Ring! Ring! BOOM...!!
The thunderous roar of battle echoed through every corner of the city, creating a deafening symphony of destruction. Chen Ye moved with the agility of a shadow, carrying the petite form of Yozakura Tsubomi tightly in his arms while dodging every deadly attack that rained down from all directions.
His sharp eyes flashed crimson as he activated the Flame of Abyss—a black-purple fire that blazed magnificently, burning the air until it created heat distortions. With unwavering determination, he plunged straight into the midst of the enemy crowd blocking his path!
BOOOOM...!!
The uncontrolled abyssal flames spread like living creatures, devouring every enemy that dared approach. The fire swirled around Chen Ye, creating a terrifying protective circle. Yet despite burning dozens of enemies to ash, they kept coming like endless waves.
'Damn it! They're like cockroaches that never end!' Chen Ye cursed inwardly, cold sweat trickling down his temples.
His expression turned grim and frustrated. He had followed every one of Yozakura Tsubomi's directions carefully, even taking hidden shortcuts, but the problem was—no matter which route they chose—the enemies always seemed to know exactly where they were!
As if invisible spies were constantly watching their every move.
If not for the occasional help from Yozakura Tsubomi, who calmly controlled strange tree roots that suddenly sprouted from underground to ensnare and crush enemies, Chen Ye was certain they would have been caught long ago!
Fortunately, they were beginning to approach the destination Yozakura Tsubomi had mentioned. But unfortunately...
BOOOOOM...!!
A blinding purple explosion suddenly erupted right in front of them, forcing Chen Ye to leap backward while shielding Yozakura Tsubomi with his own body!
"Shit!" Chen Ye immediately got up, breathing heavily, cold sweat drenching his entire body.
The sight before him made his heart stop beating for a moment. Dozens of black-clad assassins and dozens of hunters stood blocking their way with cold smiles adorning their faces. Even more terrifying—three among them emanated an aura that couldn't be underestimated, an aura equivalent to S-Rank Hunters!
From the dark uniforms they wore, there was no doubt they were elite S-Rank Hunters from the mysterious Black Mamba organization!
"We won't ask a second time," said one of the S-Rank Hunters in a bone-chilling cold voice. A thin smile curved on his pale lips. "Hand over the girl in your arms. Oh, and you must come with us too. After all, you have connections to the Sword King."
Chen Ye took a deep breath, feeling the cold air fill his lungs. His voice sounded cold and threatening as he said: "Aren't you ashamed? Attacking us in a group like this. Where's the pride of a hunter?"
"Useless provocation, boy," the Hunter chuckled dismissively. "Just hand her over—"
SLASH! BOOOOM!!
His words were cut short when a scythe slash enveloped in Flame of Abyss suddenly shot from Chen Ye's hand! The black-purple fire spun creating a terrifying fire tornado.
They were all forced to dodge hastily, but a slash already enveloped by Flame of Abyss wasn't easy to avoid completely. Several C and B-rank hunters who were less fortunate were immediately drawn into the fire vortex and burned alive, their screams of agony filling the night air!
"Damn brat!" The expressions of several S-Rank hunters turned full of anger and hatred. "All of you, attack him now!"
They immediately rushed toward Chen Ye at full speed, various weapons and abilities ready to be unleashed to subdue the young man!
Chen Ye felt his heart pounding as the distance between himself and the enemies grew closer. Cold sweat poured down his back.
But right at that critical moment...
"<
A man's voice, calm yet full of authority, echoed through the night air. Along with it, they all witnessed an amazing sight—hundreds of purple crescent slashes appeared and spread in all directions like dancing crescents!
If those were just ordinary slashes, they might still be able to withstand them easily. But the problem was, each of those slashes was far from ordinary!
For some reason, each slash gradually grew larger and rotated, creating massive crescent blade vortexes that moved in all directions around Chen Ye!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The vortex moved as if it had a life of its own, protecting Chen Ye's figure while tearing apart enemies who were close to the young man. Fresh blood splattered everywhere, creating a terrifying red rain.
