Ruichi sighed, his gaze sweeping over the group of fanatical lunatics in front of him.
"Everyone, I'm really just passing by. How about you pretend you didn't see me and keep chasing those kids instead…"
"For the Evil God—capture him! Those brats don't matter. We absolutely can't let this guy escape!"
The lead cultist clearly didn't understand human language. At his command, more than a dozen cultists brandished their weapons and rushed forward like starving wolves.
"Ah… so annoying. I knew it."
Ruichi rolled his neck, bones cracking softly.
"Seriously, I can't even have a peaceful vacation."
Before he finished speaking, the nearest cultist's blade was already coming down.
Ruichi sidestepped casually, as if dodging falling raindrops.
He caught the blade with a backhand and slashed in one smooth motion—
Splch!
A cold flash cut across the air. A wound deep enough to expose bone instantly opened on the cultist's chest, blood spraying everywhere.
"It feels so good! Ahahahaha! The pain—this is it!"
Logically, that should have been fatal. Yet the cultist didn't fall. Instead, he laughed in manic delight.
The bleeding stopped almost instantly, and the wound began healing at a visible speed.
"Hehehe… it's useless! We've already received the Evil God's blessing!"
Ignoring his chest entirely, the cultist charged even more frantically.
Damn… they're all like Hidan? Immortality isn't unbeatable, but it's definitely annoying.
What was worse, they didn't fear pain at all—no, they enjoyed it.
Their physical limits had clearly been lifted, similar to opening the First Gate of the Eight Gates.
Ruichi's expression grew serious.
If he was dealing with bodies like this, the solution was simple—
When the next cultist rushed in, Ruichi didn't slash at the torso. Instead, his blade flashed once.
The head flew off.
Roll… roll…
The headless body collapsed, and the severed head went completely still.
"So it's not true immortality—just abnormally strong vitality."
"Attack together! He's only one man!"
"For the Evil God!"
The death of a companion did nothing to shake them. Seven or eight cultists lunged at once.
Ruichi stabbed his blade into the ground and formed seals.
"Water Release: Mizuame-no-Hara!"
Sticky liquid sprayed out, spreading across the ground in an instant and severely restricting their movement.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sword!"
Ruichi pulled his blade free, wind chakra coating it as he slashed. Two cultists' necks were cleanly severed.
Their bodies fell, becoming stepping stones as the cultists behind leapt forward using their corpses.
Ruichi dodged while counterattacking.
"Whoa—close. These lunatics really don't care about dying."
They didn't dodge or defend at all, instead charging straight into the blade while swinging their own weapons.
Wrapped in wind chakra, Ruichi's blade cleaved one cultist in half. He avoided most of the counterattack, but the dagger still grazed his arm.
The wound was shallow. Thanks to Shikotsumyaku, the bleeding stopped almost instantly and began healing.
But—
One drop of blood still fell to the ground.
A cultist pounced immediately and licked it up.
His skin instantly turned pitch black, white skeletal patterns spreading across his body.
"Damn it—Death Possession Blood!"
As a transmigrator, Ruichi knew this technique all too well.
And more importantly, he knew its weakness.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A violent gale roared through the alley, blowing away the black-skinned cultist who was trying to draw a ritual circle and knocking the others off balance.
Ruichi pulled a shuriken from his pouch.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique—Crimson Flower!"
Flames wrapped around the shuriken. Assisted by Wind Release, it curved sharply through the air toward the black-skinned cultist.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft—whoosh!
The shuriken pierced into his body. Flames erupted instantly, engulfing him in a fireball.
"Aaaaargh—!"
His body was immobilized, yet his tenacious vitality prevented him from dying immediately. He could only writhe on the ground, suffering the agony of being burned alive.
"Still want to play with curses? The startup time is way too long, idiots."
Blood, screams, and flames bombarded Ruichi's senses, and his battle instincts gradually overwhelmed his rationality.
"You… how do you know our secret ritual?!"
The remaining cultists' faces changed dramatically.
"Heh. I also know something else—"
Ruichi's bones crackled loudly. White bone spurs burst from beneath his skin, spreading across his body until he resembled a living sea urchin.
"—you're all about to meet your beloved Evil God right now."
"Dance of the Larch. Now it won't be so easy to make me bleed."
Two bone swords extended from his palms. Ruichi licked the blood splattered on his face, revealing a savage smile.
"Ready? I'll personally send you to him."
…
The alley fell silent once more.
Only the crackling of flames remained, mixed with the thick stench of blood.
Ruichi deactivated the Dance of the Larch, the bone spurs retracting back into his body.
His heartbeat gradually slowed. The excitement faded, replaced by a dull throbbing where his arm had been scratched.
The wound had long healed, but his instincts were still warning him—Death Possession Blood was truly dangerous.
"If I'm careless, I could really get into trouble…"
Fortunately, it was over.
Looking at the mess littering the ground, Ruichi frowned.
"Ugh… disgusting. Forget looting. I'll just burn everything."
Just then, hurried footsteps approached again.
"…Don't tell me there's more? Hm?"
It was Tayuya, returning with a few subordinates.
The scene before them was so grotesque that all color drained from their faces. One of them couldn't hold it in and vomited on the spot.
"Did… did you do all this?"
Ruichi shrugged innocently.
"Can't be helped. Their lives were as tough as cockroaches."
Tayuya opened her mouth, but no words came out.
She had thought the Evil God cultists were terrifying monsters—she never imagined they would be so utterly powerless in front of this man.
"Oh, right…"
Ruichi suddenly remembered something. In a few steps, he was in front of Tayuya, looking down at her.
"You led those lunatics straight to me. How do you think we should settle this?"
Covered in blood, with a lingering killing aura and the ruined alley behind him, Ruichi looked like an Asura crawling out of hell.
Tayuya's legs trembled violently. She clenched her teeth to keep herself from collapsing.
The subordinates behind her were already paralyzed with fear; a few had even wet themselves.
"I—I know their stronghold!" she blurted out.
"They looted a lot of wealth! I can lead you there—everything belongs to you!"
She held her breath, waiting for his response.
Oh? An unexpected bonus.
Originally, Ruichi had only wanted to scare this troublesome girl for dragging danger to him. He hadn't expected a chance at a windfall.
"You should've said that earlier… ahem. I mean—eliminating evil cults is my duty."
The suffocating pressure vanished instantly.
Ruichi smiled brightly.
------
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