I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 187 Mahapadma and... the God of Fire and Thunder!

Their eyes met.

Esdeath's expression faltered for a moment.

next second.

The world is spinning!

In an instant, the surrounding scenery changed from a snow-covered battlefield to a vast, boundless desert. Everywhere there were pebbles and gravel reddened by the sun, a sight and smell that felt incredibly real.

"...Spatial teleportation to 'Shangri-La'?"

"No, it seems a little different..."

Esdeath glanced around discreetly, as if she had sensed something.

But before she could make any further judgment.

On the other side, Uchiha Hikaru, whose feet were dangling in mid-air, raised his right hand and made a "grabbing" motion.

Driven by the power of the pupil.

Invisible threads appeared in the surrounding air, intertwining and forming a deadly net.

then……

Tightens instantly!

Esdeath, in the heart of the desert, was immediately bound by layers of silk threads, from her neck to her arms and legs, until she could no longer move even a finger. A massive cross appeared behind her, pinning her body firmly to it.

During this process, Esdeath's beautiful figure was outlined by the silk threads, and red lines appeared on her skin. However, because her body was strong enough, her skin was not directly cut.

then.

Uchiha Hikaru waved his hand once more, and a series of sharp longswords formed in mid-air. After a brief moment of preparation, they pierced towards Esdeath like a thousand arrows piercing her heart.

shhhhh--

The sound of wind breaking abruptly arose.

Dozens of swords pierced through Esdeath's body simultaneously, turning her into a hedgehog, then retracted and thrust out again a few seconds later!

Blood splattered everywhere!

The people within the Tsukuyomi space are essentially a group of spiritual entities.

Although there will be pain and irritation, and wounds and bleeding will occur when injured, the extent of damage and the speed of healing of these wounds are completely different from those in reality, and depend on the mental strength of the person being treated.

People with weak willpower will keep these wounds in place, and may even become vegetative or die due to the physical and mental torment in the illusionary world.

Conversely, if one's willpower is strong enough, one can ignore these wounds to a certain extent, or even make them disappear quickly as soon as they appear.

Uchiha Hikaru has only encountered one person of the latter type so far.

Xia Mi, or rather, Jormungandr.

—Perhaps beings like the White Snake Sage or the Cat Sage could also do it, but Uchiha Hikaru never tried.

And Esdeath...

It's the second one.

This sadistic general was skilled in torture, and although she was now the one being tortured, she remained completely unconcerned, even glancing at Uchiha Hikaru with a smug smile.

"You are indeed much stronger than those guys before. No wonder even General Bud was defeated by you... But is this all the torture and interrogation you know?"

"Too mild."

"Swords and blades are merely the simplest form of torture. Only the weak succumb to such methods. If you want me to feel anything, you'll need to use something far more brutal!"

"..."

Uchiha Hikaru did not answer, but continued to wave his hand and release his sword.

She had anticipated this situation.

After all, Esdeath's mental fortitude was extraordinary. The Imperial Arm, "Demon Manifestation: Essence of the Demon," was designed to corrupt the minds of others; a mere sip would send most people into a frenzy, even to the point of losing their reason. Yet Esdeath drank the entire jar, and in a mere instant, she had completely suppressed and fused with the Imperial Arm.

Such a strong will and mental strength are far beyond what trash like Ernest or Sheila could ever match.

Even Brand and Akame are probably inferior.

and so……

From the very beginning, Uchiha Hikaru never thought he could end the battle with just one "Tsukuyomi".

Her plan was to use this move to wear down Esdeath's fighting spirit, and ideally force her to unleash "Mokpa Temo" so that she could witness its effects firsthand.

Can……

Having a plan is one thing.

The reality, however, is quite different.

Having undergone the baptism of "Demon's Essence," Esdeath possesses a remarkably high resistance to "Tsukuyomi." Initially, the wounds on her body would linger for a while, like real sword wounds, before slowly scabbing over and healing.

However, as time goes by, their existence time begins to shorten rapidly, even to the point where they disappear as soon as they appear.

