Ise Grand Shrine.
Ise Ryuichi, who had just emerged from seclusion, felt an unprecedented, immense power, a mix of divine and evil, surging within him, and the mad smile on his face twisted even further.
He had never felt so powerful before.
The humiliation that had once crushed his dignity now seemed to have become the kindling, making the flames of his revenge burn even more fiercely!
Lu Cheng!
He could almost see that man being torn to shreds by his hands, which had merged god and demon!
Just then, he saw Kamiya Makoto not far away.
Ise Ryuichi's brow furrowed instinctively.
This wild dog… why did he look different from his previous half-dead state?
Kamiya Makoto's injuries seemed to have healed, and not only that, the ashen aura around him had dissipated considerably.
What he now exuded was a spiritual power fluctuation that, though faint, was exceptionally pure.
His back even seemed to be a little straighter.
A strange sense of displeasure quietly grew in Ise Ryuichi's heart.
He had desperately and quickly merged with the energy of this ancient demonic beast to barely enhance his strength.
Why could this guy, just by standing guard at the entrance, also become stronger?
Besides his rare bloodline and the ability to contract Shikigami, wasn't this guy just a useless piece of trash?
Just then, an ethereal voice, tinged with a hint of coldness, came from behind him.
"The sun within you has been defiled."
Ise Ryuichi's body stiffened abruptly.
Appearing and disappearing like a ghost… He slowly turned around and indeed saw his elder sister, Ise Hinata.
She still had that sacred, untainted appearance, but her eyes, reflecting the moonlight, now held no warmth whatsoever.
"Sister?"
Ise Ryuichi's voice carried a hint of wariness that even he hadn't noticed.
Although he didn't understand the reason for his sister's sudden appearance, her cold words naturally made him wary.
"Put away your filthy power."
Ise Hinata's voice remained cold, like a divine decree.
"The defilement of Yomi is eroding your mind; you haven't fully refined it, you've merely forced it into your body!"
"If this continues, it will turn you into a beast that knows only hatred and slaughter."
"Go back and continue refining its power, let it serve as nourishment for the Amaterasu bloodline…"
Beast?
Ise Ryuichi felt as if he had heard the biggest joke, and suppressing his anger, he growled:
"What do you know? This is the only power that can quickly defeat that man! It's the power to wash away the Ise Grand Shrine's shame!"
He glared fixedly at his sister, a hint of madness and disappointment flashing in his eyes.
"Or… have even you been swayed by that man?"
He wasn't stupid; he naturally understood the meaning of Lu Cheng's few words when he met his sister.
"Sister, where is your pride?"
Ise Hinata's gaze grew even colder, a look mixed with pity and disappointment.
She was about to speak.
Kamiya Makoto, not far away, also happened to approach.
He didn't notice the tense atmosphere between the siblings, only bowed deeply and reverently to Ise Hinata.
"Priestess-sama, thank you for your grace!"
"Your help, I…"
His words were cut short by a terrifying killing intent that made him halt abruptly.
Ise Ryuichi's crimson-gold eyes, stained with ink-like blackness, locked onto him.
Grace?
Help?
So that's it!
So that's how it is!
Ise Ryuichi finally understood where the displeasure in his heart came from!
His sister, for his own brother gaining power, offered cold reprimand and warning!
Yet, to Kamiya Makoto, this wild dog despised by everyone, she bestowed "grace" and "help"!
Why?
Extreme rage transformed into twisted jealousy, instantly consuming all his reason!
"Hahaha… Hahahahaha!"
He laughed wildly, his laughter filled with endless mockery and sorrow.
He stretched out his finger, and at its tip, a wisp of golden light and a trace of black energy intertwined madly.
He pointed at Kamiya Makoto, but looked at Ise Hinata, and squeezed out a roar, word by word, through gritted teeth.
"You'd rather trust an outsider wild dog…"
"Than trust your own brother?"
"Sister!"
This accusation, like a thunderclap, tore apart the bond between the siblings!
For the first time, genuine anger appeared on Ise Hinata's face.
But her anger was cold, it was silent.
"He is more important than you."
Every word she uttered was like an ice pick, stabbing fiercely into Ise Ryuichi's heart!
More important than me…?
Boom—!
Ise Ryuichi could no longer suppress the violent power within him; it erupted like a volcano!
Golden divine light and pitch-black evil energy intertwined around him, forming a chaotic and terrifying force field!
"Good… Good a 'more important than me'!"
He laughed hideously, his handsome face completely distorted.
"Since that's the case!"
"I will personally crush this insect in front of you!"
Before his words finished, his figure had transformed into a black-gold afterimage, instantly vanishing from his original spot!
In the next instant, he appeared before Kamiya Makoto!
That hand, entwined with divinity and evil, carrying power capable of tearing apart anything, fiercely grabbed towards Kamiya Makoto's skull!
Fast!
So fast that Kamiya Makoto's mind couldn't react!
He could only watch helplessly as that hand of death grew larger and larger in his pupils!
The shadow of death completely enveloped him!
All his hopes, all his sense of mission, at this moment, seemed so laughable, so fragile!
Just as Kamiya Makoto thought he was doomed to die, and his soul would be crushed by that hand.
Clang!
A crisp, clear sound, like jade striking together, suddenly erupted!
It wasn't the expected sound of a skull shattering.
Instead, a pure and warm golden barrier appeared out of thin air in front of Kamiya Makoto!
This barrier, as thin as a cicada's wing, was yet indestructible!
Ancient and sacred runes flowed across it, firmly blocking Ise Ryuichi's hand!
Ise Ryuichi's pupils suddenly contracted!
He could feel that the moment his power touched this golden barrier, it was completely purified, vanishing into thin air, and even backfiring on him somewhat!
It was the divine power of Amaterasu Omikami!
It was the supreme divine art that only a priestess with the purest bloodline could wield!
"Amaterasu Barrier!"
Ise Ryuichi sharply looked up, his eyes, tainted by evil energy, glaring fixedly at Ise Hinata not far away.
His sister still stood in her original spot.
Only, one of her hands, at some unknown point, had been raised.
Her slender, fair fingers were pointed towards Kamiya Makoto from a distance.
The golden barrier that saved Kamiya Makoto's life was continuously supplied with power from her fingertips!
"You…"
"You really… would attack me for this wild dog?"