When Kai had stepped into the Cursed Vault of Fear, it had possessed a definite shape.
For ordinary eyes, it could have even looked beautiful, the walls, floors, and ceilings holding many exquisite cabinets, giving it an archaic, magical appearance.
For Contestants who matched the timeline's Overall Grade, lingering somewhere between the 10th and 11th Floor, even the billions of Boggarts would have provided a significant challenge, making the quest of exploring the Vault worthy of becoming a Hidden Mission for them.
For those who were still on the 3rd Set, it would have been one of those places that one must not enter, despite the possibility of a huge reward. Much less needed to be said about Contestants below the 8th Floor, who might never even find the Cursed Vault of Fear. And if, by some miracle, they did, this place would have never allowed them to leave, swallowing them alive, along with their fears.
The fight between Kai and Mang Jian upended the Cursed Vault of Fear at its seams!
Boggarts were the last thing one would need to worry about here now.
Swirls of blackness, like phantom images of cyclones of black winds, raged across the entire Vault. No matter where they appeared—like flashes of black light—everything there ceased to exist, swallowed by some invisible beast.
A vast emptiness had appeared in the middle of the Vault as well, as large as several football fields combined.
It was like someone had scooped out a big chunk of space, with wooden debris still hovering beyond the spherical boundary.
From time to time, cracks appeared in this hollowness like bolts of lightning, originating from random points and heading toward random directions.
And the causes of this ridiculous destruction were fighting a grave battle against their own Stats.
Mang Jian coughed up another handful of black blood.
His clothes had been torn apart at some point, leaving behind tattered pants and several splinters running through his feet. But those splinters were the last of his worries, as something much more hideous was happening to him… within him.
Two gaping scars ran down from his shoulders to his waist, making a black cross on his body. Where they met, there was a half-hand-large vertical slit, marking the spot where Kai had plunged his swords deep into his body.
From these scars, black veins slithered out, pumping cursed, corrupt, and poisoned blood through his body.
He was dying.
He was dying fast…
The only good thing was that his enemy wasn't faring any better, it seemed.
Far from Mang Jian, surrounded by broken cabinets, was a puddle of flesh and blood.
The entire filthy puddle was squirming, bubbling, and letting out inhuman, beastly growls. Tiny protrusions kept shooting out, taking the form of eldritch mutations. From time to time, an outline of a face would appear, before disappearing in the very next moment, as the outline of a different face took its place.
Kai's HP was blinking at 1.
The Blind Domain had vanished, but it was obvious that most of its effects remained, as, through Rule Breaker, Medea had only succeeded in breaking the rules that Kai had already figured out.
Fiend had already entered its cooldown, becoming useless for the next 60 minutes.
The same was the case for most of his Skills that could have given him an edge… just enough to let him materialize.
Even Biokinesis, the Skill that granted him an insane amount of HP Regeneration Rate by consuming his MP and stored Calorific Value, failed to give him a form, as all the stored sources of calories had already run out.
The corpses in his Inventory wouldn't work, either. To use them, Kai would have to consume them first, which was a nigh-impossible task given his current state.
The only reason his HP hadn't fallen to 0 was that Biokinesis was eating his own flesh to keep him alive.
"… You… really are lucky…" Mang Jian said, getting up. "No wonder they sent me… the Rabbit's Foot Item… to counter your Luck. I should have used it... Sigh! No. It's not a regret. Luck is nothing but… just another blade, Red. And — like all blades — it… gets dull if you don't use it. Like all blades — it becomes useless… if you can't use it."
All the blackness, phantom or otherwise, lingering in the Cursed Vault of Fear gathered in front of Mang Jian, taking the form of a blurry, black sword.
It had no edge.
It had no beginning or end.
From top to bottom, it was nothing but a mass of blackness.
Mang Jian reached out… with his right hand… and grabbed the sword.
"There are things that a man can't do without, Red," Mang Jian said, his voice suddenly regaining its sharpness as he took a stance. "My blade is my will to see the Peak. That's all I have. And you—are blocking the view…"
Severance Style: Forbidden Art —
"Cursed is the world that has no Path…" Mang Jian said, simply letting the blade fall. "… Open your eyes… Sento."
— Absolute Path Dominion!
A streak of black light, connecting heaven and earth, shot forward, carrying Mang Jian's will to unblock the view by… killing Kai.
Only if it could reach him.
The puddle of flesh and blood stopped squirming.
A corked bottle appeared next to it and poured 100 ml of juice into it.
Faster than Mang Jian's slash, and seemingly faster than time itself, Kai's entire body regenerated, his HP shooting straight to 1000!
He didn't move, though.
He didn't need to.
Someone else had appeared out of his Inventory along with the Pumpkin Juice Bottle, now blurring toward Mang Jian's slash that carried his heart intent.
CRACK!
Selfless Breathing: Third Transformation —
Venom covered Black's body as buffs without cooldown elevated his existence, thick yellow bolts of lightning rumbling in his surroundings.
— Black Original —
Orochimaru's Curse Mark appeared on his neck, red, vein-like cracks oozing bloody steam.
Then, taking his stance, Black coated his entire foot in Conqueror Haki and kicked.
— Recoilless Storm: 15%!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The entire Cursed Vault of Fear exploded.
The Bounded Field keeping it hidden was ripped apart.
A broken blade landed at the Blind Executioner's feet with a tink, Black standing inches away from him.
So… Mang Jian realized the bitter truth. I never stood a chance…
"As I said…" the Blind Executioner mocked. "You have too much of everything…"
"That's not a bad thing," Black replied.
"I never said it is…" The corner's of Mang Jian's blood-stained mouth lifted. "… Not all are lucky to have… everything…"
Black frowned as the Blind Executioner lifted his right hand, his eyes flickering as if he wanted to open them.
Then, giving up, and carrying a smile on his face… Mang Jian fell.
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