Transformed into the leader of an esoteric sect in Japan

In addition, she also had to induce the sniper to fire again, revealing his location through sound. Kurosawa Shizuki had to get to the sniper as quickly as possible before he could move again, in order to have a chance to drag this annoying rat out of the shadows...

P.S., these chapters were actually written a bit slowly, without the satisfying feeling of writing them in one go that I had anticipated, but that's my current level, and I can't do any better...

PS2, please refresh if there is a formatting error. If it doesn't work the first time, refresh a few more times. This mobile app is garbage; even after segmenting, the text is still crammed together.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Bloodbath

The car, falling from the sky, pierced through the crimson rain like a catapult projectile, crashing into the crowd with a roar. The Thunder Warriors, who moved like dancers, dodged it with their phantom-like movements. However, most of the gangsters wielding firearms did not have that reaction speed. At least five or six gangsters were hit and crushed into mincemeat before they could even scream.

The terrified gangsters immediately created a large vacuum around the car, except for one person who never moved.

Kurosawa Shizuki's true target was the boy named Takasaki Ryo. Even in the face of such an attack, he remained unshaken, with a calm smile on his face, and casually snapped his fingers.

A dark red lightning bolt struck the car from the sky, causing it to explode into pieces. However, not a single fragment could hit his clothes. All the torn wreckage around him was stopped by an invisible electric field and bounced away!

However, this was only the beginning. Everyone stared in horror at the black matter that rose up from the flames, forming an impenetrable barrier of liquid-like black matter—the Black Matter Spirit Body: Wall Form.

The blurry figure of the girl appeared and disappeared, her eyes flashing with a furious, eerie blue light, like a demon god crawling out of the abyss, with a continuous stream of killing intent rushing towards you.

The two high priests of the Shindai-kai, Ryo Takasaki and Makiko Yamashita, responded almost simultaneously—

As Takasaki Ryo rhythmically swung his arms, leaping currents formed a massive electric field around Kurosawa Shizuki. Behind the electric field, countless moths controlled by Yamashita Makiko formed a thick moth barrier.

Hundreds of javelins formed from black matter burst forth from the black flames, forming the Black Matter Spirit Blade Form.

Many were intercepted by the electric field, layers of current fixing the javelins in place, coiling around them and dissipating their internal kinetic energy; many more were blocked by the rapidly growing moths, their dead bodies and dissipating black matter dancing in the air; finally, there were the dozen or so Thunder Warriors, leaping into the air to a strange rhythm, drawing their bows to a full moon, beams of electricity wrapping around their arrows, and the warriors raising their hands to knock the javelins down with their arrows.

Most of the javelins were intercepted by the members of the Divine Society, but a dozen or so gangsters were still pierced through the chest by javelins and died like ants.

Finally, there was Kurosawa Shizuki's third wave of attack—Black Spirit Body: Beast Form!

At least a hundred black beasts manifested from the enraged, dark spirit, their shapes varied. Besides common wild animals like wolves, lions, giant bears, snakes, and tigers, there were also all sorts of bizarre creatures: two ghouls with countless blades growing from their heads, a vengeful spirit with a sinister gaze carrying its own severed head, and a beast-like infant with bat wings on its back, crawling swiftly on the ground like a lizard...

Unlike the Shadow Servants who can act independently, these are non-intelligent creatures temporarily mimicked by the dark spirit body. Even with Kurosawa Shizuki's innate high sensitivity, maintaining more than a hundred at the same time is already the limit, and it is difficult to sustain combat for a long time. However, releasing them to put on a show is still quite frightening.

However, this time the enemy cannot be intimidated by mere momentum.

"Wake up! Blood is boiling, anger is raging, we are all thunder, and no one can remain unmoved by thunder!" Takasaki Ryo shouted in a powerful voice. The yakuza who were initially shocked by the momentum created by Kurosawa Shizuki were once again encouraged by Takasaki Ryo, and their eyes lit up with red light, with blood vessels appearing around the corners of their eyes.

This buff was far stronger than that of Yamauchi. Almost the instant it was activated, the gangsters were thrown into a frenzied state of intense excitement. Their bodies swelled, their breathing became frantic, and they even showed varying degrees of moth-like transformation. Each of them had at least increased their fighting power several times over.

