The room was starkly simple, devoid of any furnishings.
No furniture, no decorations—only bare cleanliness and emptiness.
Kanae rembered how she had arrived here: jolted awake from sleep, she opened her eyes to find countless arms reaching out from the walls. In an instant, she was dragged into the wall.
She hadn’t even had ti to react, unable to warn Sosuke. Her only reflex was to grab her Nichirin Blade.
And in that fleeting mont, she unleashed her swordsmanship.
Alas, though she severed the arms, she still ended up here.
"This... must be a world within the walls."
Kanae surveyed her surroundings. There were no windows, only a single door.
Opening it revealed another identical room, its furnishings unchanged.
Her brow furrowed. "A labyrinth?"
A labyrinth within the walls?
A flicker of anxiety crept into her heart. She couldn’t help but worry about Sosuke outside this maze, beyond the walls.
’Had the Sound Pillar beneath the cellar noticed anything amiss and risen to investigate?’
’If not, and I’m trapped in this labyrinth, Sosuke...’
With this thought, she took a deep breath.
Anxiety, impatience, and ultimately self-inflicted confusion would offer no help in her current predicant.
She began to organize her thoughts, and suddenly recalled the ability of Lower Moon One, whom she had encountered in the forest earlier.
He could move between trees and rge with them.
’Could it be that he can not only rge with trees but also with walls? And that opening them reveals spaces like this one?’
As this idea surfaced, she felt her guess was likely correct. The problem remained: even knowing this, escaping would be exceedingly difficult.
She abruptly looked up at the ceiling.
’If horizontal escape is impossible, what about vertical?’
Her Nichirin Blade flashed from its sheath, and with three swift strikes, she carved a triangular gash in the ceiling.
A wooden panel fell, revealing another identical room above.
Kanae leaped through the opening, and the gash imdiately sealed itself behind her.
Still... another identical room.
Yet as she stared at the self-repairing gash on the floor, Kanae fell into deep thought. Finally, she silently drew her Nichirin Blade. The blade light flashed, and in an instant, a massive gap tore through the surrounding rooms.
Kanae lunged forward, bursting through the crack. Her blade flashed relentlessly, creating fissure after fissure, her figure advancing with each newly ford opening.
With each room she traversed, the cracks in the room behind her vanished, restoring the space to its original state.
Seeing this, a glint of understanding sparked in Kanae’s eyes. She wielded her Nichirin Blade with unwavering precision.
After several repetitions, the room’s restorative ability seed to falter.
The room behind her ceased to repair itself, and beyond the latest crack, no new room materialized.
Taking a step forward, Kanae prepared to leap through the opening, only to be confronted by a ferocious Demon that suddenly lunged at her!
Her blade light flowed, instantly severing the Demon’s hands. Blood erupted as its head rolled to the ground with a sickening thud, decapitated by Kanae’s single strike.
Just as she was about to advance, she realized the crack had inexplicably transford into a door.
Three distinct Demons erged from within, forming a triangular formation to surround her.
Kanae noticed that the environnt had shifted from the earlier rooms to a vast, open arena.
At the edge of the arena stood a raised platform. Seated upon it was a figure, smiling serenely as they sipped tea from a cup.
"As expected, no Pillar is easy to deal with. Why didn’t you just wait obediently in your room? We would have killed that swordsmith first, then co for you. Why insist on making such a futile struggle?"
As he spoke, he wore an air of disdain, his crimson eyes gleaming, with the characters "Lower One" etched into one of them.
But in the next mont, he seed to grow excited. "Still, if I kill that troubleso swordsmith and return with a Pillar’s head, that master will be overjoyed, wouldn’t he?"
Kanae let out a soft breath.
Facing a visible enemy was a completely different state of mind compared to the earlier, invisible threat.
A second later, Kanae smiled faintly. "If I kill you, will I be able to escape from here?"
"Oh?" Lower One seed taken aback. "Why do you seem so unconcerned about your man? You should know, the opponent he’s facing outside is far beyond his capabilities."
"I am worried," Kanae admitted, not hiding her concern for Sosuke.
But she said softly, "However, worrying now is pointless. If killing you allows to escape, I can help him sooner. Otherwise, I can only trust that he’ll defeat his enemy and co to my aid."
"Foolish trust," Lower One scoffed.
Kanae’s gaze softened with pity. Suddenly, she leaped into the air, her sword flashing in a dazzling dance.
Flower Breathing—Sixth Form: Whirlpool Peach!
Propelled by the montum of her sword form, she soared higher and higher.
What was the point of slaying the demons swarming the ground? Only by striking down the demon on the high platform could she end this nightmare.
But as she ascended, the platform rose with her, maintaining its distance.
A mocking laugh echoed from above. "Is this truly wise? Your opponent is on the ground. Show your strength and entertain . And let warn you: within my unique space, I’ve imprisoned one hundred and eight high-level beings of equal standing. If you kill , you might gain a chance to escape—but so will they. You can imagine the chaos that would ensue, can’t you? It would be... most amusing!"
Hearing these words, Kanae, now suspended in mid-air and unable to ascend further, felt her pupils contract sharply.
’One hundred and eight?’
She didn’t fully believe that number, but she was certain there were a substantial number of demons here.
If they broke the seal on this space and escaped, even a single demon slipping through would lead to tragedy.
This was absolutely unacceptable!
Therefore, they had to be exterminated completely!
"Wait for ..." She pressed her lips together lightly, the gentleness in her expression replaced by unwavering resolve.
______
Note: It’s ti for the weekly ranking, so I’ve got an offer for you! For every 120 Power Stones, I’ll release 1 Bonus Chapter.
Don’t worry—I’ll still do my best to upload 4 Chapters a day, so Chapters won’t be locked behind power stone goals. This is just a way to add extra rewards for your support!
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