In the trembling palace corridors, Xuánhú shot forward with a speed that only her own shadow could follow. Her nine tails spread behind her like a giant fan as she rounded the corner towards the west wing—where Rael was last seen.
She found them in a small courtyard near the old library. Prince Rael was speaking with a young vampire—golden blond hair, blue eyes brighter than most vampires, with a firm posture despite his youth. Prince Klad, the Crown Prince of Cloţca.
Xuánhú wasted no time with pleasantries. "Is he agreeable?"
Rael turned, slightly surprised by Xuánhú's swift arrival, but quickly nodded. "Klad has agreed to help."
The young prince stared at Xuánhú with curious eyes. "So you're the one my Uncle Rael spoke of? The Nine-Tailed Fox who supposedly existed since my great-grandfather's time?"
Xuánhú snorted. "We can discuss genealogy later. Now, we move. Show us the way to the artifact."
Rael nodded and immediately led them through the palace's darkening underground passages. The wall lamps flickered from the ceaseless tremors. Above them, the sounds of battle grew louder—shouts, impacts, and monster howls merging into a symphony of death.
---
On the battlefield, Kazan continued to hold his ground.
The flower woman moved gracefully between his attacks. Several of Kazan's slashes were avoided or blocked by roots that suddenly emerged from the ground.
"You're quite agile for a human," Kusuma praised in a soft voice. But beneath that gentleness, a deadly threat lurked.
"But agility won't save you from my garden of death."
Kazan didn't answer. He regulated his breathing, his eyes focused on every movement of the flower woman. Around them, vampire soldiers still fought ordinary monsters, but some began to notice this uneven battle.
A vampire commander with a wounded shoulder shouted, "Soldiers of Cloţca! Listen! We cannot let that human fight alone!"
Another responded, "But he... he's!"
"Whoever he is, what matters is he's now defending our city alongside us!" The commander raised his sword. "PREPARE FORMATIONS! WE HELP HIM FIGHT KUSUMA, THE RUINS IN BLOOM!"
With war cries, dozens of vampire soldiers pivoted, leaving the ordinary monsters to their comrades, and ran towards Kazan's battle area.
"WE WILL HELP YOU, HUMAN!" the commander shouted. "FORWARD, SOLDIERS OF CLOŢCA! SHOW THAT MONSTER THAT OUR BLOOD WILL NOT FERTILIZE HER GARDEN!"
Kusuma, hearing the shouts, only smiled gently. "Come forth," she whispered, her voice spreading like wind. "Offer your lives willingly. My garden will grow even more beautiful."
The ground around her churned.
---
"Roots' Silent Waltz!"
Black roots shot from the ground like giant serpents, striking the newly arrived soldiers. Some evaded, but others were struck and entangled, their bodies crushed by constricting roots.
"DON'T BE RECKLESS!" Kazan shouted. He shot forward, his sword blazing white.
"Byakko no Tsubasa!" Two crossing slashes formed wings of white energy that surged forward, cutting the roots ensnaring the soldiers.
The surviving soldiers immediately rose, their eyes burning with renewed determination. They saw Kazan—a stranger from nowhere—saving them.
"Thank you, human!" a young soldier cried out.
"KUSUMA!" Kazan roared, drawing the flower woman's attention. "FACE ME!"
Kusuma laughed softly. "You're so spirited, little human. Very well, I'll play with you."
She thrust both hands into the ground. "Earth's Breath!"
The ground around them instantly dried. Grass yellowed, small trees withered in seconds. Kusuma took a long breath, the minor wounds from Kazan's earlier slashes beginning to heal.
"She's draining the soil's nutrients to heal herself!" the vampire commander shouted.
"We must stop her!"
Kazan didn't wait for orders. He shot forward with incredible speed. "Mugen no Kōjin!" Ten slashes in two seconds—fast, accurate, deadly.
Kusuma evaded gracefully, but several slashes struck her arm. Pinkish sap dripped from her wounds. She smiled.
"It hurts," she whispered. But her smile never faded. "Forest's Chorus!"
She began to sing.
Her voice was soft, melodious, like a lullaby. But its effects were horrifying. All plants in the area—grass, bushes, even dead trees—began to move. Grass tangled soldiers' feet, branches swung like whips, new roots thrust from the ground dragging victims.
"LET ME GO!" screamed a soldier being dragged away.
Kazan spun, his eyes cold. "Shiroi Ryūsen!" A 360-degree circular slash created a white dragon that surged forth, cutting all surrounding plants. The entangled soldiers were freed.
"YOU'RE AMAZING, HUMAN!" a soldier cheered.
But Kusuma wasn't idle. "You cut my plants," she whispered sadly. "You make me sad."
