"Split up and run!"
Liang Zicheng shouted to the group, his quick wit identifying the only chance for survival. If they stayed together, their odds of making it were zero.
"Mugenryu (Infinite Style): Gale Slash!"
Zankuro Minazuki held his blade low, the tip pointing down, before snapping it upward in a violent friction move. A sharp arc of blade light kicked up the sand and soil, tearing through the air in the direction of his swing.
Liang, who hadn't made it very far, came to a sudden halt. With a sickening thud, his body split apart, exploding into a mist of gore as blood rained down like a summer shower.
Ding!
Zankuro raised his blade, effortlessly deflecting an incoming arrow.
"You bastard! What have you done to everyone in the village...!"
Basara the Executioner looked at Zankuro with uncontrollable rage, his eyes shifting past the demon to the fallen villagers behind him.
"I merely cut them down," Zankuro replied with a bloodthirsty grin. He charged toward Basara, his murderous aura feeling like a giant crimson hand crushing the life out of the hunter.
"Who... who are you!"
Facing the charging Zankuro, Basara drew his short blade.
"Zankuro Minazuki!"
The demon announced his name, kicking the short blade out of Basara's hand before swinging his own sword, leaving a deep gash across the hunter's chest.
"Ugh...!"
Blood sprayed from the wound, forming a mist in the air. Basara turned and fled. After witnessing Zankuro's strength, he knew he was no match. He thought only of Kagaribi; he had to let her live, to help her escape this mad slaughter. Even if only she survived, it would be enough.
"Kagaribi... Kagaribi..."
A powerful will and his love for her supported Basara's blood-drained body, driving him toward her side. He had promised to protect her for a lifetime. Now, it seemed he would break that promise.
"Damn it... he caught up so fast!"
Rex turned and saw Zankuro closing in. With no other choice, he pulled out a Dash Mushroom from the Mario Kart world. The red mushroom with white spots orbited him like a wingman, doubling his running speed instantly and putting distance between him and the demon.
Seeing Rex use the item, Leo used a Dash Mushroom as well. He also pulled out a Red Shell—a tracking item from the same world that stuns the target for 1 to 2 seconds—and hurled it at Zankuro.
Zankuro hesitated for a moment as the strange red shell zoomed toward him. He had never seen such an odd object. Without hesitation, he swung his sword. However, the moment the Red Steel Grudge Prison struck the shell, his head spun violently, and he was stunned in place for a second.
"Basara! Pull yourself together!"
Kagaribi looked at the heavily injured Basara, her face covered in tears and her mind in chaos.
"Kagaribi... Kagaribi, run... the demon is coming... the demon is coming..."
Losing too much blood, Basara's vision blurred. Everything looked like it was shrouded in a thick fog. He reached out his hand in a futile attempt to grasp something.
"Basara..."
Kagaribi took his hand, her tears dripping onto his palm.
"Kagaribi... don't worry about me... run... get as far away as you can..."
Watching this scene of parting lovers from the shadows, Cyan Wei felt a strange tension. What happened next, however, exceeded her expectations.
"Dark... it's so dark! Kagaribi... run!"
"You bastard! Don't you dare hurt Kagaribi!"
Basara's world turned pitch black. In the darkness, he saw Zankuro approaching Kagaribi with a butcher's blade. Summoning his final strength, he lunged forward and gripped the "demon's" throat, determined to strangle the life out of him to keep her safe!
Tragically, Basara did not know that the person he was trying to kill with his last breath was the one he loved most—the very Kagaribi he wanted to protect.
Is this guy insane?
Should I save her? Human affairs have nothing to do with me. I should just leave.
Cyan Wei watched as Kagaribi was lifted into the air by Basara's grip. She turned to walk away.
"Hehe! Hee-hee-hee... Hahaha... AHAHAHAHA!!!"
Looking at the dying "Zankuro," Basara let out a twisted, manic laugh. His wounds opened further with the movement, spilling more blood.
"Ba... sara..."
Kagaribi looked at the laughing Basara, her face turning red as she struggled for air. Her mouth hung open like a goldfish, and she managed to choke out her lover's name. She raised a trembling hand, trying to wipe the tears from the corner of his eye, her gaze filled with profound sorrow.
Seeing the sadness in Kagaribi's eyes, Cyan Wei acted on instinct and charged.
Thud!
The sound of feet hitting the wooden floor rang out. The moment Basara turned his head, his body was sent flying as if hit by a truck. He landed heavily on the ground, the area where the punch landed visibly caved in. Already on the brink of death, Basara took his final breath.
"Cough... cough..."
Kagaribi fell to the floor, clutching her neck and coughing. She scrambled toward the motionless Basara.
"Basara!"
Feeling no breath from him and seeing her lover dead, Kagaribi collapsed over him, weeping. Cyan Wei looked down at her fist, a strange, uncomfortable sensation rising in her heart.
What was this feeling?
[Triggered Hidden Mission: Protect Kagaribi from being killed by the Demon-form Basara.]
[Triggered Hidden Mission: Purify the Demon-form Basara.]
At that moment, Cyan Wei received the message from the Survival Mark.
Hidden mission... what's that?
Remembering the 3,010 Survival Points she owed the Space, Cyan Wei walked over to Kagaribi. Her pale red lips parted, and she frowned slightly as she spoke, "Must... go..."
If completing missions gave Survival Points, she had to act. She spoke the words one by one, with difficulty.
Seeing Kagaribi still crying, the irritable Cyan Wei lost her patience. She scooped Kagaribi up and threw her over her shoulder. Even without the attribute enhancement, her 13 Strength was enough to carry the woman, who looked curvaceous but was actually quite light.
It was a bizarre sight: a slender youth carrying a mature woman away.
"I can't leave Basara here! Let me go!"
"He... will... become... a demon."
Ignoring Kagaribi's struggles, Cyan Wei ran into the distance. Though she didn't fully understand what a "demon" was—whether he would look like the white-haired man from before or something else entirely—she said the words anyway.
Kagaribi watched the scenery blur past them.
Is this a speed a human can possess?
Kagaribi covered her mouth in shock, staring at the "youth" with the strange hair and slim build. The small, hard shoulder was pressing into her stomach quite uncomfortably.
"What about the village? Everyone in the village...?" Kagaribi asked, patting the youth's back.
"All... killed."
Cyan Wei said the words slowly. She felt Kagaribi's body stiffen before going limp.
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