The dark mountain forest gradually faded, and the surroundings became even dimmer and more decayed than before.
The flickering lights in the woods bloomed like flowers, emanating a cold and eerie firelight.
What radiated from this firelight was not warmth, but a chilling gloom.
"ROAR—"
In the pitch-black night, a desolate roar echoed through the entire forest.
That roar contained a multitude of emotions.
Pain, sorrow, repression, madness... and bestiality.
Just this single roar was enough to make one's blood run cold, let alone fighting against it.
The already pitch-black night seemed to be swallowed by something even darker.
Amidst the woods, heavy panting accompanied by the scent of blood drew closer.
It was as if an injured beast lurked in the dark forest, licking her wounds while gazing maliciously at the only living thing in the woods—Bai Luo.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Bai Luo had thought he would be facing the Maguu Kenki, as the spot where he stood was similar to the Maguu Kenki's original location at the Serpent's Head.
But this aura reminded him of someone else.
Someone who was also highly likely to appear in the memories of Mikoshi Douin, or rather, the Maguu Kenki.
The deep darkness almost completely suppressed the Onibi (ghost fires) in the forest, and this sludge-like darkness made him feel a momentary trance.
He seemed to... have seen this somewhere before.
Creak—
Whether by coincidence or not, just as Bai Luo was recalling the origin of this black mud, the monster that had been brewing in the forest for so long finally revealed itself.
A slender hand surrounded by black aura gripped the trunk of a dead tree. Even though the hand was much smaller than the trunk, its fingernails sank effortlessly into the wood.
Supporting herself against the tree trunk, the Oni, appearing extremely weak yet radiating an increasingly fierce aura, emerged.
Her once beautiful face was now completely twisted by madness.
One of the two horns on her head had been severed for some unknown reason.
Her right arm, which had once wielded a sword, was gone. Blood tainted by deep darkness dripped slowly from her wound.
In Bai Luo's memory, she was just like an ordinary maiden who liked pink and red.
But her Junihitoe (a type of Japanese garment), originally themed in pink and red, was now completely swallowed by black.
"Chiyo the Tiger-Bite..."
Looking at the monster walking out of the forest, Bai Luo felt his scalp tingle.
That's right, the monster emerging from the woods was none other than Mikoshi Doukei's mother—Mikoshi Chiyo.
She was once a beloved general under the Raiden Shogun. Her long-cherished wish was to overcome the fate of life and death with boiling, passionate hot blood, and to establish immortal achievements under the name of "War Oni" for her increasingly thinning kin.
When she followed the Raiden Shogun to face the dark forces, she was swallowed by a beast from beyond the world that had a tiger's body and a snake's tail. In the end, she tore open the monster's chest cavity and survived. This was the origin of the name "Chiyo the Tiger-Bite." In later years, this title was gradually simplified to Torachiyo (Tiger Chiyo).
But deep darkness is inherently invasive. Since she had been tainted by the pitch-black, how could she escape so easily?
The blood-soaked Junihitoe was easily washed clean, but the heart swallowed by darkness beat more vigorously than ever.
At a certain moment, she bared her fangs at the Shogun who had bestowed upon her a treasured sword and treated her as family, completely transforming into an Oni.
In that battle, even the Shogun's naginata was shattered by her sharp teeth, but her sword-wielding hand and horn were also severed. Ultimately, like a wounded beast, she fled from Inazuma City into the wilderness, her whereabouts unknown.
And then...
Bai Luo encountered her in this trial.
In other words, at this moment, there might still be fragments of the Engulfing Lightning embedded in her mouth.
Speaking of which, if he pulled them out, could they be used as refinement materials for the Engulfing Lightning?
"ROAR—"
As the saying goes, clouds follow the dragon, wind follows the tiger.
When Torachiyo pounced, it truly felt like a fierce tiger descending the mountain. The bloody wind she kicked up actually made Bai Luo feel suffocated.
Fortunately, the trial had not officially started yet, and Torachiyo could only rage impotently at Bai Luo from across the invisible wall.
[Start Challenge?]
Perhaps because Torachiyo had lost her reason, this time it was the System asking on her behalf, rather than Torachiyo herself.
"Wait a moment, let me figure out which class to use."
[Hei and Battousai have been banned. Challenger, please switch to the Black Swordsman immediately.]
"..."
Good grief, this is definitely another rule added on the fly.
This System is getting more and more unreliable.
The red ronin attire was gradually dyed pitch-black, and the cat-face mask on his face disappeared.
Perhaps due to the characteristics of the class, Bai Luo's face, which originally looked like a college student's, actually gained a bit of youthfulness, making him look like he had a baby face.
Watching Torachiyo relentlessly pounding on the transparent wall, Bai Luo took a deep breath.
"Start!"
Almost the instant the wall vanished, four sword shadows flew out in response. Bai Luo disappeared from his spot and reappeared at the location of the sword shadow on the left.
As for Torachiyo...
Her bloody maw bit into empty air, but the sound of her teeth clashing made Bai Luo's teeth ache.
Actually, the current Torachiyo had been weakened significantly.
Her best weapon should have been a sword.
In folklore, Torachiyo possessed superb martial arts skills. It was said that she once danced wildly amidst a thousand blades; her Junihitoe was shredded like falling violet petals, yet her body remained unharmed.
Even the Kitsune Saiguu had praised her sword dance.
But to subdue her, the Raiden Shogun had severed her sword-wielding right arm.
In other words, her only means of attack now were the claws on her left arm and that mouthful of sharp teeth.
Though Torachiyo had lost her reason, her Oni talents and combat instincts remained intact.
After a brief moment of discernment, she identified the real Bai Luo among the sword shadows.
Her face became even more twisted, and a bloody glint seemed to flash in her eyes.
Stomping on the mountain rock and causing a sonic boom, Torachiyo extended her Oni claw and swiped at Bai Luo.
If she were still lucid, this move would not have had such power.
Humans cherish their lives, and so do Oni.
But if one disregards their life, an Oni's claws become everyone's nightmare.
Holding the newly drawn Elucidator, Bai Luo did not dodge. Instead, he advanced against her claws.
"Sonic Boom!"
Clang—
Blade and claw collided, producing the sound of metal clashing against metal.
The sparks from the collision illuminated the surrounding darkness for an instant.
At this moment, Torachiyo had no spare rationality to ponder why the strange single-handed sword in this human's hand could withstand her Oni claws.
Because her remaining shred of instinct caused a confused expression to appear on her face.
How did that person pass through?
Looking behind Torachiyo, Bai Luo had used SonicBoom to pass through her and then teleported to another sword shadow before it vanished.
"Damn bug!"
Indeed, the SonicBoom, which originally had a knockback property, once again displayed its buggy characteristic.
It had actually performed a "sonic pass-through" for Bai Luo.
Fortunately, he used this move more to dodge Torachiyo's attack than to deal damage.
So it didn't matter much.
But facing the frenzied Torachiyo, he became increasingly cautious.
_______________________________________
Hey guys, A little support will be appreciated. As you know, we don't earn on fanfiction.
Check my P@treon for advance chapters:-
Their are 10+ advance chapters available on P@treon
[email protected]/AnimeDarcx