Those who were less fortunate were instantly killed with their bodies cut to pieces, while others suffered severe physical disabilities like losing arms or legs.
"M-Master Kokushibo—" Chen Ye stammered, his eyes widening at the sight of the tall figure who suddenly appeared.
"Go. I'll clean up this area," Kokushibo said flatly while turning his back to Chen Ye. His six strange eyes gleamed with terrifying light.
Chen Ye felt somewhat reluctant to leave Kokushibo alone, but he also understood his current priority very well. Besides... he wasn't sure if he could win against S-Rank hunters in conditions like this!
Without wasting any more time, he immediately hurried away while carrying Tsubomi. But at that moment, several sharp daggers were thrown at him at high speed—fortunately, all those attacks were immediately deflected by Kokushibo, creating blinding sparks!
Not stopping there, Kokushibo then sensed deadly danger coming from behind him.
His six eyes blinked for a moment, then—
SLASH! SLASH! BOOOM!
—A fierce battle immediately broke out again with far more terrifying intensity!
Despite the massive battle behind him creating explosion after explosion, Chen Ye didn't dare look back at all. He knew very well that one second of hesitation could mean death.
With full focus, he jumped from one rooftop to another with movements as agile as a cat. But apparently that was the wrong decision, because he saw several black-clad assassins moving like ninjas launching deadly daggers at him!
Right at that critical moment, a red-haired and red-eyed girl suddenly appeared like lightning, swinging the gleaming katana in her hand with movements that were elegant yet deadly!
If Kokushibo's arrival was like a war god descending from the moon to help them, then this girl was like a graceful yet terrifying moon goddess who descended to earth specifically to save Chen Ye!
The assassins clearly didn't expect the girl's sudden appearance, so they were stunned for a moment with wide eyes.
Their expressions immediately changed to deep fear when the girl with her sharp katana began cutting them all down one by one with movements so fast that the naked eye could barely follow!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Tsukuyomi Tsukasa moved with deadly grace. Even though her white yukata was already covered in blood—whether it was her own blood or the enemies' blood—and blood splatters hit her beautiful face, it didn't change her calm and cold expression at all!
But one enemy moving at high speed managed to slash her arm until it was severed!
Right when those enemies felt happy and confident they had disabled the dangerous girl, their expressions changed to deep horror when they saw Tsukasa's severed arm suddenly reattach itself to its original place perfectly!
"Wha—" One of them was stunned with his mouth agape, then was slashed mercilessly by Tsukuyomi Tsukasa before he could finish his words.
Not only were they shocked by the unreasonable instant regeneration ability, even Chen Ye was very surprised and almost couldn't believe what he had just seen!
But one enemy who seemed more experienced suddenly recognized Tsukuyomi Tsukasa's identity and shouted with maddening enthusiasm.
"That's a member of the Yozakura Family whose flesh can make us immortal! Everyone, capture that girl alive!"
Everyone who heard that shout was initially surprised, then their expressions changed to terrifying greed. Without fear anymore, they immediately attacked Tsukasa with eyes gleaming with lust!
There was no more fear like before. They truly attacked Tsukuyomi Tsukasa brutally and mercilessly!
After all, as long as they succeeded in eating her flesh, they would surely gain the eternal life they had always dreamed of!
Chen Ye almost couldn't believe what he had just heard. His eyes widened with disbelief.
So this was the reason why Tsukuyomi Tsukasa could join the Yozakura Family?! Her body had extraordinary abilities that could grant immortality?!
Facing brutal attacks from people who were no longer afraid to die because of the promise of immortality, even Tsukuyomi Tsukasa, who always fought relying on her regeneration abilities, began to gradually become overwhelmed!
But—it seemed the enemies forgot that although the Yozakura Family members were few in number, they never fought alone.
"<
A high-speed silhouette like white lightning passed between them all at speeds almost invisible to the eye.
A moment later, except for Chen Ye and Tsukuyomi Tsukasa, all the attacking enemies were suddenly cut in half or had their necks severed simultaneously!