"Awooo—" One by one, they let out roars that were completely unlike humans, raised their weapons, and sprayed bullets at the black creatures that were rushing towards them. Their bullets were obviously enhanced by invisible forces. Even if they could not kill the black creatures, they could still temporarily stop the black spirits' offensive. When the black spirits got close, the berserk gangsters would not hesitate to draw crowbars, katanas, stun guns and other weapons, and engage in a bloody melee. Even if their companions were torn to pieces in front, the people behind would continue to push forward without blinking.

Among the underworld figures who bravely fight their way through the enemy lines, the ones who truly pose a threat to the dark spirits are the Thunder Warriors whose movements resemble a dance.

"Hah—" Stepping to the rhythm of the mountain's drumming, the samurai leaped gracefully into the air, brandishing their katana, naginata, and sickle blades, spinning their bodies. With their shouts, bolts of lightning condensed in mid-air, wrapping around their blades. As the lightning flashed, the samurai's demon masks were illuminated, and the elegant sword light was like a poem, each strike capable of slaying a black spirit.

The ghostly figure on the mountainside shifted and changed among the enemies, while more and more annoying moths kept crawling out of her body, which she fired at Kurosawa Shizuki's dark spirit creature like bullets.

"Whoosh!" A giant black wolf was blown in the head by a moth, its headless body continuing its charge for a long time before finally collapsing. After the wolf, a torrential rain of moths fearlessly charged towards the black wolf!

The moths released by Yamashita were impossible to defend against, their speed no slower than bullets. These tiny moths were highly corrosive, and when Yamashita fired them at the black spirits like bullets, once a moth hit its target, the black spirit's body would begin to disintegrate at a visible speed. Then, poisonous mist would continue to be generated inside the black shell. In just a few dozen seconds, Yamashita alone defeated more black spirits than all the Thunder Warriors combined!

However, the sniper that Kurosawa Shizuki feared the most never fired another shot. If he didn't fire, Kurosawa Shizuki wouldn't even be able to pinpoint his location.

However, at least most of the enemies were entangled by the dark spirits released by Shizuka Kurosawa.

Kurosawa Shizuka's initial purpose in releasing the dark creature was not to kill enemies, but to entangle most of them and attract their attention, making it easier for her to launch a surprise attack in a certain direction. If it were her, it would be quite difficult to fight so many enemies head-on at the same time. She would have to defeat them one by one and concentrate on killing a powerful enemy first!

If the sniper doesn't expose himself, then the first target is Yamashita. The moths at Yamashita are currently the second greatest threat to Kurosawa Shizuki after the sniper; the moth rules they possess inherently exude an aura of chaos and frenzy, capable of easily corroding the black matter, severing Kurosawa Shizuki's connection to it, and causing its structure to collapse. They must be dealt with first.

Burning black matter coiled around Kurosawa Shizuki's body. Behind Kurosawa Shizuki, the black matter spirits formed eight long legs like spiders, lifting her body and striking out of the flames like lightning, charging towards Yamashita Makiko, whose body was surrounded by moths!

The gangsters raised their guns in terror and unleashed a torrent of bullets at Kurosawa Shizuki. However, hundreds of bullets were deflected so easily that they didn't even leave a ripple on Kurosawa Shizuki's defenses.

The few yakuza members blocking Kurosawa Shizuki's path were instantly torn to pieces the moment she swept past them, her black body flashing with blade-like sharpness.

Several Thunder Warriors, spinning and wielding their blades, clashed fiercely with Kurosawa Shizuki's sword-wielding feet dozens of times in a matter of seconds. However, their blades, crackling with electricity, were easily shattered by the immense power contained within Kurosawa Shizuki's sword-wielding feet. They only managed to hold off Kurosawa Shizuki for a few seconds before she passed by them. Heads wearing demon masks flew into the air, blue blood splattering everywhere. The headless corpses continued their strange dance-like movements for a few more steps before collapsing.

