As the feminine voice screamed out, Ren instantly leapt away from underneath the tree. Glancing forward, he saw the whole tree now oozing with blood-filled veins. These veins wrapped around each of the hung samurai before Ren knew it.
His gaze remained focused.
"Just now, I thought you were going to make a run for my throat. But you won't even show yourself after all. Others might have been indifferent in combat. But I'm happy to say you're the most laughable Kaidan I have ever seen."
The voice screamed out much louder.
"SHUT UP!"
TWICH!
From the centre of the tree's stem, more veins rushed out towards Ren. He immediately drew his sword and slashed them relentlessly as they came. But at a moment, one knocked the sword out of his hand at extraordinary speed. He gasped.
The veins tied around him instantly, some of them even piercing deep through his skin. Ren fell to his knees, panting hard.
He whispered to himself, staring at the ground.
"Wow. That was so incredible."
In a matter of seconds, Moboroshi-gami's ego had grown. She cackled out loud, throwing all sorts of words at Ren's face.
But suddenly, Ren looked up with a huge grin on his face.
He screamed out loud with excitement.
"IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE FELT THIS DEFEATED! HAHA!!!"
A loud gasp echoed through the chilly air.
Ren continued cackling loudly, then he gripped the bloody veins around his body. He could tell extreme fear from Moboroshi-gami's voice right away. In a forceful pull, he ripped the veins off his body and recovered his sword from the ground immediately.
Moboroshi-gami fretted.
"Im-impossible!"
Ren raced towards the tree, grinning widely.
"Now, do not hold back! Show me everything you have got!"
… Tch.
Moboroshi-gami groaned back.
"Have fun playing with my puppets then. Cursed bastard!"
The wind rolled into Ren's ears; he felt warm all over. His brows furrowed mid-sprint.
A faint disturbance around the tree followed.
Then Ren instantly jabbed his sword back in a perfect arc to sever the head of a figure aiming from behind him—one of the samurai, whose pale, frail, clawed hands were already poised towards Ren's throat.
He watched the man turn into a mist with a blank expression. He tilted his head, eyes steady.
"Well, that was not so bad…"
GRAHHH!
The deep, monstrous roar hollered around him. Before Ren knew it, a sharp claw dragged across the side of his arm, ripping off both his cloth and flesh. He turned again and slammed his fist into the centre of the mutant's chest.
The mutant was tossed backwards at a rough speed, and his back slammed against the tree's thick coating. Green blood rushed into the air.
Ren watched the mess that the samurai had become—a perfect canvas of flesh and blood.
Sharing the same roof, water, and amenities with someone at least doesn't mean you're strangers anymore. If so, wasn't it much better for Ren to make use of these men rather than leaving them to the crazy Kaidan?
Ren nodded.
'Yes, this is the best ending you lot could ever wish for.'
The tree's branches made disturbing noises. Consequently, dust rose around Ren as each of the mutants landed on the ground. Just as he expected, he was the only one left in the middle of them all.
Ren didn't turn helplessly, nor raise his sword to fight. As a matter of fact, he dropped his sword at that moment. Then, he spread out his arms, eyes closed, and head turned towards the sky.
"Come on. Enjoy every bite you take."
At that moment, Moboroshi-gami's voice trembled.
"W-what?! I know what you're doing. All of you, stay back! Don't go near him!"
Ren smiled and whispered to himself that:
"Kaidan's Eye."
A sharp sound shrieked in his ears. Consequently, the familiar bone fragments rolled into place.
[You have activated Kaidan's Eye.]
[All Kaidans and mutants nearby have recognised you as the ultimate being. They are drawn to your flesh and blood.]
Ren heard hesitant grunts around him. He opened his eyes and stared sideways, then chuckled. The mutants were clearly dying to rush over him already. But for some reason, Moboroshi-gami seemed to be able to hold them back so well.
Ren then gripped his kimono by the collar and ripped it off. His body was a pile of muscles; he had a lean build, accentuated with eight hard abs that shone under the dull sky, shoulders so wide they seemed like walking paths.
In a flash, he drew deep marks on his own body with his own hands. Blood oozed down his abdomen.
The groans loudened more and more violently.
"Now, come on. Don't keep me waiting."
Suddenly, the mutants jumped onto him. They roared as they aggressively dug their fangs deep into his flesh. Ren could smell the insatiable hunger in them, the craving for a taste of something heavenly. Blood rushed down his body like an endless river. He smiled through the stabbing pain, stayed calm even when he was dipping below the ground.
He does feel pain. But lately, he doesn't suffer from it anymore. He had memorised the pattern of pain.
Moboroshi-gami yelled louder.
"You stupid fools! I had more use for you than this. Curse it!"
… Ren started to pronounce out loud.
"I name you the price of my ascension. Your bodies, your souls… I return them to Hazan, the great forest spirit, that He may remember your hunger."
TWISH!
A web of dark fumes shot out from the centre of his chest, covering each mutant from head to toe. All of them gradually turned into dark matter. Mysteriously, they re-entered Ren's chest. Like his skin was permeable.
Moboroshi-gami smirked with both dissatisfaction and cockiness.
"You went to such lengths just to offer them for your rite?! How foolish. Now, I have the perfect chance to behead you at will."
Thick black clouds coiled up metres away from Ren. In a moment, a faceless figure in a black cloak covered by clouds appeared, clutching a long scythe.
Ren stared up, panting lightly. His wounds were slowly healing up, but fatal injuries were still evident. Like one missing arm, ear, the right shoulder bone, and ribcage.
He ground his teeth in slight terror and faked a scornful smile.
"Finally, you're here."