All the neatly cut bodies immediately collapsed to the ground, creating a sea of blood pooling on the streets. Tsukuyomi Tsukasa blinked for a moment seeing that scene, then sighed deeply. "Thank you, Flash."
"No problem," Flashy Flash replied while cleaning his blood-covered sword. "Besides... the battle is far from over."
Flashy Flash narrowed his eyes sharply. Tsukuyomi Tsukasa and Chen Ye followed his gaze with an uneasy feeling.
Not far from their location, a heart-stopping sight was presented—five S-Rank Hunters with threatening auras, twenty A-Rank Hunters ready for battle, eighty B-Rank Hunters drawing their weapons, and hundreds of lower-rank Hunters appearing from various directions...
They all stared at the three of them with gleaming eyes, especially staring at Tsukuyomi Tsukasa with terrifying lust and greed. Apparently, news about Tsukuyomi Tsukasa's extraordinary ability to grant immortality had spread widely, so they preferred to target that girl over their original target...
Chen Ye's expression became very heavy seeing this almost impossible situation. But suddenly his body was lifted without warning!
"Hah?! What are you doing?!" Chen Ye shouted in panic while staring at Flashy Flash who was lifting the back of his neck easily like lifting a cat. Especially seeing Flash's position as if he wanted to throw him!
"Your talent is indeed good, but your ability in the speed department is still very poor," Flashy Flash said in a flat tone. "So we can only do it this way. Remember well—don't let the Family Head get hurt even a little, or... you'll die in a very painful way."
"Y-you're crazy! Don't tell me you're going to—"
Unfortunately, Flashy Flash didn't want to hear his protests and without hesitation immediately threw the young man into the air with full force!
The speed of that throw was so tremendous it created a deafening sound explosion!
BOOOM!
Along with that explosion, the hunter troops immediately attacked Tsukuyomi Tsukasa and Flashy Flash with terrifying combination attacks!
***
"Cough, cough... What the hell is wrong with that guy... Throwing me around like a ball..." Chen Ye got up from where he landed with difficulty while coughing and wincing in pain.
Fortunately, his physical endurance, which had been trained rigorously, was indeed very strong. If not, he and Yozakura Tsubomi might have been crushed when they landed so hard like that.
"Are you alright?" The melodious voice of Yozakura Tsubomi, full of concern, came from his embrace.
Hearing that gentle voice, Chen Ye immediately forgot his annoyance and pain. "Yes, I'm fine. How about you?"
"I'm sorry," Tsubomi said. "Flash wouldn't do something extreme like that without a strong reason. It just proves that our condition and situation are truly very bad..."
"It's okay, I understand the situation too," Chen Ye replied with slight bitterness at the end. "Besides, this is also my fault and my master's for dragging you all into this big trouble."
He hated this reality, but if it weren't for him and the Sword King, the Yozakura Family wouldn't be experiencing all these terrible disasters.
But Yozakura Tsubomi only smiled gently with eyes full of understanding. "Don't think too much about it... You might not know this, but sooner or later, something like this would definitely happen as long as I'm still alive in this world."
"Huh?" Chen Ye was confused by what she meant, but Yozakura Tsubomi didn't provide further explanation.
The petite girl stepped out of Chen Ye's embrace with graceful movements. Politely, she dusted off her white clothes that were slightly dirty from dust and debris, then extended her soft hand toward Chen Ye.
"Come..." she said with a calming smile. "We need to do something important before everything becomes worse and uncontrollable."
"O-oh?" Chen Ye was a bit dazed seeing that beautiful smile. Hesitantly but with full trust, he took that very soft and warm hand.
Yozakura Tsubomi smiled wider and with slow but sure steps, led him into a hidden door that seemed to lead to a dark underground room.
The journey took several minutes through narrow and damp stone corridors. But the further they walked from the surface, the entire atmosphere that initially felt dark and suffocating seemed to change completely.