And Esdeath's smile gradually became more pronounced—

"I see……"

"Is this not a real place, but a cage you constructed with your own mental power? A very good technique, but the execution is a bit too crude… Should I teach you how to torment the enemy's mind and body?"

Accompanying this statement.

Esdeath suddenly exerted force.

In an instant, all the threads binding her were tightened, and the cross standing in the desert began to sway.

Moreover, as she exerted her full strength, a crimson phantom, resembling a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, faintly appeared behind her, spreading outwards with chilling killing intent and coldness!

—The demon god has appeared!

At this moment.

Esdeath is no longer just a simple human, but is closer to a humanoid dangerous species. With the combined power of the demon essence, she unleashes an indescribable and immense force!

call--!!

The biting wind roared, carrying snowflakes that danced in the air!

"Is this what it looks like after fusing with the Imperial Arms...?"

"It's somewhat similar to being possessed by a demon, but its aura is far stronger than Tyrande's..."

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the blood-red phantom behind Esdeath across the distance.

Based solely on this illusory image, she could already roughly imagine what kind of terrifying being the super dangerous species that created the "Demon Essence" was.

but……

"Word of Power: Black Sun!"

After taking a deep breath, Uchiha Hikaru abruptly clasped his hands together, his long hair billowing high as a jet-black sun erupted behind him—this time, the "black sun" was no longer just a few meters in diameter, but a colossal sun that blotted out the sky, surrounded by flowing golden clouds and flames. Against this backdrop of flowing clouds and flames, Uchiha Hikaru exuded a godlike majesty!

This is a battle between gods and demons!

"I admit you're strong, but this... is my territory!!"

The storm is brewing!

At that moment, an endless hurricane of fire formed around Uchiha Hikaru and swept towards Esdeath!

Such a confrontation has become devoid of any skill.

But it's a contest and crushing on a purely spiritual level.

Esdeath's will was as firm as a rock, and it was not easy to even cut a crack to look at the past, let alone change or reverse it with "eight thousand spears".

but……

Within this Tsukuyomi space, Uchiha Hikaru is invincible!

A howling wind swept by.

As Uchiha Hikaru unleashed his full spiritual power, it transformed into a boundless storm that swept towards Esdeath.

Even this military princess felt the strain, pressed firmly onto the cross. The illusory mass of corpses and blood around her was compressed infinitely, barely able to remain within a very limited area. Like a lone boat adrift on a turbulent sea, she seemed on the verge of being swallowed up at any moment.

A raging storm spread through the space, turning the area into chaos!

at last……

Just a second before Esdeath and the blood-red phantom were about to completely sink, Uchiha Hikaru exhaled lightly, his eyes flashing with tomoe, and released Tsukuyomi.

……

outside world.

Uchiha Hikaru reopened his eyes and immediately formed the hand seals for Shadow Clone Jutsu. At the same time, he saw Esdeath on the other side recover from her momentary daze and, as if subconsciously, raise her hands and make a pyramid-shaped hand gesture.

"...Should we use that move?"

It seemed to be to confirm her idea.

Faintly, Esdeath's voice could be heard whispering, "...Before me, let everything freeze. Mo...K..."

—Mo, Ke, Bo, Te, Mo!

A deep blue frost erupted from Esdeath's body as she stood on the ice, like a circular curtain of light that expanded in all directions at an incredible speed!

Where the light curtain passes.

Everything was covered with a layer of frost, as if it were wearing a thin veil.

then……

Everything froze in time.

Hikaru Uchiha, who was inside Susanoo, hovered in place.

The ice meteorite, pierced into countless fragments and falling to the ground, also quietly hovered in mid-air.

Bloodshed, smoke, dust, sand, iron filings...

Even sound vanished at that moment, and the entire space fell into a deathly silence.

thump……

thump!

thump!!!

In this utter silence, only the sound of a heartbeat grew clearer and clearer, until finally, it seemed as if a drumbeat was exploding inside the chest!

This moment.

