The elite warriors of the Black Ghost Tower instinctively drew their swords.
Before their eyes surged the cult warriors, rushing forward in a frenzy. Their ears were filled with beast-like howls from the cultists. Their skin burned from the blast of demonic qi, and a terrible stench of blood seeped into their nostrils.
All five senses sent out fierce warnings.
"Puak! Euk!"
Rough breaths escaped their trembling lips.
At that moment,
"Eukkkkk!"
A Demonic Cult warrior attacked the Black Ghost Tower's elite with an eerie scream—impossible to tell if it was a human cry or a ghostly wail.
"Kill them!"
As if to prove their reputation was well-earned, the Black Ghost Tower warriors raised their spirits and met the Demonic Cult warriors head-on with their weapons.
Swishhhh!
A blade wrapped in sword qi swung at incredible speed—a truly powerful strike, filled with the will to cut down all who dared approach. Though his body was tense, the blade's sharpness was no less than usual.
That lightning-fast slash flew toward the arm of the Demonic Cult warrior, seeming poised to rip it off at any moment.
'What? It's nothing…'
The blade mercilessly stabbed into the cult warrior's arm without deviation. But then, the Black Ghost Tower elite's eyes widened in shock.
Crack!
His blade, which should have naturally severed the arm and withdrawn, trembled while still embedded in the cult warrior's flesh.
'W-what…?'
It felt like trying to cut through tough, sticky rubber with a dull wooden knife—a strange sensation that should never occur when slicing through a person's arm sent shivers down his spine.
Soon, he saw the cult warrior reaching out to him, ignoring the blade stuck in his arm, eyes gleaming with low pleasure.
Before he could grasp the meaning of that sight, the cult warrior's fingers dug straight into his skull.
Crack!
"Ackkkk!"
The cult warrior's growl echoed in his ears—a beastly, raw killing intent, as if a thick stench would waft out any moment.
"You dirty infidel!"
Madness radiated from the cult warrior's eyes as he lowered the hand embedded in the skull. His nails, soaked in demonic qi, tore the man's face apart.
Crack!
"Eukkkkk!"
A desperate scream rang out. Anyone would scream like that if their face were ripped off completely.
"M-My face! Ackkkk! MY FACE!"
He lost both eyes and raised his hand to feel his face, but even that failed him. Before his hand could reach it, the cult warrior swung his hand repeatedly and ripped off his neck.
Puaaah!
Blood splashed like a fountain, drenching the cult warrior's robes.
"Grrrk… rrrkk…."
"HAHAHAHAHAAH!"
The Demonic Cult warrior, fully surrendered to madness, continued swinging his hand in dissatisfaction. His claws, covered in demonic qi, slashed at the still-breathing body. Flesh burst mercilessly, blood splattered.
Fortunately or unfortunately, his comrades didn't have time to be enraged by this horrific sight. Before they could react, the Demonic Cult warriors surged forward, attacking one after another.
"Second Coming of Heavenly Demon!"
"Cheers of the Second Coming!"
A scream like a mantra repeated in a boiling voice—a signal to start the massacre.
Kwaak!
The sound of hands soaked in demonic qi grabbing and tearing flesh rang out clearly, eerily distinct amid the chaotic battlefield.
"Euhhhhk!"
"Kuakkkk! Euk!"
Those whose flesh was torn alive and bones pulled out let out heartbreaking screams.
"Second Coming of Heavenly Demon! Second Coming of Heavenly Demon!"
"Die! Die! You dirty non-believers! Hahahahah! Euhahahahah!"
Blood poured down. Flesh torn from bodies scattered, and blood rained like a crimson storm. Amid the blood rain, the demons screamed in madness. Their red eyes, glazed with frenzy and killing intent, searched relentlessly for more victims.
Yet Black Ghost Tower was not left to suffer silently.
"These insane bastards!"
Moon Hyung of the Black Ghost Tower swore and stabbed his sword forward. His blade, rushing ahead at incredible speed, pierced the eye of a cult warrior charging toward him.
Crack!
Moon Hyung exulted as he watched the sword pierce the enemy's eye.
"How is that!"
Snap!
But in that moment, the cult warrior whose eye was pierced raised his hand and grabbed the blade stuck in his eye. Calmly, he stared at Moon Hyung with his one remaining eye.
"Hmph!"
Startled, Moon Hyung desperately pulled his sword, but it did not budge from the cult warrior's grasp, as if crushed by a rock.
"Euh…."
The cult warrior slowly pulled out the sword. Instead of writhing in pain or dying, he let out a strange laugh.
"Uh… uhu…."
Completely horrified by the overwhelming sight, Moon Hyung stepped back, his face drained of color and trembling.
Crack!
The price of panic was death.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The hand that pierced his chest tore through flesh, severed bones, and dug deeper.
"Kuak…."
