Crack! Snap!
The sounds of destruction echoed as the grotesque tree roots were torn apart by an invisible force, reduced to fragments smaller than pebbles.
"Damn it. Why does this thing remind me of that accursed cherry blossom tree?"
A sudden flashback to a past encounter had pissed Kenmei off, causing him to hit a little harder than intended.
As it turned out, aside from being as hard as steel, these wooden roots didn't seem to have any other weird properties.
Kenmei patted the two Flesh Hounds standing beside him.
"I don't know what you are, but as long as you're holding that head, you're not getting away."
Thinking back to the ambush a moment ago, Kenmei still found it ridiculous.
The enemy had timed their strike perfectly. They attacked right when the Flesh Hounds had locked onto them, leaving zero reaction time.
Just as Kenmei was busy absorbing the Cursed Energy, the ground beneath his feet had erupted. A swarm of those traumatic, wooden roots burst out, aiming to skewer him.
In the split second Kenmei froze at the sight of the familiar wood, the two Flesh Hounds sensed the danger and leaped from his shadow, shielding him.
Meanwhile, the ground collapse destroyed Toji's footing.
Sensing the malicious wind whistling past his ear, Toji immediately yanked the Inverted Spear of Heaven out of the white-haired brat's body.
But the attacker had no intention of fighting Toji. Their goal was solely to snatch the white-haired brat's head.
"Old man?"
Honestly, when the blood started spraying, Kenmei almost thought Toji had been taken out. The old mercenary had been standing way too close to the brat.
"I'm fine, Boss."
Damn it. Who the hell "rescues" someone by just grabbing their head?
If the thing hadn't grabbed the brat's head and run without looking back, Kenmei would have assumed this was an enemy "cleanup" operation to silence a witness.
Was the goal to prevent him from reading the brat's memories?
But I haven't shown that ability to anyone.
Then Kenmei had another thought. The brat hadn't died even after the Killing Stone was ripped out. If they implanted another Killing Stone into him...
Given the Killing Stone's regenerative properties, regrowing a body from just a head might not actually be difficult.
"So it is a gang operation."
It had to be a group. They used words to bewitch and violence to coerce, targeting those with darkness in their hearts to accept the stones. Their ultimate goal was unknown.
Since most Sorcerers had some mental issues anyway, they were probably easy targets.
The Killing Stone Kenmei just absorbed gave him nearly 20,070 Points. That was a huge sum, equivalent to killing two Grade 1 Cursed Spirits.
Add in the three pea-sized stones Toji had looted from the brat earlier, and Kenmei's total haul was 23,070 Points.
"This brat... he hands out Killing Stones based on the person's potential."
Kenmei sneered as he sensed his Flesh Hounds closing in on the target.
"Old man, let's close the net."
Through the shared vision of his Flesh Hounds, Kenmei saw a figure completely wrapped in white bandages moving at high speed. It had rushed out of the urban area and into the dense forest of a nearby mountain.
In its hand, it carried a round object that was still dripping blood.
---
"Ah... I really thought I was dead for a second there."
A severed head speaking was terrifying enough. But since it had lost the supply from the Killing Stone, the head was rapidly deteriorating, looking more like a gruesome zombie.
"I'm so glad you were here, Ci."
The bandage-wrapped figure didn't respond. It just kept running.
Suddenly, the speeding bandage-man sensed something wrong.
CRUNCH.
The sound of wood being crushed was followed by a terrifying roar. The spot where they were about to land was suddenly engulfed by a massive maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. The beast bit down, shattering the surrounding trees in the process.
It was a hair-raising sight. The bandage-man immediately twisted in mid-air to dodge the attack from below.
But another attack came from the right!
A second crimson silhouette leaped out of the forest, even closer this time. Its jaws were wide open, aiming to swallow both the bandage-man and the head in one bite.
The brat's head was almost entirely within the range of that blood-red mouth. His eyes widened as he saw deep into the monster's throat—there was a grinder-like organ spinning, ready to pulverize anything it swallowed.
SNAP!
Just as they were about to be eaten, the nearby tree branches came alive. Roots shot out with surprising agility, binding the Flesh Hound's upper and lower jaws shut.
The beast on the ground wasn't spared either. Massive roots entangled it, immobilizing both monsters instantly.
But before the severed head could sigh in relief, the two bound beasts vanished into thin air, leaving the roots holding nothing.
A far more terrifying crisis descended immediately.
Psychic Spell: [Crush]!
An invisible force hammered down from the sky, completely covering the area where the bandage-man stood.
BOOM.
The earth shattered. A circular crater, five meters wide, appeared instantly.
"Tch. Missed?"
Kenmei and Toji arrived on the scene. Kenmei patted the Flesh Hound that had re-emerged beside him.
"Doesn't matter. Chase!"
---
"Damn it! What is going on?!"
The white-haired brat's face was twisted in fear. In less than three minutes, they had been attacked multiple times.
No matter where they ran, the two monsters followed like shadows. And worse, the guy controlling them was always right behind.
"Did Ci's technique fail?"
No. The enemy found them every ten seconds or so. It felt like they were being tracked.
The problem was likely him. The brat's expression darkened.
"Ci, the enemy must have marked me."
He made a decisive judgment.
"I'm done for. Leave me."
Hearing this, the bandage-man looked down at the head in his hands.
"There's no time to look for a seal on my head now."
"It's fine. I'll revive in a hundred years."
"Ci, you should abandon this body too. The enemy might have marked you as well."
By the time Kenmei and Toji caught up, the scene had changed completely.
The brat had transformed. His head had swelled to a meter in diameter and was currently devouring the bandage-man's body. The corpse was nearly gone, leaving only indescribable chunks of meat on the ground.
The brat's empty eye socket was now filled with a high-concentration red liquid—essence from the Killing Stone.
Swallowing the last bit of his companion's flesh, the brat looked up at the arriving duo.
He opened his blood-stained mouth, his voice dripping with malice.
"I'll kill you!"
---
Meanwhile, in an unknown, hidden location.
In the center of a black pool, a rotting, ancient coffin slowly floated to the surface.
Soon, a blood-soaked arm slowly reached out from the gap in the coffin lid...
Above, a massive cherry blossom tree bloomed luxuriantly, its falling petals covering the dark waters.
---