What was initially dirty and stuffy air now became very clean and fresh until it felt cooling to the lungs. And finally... they arrived at an amazing place.
Chen Ye's eyes widened when witnessing a scene that was truly beyond his expectations.
An atmosphere filled with pure life aura so thick it could be felt on the skin. Gentle greenish lights floated in the air like fireflies, while the entire air felt very refreshing and clean from all kinds of dirt and pollution.
But what fascinated him most was... a giant tree that seemed to be the source of everything amazing here.
"W-what is this place? This pure and tremendous life energy..." Chen Ye stammered with eyes that couldn't look away from the magical scene.
The Sword King suddenly manifested himself in spiritual form. The expression of one of the Transcendent beings was now filled with deep amazement and extraordinary disbelief.
"This is truly... beyond anything I've ever imagined..."
Meanwhile, Yozakura Tsubomi had walked closer to the giant tree and touched its trunk gently, as if greeting an old friend.
"This is the 'Root'..." she said with a voice full of affection. "Simply put, you can think of it as a manifestation of the ability or 'Talent' that I possess."
"T-Talent?" Chen Ye repeated in disbelief.
Yozakura Tsubomi nodded slowly while continuing to caress the tree. "You might wonder why I can still live for so many years even though I'm not a strong Hunter, right? Here, I'll answer all your questions... It's all thanks to the Talent I have called..."
'Someinine'.
What kind of Talent is that? It's a rare SSS-rank Talent that causes the owner's entire body to contain proteins and cells that shouldn't be possessed by ordinary 'humans' or normal hunters. This unique protein is called 'Someinine'.
What's the amazing effect of this 'Someinine'? If explained briefly, Yozakura Tsubomi has become a 'perfect' human in the truest sense.
Perfect here doesn't just refer to physical strength or combat ability—although that might also be included—but in terms of embodying the deepest hopes of humans who always want to be free from all kinds of diseases, gain 'eternal' life, and achieve perfection of soul and body.
A human who isn't easily swayed by negative emotions, a human who won't be influenced by any evil desires, and a human who is always filled with pure love...
And Yozakura Tsubomi has actually become such a being thanks to Someinine.
Her existence resembles the Angel race, but even Angels can still be corrupted by negative influences, while Yozakura Tsubomi is completely unaffected by anything negative in this world.
Her mind and body will always remain clean and pure from all filth, like a baby newly born into the world... That's the extraordinary power of Someinine.
It's precisely because of this purity that Yozakura Tsubomi is filled with tremendously powerful pure life energy. This life energy is so strong and pure that it makes Yozakura Tsubomi 'immortal' in the truest sense. Ordinary killing methods wouldn't be able to kill her because of her truly unreasonable regeneration ability.
Even if a nuclear bomb with full power were dropped right on top of her, Yozakura Tsubomi would regenerate in seconds, far surpassing Tsukuyomi Tsukasa's immortality which requires almost a full month to recover from severe injuries.
Unfortunately, although Someinine is very beneficial and extraordinary for Yozakura Tsubomi, Someinine continuously produces life energy in very large quantities. This energy can attract the attention of various evil parties who want to exploit her life energy like a power bank to extend their lives or become stronger.
Rather than be captured and exploited by such immoral people, Yozakura Tsubomi prefers to channel most of that energy to a special tree.
And that tree... is now known as Root.
"A question once arose in the past," Tsubomi continued with her melodious voice. "Why is Master Swordsman City so fertile and full of life despite its geographical location supposedly not being supportive?"
Some said Master Swordsman City was blessed by the three legendary founding families. Some said there was unique and special [mana] in Master Swordsman City, and others said there was a Transcendent figure in the past who gave blessings to this city...
All those guesses were wrong yet right. It's true this city received blessings, but not from Transcendent beings or other mystical things...
Instead, Master Swordsman City is so fertile and full of life because of the existence of 'Root' which continuously spreads life energy.
Root, which is always filled with pure life energy by Yozakura Tsubomi, continues to grow and develop rapidly, so its positive influence spreads and covers the entire area of Master Swordsman City.
