Uproar——!

"Snow?"

He narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously at the white mist blowing in front of him.

In the mist, the cherry blossom petals that are blown and fluttering in the sky are carried around.

The sparkling pink petals shone brightly, passing through the fingers in front of them, falling slightly, and floating on the tip of the nose of the Nest.

No, it's... Cherry blossom?

He stared at the petals, and his expression gradually became puzzled:

"What's going on...!"

Nestuza looked around in surprise and took two steps back.

The night sky street just now, and even Tanjuro and another monk who were approaching him.

All disappeared without a trace.

He turned his head and glanced at his right arm.

It seemed that someone was holding him back and not allowing him to move forward.

But now.

into the purpose.

There is only endless mist.

In the distance of the mist, there was a huge black shadow, curled up and crawling on the ground, like a mountain.

Hallucination? Blood magic?

He came back to his senses, he frowned, sighed, and looked around dissatisfied.

Whatever you are!

"Don't pretend to be a ghost!"

He gritted his teeth and shouted:

"-My battle has just begun!!"

"Wake up!!"

Shouting, he jerked his fist-clenched hand.

Poof!

He slammed his fist into his temple from the side as if it were penetrating, and blood splattered everywhere.

Red blood stained his eyeballs, and green tendons bulged out on his forehead.

At the same time, the gaze is constantly looking around, expecting some changes around him.

But after the fist was pulling in his head for a long time, the scene in front of him did not dissipate.

- How could it be...

Letting go of the blood-soaked hand, the head of the Zodiac quickly regenerated and returned to its original appearance.

The compass under his feet was still open, and he still didn't feel any fighting spirit here.

"Could it be..."

After observing for a long time, he couldn't find anything, and he drooped his blood-stained hands in place in a daze:

"It's... The Supreme Realm...? ”

Clenched his fists, he was extremely puzzled in his heart.

Yes, the moment he entered here, he definitely stepped into the realm that he had been pursuing for hundreds of years.

The perception of the whole body has been amplified from the unprecedented, even beyond the perception brought by the compass.

At that moment, he looked up at Tanjuro, and then...

Got here.

The nest is holding out his inner thoughts.

But—

He looked at the scene around him, and it was not at all what he had vaguely felt, or even irrelevant.

Then.

Creak...

Not far away, the huge black shadow seemed to slowly stir.

The sound of rotting wood coming slowly.

But it seems that the supporting force is not enough.

Bang!!

The body sank suddenly, and the converging mist blew a gust of wind in this direction.

"Who!"

He clenched his fists tightly, withdrew his steps, and put on a posture of destruction and killing, facing forward.

Holding his breath, he waited for a while, but found that there was no movement in front of him.

His brow furrowed slightly.

This kind of passivity has never been his style.

So.

[Destruction Kill: Empty Type]!

The fists were clenched, the energy was poured into it, and the blue energy gathered violently!

A punch through!

Bang! Bang!

The two bursts of compressed air suddenly broke through the mist, forming two distinct traces.

The fog that had been blown away carried the traces of empty progress.

The mist swept and spread to the sides, revealing the behemoth hidden behind it.

Rumble!!

Suddenly, a golden thunderbolt descended behind it, flickering for a moment, illuminating everything around it.

The mirror-like golden eyes of the Zodiac gradually reflected the appearance of the thing.

He was stunned for a moment, froze in place, and his clenched fists slightly loosened and drooped.

"This is..."

Whispering in his mouth:

“… What is it? ”

Pupils twitched slightly.

He raised his head, barely able to summarize the creature's full appearance.

Front.

It was a coiled, towering mountain, but the roots of the tree seemed to be shriveled.

- "Dragon".

Its misshapen claws hung limply, shivering like blackening rot.

The reason for the doubt is that it doesn't look like a dragon.

The roots that are dead rooted in the ground beneath the body are intricately intertwined, and they are like the meridians of trees.

Pale and rotten like rotten wood, gray veins spreading and clinging to the long body, and the dragon-like roots beneath him shrank.

Loose cherry blossom petals are falling from the roots of the trees below.

- A dragon with cherry blossoms.

He was stunned until his gaze fell.

The dragon hung down, closed its eyes, and hunched over its head in the middle of its body.

Sakura's curled claws clenched a large, glowing green "Seven Blades" that resembled an illusory "Seven Blades" that supported the heavy skull.

Look up along the seven knives.

Sakura closed his shriveled eyelids tightly.

