Cloud turned around and flashed her a brilliant smile. "You okay, little sis-in-law?"
Rimururu stared at him blankly, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
That handsome smiling face, in this moment, seemed even more radiant than the sun above. She felt her inner defenses completely crumble.
"Th-thank... thank you... br-brother-in-law..." Unconsciously, in a tiny voice, she called him by that title for the first time.
"Hm? What did you just call me? The wind's too loud, I didn't catch that." Cloud deliberately leaned his ear closer.
"N-nothing!" Rimururu's face instantly flushed crimson like a ripe apple. She pushed Cloud away, turned, and fled behind Nakoruru, unable to look at him anymore.
Cloud watched her adorable flustered state and burst out laughing.
"Alright, I'll leave this to you. I need to go handle the main course."
He waved at Nakoruru and Rimururu, then vanished once more.
...
Amakusa Castle, Throne Room.
A man in gorgeous attire with bewitchingly handsome features sat upon the throne.
Watching the scene in the crystal ball below—his prized monster legion being slaughtered—his face showed no anger. Instead, it displayed a morbid excitement.
He was Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.
"What powerful strength... what fascinating souls..." He extended his tongue and licked his lips. "If I could turn all of you into my puppets, what wonderful works of art you would make!"
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
A voice suddenly echoed through the great hall.
Amakusa's head snapped up. Cloud had appeared in the center of the hall at some point, examining the lavish yet sinister decorations with keen interest.
"You... are Cloud?" Amakusa's eyes gleamed with greed. "How did you get up here?"
"Walked in." Cloud shrugged. "Your doormen weren't very tough. I barely touched them and they fell apart."
"Insolent!" Amakusa slowly rose, an enormous magical power surging from within him. "Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish! You'll become my most perfect collectible!"
He waved both hands, and countless black magic bullets formed from pure demonic power rained toward Cloud like a storm!
"God, forgive my sin of slaughter—Demon-Vanquishing Bullets!"
Facing this dense barrage, Cloud merely curled his lip in disdain.
"Playing bullet hell? In front of my Kagura style, you're just a rookie."
His hands rapidly formed seals before his chest. A sacred yet ethereal aura emanated from his body.
"Kagura Three Divine Arts: Foundation of Zero!"
An invisible barrier, centered on Cloud, instantly enveloped the entire hall!
Those menacing black magic bullets lost power the moment they entered the barrier's range, as if their Wi-Fi signal had been cut, scattering into nothingness!
"What?!" Amakusa's face went pale with shock. "My magic... is sealed?!"
"Correct." Cloud smiled as he walked toward him. "Within this barrier, all non-physical energy attacks are greatly weakened, or even nullified entirely. Mr. Amakusa, your magic doesn't work on me."
"Damn you! You think this is enough to defeat me?!"
Driven to desperation, Amakusa's face twisted with madness. He raised both hands high and roared to the heavens:
"If that's how it is, then I'll show you the power of a god!"
"I offer my flesh and soul! Awaken! The dark god sleeping within me—Ambrosia!"
As he roared, his body began to twist and swell. A dark divine power from the Demon Realm—a hundred times stronger than before—exploded from within him!
Behind him, a massive, blurred phantom filled with evil and destruction slowly materialized!
The entire Amakusa Castle trembled violently under this divine pressure!
"Oh? Can't win so you call for backup? And you summoned an evil god?" Cloud gazed at the enormous phantom, showing not fear but a hint of excited smile.
"Excellent, truly excellent! Let me see just what difference there is between you, a fake god, and me—the real thing!"
Under Amakusa's stunned gaze, astonishing changes began occurring in Cloud's body!
His hair turned silver-white. His eyes lost all emotion, becoming as detached as a deity's. Behind him, a massive sun totem slowly rose!
An absolute divine pressure—beyond mortal comprehension, representing "existence" and "nothingness" themselves—descended!
"This... this is... a god?!" Amakusa's voice was filled with unprecedented terror. From that aura, he felt a trembling born of life's deepest instincts!
"Correct answer. Unfortunately, no prize."
Cloud, having transformed into Orochi, slowly raised his hand. A curtain of light more brilliant than the sun began to fall.
"Let your own divine punishment end you."
"Sunlight's Blessing!"
"NOOOOO—!!!"
Amid Amakusa's despairing roar, that golden "curtain of light" tore through space and instantly swallowed the entire throne room!
The phantom of the so-called "Dark God" Ambrosia couldn't last even one second under "Sunlight's Blessing." Like a vampire exposed to sunlight, it let out a shrill scream before being completely purified and evaporated!
And Amakusa himself, within that all-purifying divine light, was reduced to ash.
Rumble—
Having lost its core energy, the entire Amakusa Castle began shaking violently, disintegrating, falling from the sky.
On the battlefield below, everyone stared dumbfounded as the massive demon castle crumbled apart within that sun-like golden light.
"Wh-what was that just now?" Haohmaru's voice trembled.
"A god... a true deity..." Ukyo murmured.
From that power, they sensed an absolute dominance that could not be resisted or understood!
Only Nakoruru, watching the golden light slowly dissipate in the sky and the figure gradually returning to human form, wore an "as expected" smile and whispered softly:
"I knew it... you're far more unfathomable than any of us imagined... Cloud."
...
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