"Lord God Space can create artificial humans," Masao said.
"I know, Captain, that you've never made one."
"Why not let the Lord God create an artificial human exactly like Ikumi for you?"
"If that's the case—"
Before he could finish speaking, Miyata Kuraki was already driven forward once more by uncontrollable rage.
The Asura skill—Earth-Shattering Wave Slash—was unleashed without hesitation.
The orange-red flames roared like a raging fire serpent, baring its fangs as it lunged straight toward Kozumi Masao.
The blazing fire slammed heavily into Kozumi Masao's body.
The scorching heat instantly burned his skin, finally forcing him to cry out in pain.
He could no longer endure it.
By pure instinct, his body activated the first-stage Gene Lock.
His muscles seemed to gain a will of their own, rapidly writhing and shifting as they adjusted and repaired the damaged areas as much as possible.
Even so, Kozumi Masao's expression remained firm.
He stared straight at Miyata Kuraki and spoke slowly, word by word.
"The artificial human created by the Lord God will be generated exactly according to the image in your memories."
"This will fix all of your unresolved emotional knots."
"She will be your perfect lover."
"She can even be a—"
Before he could finish the last word, Kozumi Masao caught sight of Miyata Kuraki's face turning deathly dark, like the sky before a violent storm.
He immediately realized that if he continued, this guy would probably activate an awakened skill against him.
With no other choice, he forcefully swallowed the last word back down.
Nearby, Tanaka Jusuke of the Three-Sword Style stood coldly to the side, watching everything unfold without emotion.
At this moment, he let out a chilling chuckle and spoke.
"Kozumi Masao is usually as stupid as someone who's eaten too much protein powder."
"But what he just said might be the smartest thing he's ever said in his entire life."
"Listen to him."
Hearing this mockery, Kozumi Masao's head drooped instantly.
A flash of hateful fury burned through his eyes.
However, he knew this was not the time to act on impulse.
He quickly suppressed his anger, then bowed deeply to Tanaka Jusuke.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Thank you, sir."
Only these two teammates remained at Miyata Kuraki's side now.
With both of them saying the same thing, the man who had temporarily become team leader—who was originally nothing more than a hardcore gamer—found his heart violently shaken.
If he were truly to go alone to rescue the Central Continent Team, he had no confidence at all.
When he first entered the world of Scream, he had been brimming with confidence.
Now, every step required extreme caution, and he had been schemed against by Chu Xuan so badly that he no longer even dared to sleep.
Miyata Kuraki's mind was on the verge of collapse.
He was just one final push away.
Miyata Kuraki was like a deflated balloon.
He dropped heavily onto a filthy, battered sofa, stained beyond recognition.
He clutched his head with both hands, fingers digging deep into his hair, gasping for air in huge breaths.
After a while, he slowly lifted his head and looked toward Kozumi Masao.
His eyes were filled with regret and self-blame.
Then, as if he had finally made up his mind, he suddenly stood up.
He bent his knees and dropped into a perfect seiza-style dogeza, pressing his entire body flat against the ground.
His forehead was firmly planted against the floor as he apologized in a choked, trembling voice.
"I'm sorry. I acted on impulse. I never should have struck you, and I never should have let those reckless thoughts take hold. I almost made a terrible mistake."
Seeing this, Kozumi Masao also dropped to his knees, returning the apology in a formal dogeza posture.
However, his slightly trembling shoulders and the fists clenched tightly at his sides betrayed the resentment he could not fully suppress.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to speak in as calm a tone as possible.
"As long as the captain is safe, then whatever grievances I've suffered don't matter. We're trapped in this extremely dangerous Lord God Space. Unity is the top priority. How could I truly hold something like this against you?"
"Kozumi Masao!"
Hearing these words, Miyata Kuraki's eyes instantly reddened.
Hot tears spilled out uncontrollably, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the dust-covered floor, forming small muddy pits.
"It was my recklessness. I'm sorry. As the captain, I failed to control my emotions and even injured a teammate. I… I really have no face left to face everyone."
"It's fine, Captain. Please, get up quickly."
Kozumi Masao hurriedly spoke to comfort him, reaching out as if to help Miyata Kuraki to his feet.
Yet the movement was stiff and unnatural, clearly showing that the rift in his heart could not be erased so easily.
From the side, Tanaka Jūsuke watched the entire scene with cold indifference.
A mocking curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
His gaze was like two sharp blades, lightly brushing across the two men's necks.
To be honest, at that moment, a powerful urge surged in his heart.
He really wanted to give each of them a single slash and be done with it.
In his eyes, the farce they had just performed was both stupid and laughable.
But reason was like a tightly pulled rein, forcefully restraining the wild horse within him.
He understood all too well that in this brutally unforgiving Lord God Space, surviving alone was almost impossible.
Without teammates, he wouldn't even have a sliver of hope.
So even though disgust filled his heart, he could only suppress his killing intent and silently sheath the blade in his hand.
Just as the atmosphere inside the room became so awkward it felt almost solid, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted outside.
The suffocating stillness was shattered in an instant.
All three were startled.
Their gazes met at once, and in each other's eyes they saw the same alertness and vigilance.
Someone was coming.
Miyata Kuraki immediately pulled out his blindfold and covered his eyes, activating his Mind's Eye to sense what was happening outside.
This ability was somewhat similar to Observation Haki, but its range was only a few meters, nowhere near the level of true psychic scanning.
Even so, within that limited range, he detected three targets.
"Above us!"
Kozumi Masao and Tanaka Jūsuke quickly moved aside.
Miyata Kuraki gripped the Redemption Angel's Scepter and began charging power.
He intended to launch an attack straight through the room and strike the enemies overhead.
The charge was only halfway complete when a sound came from directly above.
That was—
A faintly glowing black feather that melted the roof as if the building were made of jelly.
At the sight of it, Miyata Kuraki's heart tightened.
As someone following the DFO Asura enhancement route, he recognized the danger instantly.
He executed a forced backward jump, forcibly canceling the charge of Ghost Slash.
The feather grazed past his chest and plunged straight into the ground.
Even though he reacted quickly, a bowl-sized bloody gash still tore open across his chest.
At that moment, through the hole blasted open by the earlier Armored Lightning Feather, a voice drifted in from outside.
It was Yujin.
"If I were you, after choosing the Asura bloodline, the very first weapon I would exchange for would definitely be a short sword."
"Damn it, a katana is for berserkers, alright?!"
Miyata Kuraki roared in fury.
"Extreme Flame · Wave-Splitting Sword!"
Yujin, who was above him, directly dodged out through the opening.
In the next instant, a flash of green light appeared.
It was the Green Goblin glider.
And standing on the glider were two figures.
Chu Xuan.
And Ikumi, the one Miyata Kuraki had already given up on in his heart.
Chu Xuan looked at Miyata Kuraki with eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Miyata Kuraki halted his backward leap and stopped attacking.
Then Chu Xuan spoke calmly.
"Cooperate with us. End the cycle. She lives."
Yujin, who was still flying, heard this and the doubt in his eyes did not lessen at all.
He did not believe for a second that Chu Xuan would obediently listen to Zheng Zha and the others, finish the mission, and stop there.
This guy would definitely squeeze out at least one more B-rank side quest before giving up.
The Observation Haki spread out from Yujin, sweeping across the room.
Asura enhancement, third-stage Gene Lock.
Hard to kill.
Toguro enhancement.
Disgustingly tanky. Extremely hard to chew through.
Which meant…
Only one target remained.
The three-sword-style swordsman.
****
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