As a mercury golem, Trimmawu's greatest strength lay in its limitless transformation—flawless in both offense and defense.
"Fervor, meisanguis!" (Boil, my blood!)
"AutonlatoporIunlquaerere!" (Automatic search and pursuit of enemy!)
Kurosawa Ren recited obscure Latin chants. At his command, the crisp pop of bubbling echoed out, and the mercury maid before him shimmered as her delicate arms morphed into two massive, razor-sharp blades of silver.
Trimmawu gave a graceful curtsy, in perfect maid form, and said respectfully, "Master, I will ensure the safety of both young ladies."
"Good," Ren nodded. "I'll leave them in your care."
But the next moment, his head lifted sharply—eyes narrowing on a patch of sky where the clouds gathered in unnatural density.
Something was hidden within.
"Such sharp intuition…"
Above the storm-laden clouds, a man in layered, tattered monk's robes stood on the back of a massive cursed pelican spirit. His face was somber, nearly lifeless, yet now etched with the faintest trace of surprise.
"Even from thousands of meters away, that boy can sense me."
Behind him stood two beautiful young girls with similar features. Noticing his rare expression, one of them leaned forward curiously.
"Master Xia Yu, is that boy really that powerful?"
"He is," Xia Yu replied, his tone low. "He's the one who killed the special-grade curse spirit."
"What?! The same one who ruined your plan?" Nanako, the twin-tailed girl, blurted out in shock, her wide eyes trembling.
That second-grade curse spirit had been something Xia Yu was secretly nurturing, meant to evolve into a special-grade entity before being absorbed by his manipulation technique. It was supposed to become a major asset.
And now—the one responsible for its death was right below them?
"Master, allow me to take him down," said Mimiko Kaba, stepping forward with unwavering devotion.
"Don't act rashly," Xia Yu cautioned, halting her with a raised hand.
"This boy commands a strange energy that differs from curses. The two of you are no match."
"Our objective today is not him."
His gaze drifted toward the shadowed forest below, his eyes glowing with hunger.
"That creature has evolved into a special-grade curse spirit. If I can absorb it, it will be a tremendous gain."
"We wait and let them clash. Then we move in to claim the reward."
"Ren! Cover me!"
Bao Yue Yexiao pulled a crowbar from behind her back—officially dubbed the Holy Sword of Physics—and charged toward the old shrine with Jian Qiming and the other four.
Suddenly, a towering shadow loomed over the temple.
It was an evil spirit—massive and grotesque—exuding a suffocating amount of dark spiritual energy.
Her mountainous frame was covered with twisted, baby-like spirits crawling over her body like vermin. Her face wore a sorrowful expression, but the corners of her mouth twisted upward in an unnatural grin.
It was a nightmare incarnate—where joy and suffering clashed grotesquely in one face.
"Humans. You've entered my dwelling. You are already dead."
Her voice slithered out from every direction like a frigid wind through ancient ruins.
Kurosawa Ren stood firm.
In the next breath, magic erupted from his body like a crashing tide—forming a hurricane that howled around him.
"Then let's see if you're strong enough to make that happen."
Evil spirits have no logic—only hate. To them, humans are prey. Nothing more needed to be said.
"Then die."
The Demon Mother God's face turned cold.
A surge of black energy pulsed out like a tidal wave, distorting the air around it.
Boom!
Her massive wrist snapped forward. Jet-black tentacles, thicker than tree trunks, shot out like lightning, roaring as they tore toward Ren.
"Projection Start — Red Plains Hound, Blazing Sky with Seven Rings!"
"Projection Start — Green Black Keys!"
Ren's heartbeat surged. The Crimson Dragon Heart inside him lifted its limiter—instantly converting his endless vitality into raw magical power.
His body hunched ever so slightly—and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.
His black cloak coiled into a spinning vortex, and several obsidian keys lined with emerald runes materialized in the air behind him.