——There is a sword overflowing with red blood and a broken blade.

The quaint blade and the exposed blade with the pits and blood and rust seem to tell the story of its past experience.

A long, unhealed scar under Sakura's eyelid seemed to have been caused by the knife.

He watched for a long time, he stayed in place for a long time, the corners of his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes looked at Sakura Dragon incredulously.

As small as he was, at best the size of an eyeball of the dragon in front of him.

His gaze stayed on the sword under Sakuralong's eyes.

“… Has anyone defeated something like this. ”

The eyes of the Zodiac are full of emotions called confusion:

"Ghosts? Mankind? ”

This does not fall under the category of martial arts at all.

Tonight's events shocked him too much.

Whether it's seeing two humans reach the highest realm.

Or witness the "dragon" that has been defeated in front of you.

Everything broke through the worldview he was familiar with.

The nest was stunned.

The thoughts in my heart have long been chaotic.

The hanging palm is unconsciously clenched hard, and the pinch is white.

……

……

Long.

“… So that's how it was... No. ”

Whispering to himself, he shook his head in place, his tone going from fast to slow:

"It must be so."

"I see."

He pondered for a long time, slowly raised his head, and the confused mood disappeared, replaced by the excited eyes from before.

About why I suddenly appeared here.

Woowoza got her own answer.

He looked at the huge Sakura Dragon, whose knife had been stuck in his eye.

- Probably, all those who have reached the Supreme Realm will see such a thing!

The so-called [supreme realm] is only the limit of what I think is martial arts.

Previously, he thought that as long as he reached this realm, he would be able to stand at the pinnacle of everything.

But that's not the case.

- The scene in front of you.

He looked up and looked at Sakura Ryu with a determined gaze.

It is a direct reminder of the insignificance of the self from the heart.

It's equivalent to waking yourself up with a punch!

Because...

Creak...

He clenched his fists, the corners of his mouth hooked into a smile, and his pale back looked like a drop in the ocean under the huge cherry dragon.

Eyes blazing.

He jerked out his arms, as if his thoughts were open.

- Martial arts, there is no end!

After the highest realm, there is still a lot to climb! Get stronger!

"Haha!"

After thinking about it, Yiwoza felt extremely open-minded at the moment.

I looked left and right, and found that there was still no way out:

"It's already like this, and this illusion still hasn't gone away."

Zodiac muttered to himself, he had defined this place as a test of the illusion of the heart.

Turning his head, he looked at the cherry dragon not far away.

Trample.

He walked forward, leaping forward, and in a few clicks he was near Sakura.

Riding diagonally, the blade was the seven knives of the road, and the Yakuza went all the way, and finally came to the side of Sakuralong's head.

Smack.

Curious, he placed his palm on Sakura's eyelids.

"Roar...", a low roar came from the depths of Sakura's throat, and the sensation of vibration reached the palm of the Uzumaza hand.

！

"Still alive?!" He was so frightened that he withdrew his palm, his eyes surprised.

He subconsciously relied on his fighting spirit, but he thought that Sakuralong, who had no fighting spirit, had already died.

But it seemed to be too weak, and Sakura Ryu's eyelids twitched slightly, intimidating the approaching Yakuza Woza.

After taking a step back, I saw that the scene around me remained unchanged.

He once again set his gaze on the red sword that was diagonally inserted under Sakura Long's eyes.

I don't know what kind of psychology it is, but deep down in his heart, he hates anything related to "swords" and "knives".

Of course, if the person with the knife is strong enough, he will still put aside his dislike of the knife and appreciate the other party's.

Therefore, from the moment of the moment, he avoided direct contact with this knife.

“… Here, I guess it's the key to getting out. ”

He stared at the black handle of the sword, and the traces of the potholes on it were shocking.

What kind of swordsman would have such a sword...

Frowning, he held out his hand.

Smack.

Slowly clenched the handle of the sword.

His arm tensed, and he just wanted to pull it out from under Sakura's eyes.

The next moment.

Swish!

The crimson aura suddenly wrapped around the palm of the nest, and continued to spread and climb!

"What?!" His pupils shrank, and he looked at the arm holding the handle of the knife, and his scalp instantly went numb.

I want to withdraw my arm, but...

Squeak –

The arm, which was still muscular and powerful just now, is drying up at a speed that is visible to the naked eye!

His eyes looked at the red sword in dismay.

- This knife is absorbing its own life force!

As a ghost, he is even the second of the wind.