This is also what enables Yozakura Tsubomi to control tree roots that emerge from the ground to attack enemies and protect herself and those she loves.
"But Root's true ability isn't just that," Tsubomi continued. "If I wanted to, I could use Root to absorb and devour other living beings."
However, Yozakura Tsubomi has never done such a terrible thing. Because Root would become contaminated and lose its purity if that were to happen.
A contaminated Root would give birth to terrifying monsters that are uncontrollable, and although Yozakura Tsubomi could control those monsters, the power of the pure 'Someinine' Talent would surely spread everywhere and cause chaos...
Hearing all these shocking explanations, Chen Ye felt his head spinning, while the Sword King was also very surprised and amazed by how tremendous Yozakura Tsubomi's SSS-Rank Talent was.
Honestly, as Yozakura Tsubomi had explained, everyone in this world would definitely target that girl, including organizations as powerful as the World Organization.
Not just humanity, other races like Demons, Elves, Dragons, and others would surely secretly try to rob or kidnap Yozakura Tsubomi!
Even Transcendent beings, no matter how powerful, would surely feel tempted by that extraordinary power!
Wait a moment...
"Earlier you mentioned that the Demon Dragon Lord might be targeting you," the Sword King's eyes widened with horrifying realization. "Does this mean..."
Yozakura Tsubomi nodded gently. "Yes... He most likely already knows about my existence and wants to exploit either 'me directly' or this Root to heal the old injuries he's suffered for years."
Fuck!
The Sword King's expression immediately turned deathly pale. If that assumption was correct, then it would truly be the most terrifying nightmare imaginable!
And not only that, with the extraordinary intensity and purity of life energy from Yozakura Tsubomi, he was certain the Demon Dragon Lord wouldn't just recover completely, but would also become far stronger than before!
When that happened, except for a few of the strongest empires or certain organizations like the Hunter Association and World Organization, there wouldn't be a single being in this world capable of stopping the Demon Dragon Lord from rampaging and destroying human civilization!
Cold sweat trickled down the Sword King's temples as he became trapped in an endless spiral of thoughts. In the midst of the suffocating silence, Chen Ye's voice suddenly broke through the quiet with a hesitant tone hanging in the air.
"But..." Chen Ye raised his gaze, staring at the figure standing calmly before them. "If you can still remain so composed like this, does that mean you already have a plan?"
That simple question snapped the Sword King out of his reverie. His eyes now focused on Yozakura Tsubomi, who still maintained her gentle smile—a smile that somehow felt so painful in the midst of this critical situation.
"Yes..." The girl nodded slowly, her voice like a spring breeze whisper that was soothing. "I do have a plan. Actually, from the moment I first saw you two, this plan had already begun forming in my mind."
A moment of silence enveloped the room. The air felt increasingly heavy with unspoken tension.
"What are you planning?" the Sword King asked in a deep and heavy voice.
Yozakura Tsubomi's eyes, colored like cherry blossom petals, sparkled with a strange light.
"Simple," she said in a tone so calm it was frightening. "I want Chen Ye to absorb all the life energy from the Root..."
Chen Ye's eyes widened, bulging perfectly like someone who had just seen a ghost. On the other side, deep wrinkles carved the Sword King's face.
"Wait a minute!" The Sword King rose from his position, his voice rising with concern. "That life energy is too abundant! Even with his Emperor of Sword Talent, Chen Ye will surely die!"
"I know that." Yozakura Tsubomi answered. "But the life energy produced by the Root isn't only capable of permanently strengthening someone. There's something else that can be utilized from this power, namely... Resurrection—the ability to bring back to life."
A deathly silence struck the room.
"Bring back to life?" Chen Ye murmured, not believing what he had just heard.
"A-are you serious about what you're saying?" This time even the Sword King's voice trembled violently. His pupils dilated, staring at the girl before him with a mixture of fear and disbelief.
