When Aizetsu (Sorrow) flew to the highest point of his arc, the intestine was stretched to its absolute limit. That was also the moment his neck suffered the most excruciating pain!
Just how painful was it?
The intestine was wrapped tightly around Aizetsu's throat. Because of the extreme tension, the moment he reached the apex, the fleshy rope strangled him with crushing force!
It was tight enough to make Aizetsu's tongue loll out and his eyes bulge from their sockets. He looked less like a demon and more like a twisted caricature, suffering the ultimate agony.
To make matters worse, this pain didn't vanish instantly.
Every time Aizetsu flew to the top, he was forced to savor that peak of torture.
Then, when he finally dropped and his neck found some relief, he would immediately be met by Horitake's next kick! Then he would rocket upwards again, and his neck would be strangled once more.
Up meant strangulation; down meant a brutal kick. There was no relief anywhere. The only moment of relative comfort was the brief flight between the ground and the apex.
But being kicked like this couldn't continue.
Aizetsu had lost count of how many times he had been punted up and down. His entire body was swollen and bruised, making him look a full size fatter than before!
Because Horitake infused every kick with lightning, the bruising on Aizetsu's body wouldn't fade, and his regeneration was halted.
This clone was truly suffering a miserable fate.
In a sense, his situation was even worse than Sekido's, who had his intestines ripped out and his abdominal cavity nearly hollowed!
Speaking of which, Sekido's intestine was shockingly durable. After being swung around, bounced back and forth, and constantly stretched and retracted, it still hadn't snapped!
And what of Sekido (Anger), the one who had been stripped of his guts?
Although Sekido was a clone, he was ultimately a demon.
A demon's vitality could not be compared to that of a human. If a human had been disemboweled, they would be dying in agony.
Sekido, while in immense pain, was not about to die.
After rolling on the ground in agony for a long time, he finally recovered enough strength to move.
Sekido sat up and looked ahead, only to see Aizetsu flying up and down in the distance.
He shook his head helplessly. Sekido could barely protect himself right now; he couldn't spare the effort to save Aizetsu yet.
He looked down at his own sliced-open abdomen.
Sekido's belly had been cut open by Horitake using the Raikiri, meaning the wound was cauterized and infused with energy that prevented regeneration. He was stuck with a gaping hole in his stomach.
But he couldn't just leave it like this.
Although his intestines were gone, the other organs in his abdominal cavity remained.
Currently, Sekido's liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, pancreas—various organs of red, green, and white—were dangling out of the massive gash.
If the connective tissue attaching these organs to Sekido's interior hadn't remained intact, these colorful innards would have flown away along with his intestines long ago!
Sekido sighed. He scooped up the organs with his hands, not caring about their original positions, and stuffed them all back into his belly in a chaotic mess.
But the large wound on his stomach wouldn't heal. If he didn't close it, the organs would just fall out again!
Out of options, Sekido tore a few strands of hair from his head.
Using his hair as thread and his fingers as a needle, he began to suture the massive wound on his own stomach.
After a hasty stitching job, he finally managed to stop his belly from leaking.
Sekido stood up weakly, clutching the parts of his stomach he hadn't stitched perfectly to prevent any "accidental spills." He looked around at the other clones and shouted in fury:
"This can't go on!
If we keep this up, we're all going to be wiped out!
Find a way to get Aizetsu down from there! Then we need to merge immediately! That's the only way we'll have a fighting chance. If we just stand here watching, we'll be picked off one by one!"
Sekido was the leader among the clones.
In such a critical situation, his words carried weight.
In the sky, Urogi (Joy) looked at the wound on his wing. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to gamble everything!
Urogi locked his eyes on Horitake's movements, waiting for the perfect opening.
THUD!
Horitake launched Aizetsu into the sky for the umpteenth time.
Urogi's eyes lit up. This is it! He spread his wings, ignoring the blood spurting from his injury, and exploded with the fastest speed of his life, diving downward with full force!
The bird-man moved so fast he became a blur!
Urogi's dive coincided perfectly with the moment Aizetsu reached the highest point of his flight—the exact moment the intestine was stretched to its absolute limit!
At that instant, Urogi swooped in. With a swift swipe of his talons, he nicked the taut intestine!
It was like a knife touching a fully drawn bowstring. With a loud SNAP, the intestine broke!
Aizetsu, finally freed, flew off into the distance, no longer yanked back down to earth.
Horitake raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised.
"Oho! Nice timing, little bird!
But since you saved Aizetsu, you can take his place!
Heavenly Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Modified · Lightning Tracking Fangs!"
Purple lightning erupted from Horitake's body in a dazzling display. The intense thunderbolts surged upward, reaching over ten meters into the sky!
In an instant, this massive volume of purple lightning retracted and condensed. Horitake aimed the energy at the fleeing Urogi and swung his blade with a vicious slash!
A torrent of purple lightning surged through the air!
As the lightning rushed forward, it began to take shape, morphing into over a dozen lifelike wolves made of thunder! These lightning wolves bared their fangs, leaping high into the air, chasing down the flying Urogi!
Seeing this, Urogi turned pale with fright! He flapped his wings frantically, trying to gain altitude!
But Horitake would not let him escape so easily.
The dozen lightning wolves began to coordinate.
Some wolves lowered their heads and arched their backs, acting as stepping stones.
Other wolves used their brethren as launchpads, leaping higher into the air, snapping at Urogi!
The alpha wolf—the one at the very front and top—used the heads of all the wolves behind it as stairs. It jumped the fastest! It jumped the highest!
In the blink of an eye, the lightning wolf was directly behind Urogi!
Without negotiation, without a word, and without a shred of hesitation—CHOMP!
The wolf's jaws clamped firmly onto Urogi's bird leg. The wolf twisted its body violently in mid-air, dragging the bird-man down from the sky!
It worked!
Urogi screamed in pain as he was dragged down.
THUD!
He crashed into the ground. At the same time, the dozen other lightning wolves, who had already landed and were waiting, swarmed him. They rushed in from all directions, pinning Urogi firmly to the earth.
Then, mouths gaping wide, the pack began to tear and bite at Urogi in a chaotic frenzy.
Beneath the mass of lightning wolves, blood sprayed and feathers flew, accompanied by Urogi's wretched screams.
The scene was far more spectacular than killing a chicken!
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 30 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"