Now that Moryo's key underlings had appeared, it meant they were extremely close to the sealing grounds.
Naruto leaped agilely through the jungle. Shion, on his back, felt not a shred of fear or nervousness, only a sense of security.
"Hey, Naruto… no, Shinigami," she began, her voice clear and pleasant.
"There's no one else around anyway, you can just call me by my real name," Naruto replied with a smile.
"Mhm. Naruto, do you think… we can defeat Moryo?" Shion asked.
"Of course, we can. Isn't the point of your diligent training to defeat Moryo? Not to seal him with your life. My dream still needs your help, you know. You can't die here," Naruto said with an easy laugh.
"Am I… important to you? I mean… can I really help you?" Shion stammered, her small face flushing slightly as she hastily tried to explain.
"Of course. You are one of a kind," Naruto nodded, his voice full of magnetism. "The power you possess is the love passed down from your mother. You need to face it, not fear it. You'll discover that you can control it with ease."
Listening to Naruto's words, Shion fell into deep thought. Since birth, her mother, Miroku, had always told her that a powerful force lay dormant within her, but she couldn't control it, and it might even go berserk. Her exceptional prophetic ability soon proved its 100% accuracy. This terrified those around her, making them fear that one day Shion would prophesy their own deaths. Everyone was afraid of Shion. Though they revered her, they also kept their distance. Shion's childhood was lonely, and she lived in fear of her own power.
Feeling the Reiatsu slowly circulating within her, Shion clenched her fists and told herself, I am not the Shion I used to be. I am not alone.
Within the sealing grounds, countless cultists knelt on the soft, yellow earth, an eerie, pervasive chant echoing in the air.
"Our faith, Lord Moryo!"
"Great Lord Moryo, you are the omnipresent, omnipotent god~"
"Rip open our chests, red organs beating fiercely, blood-red meridians ferocious and strong! With our most loyal blood, we welcome Lord Moryo's advent!"
A gloomy wind swept through the vast sealing grounds, whistling mournfully through the crevices in the walls. At the base, roiling magma churned on all four sides, brewing unease. The temperature in the canyon where the sealing grounds were located began to rise, and many cultists were already drenched in sweat. Yet, they continued to pray with fanatical expressions.
"Lord Moryo, our god, kill the priestess and bring darkness to this world!"
And at the very edge of the cliff, Yomi, possessed by Moryo, revealed a savage grin. Under the baking heat of the roiling magma, the earth beneath his feet seemed to soften. A searing sensation shot from the soles of his feet to his head. Yomi's entire body was already turning red.
"Priestess! Today, I will devour you!" He took a step forward! With each step, a part of Yomi's body would disintegrate. Veins bulged, festering flesh peeled off, revealing murky black muscle. The faces of the devoutly kneeling cultists also turned pale as Yomi underwent his transformation. Blood seeped into the earth beneath them, transforming into nourishment that was transported into Yomi's body.
"Our god! Our faith! Please use our flesh and blood to forge the strength to kill the priestess!" they cried out desperately, heads held high, blood gushing from their mouths, yet their faces were contorted in wild Mirth.
Patap. Suddenly, the crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the vast, open area.
Patap, patap. The steps were leisurely, unhurried, and natural, as if completely unaffected by the temperature.
Soon, a figure, made larger by carrying another, appeared in everyone's line of sight. As the figure became clear, they saw it was a man carrying a woman on his back.
"Priestess Shion!" Yomi's transforming figure paused, and he let out a laugh brimming with uncontrollable fury.
"The priestess has come! Lord Moryo will resolve everything! Our faith, please accept all of us!" The cultists' fervor surged anew. They thrust their hands into the air and shouted.
"Moryo!!" The hands gripping Naruto's neck suddenly tightened, and the girl's angry, delicate cry rang out. "I've come to settle our age-old grudge!"
Smack. Shion jumped off Naruto's back. Her delicate soles were immediately seared by the hot earth, and she yelped in pain, hopping right back onto Naruto's back. Her small face instantly flushed red, but her words remained defiant. "Hmph, you're dead today!"
"Jie jie jie…" Yomi let out a piercing, rampant laugh. "So, it's the priestess. This is our first-generation grudge, is it?"
"This time, I will definitely eat you, no matter whose help you have!" With that, he completely absorbed the cultists' blood, and his body spasmed. His chest cavity expanded, revealing a hideous face and mouth. A tremendous wail issued from it.
He paid Naruto no mind at all. To be precise, aside from the priestess, he feared no one. And this priestess looked inferior to the previous ones. She couldn't even stand on her own. It was clear to him: this time, he would thoroughly absorb the priestess, become the most terrifying existence in the Pure Land, and conquer the continent!
"Wah, what a scary monster!" Shion's face turned pale with fright, and she shrank behind Naruto.
"Oh? So this is Moryo!" Naruto looked with keen interest at the mountain-like Moryo. He placed Shion on a rock that wasn't too hot, then took a step forward.
"This is…" Shion's eyes widened as she looked at Naruto's not-so-broad shoulders. This scene overlapped with her prophecy.
Boom! In the next instant, an utterly terrifying pressure suddenly descended. Time itself seemed to pause in the entire area.
"You… who are you?!" Accompanied by a sharp cry of ultimate terror, the black tubes supplying nourishment around Moryo's body suddenly ruptured. Black blood gushed out, drenching it in a truly sorry state. The mouth on its torso gaped open, as if trying to roar, but it was as if its throat had been seized, and no sound could escape. Its once arrogant eyes were now brimming with fear.
Impossible.
He's merely human.
He's just a mere human! Why does he make me feel the terror of impending death?
And this pressure…
This is actually… pressure from a superior being!!
"You… who in the world are you?!" It stared, black liquid now streaming from its eyes, and roared in a heart-wrenching, lung-splitting manner. The magma below the cliff boiled in response to its tone, constantly erupting into bubbles that then burst. The air filled with the smell of tar.
Patap. Naruto took another step forward, looking mockingly at the wretched Moryo.
"You… are merely a vile creature."
The next moment, he placed his hand on his mask. Thick white mist swirled. Negative emotions, hundreds, thousands of times greater than Moryo's, surged forth as if an outlet had finally been found.
Moryo stumbled back a step, actually trembling uncontrollably. In its eyes, Naruto had transformed into a demon capable of devouring everything.
"It's a demon! He is the demon!!"