Hearing that familiar voice and seeing that familiar smile, Xiaji's face was filled with disbelief as she murmured in wonder.
"You... Aren't you all already..."
"Sister Koinatsu, we are here to take you to Heaven. Come with us."
As she spoke, a little girl walked over gently and took Xiaji's small hand, leading her toward the light—the far shore known as "Heaven."
"Heaven?"
Xiaji let out a self-deprecating laugh, then gently pulled her hand away from the girl's grasp and shook her head slightly.
"Go to Heaven without me. I became a demon, and I killed so many people!"
"Even though it wasn't my original intention, killing is killing. That is something that cannot be changed. My hands are stained with the blood of countless people!"
"Someone like me... cannot go to Heaven. The only thing waiting for me is an endless Hell..."
At this point, Xiaji could not help but hug her knees and begin to sob.
But then, the little girl gently stroked her glossy black hair and said with a light smile, "That's not true at all. We all know that Sister Koinatsu is a very good person. Of course you are qualified to go to Heaven with us."
"As for those things you did... you said it yourself, it wasn't your intention, right? You were just being controlled by an evil demon. In all of our hearts, Sister Koinatsu will always be our favorite sister! You are our most important family!"
"That's right, Lady Xiaji is a wonderful person!"
"Someone like you shouldn't go to Hell!"
"Hell does not belong to you..."
Suddenly, over a dozen Berserk Demons appeared around Xiaji without notice, surrounding her. They were the very same Berserk Demons that Xiaji had helped in the past.
"You guys?!"
Xiaji's eyes widened at the sight of the dozen Berserk Demons. Then, as if by prearrangement, these demons raised their arms and shouted in unison.
"Lady Xiaji's sins shall be borne by us! Please, you must go to Heaven!"
As soon as those words were spoken, a faint divine light suddenly shimmered upon Xiaji's body. The light came and went quickly, dissipating completely after a short moment.
When the light faded, Xiaji had vanished. In her place stood the beautiful Koinatsu. She was no longer a hideous Berserk Demon, but simply a beautiful young girl.
At the same time, having taken on a massive burden of sin, the surrounding Berserk Demons became even more grotesque. Yet despite this, their faces beamed with happy and kind smiles, their gentle gazes fixed upon Koinatsu.
"You! You actually did this!"
Koinatsu looked at her restored self and then at the surrounding Berserk Demons in disbelief.
"Heh, don't worry about it, Lady Xiaji. After all, we received so much care from you when we were alive. No matter what, we had to repay you properly, and this is the only thing we can do for you."
"Goodbye, Lady Xiaji. You must be happy!"
As they spoke, the Berserk Demons received the call of Hell and began marching toward the depths of the Nine Sereneries.
Watching their retreating figures, Koinatsu thanked them from the bottom of her heart. "Everyone... thank you!"
"To make a group of ferocious Berserk Demons willing to bear your sins for you, Sister Koinatsu really is a very gentle person. Sister Koinatsu, let's go."
"Mhm!"
Following the little girl's lead, Koinatsu slowly ascended toward Heaven. In the physical world, Koinatsu's corpse crumbled completely into ash.
---
Meanwhile, amidst a blazing sea of fire, the sounds of intense combat echoed through the sky one after another.
"Hahahahaha! You annoying Demon Hunter, die a painful death!"
"BLOOD DEMON ART: EIGHT-LAYERED OBI SLASH!"
Suddenly, eight slender sashes soared into the sky, entangling with each other to form a giant web that fell from above, crashing down toward Uzui Tengen.
Though they were merely soft silk sashes, they now carried a blade-like aura so sharp they could cut through steel like butter.
"SOUND BREATHING, FOURTH FORM: CONSTANT RESOUNDING SLASHES!"
Uzui Tengen swung his blades rapidly. For a moment, flashes of blade light erupted, dazzling amidst the flickering firelight as he struck the dense web of sashes with lightning speed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The collision of sharp blades and silk sashes produced a series of crisp explosions. Uzui Tengen felt a terrifying force transmitted into his body, making his bones feel numb. He couldn't help but curse inwardly.
'Damn it! They're just sashes, yet they have this much power! Is this the strength of an Upper Moon Berserk Demon?'
'Just Upper Moon Six alone is already this powerful. I really don't know how that guy Ren managed to face three Upper Moons and even kill one of them!'
'Not only that, I have to protect Mitsuri, and that fragrance from before is still affecting my mobility...'
Uzui Tengen held his Nichirin Sword in one hand and the unconscious Kanroji Mitsuri in the other. Looking at Daki before him, he felt an immense pressure.
Just dozens of minutes ago, a little girl had brought over an incense burner, claiming it contained aromatherapy to help with sleep. He hadn't thought much of it and let the girl light it before laying down.
However, thanks to his past training as a shinobi, he had a very high resistance to toxins. That Soul-Drunk Incense didn't knock him out; it only made him feel like he couldn't use his full strength.
He had quickly realized something was wrong with the incense, threw the burner out the window, and rushed to find Ren and Mitsuri to warn them.
As it turned out, Ren was already nowhere to be found, and Mitsuri had already inhaled the Soul-Drunk Incense and was unconscious.
Uzui Tengen had just been about to search for Ren when Daki suddenly attacked. Out of necessity, he could only protect Mitsuri with one arm while clashing with Daki.
"Hehehe, I don't know why you didn't fall asleep, but having inhaled Xiaji's Soul-Drunk Incense, I'm sure you aren't feeling very well!"
Daki gave a cruel laugh. "In your state, don't even dream of beating me! BLOOD DEMON ART: EIGHT-LAYERED OBI PIERCE!"
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Before her voice had even faded, the eight sashes at Daki's waist tore through the air, shooting out like eight sharp spears straight toward Uzui Tengen at the speed of a gale!
Uzui Tengen could only feel a violent gust of wind approaching.
'This is going to be trouble. Sound Breathing...'
"Mr. Tengen, I'm here!"
Uzui Tengen was just about to unleash a sword technique when Ren's voice suddenly rang out from behind him. Immediately, a black figure cut through the night sky, brandishing a sword to block the path in front of him.
"WIND BATTLE TECHNIQUE: CYCLONE REVELRY!"
BOOM!
Ren swept his sword across in a grand arc, using an unparalleled sword aura to deflect all the incoming sashes.
"Mr. Tengen, are you alright?"
"I'm okay, but Mitsuri inhaled an unknown fragrance and is currently unconscious!" Uzui Tengen briefly explained the situation.
"It's fine. The Berserk Demon who used that scent has already been slain by me. Her Blood Demon Art has been dispelled. Miss Mitsuri should wake up before long."
"I see. That's good then." Hearing this, Uzui Tengen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]