sharp."

Aize couldn't help but praise what he saw.

Because it was dark, he couldn't see Hitachi Mako's expression or eyes, but from her unwavering actions, he could vaguely guess that this female ninja wasn't relying on her eyesight to detect the evil spirit's attacks, but rather on her hearing.

The sound of the wind cutting through the air caused by the demon's tentacles was fast and urgent, but Hitachi Mako was still able to catch its presence. In less than a second, she judged the direction, angle and force of the tentacle's attack and deflected it away.

This hearing is definitely the result of specialized training; it's far superior to Aize's, who simply focuses on physical fitness.

"Oh!"

With another swing of her kunai, repelling the tentacles, Hitachi Mako spoke loudly.

"It's coming!"

This was another sound detected by hearing.

Unable to break through her defenses, the evil spirit, like a hunter in the dark, crept up to Yoshino Asagi and pounced on her.

"...!"

Asatake Yoshino couldn't see the evil spirit, but she trusted Hitachi Mako and almost instantly understood what Hitachi Mako meant. Without any hesitation, she quickly lay down, letting the dark shadow pass over her head.

"watch out!"

As the shadowy figure landed, Yoshino Asagi got up and rushed over, raising her halberd and stabbing it at the evil spirit.

"Pfft!"

The tip of the bell pierced through the demon's forelimb, shattering it.

"------!"

The evil spirit's figure suddenly froze, but quickly resumed its actions, extending its tentacles, ready to pounce, displaying a ferocious intent to attack Yoshino Asagi even at the cost of injury.

However, before its tentacles could even land, Aize had already arrived at its side.

"Oh!"

With a dull thud, Aize kicked the evil spirit away, sending it flying like a ball that crashed into a tree.

"Mr. Ai, Mr. Aize!"

Asahi Yoshino looked at Aize, her eyes flickering slightly.

"Are you alright, Lady Yoshino?"

Hitachi Mako shielded Asatake Yoshino behind her, watching the direction of the evil spirit with a wary expression.

Aize was the same, and just like at the beginning, he stood at the very front of the crowd, facing the evil god directly.

"Gululu..."

The evil spirit was covered in mud, making a series of writhing sounds, and its disintegrating forelimbs did not recover for a long time.

But it still stared intently at this side with empty eyes, as if filled with venom, fixed on Aize, who was standing at the front.

"Come."

Aize seemed oblivious to the danger and the ferocity within. Instead of avoiding the empty gaze of the evil god, he beckoned to him as if in provocation.

"I'll give you one more chance to make a move."

Aize was smiling, but there was no smile in his eyes; he was as cold as a judge.

"Remember, this is the last time."

Whether the evil spirit could understand these words, Aize didn't know, nor did anyone else.

But the moment Aize finished speaking, the evil god did indeed move.

It used its tentacles as collapsing forelimbs, slammed them heavily onto the ground, and then, supported by three muddy, irregularly shaped legs and a hideous tentacle, it sprang out and charged towards Azer.

The speed was actually much faster than before.

"Mr. Aize!"

"Lord Aize!"

At the same time, Yoshino Asagi and Mako Hitachi both exclaimed in surprise.

Because, standing before them, Aize, facing the attacking evil spirit, also charged forward. His speed was no slower than the evil spirit's.

His steps showed no hesitation whatsoever; even on the rugged mountain paths, he moved with the force of a tiger.

"despair……"

This is the sound of Aize's hand resting on the hilt of the Murasame sword at his waist.

"Zheng..."

This is a radiance as clear and pure as spiritual energy, as cold as moonlight, yet ancient, sacred, pure, and mysterious.

At this moment, Aize activated the hidden divine power within him, causing his entire body to radiate spiritual energy.

Divine power flowed into Muramasa through his palm, imbuing the still-unsheathed blade with a layer of spiritual light.

"Zhi!"

In the blink of an eye, the sword was drawn.

When the black mud lump was only about a meter away from him, Aize drew his sword.

This was a sword-drawing slash.

This is a deadly move.

Given the distance between the Demon God and Aize, logically, the former's attack should have landed on Aize first. However, the moment Aize drew his sword, the cold, gleaming blade light slashed out from behind, seemingly tearing through space, and struck the Demon God's body.

"Pfft!"

With a flash of light, the filth vanished.

That dazzling blade of light instantly cleaved the ferocious evil spirit in two.

"Click..."

Aize, who had passed through the split god, stopped in his tracks, sheathed his sword without turning back, his eyes and expression remaining calm throughout.

"Varied……?!"

Asatake Yoshino and Hitachi Mako both opened their eyes wide at the same time, staring blankly at the scene before them.

The evil spirit that split in two was unable to touch the ground and turned into ashes and dissipated in mid-air.

"call……"

Aize then exhaled, withdrew his divine power, and allowed the pure spiritual energy to slowly dissipate, so that his body no longer appeared so divine.