The speed of body regeneration can't even keep up with the speed of absorption by this knife!

The loss of life force is real, and he can clearly feel that he is getting weaker!

Isn't this a fantasy?!

All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind.

Caught off guard, in an instant, the entire right arm of the Zodiac Seat was connected to the position close to the chest, and it quickly dried up!

He leaned back and looked at his right hand, which had turned into white bones.

Clench your teeth.

[Destruction Kill]!

The left fist is clenched, and the remaining power is poured into the fist.

Bang!!

Slammed into the right half of his body!

With the crisp sound of bones shattering, the body that he had broken free of was suddenly lightened.

Staggering, he leaned back, slumped down on the body of the seven-knife knife, and looked in horror at the red knife that had not been pulled out.

The bones of his right arm dangled and hung on the handle of the sword, slowly turning into powder from the tail and drifting away in the wind.

After absorbing most of the vitality of the Woza.

The broken Yin Red Knife was still stuck in Sakura's eyes, and there was no response.

It is worth noting.

When the blood-red aura gradually withdrew from the white bone of the right arm of the Nest Seat and attached to the blade of the Taidao.

Sakura's eyelids twitched twice.

Two wisps of blood qi suddenly poured out from the blade, and poured into Sakura Dragon's body along the wound under his eyes.

It's too late to think.

“… Ho! He slammed his remaining hand over his head, his blue sclera bursting with blood, and his pupils trembled.

Something in the head, in the head!

Gritting the roots of his teeth, his eyes fluttering.

It was just now, from the diagonal knife inserted.

Coming - the picture!

The eyes of the Zodiac are in a trance.

in the mind.

It was the back of a man leaping in mid-air.

Dressed in shabby and numb clothes, he held a pitch-black knife aloft, leaping high in the air, catching the golden thunder and lightning with the knife.

And beneath the man's leaping figure was the Sakura Dragon, who looked much more abundant than it was now, wielding seven knives and roaring with its mouth wide open!

The figure that jumped high in front of Sakurayu!

He remembers!

The pupils of the Zodiac seat shrank.

Tanjuro's appearance gradually overlapped with the side face of this person in his mind.

His eyes widened, and he slowly let go of the hand covering his head, and he stared at the knife that was obliquely inserted in Sakura's eyes.

At this moment, he discovered.

My conjecture about this illusion just now seems to be wrong.

……

……

Meanwhile.

Castle town.

Pale moonlight fell on the streets.

Swish! Swish!

"Nan Nothing... Is that all right..."

Waiming Yu wielded the meteor hammer, ready to fight at any time, he looked sideways at Tanjuro beside him:

"If you don't take the opportunity to kill them completely..."

Tanjuro didn't speak, just shook his head slightly.

"Meow." On his shoulder, the frightened Chachamaru leaned on it, rubbing his head against Tanjuro and making a gurgling sound.

After experiencing a series of life and death crises, Chachamaru's favorability towards Tanjuro has significantly improved.

Even bigger than Yushiro.

Now.

In front of the two.

He stood in place, his eyes wide open, half of his body mutilated, and gradually recovering.

In just now.

The two of them sandwiched the nest in the middle of the street, and both sides thought that a war was imminent.

The Zodiac suddenly froze in place, and exhibited a series of unusual movements.

This includes, but is not limited to, yelling, talking to oneself, suddenly self-harming, and half of the body turning to ashes for no apparent reason.

Tanjuro held the letter brought by Chachamaru in both hands and glanced at it roughly.

When he saw [different person-to-person] [hallucinations], he decisively stopped the Sorrowful Scream Island, who wanted to take the opportunity to kill the Zodiac Seat.

In Tanjuro's opinion.

The current Zodiac is likely to experience the "illusion" when he was once a human.

Then, the possibility of luring them to defect skyrockets.

After all.

Tanjuro slowly withdrew the envelope, and he looked at the Sakuza in front of him who made a shocked expression.

- Koji is a man who listens to his wife very much.

Meanwhile.

Nest around.

The illusory figure, which was invisible to several people, was so anxious that he was about to cry.

"How could it be..."

The girl was wearing a pink kimono, bowing her head with tears in the corners of her eyes, and kept trying to hold the arm of the Yakuza Sa.

But the illusory hands passed through the arms of the Zodiac again and again.

There was a cry in her tone, and she stomped her foot lightly in a hurry:

"I caught it just now...!"

(End of chapter)