In a panic, Yamashita Makiko retreated continuously, raising her hands towards Kurosawa Shizuki. Hundreds upon hundreds of moths swarmed towards Kurosawa Shizuki like a tidal wave, but on the black surface, blazing black flames ignited. Kurosawa Shizuki was like a black sun pressing down on Yamashita, supported by eight sword legs, approaching at a speed far exceeding that of Yamashita.

The moths flew into the black flames, but to no avail; they turned into foul-smelling ashes that scattered in all directions.

The storm of moths swirling around the foot of the mountain was swept away by the raging black matter, as fragile as paper. Faced with absolute violence, the Moth Cultists, whose camouflage had been exposed, were indeed as vulnerable as insects.

The black spirit was incredibly fast, covering dozens of meters in just a few breaths to reach Yamashita Makiko. Under Yamashita Makiko's horrified gaze, hundreds of blade-like legs sprouted from the black spirit on Kurosawa Shizuki's back, attacking down the mountain from countless directions.

Yamashita only had time to raise her dark red umbrella, which appeared to be a supernatural object. The umbrella, made of special metal, spun around and was covered with an incredibly strong reshaping power. However, under the attack of Kurosawa Shizuki's sword and foot, which contained a higher level of reshaping power, she could only barely block a few thrusts before the umbrella became riddled with holes and was easily shredded.

Yamashita struggled to dodge and weave amidst the relentless onslaught. Her movements were incredibly agile, like the swiftest sprites in the forest. But against such an onslaught, mere dodging was far from enough. In the blink of an eye, Yamashita's slender arm was severed, her thigh was cleaved, then her waist, and finally her head.

It shattered into hundreds of pieces, its death incredibly brutal and gruesome. After being drenched in the enemy's blood, the black matter seemed to become increasingly excited.

"Heh, you think you can fool me like this?" In Kurosawa Shizuki's deep blue eyes, the trick below the mountain was so crude that it seemed like a joke. Kurosawa Shizuki keenly sensed that less than four or five meters away from the shattered body below the mountain, there was a suppressed and panicked breathing sound. Thousands of moths gathered there, pretending to be someone's disguise.

Kurosawa Shizuki raised her left hand, and the black energy that was wrapped around her arm condensed into a ferocious black claw, which she swung out without hesitation in that direction.

Halfway through the swing, amidst Takasaki Ryo's angry shouts, another golden lightning bolt appeared out of thin air, striking Kurosawa Shizuki's giant claw precisely. The attack was slightly slowed down, and Kurosawa Shizuki, whose entire body was protected by black matter, was only briefly stunned under the bombardment of Takasaki's Heart Lightning.

However, this stiffness finally gave the fleeing Yamashita a chance to catch his breath. The giant claw slammed into the ground, almost grazing Yamashita's back as he fled disguised as a moth, leaving a wound that revealed his internal organs. Yamashita stumbled and ran wildly away from Kurosawa Shizuki, while the "corpse" that Kurosawa Shizuki had previously chopped up, which was suspected to be a substitute, also crumbled into dead moths and vanished into nothingness.

She kept transforming into moths at the foot of the mountain, sometimes coalescing and sometimes dissipating. Although her aura weakened with each dispersal, she was able to stay at least ten meters away from Kurosawa Shizuki each time she dispersed.

Moths were everywhere. Although they couldn't harm the black matter controlled by Kurosawa Shizuki's main body, the corrosive slime that splattered onto her by exploding with self-destructive attacks was really annoying. Moreover, Kurosawa Shizuki had no way of knowing where the real Yamashita was hiding.

In order to stop Kurosawa Shizuki's offensive, seven or eight Thunder Warriors rushed towards her direction. The importance of the mountain is obviously far greater than theirs, and they are willing to sacrifice themselves to save the mountain.

If the enemy's location cannot be confirmed, why not just unleash an AoE attack? Kurosawa Shizuki made this decision—beneath her feet, the black matter spread like a lake, instantly covering an area of ​​about 30 meters around her. Whether it was the underworld or the Thunder Warriors, they were all enveloped within it. This was the first time Kurosawa Shizuki had tried to cover such a large area with the black matter, but she did not feel any strain. Even with the black matter expanded to this extent, it could still be manipulated according to her will.