"The life force of Someine is far more amazing than you could ever imagine," Yozakura Tsubomi said in a melodious voice that sounded like a lullaby.
Eternal life, healing fatal injuries, regenerating destroyed body parts, creating new organisms, even resurrection from death—though with certain conditions that must be met—all of these were included in the extraordinary spectrum of abilities of 'Someinine'.
There were still various other abilities that could be utilized from the power of Someinine, but Yozakura Tsubomi deliberately didn't explain them all. She knew that too much information would only confuse them further.
If only Yozakura Tsubomi were someone filled with ambition and thirst for power, she would surely become one of the most feared individuals, even worshipped by millions of people worldwide.
"There's no other way left..." Her voice changed to a whisper that was barely audible. "If the Demon Dragon Lord is truly targeting me, then this is the plan we must execute..."
By utilizing all the life energy from the Root, Yozakura Tsubomi was confident she could strengthen Chen Ye drastically. At the same time, she could also resurrect the Sword King's original body that had been shattered to pieces.
At first glance, it sounded like a perfect plan—too perfect, even.
But there was something wrong. Something that made the hair on the back of their necks stand up.
Chen Ye couldn't explain this feeling, but his instincts screamed that something wasn't right with all of this.
"Ara~ What a wonderfully perfect plan from the Honorable Head of the Yozakura Family~"
A melodious voice filled with mocking tones suddenly echoed in the room, completely changing the atmosphere.
"?!"
Chen Ye and the Sword King simultaneously changed their expressions. Chen Ye's reflexes immediately drew his sword with lightning speed, positioning himself as a living shield to protect Yozakura Tsubomi behind him.
However, with a gentle movement almost like a dance, Yozakura Tsubomi stopped Chen Ye while saying in such a soft voice.
"You've come... Restia."
"Fufu~" A small, seductive laugh echoed. "Initially I didn't intend to return this quickly, but when the protective barrier I had set up for years suddenly shattered, it caught my attention. And look at the condition of the family you've painstakingly built... Completely destroyed beyond recognition. Not only that, the other two families are truly shameless enough to make me want to erase them from the face of the earth~"
The girl's voice was very enchanting and full of charm, but every word that came from her mouth was like a sharp knife that made Chen Ye and the Sword King shiver to their bones.
Pitch-black feathers began falling, filling the space that had previously been filled with life aura. Chen Ye then saw a tiny figure that looked like a fallen angel—or more precisely, an angel that had been banished from heaven—landing gracefully before them.
The figure was a young girl who possessed almost impossible beauty. She wore a night-colored dress that seemed to be made from darkness itself.
Her skin was pale like porcelain that had never been touched by sunlight, with long, shimmering black hair that flowed to her waist like a waterfall of darkness.
When Chen Ye gazed into the purple eyes that seemed capable of sucking the soul of anyone who dared to look at them, he felt confused for a moment before finally coming to his senses when he felt the deadly danger radiating from the tiny girl.
Wait... From the beginning, was this girl really human?
"Quite unexpected to see one of the high-level Spirits in a place like this," the Sword King said in a tone trying to sound calm, though cold sweat continued to flow. "Or should I call you... Darkness Spirit?"
"Oh?" The girl tilted her head with a movement that seemed innocent yet terrifying. "A soul that's almost dying like yours could recognize my identity in the blink of an eye. As a reward for your intelligence, perhaps I could let you die without feeling excessive pain." She uttered those cruel words while smiling sweetly.
"Hahaha," the Sword King laughed, though his voice trembled. "To kill me, you'll have to try harder than that, young lady."
Despite speaking with full confidence, the Sword King was actually terrified to the depths of his heart! He might call the girl a high-level Spirit, but her purity and existence were equivalent to a Pure Spirit—perhaps even more than that!
The purity of the darkness element she possessed was so terrifying that the Sword King almost mistook her for a Transcendent being!
"Really?" The girl's tone became dangerous. "If you're so confident, how about we try it right now?"
Several balls of dense darkness began forming around her hands, spinning with a terrifying aura of death.
