NABC Page 316
Page 316
All the Himejima clansmen who were about to make a move inside the hall froze in their tracks.
This is the highest level of alert!
The family's defense system is being torn apart from the outside in the most violent way!
"What's going on!" Suzaku Himejima shouted angrily.
The words have not yet fallen.
"Report——!"
A piercing scream came from outside the courtyard.
A scout responsible for perimeter security, covered in blood, stumbled and crawled in; half of his body was eerily charred.
He collapsed to the ground, and with his last ounce of strength, roared at the people inside the hall:
"[Xu Chan]... The people from [Xu Chan] have attacked!"
"They...they've broken through all the outer defenses!"
"what--!"
The scout's roar suddenly turned into a agonizing scream.
Under everyone's horrified gaze, his already severely injured body rapidly withered away at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Flesh and blood, moisture, vitality...
Everything was forcibly taken away by something.
In just two or three seconds, a living person was turned into a dried-up corpse with skin clinging to it.
Behind the mummified corpse, a figure appeared like a ghost.
He was a carefree young man, wearing a modified hunting robe, carrying a huge, strangely shaped scythe in his hand. The blade of the scythe still retained the residual energy from having just absorbed life force.
"Tsk tsk tsk, is this all the scouts from the Himejima family are capable of? They're not even good enough to fill a tooth gap."
The young man grinned maliciously, surveying the stunned Himejima elders in the inner hall with the expression of someone eyeing prey.
"A bunch of old good-for-nothings dare to call themselves the five great families? Today I'll show you what true power is!"
He raised his scythe high, aimed it at the white-bearded elder who had been shouting the loudest, and was about to swing it down!
The elders finally realized what was happening, and filled with shock and anger, they all formed hand seals in preparation for a counterattack.
However, the young man's movements abruptly stopped in mid-air.
The sneer on his face froze.
He wants to move.
But he found himself unable to move.
An invisible and absolute force held him and the scythe in his hand firmly in place.
"who!"
The young man exclaimed in horror.
Zhou Ye had appeared in front of him without him even noticing.
There was no earth-shattering grandeur, nor any dazzling lighting effects.
He stood there calmly, extending two fingers and gently pinching the huge scythe that exuded an ominous aura.
"Is this the research result you're so proud of?"
Zhou Ye examined the sickle as if it were a crudely made toy.
"Some random, chaotic souls created this bizarre, hybrid thing?"
"That's really clumsy."
Click.
He gently pinched it with two fingers.
The crisp sound was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent inner room.
The eerie artifact that sent chills down the spines of the Himejima elders, the murder weapon that had just claimed a life, began to show spiderweb-like cracks from the point where Zhou Ye's fingertips touched it.
Click... click click...
The cracks spread rapidly.
Finally, with a "bang," it shattered completely into dust.
"No! My Soul-Devouring Scythe!"
The young man let out a scream of disbelief.
But the next second, his scream stopped abruptly.
Zhou Ye's hand was already gripping his neck.
"Noisy."
Snapped.
With a casual toss, the young man was smashed into the courtyard ground like a rag doll, his fate unknown.
The whole process was so smooth and fast that it was impossible to react.
The elders of the Himejima family gaped, their anger and shouts from moments before now stuck in their throats, replaced by an indescribable shock.
That's when.
Pop, pop, pop.
A crisp clapping sound came from outside the ruined gate.
More figures slowly emerged from the shadows.
The leader was a man with gold-rimmed glasses, a refined demeanor, but a morbidly fanatical expression on his face.
He saw his officers being killed instantly and their weapons crushed, but instead of being angry, he applauded.
He ignored Suzaku Himejima, the elders, and Rias and the others.
His entire attention was focused on Zhou Ye.
"Wonderful! It's really wonderful!"
The man pushed up his glasses, his tone excited.
"Do you see that? This is the pure, absolute power I've always been pursuing!"
Suzaku Himejima looked at the man, her body tense, and uttered a name.
"Himejima...Tang Di".
"Oh? Suzaku, my dear cousin, you still remember me."
Himejima Tangdi finally spared some attention for Himejima Suzaku, but then turned his attention back to Zhou Ye.
"Do you see that? We, who were discarded by our families like trash, can also create power that threatens you so-called geniuses!"
"Today, I will not only take revenge on the main family, but also reclaim everything that belongs to me!"
His expression grew increasingly frenzied, and he stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.
"I will use your perfect 220 body to complete the greatest work of our [Visoro Organization]!"
He spread his arms wide, like a madman standing in the center of a stage, announcing his script to the world.
"Do you think we cooperated with the fallen angel traitor just for this petty revenge?"
"wrong!"
"We will hunt down the power of all the spirit beasts from the five major clans, and fuse the power of the Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Yellow Dragon together using the technology we have developed!"
"We must create an artificial, god-slaying... [Sixth Spirit Beast]!"
This insane plan caused Rias, Suzaku Himejima, and the others to change their expressions.
Himejima Tangdi's gaze finally fell on Himejima Akeno.
That fervor was instantly replaced by an overwhelming sense of jealousy and resentment.
"And you, one of my dear cousins, Himejima Akeno."
He roared venomously.
"Why! Why should you, a half-baked product with impure blood, be favored by the Gremory family and become a high-ranking servant of the demon!"
"And me! I, a pure-blooded direct descendant of the Himejima family, am to be banished as a piece of trash simply because I did not inherit Suzaku's talent!"
"Today, I will prove to everyone who the true genius of the Himejima family is!"
He took something out of his pocket.
It was a heart that was still beating slightly.
A bizarre heart, forcibly pieced together from various biological components using forbidden alchemy, radiating filth and boundless energy!
He aimed that heart at Suzaku Himejima.
"Starting with you, the next head of the family, offer up your Vermilion Bird power!"
Chapter 274 The Name of Vermilion Bird, Vermilion's Strength Undergoes a Great Evolution
The heart, pieced together using forbidden alchemy, pulsed evilly in Himejima Tangdi's hands.
The filthy energy coalesced and was aimed at Suzaku Himejima.
"Let's start with you! Offer up your Vermilion Bird power!"
Amidst Himejima Tangdi's roar, a torrent of energy, mixed with resentment and ominousness, burst forth from that heart, heading straight for the current head of the Himejima family.
Himejima Suzaku's expression was solemn. He formed hand seals, and crimson flames rose from behind him, preparing to take the blow of this supreme evil head-on.
However, someone was faster than him.
A figure appeared in front of Himejima Suzaku.