No matter where you hide, if you kill everyone around you, you won't be able to escape, right?

With her right hand raised high, countless black spears emerged simultaneously from the dark lake. A dozen or so gangsters, along with those who had almost fled to the edge of the lake, were all impaled by the spears and turned into hedgehogs. Only a few Thunder Warriors managed to escape the range of Kurosawa Shizuki's area-of-effect attack by either dodging with dance steps, parrying with their weapons, or enduring several piercing blows with their armor.

However, Kurosawa Shizuki didn't care about the lives of these Thunder Warriors, because Yamashita Makiko, who had almost escaped her pursuit, was now riddled with seven or eight spears piercing her vital organs, blood gushing out incessantly. She turned her head with difficulty, her gaze towards Kurosawa Shizuki filled with venomous resentment: "You... sooner or later... will also... undergo a transformation..."

Kurosawa Shizuki didn't care how much she cursed herself. In the next instant, the black spear that pierced through her flesh tore in all directions, directly ripping Yamashita Makiko's body to shreds!

This time, she had no chance to escape as a moth. She was torn into blooming blood flowers, shattered into pieces, with chunks of flesh flying everywhere. Kurosawa Shizuki couldn't believe that she could survive being torn like that.

[You have killed the High Priestess of the Divine Society, Makiko Yamashita. You have gained 706 Nightmare Points.] The system notification sounded. As expected of a third-tier cultivator, this was Kurosawa Shizuki's largest single gain to date.

Makiko Yamashita, the third-tier high priest of the Divine Era and the controller of the Sixth-Level Moth Secret Technique, is dead.

Kurosawa Shizuki looked at the dripping flesh and blood, manipulating the black matter as freely as if it were her own body. This feeling was indeed very pleasurable, and she even felt a morbid excitement.

However, when you start to act recklessly, that's when you reveal your weaknesses.

A bone-chilling cold swept over me again from behind.

As Kurosawa Shizuki expanded her black matter over a large area, it also meant that she had less black matter to protect herself. Although her protective barrier looked unchanged on the outside, it was actually weakened a lot inside.

Her weakness was not overlooked by the enemy hiding in the shadows. At the cost of Yamashita Makiko's death, he seized the weakness again and sniped her once more.

Kurosawa Shizuki did hope the sniper would fire again to reveal his position, but she never expected that the cunning enemy would seize such a fleeting opportunity to kill her again.

It was that familiar sound of air being torn apart again, a sharp screech, coming from a position completely opposite to the previous sniping direction.

whoosh-

This time, the sniper hidden in the shadows switched to a thinner, sharper bullet, but with relatively less power, yet its armor-piercing performance was far superior to his first bullet.

Kurosawa Shizuki felt a chill in her chest, followed by an unparalleled stinging pain. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, and an eye-sized hole appeared in the defensive barrier behind her, indicating that her defenses had been breached!

With her face deathly pale, Kurosawa Shizuki looked down and saw a huge bloody hole explode in her chest, exposing large clumps of writhing black matter inside. Her heart, which had just solidified, was shattered once again!

P.S., the update is late, but here's the 4500-word chapter. Sigh, I really felt the battle scenes were too drawn out. No matter how I revised it, I wasn't satisfied.

Chapter 70, Section 70: Shadow Servant - Nakamura Yukise

A bone-chilling cold gripped Kurosawa Shizuki's heart; the shadow of death was close at hand. In a daze, she saw the illusion of the Netherworld once again, her soul about to leave her body and enter that strange world beyond reality...

To my utter surprise, this terrifying sniper once again found an opening and fired another fatal shot!

If she were to fall back into that unfamiliar world of the Ghost Realm, Kurosawa Shizuki would likely have to consume the Shadow Girl's dark essence to revive.

However, the Shadow Girl's dark life force had dwindled to only 42%, and Kurosawa Shizuki didn't believe she could rely on her to revive herself a few more times. Her intuition told her that constantly relying on the Shadow Girl for resurrection was a wasteful and extravagant act; the Shadow Girl's power had more important uses.

Kurosawa Shizuki knew that, as a fourth-class being, she was theoretically capable of resurrecting indefinitely.