In that moment, Ren had transformed. He now wore the black cloak of the Palace of the Black Guards.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Green Black Keys launched like cannons, blasting through the air with terrifying force.
Soil exploded upward. Smoke and debris blanketed the battlefield.
Thanks to the Sword Spirit's core skill—[Beast Slayer A]—Ren's strength increased dramatically against giant entities like the Demon Mother Goddess.
The black keys flared with eerie blue-green energy as they skewered the oncoming tentacles and nailed them to the earth.
Sizzling black smoke rose from the impact sites—the exorcism runes doing their work.
Zzzzzt!
The cursed blades ignited the tentacles, forcing a distorted scream from the abomination.
"How dare a human wound me?!"
Her shriek echoed like a siren through the void. Waves of dark energy rolled across the jungle as her tentacles twisted violently and tore open the sky—then rained down like falling skyscrapers.
"!"
Ren's instincts screamed danger.
With the help of [Evasion and Defense], his body reacted before his thoughts could—twisting, leaping, flipping through the collapsing onslaught of tentacles like a gymnast among trees.
But the Demon Mother wasn't done.
She arched back. Her grotesque body split open down the middle, revealing a cavernous maw large enough to swallow a hill. A deafening roar poured from it.
Then, the baby spirits blanketing the forest sprang forth like a wave of cursed ants—racing toward Bao Yue and Jian Qiming.
"Not on my watch!"
Ren roared. Magic surged from his body and condensed into a long, black bow—ancient in design and imbued with raw power.
"Define the concept of creation, trace the framework, replicate the components, mimic the production—reawaken the lost years and countless refinements... and forge, now, the Sword of Fantasy!"
He nocked a massive black blade onto the string.
Demonic Sword — Hrunting!
A blade from Norse myth—the most beloved weapon of Beowulf.
This sword, once it tastes blood, cannot be stopped. It pursues its target with perfect, deadly precision.
With each strike, it absorbs blood and glows red with thirst.
The Akhara Hound shimmered with crimson light.
Ren pulled the string.
And fired.
RUMBLE—!
The released energy blasted away everything nearby. The sword screamed through the sky like a demonic meteor, slicing through cursed infants and writhing tentacles alike.
The blood-colored glow danced across the battlefield.
Woooooo...
The whistling blade tore through spirit after spirit—faster than the eye could follow.
This was the Demon Sword Akhara Hound.
As long as the user doesn't command it to stop, no force can interrupt its flight.
"Chi!"
The rotating sword carved a deep wound across the Demon Mother Goddess—several meters wide. Black mist gushed out. Even her tentacles slackened from the pain.
"ROAAAAR!"
Driven into a frenzy, the Demon Mother Goddess unleashed a new torrent of evil energy, ready for a final, desperate battle.
Black mist poured out of her body like ink, blanketing the battlefield.
Though she hadn't learned the full curse techniques yet, she was evolving instinctively—creating her own cursed domain.
A dome of blue-white light rose high, then dropped quickly like an inverted bowl, sealing off the area.
Buzz...
As soon as the domain settled, countless false moons appeared in the sky—eerily glowing, watching.
Then they shattered into shards, raining toward Ren like razors.
"Rho Aias!"
Ren's brows tightened.
Though he didn't yet understand how she had evolved into a curse spirit, his instincts screamed danger.
With a solemn chant, radiant roses bloomed before him.
Buzz!!!
Layers of ethereal petals unfolded, forming a barrier of luminous beauty and unyielding strength.
This was the conceptual shield used by the legendary hero Ajax in the Trojan War—Rho Aias.
A Noble Phantasm of absolute defense against thrown weapons.
BOOM!
BOOM!!
BOOM!!!
The broken moons collided with the shield, one after another, erupting into blinding sparks and rolling shockwaves.
The seven-layered wall of petals shimmered with each impact—unyielding, radiant, eternal.
Ren held firm in midair as chaos unfolded around him.
The clash between dark divinity and heroic will had only just begun.