"Restia... Stop." Yozakura Tsubomi said in a quiet tone. "I know you're not happy with this situation, but you also predicted that something like this would happen, didn't you?"
The girl named Restia Ashdoll fell silent for a moment. The seductive expression on her face slowly faded, replaced by an expressionless face that somehow felt far more terrifying. With a light finger movement, she made the several darkness balls that had appeared disappear just like that.
"Fine, I'll let these two clowns stay alive for the time being," she said in a flat tone. "However..." Her gaze narrowed dangerously. "I can't agree with your plan, because... you also intend to let yourself be devoured, don't you?"
"Huh?"
Chen Ye and the Sword King could hardly believe what they had just heard. Those words were like lightning striking in broad daylight.
"W-wait a minute! What are you saying?! Devour herself?!" Chen Ye screamed in panic while pointing toward the Root with a trembling hand. "Weren't we just going to utilize the life energy from this big tree?!"
Restia Ashdoll let out a long sigh with an expression showing deep boredom.
"This is why the average human is so boring and annoying," she said in a bored tone.
"Think carefully, what is their ultimate goal? They don't just intend to devour the Root, but also this girl. So you should already understand what I mean, right?"
Silence.
Chen Ye fell completely silent. It wasn't that he didn't understand the meaning of Restia's words, quite the opposite... Now he finally understood why he had felt so uncomfortable and uneasy all this time.
Right... What was the Demon Dragon Lord's main target was indeed the Root, but that creature surely knew that Yozakura Tsubomi was its creator.
Between a creation or the creator... Which was far more valuable and precious was already clear, wasn't it?
It was true that the Root would disappear after being absorbed by Chen Ye, but as long as Yozakura Tsubomi was still alive and breathing, the Demon Dragon Lord still had a chance to recover by devouring her.
Moreover, the life energy flowing in Yozakura Tsubomi's body was far higher quality and more abundant than the Root itself because of the direct effect of Someine's power.
So, what should they do so that the Demon Dragon Lord couldn't recover and become even stronger? The answer was already very clear...
Yozakura Tsubomi also had to die.
But ordinary methods wouldn't be able to kill Yozakura Tsubomi because of her extraordinary immortality. Therefore, the only solution left was...
Yozakura Tsubomi had to merge with the Root so that Chen Ye would also be able to absorb all of her life energy at once.
In this way, all the efforts and plans of Black Mamba and the Demon Dragon Lord today would become completely futile.
Chen Ye understood the logic behind all of this, but...
His heart refused adamantly to accept this reality!
He didn't want anyone to have to die just to make him stronger!
"There's no other way, Chen Ye..." Yozakura Tsubomi said.
"No!" Chen Ye shouted. "There must be another solution! Why don't we try contacting the World Organization or the nearest kingdom? They'll surely help!"
Restia Ashdoll blinked for a moment before chuckling softly with a mocking tone.
"For a human with extraordinary Talent, you're really very naive~" she said while shaking her head. "Do you think our enemies didn't make thorough preparations? No, they've even prepared everything perfectly."
Since people first entered Master Swordsman City, there was no way to get out of this place. Even...
Restia Ashdoll raised her hand and created a complex purple magic circle. However, in the next second, the magic circle vanished as if it had never existed.
"As you can see with your own eyes, we're already surrounded by various very strong barriers~" she explained in a casual yet frightening tone. "Teleportation magic, communication magic, or any other type of magic is completely useless, unless this barrier is successfully destroyed first."
And only beings at the Transcendent level or possessing SSS Rank could create barriers that could even block teleportation magic from Restia Ashdoll—a pure darkness Spirit with extraordinary power.
"Master!" Chen Ye turned around. "Can't you really think of something?! There has to be another way!"
The Sword King gave no response to his disciple's plea. Actually, he also felt completely powerless in a situation like this.
And unlike Chen Ye who was still struggling to find another solution, the Sword King actually strongly agreed with the plan proposed by Yozakura Tsubomi.
