Chapter 203: Chiyo The Tiger-Bite
The dark forest gradually faded into something even more sinister—its surroundings now darker, more decayed.
Shadows danced through the trees like petals in bloom, but their firelight brought no warmth—only a chilling gleam.
"ROAAAR——!!"
A howl tore through the night, deep and mournful.
It echoed through the mountains like a wounded beast crying out against the world.
That cry wasn't just rage.
It carried agony. Grief. Suppression. Madness.
And most of all… pure, primal savagery.
Even from a distance, the sound alone was enough to freeze blood in the veins.
Facing the one who let it out—now that was a different story.
The already pitch-black night seemed to be swallowed by something even darker.
From within the forest came a heavy, labored breath—each exhale soaked in the stench of blood.
It was as if a wounded beast were lurking in the shadows, licking its wounds, eyes gleaming with a cruel intent as it stared down its prey—
Bai Luo.
The only living soul in this blighted forest.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
Bai Luo had expected to face the Maguu Kenki.
After all, this spot was where the automaton once stood—the very head of the Serpent God, the stage set for their duel.
But this presence… this pressure… it reminded him of someone else entirely.
Someone deeply embedded in the memories of Michinobu—or rather, the Maguu Kenki himself.
The oppressive darkness surged again, like tar swallowing light.
Even the ghostly blue flames flickering between the trees seemed to shrink before it.
And that creeping blackness—he was sure he'd seen it before.
Creak—
Almost on cue, as the thought passed through his mind, the creature hidden in the woods finally made her entrance.
A slender, blackened hand reached out from the shadows, gripping the trunk of a dead tree.
Despite its small size, her fingers sank into the bark with ease—nails like claws slicing through wood like paper.
Leaning against the tree, she emerged—a woman who looked frail, but radiated a murderous aura that surged with every step.
Her once-beautiful face had twisted into a mask of madness.
Of the two horns atop her head, one had been cleanly severed.
Her sword arm—her dominant right—was nowhere to be seen.
And from the ragged stump, inky black blood dripped slowly to the forest floor.
In Bai Luo's memory, she had been just a normal girl.
One who loved pinks and reds—girlish colors.
But now, the elegant layers of her jūnihitoe—the twelve-layered kimono she once wore with pride—had been completely devoured by darkness.
"Chiyo of The Tiger-Bite…"
Seeing the creature step out from the trees, Bai Luo felt his scalp go numb.
There was no doubt.
The monster before him was none other than Michinobu's mother—Mikoshi Chiyo.
She had once been a beloved general under the Shogun's banner.
Her ambition burned with crimson flame: to conquer death with blood and steel, to carve an eternal legacy for her dying clan in the name of the war oni.
She had once charged alongside the Raiden Shogun herself—facing down an army of shadowspawn.
That day, she was devoured whole by a beast of legend, a monstrosity with the body of a tiger and the tail of a serpent.
But she clawed her way back from its gut—ripping through its heart to escape.
That was when the name "Chiyo the Tiger-Bite" was born.
Later, it was shortened to simply—Torachiyo.
But darkness… it never lets go so easily.
The moment she was tainted by shadow, her fate was sealed.
Bloodstained robes could be cleaned.
But a heart devoured by blackness—that only beat louder with time.
One day, she bared her fangs at the very Shogun who had once been like family.
The very one who had gifted her that treasured sword.
That day, she fully became a demon.
In their duel, she shattered the Shogun's naginata between her jaws, but lost her sword arm and one horn in return.
Wounded like a beast, she fled the capital—vanishing into the wilds.
And now…
Bai Luo had found her again.
Here, in the heart of this trial.
This wasn't just memory—it was real.
"ROAAAR——!!"
They say clouds follow dragons, and wind follows tigers.
And right now, as Torachiyo lunged forward, she truly looked like a beast descending from the mountains—each leap bringing with it the scent of blood and steel.
The sheer force of her charge made Bai Luo feel like the air itself had turned against him.
And the true battle had only just begun.
Fortunately, the trial hadn't officially started yet.
For now, Torachiyo could only slam her claws furiously against the barrier, snarling at Bai Luo from the other side of the transparent wall—completely enraged, yet unable to reach him.
[Rest period has ended. Would you like to Commence the Third Trial?]
It seemed Chiyo had lost too much of her sanity to speak, because the system had taken over her role in prompting him.
"Hold on, I gotta think about which class to use..."
['Hei' and 'Battousai' have been banned. Please switch to 'Black-Clad Swordsman' immediately.]
"…Seriously?"
Yup. Another restriction.
No doubt added just now, specifically to screw with him.
This system was getting more and more unreliable.
As the selection locked in, his red ronin garb began to fade into a pitch-black tone.
The cat-faced mask on his face dissolved like mist.
And perhaps due to the new class's traits, Bai Luo's appearance shifted slightly too—his college-age face now looked a little younger, rounder, almost baby-faced.
He took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the feral figure clawing at the wall.
Chiyo, The Tiger-Bite.
Still just as terrifying, even behind a barrier.
"Let's do this."
The moment the wall vanished—four afterimages of sword strikes exploded outward.
And Bai Luo?
He vanished, reappearing at the location of the leftmost image.
As for Chiyo, her massive jaws snapped shut with a clack, teeth gnashing against empty air.
The sound of bone on bone scraped down his spine.
Honestly, she was already greatly weakened at this point.
Her greatest weapon had always been her sword.
There were even folktales about it: how Torachiyo once fought in a storm of a thousand blades, her robes sliced to ribbons like falling violet petals—yet her skin remained untouched.
Even the famed kitsune Yae Miko once praised the beauty of her sword dance.
But to defeat her, the Raiden Shogun had sliced off her sword arm—her dominant right.
Now, all she had left were the claws of her left hand and a mouth full of razor-sharp demon teeth.
Chiyo had lost her reason, but the instinct of an oni and the muscle memory of a warrior remained.
It took only a second for her to identify the real Bai Luo among the sword images.
Her twisted face contorted even further.
A red gleam flashed in her feral eyes.
She stomped down, shattering the rock underfoot with an echoing boom, a shockwave rippling through the ground as she lunged forward.
Her claw swept out like a guillotine.
If she still had reason, this strike wouldn't be nearly as deadly.
Humans fear death.
Even oni cherish their lives.
But when they throw that fear away, their claws become the nightmares of all living things.
Bai Luo didn't dodge.
He raised his newly-drawn sword—Elucidator—and stepped in to meet the attack head-on.
"Sonic Impact!"
Clang—!!
Sword and claw collided, ringing out like steel clashing on steel.
The sparks from the impact momentarily lit up the darkness.
Chiyo's fading sanity couldn't comprehend it—How could a strange one-handed sword withstand the power of an oni?
A trace of confusion appeared on her twisted face.
How… had he passed through?
Too late.
Behind her, another Bai Luo appeared—the real one, having used Sonic Impact and chained it into another Shadow Step, warping to the next sword image before the old one faded.
"Goddamn bugged move…"
There was no doubt about it.
Sonic Impact was supposed to be a repelling strike—but in true bug fashion, it had just launched him past Chiyo at supersonic speed.
He hadn't even used it to deal damage, just to avoid her charge.
Still, against a crazed berserker like Chiyo, this fight was only going to get deadlier.
And Bai Luo?
He gripped his sword tighter.
This was just the beginning.
. . . . .
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