The ground shook. From within the earth, a massive structure began to emerge—gleaming black roots woven like giant lattice, forming walls, towers, and passageways. Tiny flowers bloomed in the gaps, beautiful yet deadly.
"Root Palace!"
In an instant, Kazan and the vampire soldiers were trapped within a giant root labyrinth. From all directions, roots attacked swiftly, unpredictably, lethally.
"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" the commander shouted.
Kazan didn't panic. He took his stance, sword ready. A soldier beside him was struck by a root and dragged into the darkness. His scream echoed, then stopped.
"KUSUMA!" Kazan shouted, enraged. He shot forward, following the direction of her voice.
Roots blocked his path. "Bashin no Kizu!" He slashed the same spot repeatedly—each slash faster, stronger—until the root shattered. He pressed on.
In the labyrinth's center, he found Kusuma standing gracefully. Around her, the dragged soldiers now stood rigid—flowers growing from their eyes, mouths, and pores. They were still alive, their eyes moving in panic, but their bodies immobile.
"Underground Bride," Kusuma whispered softly.
"They will be my brides forever."
Kazan bit his lip. Anger burned in his chest. But he didn't let anger control him. He regulated his breathing, calming his mind.
Mushin. Mind without mind.
Kusuma approached him, stepping gracefully. "You're angry," she whispered. "Anger is good. Anger makes your blood flow faster, makes your heart beat harder." She brought her face close. "And a heart that beats hard... is sweetest when plucked."
Suddenly, she blew.
"Midnight Kiss!"
Invisible, fine spores shot from her lips towards Kazan.
But Kazan was no longer thinking. His body moved on its own. "Mushin no Ittō."
One slash.
Simple. Direct. Perfect.
His sword split the air, split the spores, and stopped precisely before Kusuma's neck.
The flower woman was stunned. For the first time, her smile faded. "What...?"
But before she could react, the remaining vampire soldiers broke through. They saw their chance.
"CHARGE!"
Dozens of soldiers attacked from all directions. Kusuma was forced to retreat, summoning roots to protect her. But Kazan gave her no time.
"Tenshin Ranbu!" Sixteen slashes in three seconds in all directions, cutting the roots protecting her.
"Hakuja no Kōgeki!" A low thrust, striking Kusuma's leg tendon. The woman staggered.
"Byakko no Ikari!" Four diagonal slashes forming giant claws, tearing her abdomen.
Kusuma screamed—the first time she made a sound other than soft whispers. Pink sap gushed from her wounds.
"HOW... DARE YOU..." she hissed.
She hugged herself, and suddenly—
"Thirsty Love!"
Fine roots from her own body shot towards Kazan, trying to embrace him, pierce his skin, drain his bodily fluids.
But Kazan was already moving. "Kiri Otoshi!" A downward slash with perfect precision cut all the roots in one motion.
Kusuma staggered back, gasping. Her wounds were severe. Sap flowed profusely, soaking the ground around her. The flowers in her hair began to wilt.
"I... won't die alone..." she whispered.
Her body began to tremble. Cracks appeared on her skin. From within the cracks, reddish-brown spores began to emerge.
"Decay Together!"
The vampire soldiers, recognizing this technique, shouted, "RETREAT! SHE'S GOING TO EXPLODE! THE SPORES ARE DEADLY!"
But Kazan did not retreat.
He stepped forward, his sword raised. Behind him, the vampire soldiers watched him—a human, standing before death, with unwavering resolve.
Kazan stared at Kusuma as she began to crumble. "Your garden," he said coldly, "I'll cut down to its very roots."
"Zettaizetsumei!"
One slash.
White. Pure. Absolute.
The slash didn't just cut Kusuma's body—it cut the newly emerging spores, incinerating them with white energy before they could spread. It cut the roots still ensnaring the trapped soldiers. It cut the Root Palace structure until it shattered into pieces.
And when the dust settled, Kusuma the Ruins in Bloom stood frozen. On her chest, a wide open wound. She looked down at it, then smiled for the last time.
"Beautiful..." she whispered. "This death... is beautiful..."
Her body collapsed. The flowers in her hair fell, withering instantly, turning to dust carried away by the night wind.
Kazan stood atop the ruins, his sword still emitting white steam. His breath was heavy, his body covered in wounds. But his eyes remained sharp.
The surviving vampire soldiers, and those freed from the Underground Bride's grasp, knelt before Kazan. Not from command, but from respect.
"Human..." the vampire commander murmured. "You... you saved us."
Kazan didn't answer. He only stared at the sky—where the ring of fire grew ever more perfect, and the sounds of battle still echoed.
One Harbinger had fallen.
But three still remained.
=== CHAPTER 58 END ===