After all, if Yozakura Tsubomi really sacrificed herself, his disciple Chen Ye would surely become much stronger than before—perhaps even strong enough to face the threats that would come in the future.
But the Sword King knew for certain that once he expressed his opinion like that, Chen Ye surely wouldn't be able to accept it and would rebel even more.
On the other hand, Restia Ashdoll seemed not too concerned with Chen Ye's inner turmoil. She said in a teasing tone to Yozakura Tsubomi.
"So how about it, little girl?" she asked while tilting her head. "Want me to save you from this situation? Because of the debt between us, I can still force myself to create a small gap in this barrier so we can escape~"
"I'm very touched and grateful for your concern, Restia," Yozakura Tsubomi replied with a sincere smile. "But sorry... Maybe next time."
"Well then, what a shame~"
Restia shrugged with an indifferent attitude, though there was a flash of disappointment in her eyes.
Really... If the situation was already like this...
BOOOOM...!!
The entire room shook violently with terrifying force, causing several solid structures to immediately collapse and shatter to pieces. Chen Ye's balance was disturbed and his facial expression changed drastically when an extremely frightening aura began to envelop their location!
"Fufu, bad news for all of us." Restia Ashdoll said in a teasing tone, but her gaze became very cold and alert. "That Transcendent creature has already managed to find us~"
"There's no more time, Chen Ye..." Yozakura Tsubomi held Chen Ye's hand gently, but her grip felt so strong. "You have to do this immediately, right now."
"No! I—"
Chen Ye was still trying to refuse adamantly, but his words stopped when he saw a pair of terrifying golden eyes appear behind dimensional cracks that somehow formed around them.
Not just him, but Restia Ashdoll and the Sword King also froze completely when they felt the very heavy and suffocating pressure filling the entire room.
At that moment, an extremely frightening voice could be heard echoing from all directions.
"[So this is where you've been hiding all this time...]"
The voice was filled with terrifying joy and such strong desire, directed straight at Yozakura Tsubomi.
'Oh God, no.'
The Sword King's expression was filled with extraordinary horror. Especially when he saw very strong and complex magic circles beginning to form surrounding them all!
KABOOOOOOOM...!!!
Tremendous explosions of dense dark light from each magic circle began bombarding the place mercilessly. Except for the Root which still stood firmly, almost everything around them experienced total destruction.
But the keyword here was 'almost'.
"[Darkness Spirit...?? Hahaha! The Yozakura Family is truly full of unexpected surprises!]"
Thunderous laughter that shook the entire room. They could all see how Restia Ashdoll was struggling to protect them using her darkness magic.
"Ara~ You're really merciless to a weak girl like me~" Restia Ashdoll said while smiling, though her badly burned left arm showed the real condition.
"[There are so many interesting things I want to discuss with you, however—]" The voice was now filled with killing intent so strong it could make an A-Rank Hunter faint instantly. "[Hide and seek is over]"
At that moment, the world seemed to shake to its foundations. Chen Ye could only watch in horror as the dimensional crack widened and spread, revealing the true terrifying figure behind the dimension.
A body that was long and extremely large, reaching 600 meters, like a giant snake that could coil around mountains. Scales covering its entire body were dark purple, shimmering with frightening light. Long horns on its forehead and a pair of golden pupils that could cause madness in anyone who dared to look at them.
The Sword King, seeing this terrifying sight, widened his eyes because of one devastating fact...
The Demon Dragon Lord had fully recovered!
The soul-freezing terror increased even more when clumps of extremely terrifying [mana] began gathering and swirling around the body of that frightening Transcendent creature.
'Ah... We're all going to die.'
Chen Ye's mind became completely empty and his body couldn't move even slightly when feelings of weakness and despair filled his entire being.
His entire vision began to darken because of the [mana] that was released brutally and uncontrollably.
But in the final seconds before everything ended, his body seemed to be embraced by something soft and warm, and—
BOOOOOOOOOOM...!!!
—The tremendous explosion annihilated everything, leaving only darkness and eternal silence.