"Beautiful! Master!"

Cong Yu, belatedly realizing what was happening, flew over and cheered.

"Another instant kill, just like last time! And this time it was even cleaner and more efficient! As expected of our master!"

Hearing Cong Yu's cheers and watching her flying figure, Aize seemed a little annoyed.

"Are you just going to stand by and watch? Don't you even know how to possess someone?"

This time, Cong Yu, the original host of the divine power, played a completely insignificant role, contributing nothing at all.

"Master was too fast!" Congyu certainly didn't think it was his fault, and complained, "You didn't even draw your sword the whole time. By the time you drew it, you were already in front of the evil spirit. How could I possibly have had the chance to possess Congyu Maru?"

To be honest, Cong Yu is also a bit of a nuisance.

What master would rush out before he could possess the sword and unleash Muramasa's divine power?

That's my master!
Moreover, the entire process, from drawing the sword to sheathing it, took less than a second, and the evil spirit was still killed. Why would we need our divine power?
It's not that we wanted to just stand by and do nothing, it's just that we really didn't have the chance!

Aize seemed to have a particularly good point about this.

“The time wasted between drawing the sword and waiting for you to possess me is enough for me to kill the evil god several times over,” Aize said. “Besides, the evil god won’t stand still and wait for us to complete this process before making a move.”

This isn't some kind of transformation scene from another movie set; there's no invincibility period.

Therefore, rather than waiting for Congyu to react and then possess the Congyu Maru that he had pulled out, it would be better to just go for it himself.

Fortunately, I already possessed divine power, the ability to purify filth and exorcise evil spirits, otherwise it would have been a waste of time and effort.

"Don't just stand there daydreaming next time. As a mature sword, I don't expect you to learn how to chop down evil spirits on your own, but at the very least, you need to seize the right moment to possess me when I'm chopping down evil spirits, otherwise you'll be useless in the future, okay?"

Aize's teasing remark actually caused Cong Yu a level of damage that broke through her defenses.

"How dare you say we are useless..."

The little girl then wobbled to the side and squatted under the tree, drawing circles.

"What's wrong with you?"

Aize ruthlessly ignored Cong Yu and looked at Asagi Yoshino and Hitachi Mako, only to find the two of them still standing there with blank expressions.

"No...nothing..."

Asahi Yoshino realized what was happening, her face showing a mixture of wanting to say something and hesitating to speak, before finally falling silent.

"Lord Aize, that's amazing!" Hitachi Mako exclaimed with amazement and excitement. "To defeat the evil spirit so easily, that's just too incredible!"

Hitachi Mako knew that Aize was strong, but she didn't expect him to be this strong.

When we fought in the bathhouse before, Lord Aize must have gone easy on me, right?

If Aize had used the same strength he had today to kill the evil god, Hitachi Mako didn't think she would have been able to fight back.

The brilliance of that strike, that single, powerful slash, was simply too cool and too impressive. It was comparable to the warriors of ancient times... no, to the heroes of legends!
No wonder Lord Aize, holding a kunai, looked so terrifying and invincible at the end of our last encounter. It turns out that this was his true strength!
That's absolutely amazing!
Hitachi Mako's gaze towards Aize began to carry a hint of admiration, almost as if it were sparkling.

"So didn't I say? Maybe you'll have made a wasted trip?" Aize didn't notice the glint in Hitachi Mako's eyes. He smiled calmly and said, "Besides, in my opinion, these evil spirits aren't that strong. They're not much stronger than ordinary carnivorous beasts. The only troublesome things are their tentacles that blend into the darkness and their bodies that defy common sense."

"Hitachi, the fact that you were able to easily parry the attack from the Tsurugi proves that the Tsurugi's strength isn't too high for you, right?"

"If you had Murasame or the divine artifact in Asagi's possession, you should be able to easily deal with the evil spirit."

Upon hearing this, Hitachi Mako smiled and shook her head.

"My level is nothing. People with special qualifications and abilities, like Lady Aize and Lady Yoshino, are the most precious."

In Hitachi Mako's view, there are many people like herself, but people like Aizawa and Asagi Yoshino are only chosen to appear; they are truly powerful and noble beings.

Therefore, she was not at all frustrated that she could not deal with the evil spirits on her own; on the contrary, she felt that this was only natural.

On the contrary, Yoshino Asagi glanced at Aizawa, then at Mako Hitachi, and finally lowered her head, lost in thought.

"It seems the curse has been lifted."

Aize looked at Asagi Yoshino, but not at her face; he looked at the top of her head.

There, the once very conspicuous animal ears have disappeared.

"The filth has been cleansed, so everything should be fine for now." Hitachi Mako also saw this scene, breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled, "Let's go back, Mr. Anqing is still waiting for us."

Aize naturally had no objections and readily nodded.

(End of this chapter)