Blood gushed from Moon Hyung's mouth.
"Heavenly Demon's… Second Coming."
Madness filled the demon's remaining eye. A bright smile spread across his face, nearly reaching his ear.
"Cheer for the time!"
Crack!
The demon pulled out Moon Hyung's heart, which he held in his hand, dripping with blood.
Moon Hyung, still breathing faintly, stared blankly at the warrior with eyes that seemed ripped open.
"Hehehehe!"
At that moment, the Demonic Cult warrior whipped the arm holding the heart like a whip and struck Moon Hyung's head. His head burst open like a ripe watermelon.
All deaths are regrettable, but for Moon Hyung, this might be a blessing—he would no longer have to witness this horror.
"Second… Coming of Heavenly Demon."
The Demonic Cult warrior slowly lowered his gaze. He smirked as he saw his fallen eyeball on the ground.
"Your blood… will bring us peace!"
Kwaak!
The cult warrior trampled the eyeball without remorse, threw his head back as if roaring, and charged forward again. Demonic qi rose from his body, blood-red light soaring out.
"T-this insane…!"
The Black Ghost Tower elite, horrified by his momentum, retreated with terrified faces.
Of course, they were not simply dying at the enemy's hands. Training accumulates in the body, not just the mind. Even as their will to fight waned, their weapons faithfully traced the trajectories their bodies had drawn countless times.
Yet those trajectories were never completed.
Crack!
Blades that touched the Demonic Cult warriors' bodies did not cut through but clung to their flesh. Their sticky bodies, as if coated with glue, clung to the blades like melted rubber.
'Damn it! What kind of martial arts is this!'
Those who lost their weapons faced the same fate.
Crack!
A severed head rolled on the floor. The headless bodies, no longer human, latched onto corpses, tormenting them like a swarm of ogres clinging to prey.
"Die! You monsters!"
A desperate stab pierced a cult warrior's chest. His clothes tore, and the sword pierced flesh.
But only a few drops of blood flowed. The skin around the wound seemed to resist, rushing to close the gap. Soon, it began tightening around the sword.
"Kuak…uhhhh."
The cult warrior looked at his attacker with gleaming eyes.
"Ugh…."
Blood leaked through the gap in his mask, but he paid no mind. He reached out and dug his nails—sharper than any blade—into the wrist holding the sword.
Slash!
His nails tore through flesh with absurd ease, reaching bone.
"Kuak!"
A terrible, excruciating pain like burning consumed the attacker. Even the Black Ghost Tower elite could not bear it and gasped.
"Uhahahahah!"
The cult warrior burst into laughter and rushed forward, shoving his hand into the attacker's mouth. He grabbed the entire lower jaw and began pulling with incredible force.
Crack! Crack!
The sound of bones breaking and unimaginable pain filled the air. Those who understood the agony saw indescribable fear in the victim's eyes.
"Ahh… uh… euk!"
Crack!
The man's jaw was ripped from his face, blood pouring like a waterfall. His body convulsed in agony beyond imagination.
The Demonic Cult warrior slowly pulled the sword from his chest. As soon as it was removed, the ugly wound shrank instantly, as if waiting for the blade's withdrawal—a miracle hard to believe even when witnessed.
"Uh… uhu…."
"… You infidel."
The cult warrior smiled cruelly and approached the convulsing man, lifting the sword. The tip now pointed at the man's mouth.
"N….N….!"
Puak!
The long sword pierced his throat.
The man's eyes rolled in pain, as if his entire body was skewered by hot iron. The demon's whisper echoed even in his deafened ears.
"You will never, ever be saved. You dirty unbeliever!"
Paaat!
With those words, the cult warrior swung his sword, cutting the man's body in two, then threw the sword to the ground. He shouted:
"Kill them! Kill them all! Kill everyone who dares to deny the greatness of the Heavenly Demon and make them pay for their sins!"
"The Second Coming of Heavenly Demons!"
A solemn mantra, utterly out of place amid the terrible madness, followed.
Fanatics who had lost their god.
Demons who had lost their place unleashed all their accumulated anger and hatred in an instant.
Even with throats cut, bodies pierced, and arms severed, they charged forward, biting and slaughtering those before them. They surrendered to madness, rushing ahead with wide eyes, indifferent to their own lives as long as they could defeat their foes.
"Eukkk!"
"S-save meeee!"
Some lost their will to fight. Some gritted their teeth and stood firm against the onslaught. Some turned and fled, while others stabbed enemies even as their arms were severed.
But the outcome was as cruel as it was brutal.
Death. The absolute end.
The world was stained with cruel deaths that left no body intact. Demons clad in fanatic armor and wielding cult swords spewed hatred toward all living things.
The Demonic Cult—the dark name hidden in the abyss of rivers and lakes—burned like a bloody flame.
The land of Hangzhou was stained with demons.