But this doesn't mean she can squander her life indefinitely. If she keeps dying like this, something even more terrible than death will happen to her. Kurosawa Shizuki is certain that with each death and resurrection, something more important than the Shadow Servant is being consumed.

Kurosawa Shizuki forcibly mustered the last of her strength and manipulated the collapsing black matter surrounding her. The black lake expanded wildly, devouring all the corpses she had just killed.

[Your dark spirit has devoured the underworld XXX, increasing your fourth-stage growth rate by 0.02%, and you have gained 14 Nightmare Points.]

[Your dark spirit has devoured the underworld XXX, increasing your fourth-stage growth rate by 0.012%, and you have gained 9 Nightmare Points.]

[Your dark spirit has devoured Thunder Warrior XXX, increasing your fourth-stage growth rate by 0.34%. You have gained 109 Nightmare Points.]

A series of notifications indicating absorption rang out, and Kurosawa Shizuki felt a surge of heat within her body once more, adding up to nearly 1% of her Black Matter growth. The power of her Black Matter revived, rapidly healing her injuries.

The power of the dark matter formed an extremely unstable anchor, temporarily fixing Kurosawa Shizuki's soul, which was at risk of being summoned by the Netherworld at any moment.

But that's not enough. For any human being, a shattered heart is a fatal injury. Only a more powerful dark energy can bring about rebirth, and only a shadow servant connected to Kurosawa Shizuki's life can do that.

Kurosawa Shizuki must immediately create another Shadow Servant who can bring her back to life!

[Do you wish to perform Black Matter Erosion on Yamashita Makiko? Your Black Matter Spirit Growth has decreased by 0.8%. Due to your near-death state, Yamashita's incomplete corpse, and the resistance of Yamashita's soul fragments to your erosion, the current success rate is 53.56%.]

Kurosawa Shizuki was right; even though Yamashita Makiko was chopped up, she could still be eroded! Without hesitation, she clicked "Confirm"! The probability was over 50%, so she was willing to gamble!

The black matter frantically coiled around Yamashita Makiko's mangled corpse. Soon, a blurry figure slowly emerged from the shadows behind Kurosawa Shizuki. It was indeed Yamashita Makiko's appearance before her death. Under the influence of the black matter, her body was pieced back together like building blocks, looking quite bizarre.

But the next moment, Yamashita, with a cold smile, glanced at Kurosawa Shizuki. She pointed her left hand at her newly formed head, and with a splatter, a moth formed from black matter pierced through her head. Her body exploded again in the next instant, and she was dead beyond any doubt.

[Your melanin erosion has failed due to Makiko Yamashita's resistance.]

Would you rather commit suicide than be my shadow servant? Kurosawa Shizuki hadn't expected Yamashita to be so resolute. Was the high priest of the Shindai-kai really this fanatical?

Kurosawa Shizuki's vision became increasingly blurry. She could still hear the angry shouts of the Shindai-kai members around her. Were the Shindai-kai members going to finish her off?

【Do you wish to perform Black Matter Erosion on Makiko Yamashita... Growth rate consumed 0.93%... Current success rate 42%.】 The system asked again, seemingly without patience. This time, the success rate was even lower, and it consumed even more Black Matter.

Kurosawa Shizuki no longer dared to gamble.

Damn it, if this doesn't work, it's really all over—Kurosawa Shizuki really didn't dare to gamble on luck anymore. To avoid wasting any more time, she simply devoured Yamashita Makiko, and all of Yamashita's remaining corpses sank into Kurosawa Shizuki's shadow.

[Your dark spirit has devoured the crippled Yamashita Makiko, increasing your fourth-stage growth rate by 1.5%. You have gained 408 Nightmare Points.] As expected of a third-tier being, the rewards are several times greater than those of second-tier beings and cultists, once again slightly improving Kurosawa Shizuki's condition.

Now she only had one acceptable option left. Kurosawa Shizuki looked at Nakamura Yukise's corpse. Nakamura Yukise was only at the second stage, and compared to Yamashita's charred body, her corpse was more intact. Kurosawa Shizuki felt that she shouldn't resist her erosion...