Esdeath's "Demon's Essence" emblem on her chest shone brighter than ever before.

With a deep red glow flowing through her body, the blue-haired military princess flashed and appeared in front of Susanoo, raising her leg high and slashing down!

Bang--!!

A dark red barrier appeared in the air a few meters away from Susanoo, and then, together with Susanoo, it crashed into the ground like a cannonball! During the fall, a huge amount of ice spread from the spot where Esdeath had just hit, gradually freezing the entire Blood Jade Barrier inside, forming a giant ice ball with a diameter of fifty or sixty meters.

"...What is this thing?"

Esdeath frowned, but without much thought, she stretched out her hands again: "Frozen Purgatory!!"

Before the words were even finished, countless ice pillars appeared in the void.

Then he charged headlong into the ice puck on the ground!

slam-la-

The ice puck cracked!

Huge amounts of frost fragments sprayed outwards like bullets!

At the same time, the surrounding rock layers also cracked!

The land on this battlefield had already borne too much burden from the battle between Uchiha Hikaru and Esdeath. Now, under the impact of these ice pillars, the already loose soil layer exploded and sank deeper into the ground! The figure of Susanoo also sank into the ground, being hit, surrounded, and covered by countless javelin-like ice pillars!

Looking down from high above, it's like seeing a death jungle forged from ice!

After doing all this.

Esdeath let out a long sigh: "...This move is more energy-consuming than I expected. It seems I can only use it once a day at most."

"To have pushed me to this point, I admit you're a formidable opponent, but unfortunately..."

The "veil" formed by the frost has dissipated.

The frozen spacetime also resumed its flow.

Until this point.

Several kilometers away, Najenda and the others noticed something was wrong: "...What happened? Where is Miss Hikari?"

"Why is Esdeath the only one left in the sky...?"

"...Boss, it seems Esdeath has already used the time-freezing ability that Ms. Hikari mentioned. We need to get there as soon as possible."

Brand was the first to react, immediately jumping onto the body of a dangerous dragon and yelling at it to flap its wings and take off.

Akame and Mine also jumped onto another dragon.

There's also Najenda herself, and her recently acquired biological Teigu, Susanoo.

Esdeath caught sight of a figure flying in from afar, a faint smile playing on her lips. "So it's those little rats from 'Night Raid,' huh? They're not at their peak right now, but dealing with you should still be no problem. Since you dared to come, be prepared to die... Hmm?"

suddenly.

Esdeath seemed to sense something, turned around, and looked at the ground with a surprised expression.

In that bottomless pit.

Suddenly a beam of light appeared.

then……

Then a deep purple bolt of lightning burst forth from the pit, rising into the sky like a raging flame!

It was a pillar of lightning, tens of meters in diameter, that pierced through the clouds a thousand meters above and connected heaven and earth!

"?!"

"That is..."

Brand and the others, who were flying towards the battlefield, also paused subconsciously. What they saw was a petite figure slowly rising into the air inside the pillar of lightning.

It's Uchiha Hikaru!

At this moment.

Her body was enveloped in lightning, making her outline somewhat blurred.

However, her aura became stronger than ever before.

In complete silence.

Uchiha Hikaru slowly opened his eyes.

Streaks of purple lightning swirled around her, making her fair face and bare hands appear almost transparent. Her long black hair was also enveloped in deep purple lightning, each strand dancing wildly like a snake.

Countless pale purple, spiderweb-like filaments flickered around, as if static electricity had broken down the air.

of course……

Even more striking than all of these was the six-pointed windmill in her eyes.

At this moment, the color of the six magatama seemed to turn purplish-black, with a light that flickered like lightning.

"So that feeling of almost bursting forth came from it...?"

Under the watchful eyes of Esdeath, Brand, and others.

Uchiha Hikaru slightly raised his head and raised his right hand.

A blue-purple spear, constructed from pure lightning, appeared in her palm and was tightly gripped by her.

Spiritual Weapon: Fire and Thunder God!

(End of this chapter)