Hidan sneered. "Tch, just this ghost thing? Sooner or later I'm burning it to the ground."
Sensing Hidan's ill intent, Little Black immediately shifted into an attacking posture…
If Shinji hadn't stepped in to stop them in time, the two of them would probably have started fighting right then and there.
Shinji shook his head, then placed the broken blade in his hand onto the blood-soaked ground.
Before their eyes, the damaged Executioner's Blade began to absorb the blood at an astonishing, visible speed, restoring itself—regenerating.
It didn't take long before it was fully repaired, looking brand new.
Hidan, who was holding a severed leg in his hand, had already grown somewhat numb to scenes like this.
"Let's go."
And just as Shinji and Hidan split up—heading toward the front gate and the hidden passage respectively—the Jashin Cult believers scattered throughout the base and fleeing for their lives encountered an unprecedented nightmare.
No one knew where those bizarre black strands of hair came from. They attacked anyone they encountered, and once someone was caught, they would be drained into a dried corpse within just a few breaths.
What was even more despairing was that these ghostly things were not only countless in number, but also immune to all attacks. Even hacking them apart with great effort caused no real damage—they seemed endless.
Before deciding to release "Little Black" to clear the field, Shinji had already made preparations, removing all flammable oils and anything else inside the base that could intensify a fire.
So unless Fire Release was used, it was absolutely impossible to harm "Little Black."
"Little Black" also strictly followed Shinji's orders—no greed, no reckless advance. Its job was simply to spread terror and drive everyone outward.
By now, having consumed who knew how much flesh and blood, "Little Black" was more than capable of encompassing the entire base within its hunting grounds.
Before long, the front gate of the base was pushed open.
Pure moonlight spilled down, illuminating the joy of survival on that man's face.
But suddenly—
A whistling sound tore through the air.
A crimson moon swept straight over his head, then abruptly went taut!
Only then did he realize—it wasn't a red moon at all, but a ferocious, terrifying triple-bladed scythe.
Pfft!
"No—!"
The longest blade plunged straight down through his body, then dragged him rapidly backward, disappearing once more into the darkness.
The remaining people couldn't help but glance back—
Only to see a "demon" slowly walking toward them.
Jet-black skin covered in mysterious white patterns. With just one look, the first words that came to mind were demon, devil, monster.
Now in the state of [Death Possession by Blood], Hidan had not only reattached his right leg with Shinji's help, but had also reconnected his left shoulder while he was at it.
As for the poison?
Ah—he'd probably already been poisoned to death dozens of times by now.
That is, if he could die.
"Pray in the abyss of blood and darkness—Jashin is eternal! Hahahahaha!"
...
Inside the dim tunnel, flickering torchlight swayed, casting feral shadows across every face.
"Ah! Save me—save—!"
The last man in the group was suddenly entangled by massive amounts of black hair and dragged away, vanishing in an instant.
The people in front only glanced back coldly, then continued forward without hesitation.
"This won't work. Once all the cannon fodder we brought dies, it'll be our turn."
The gloomy-looking man at the front suddenly smiled. "Fine. Then hand over your torch—or you go to the back."
Hearing this, the man immediately shut up.
He didn't know how the other party had figured out that the strange black hair feared flames, but right now the torch in his hand was a lifeline. He was unwilling to give it to anyone else—and even less willing to volunteer to bring up the rear and gamble with his life.
As for exploiting that weakness to fight back…
Don't forget—there were still two monsters far more terrifying than this thing slaughtering people inside the base.
Escaping was the priority!
Anyway, even if the Jashin Cult ceased to exist, with the wealth they had looted and hidden away before—plus the bags and bundles they carried now—they could restart a "happy" life anywhere.
"It's all those two lunatics' fault! They just had to wipe everyone out!"
"Exactly. So what if High Priest Takihata is dead? Are we supposed to die for a corpse?"
"The Jashin Cult finally grew to this scale, only to be destroyed by two insane monsters. Sigh."
Several people couldn't help muttering curses under their breath.
In their eyes, what Hidan and Shinji were doing was completely incomprehensible.
If it were them, they would have gathered the remaining people, supported themselves to the top—then wouldn't they have everything they wanted?
But no—those two actually wanted to treat them as sacrifices and offer everyone to Jashin.
Begging, surrendering, defecting… all useless!
It was just absurd!
Had they really been brainwashed into idiots?
What kind of bullshit god was Jashin, anyway?!
As they were cursing, a voice suddenly came from ahead.
"We're here."
Suppressing their excitement, they pushed open the hidden door, and the group immediately filed out.
"Pull me up."
"Okay—ah!"
A sharp scream instantly shattered the others' joy at having escaped death.
The one who cried out was now slumped on the ground, still clutching a portion of the body of the person behind him…
Footsteps followed.
A man holding an exaggeratedly large blade walked out from inside.
"So eager to leave? Not even waiting for me to see you off?"
Shinji rested the Executioner's Blade on his shoulder, wearing a bright, sunny smile.
If not for the blood splattered across his face, that smile alone would have been enough to charm quite a few innocent young girls.
"Akagi Shinji—do you really have to wipe us out completely?" The gloomy man clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, revealing his inner turmoil.
"If I say yes, then could I trouble everyone to line up and stick your heads out?"
The gloomy man took a deep breath, then suddenly sneered. "If I'd known this day would come, I should've dealt with you and that traitor Hidan back in the Land of Waves!"
Shinji froze for a moment, then realization dawned on him.
"So when Hidan and I went to the Land of Waves on that mission, it was you watching us from the shadows. No wonder you knew Little Black's weakness was fire—you must have seen it back then."
The gloomy man didn't deny it. Instead, he spoke again with a deadly serious expression.
"I'll say this one last time. Let me go. It won't cost you anything—and I won't come looking for trouble over some dead people later."
"Let you go? Then what about them?"
"Their lives or deaths have nothing to do with me."
"Well said. So… I refuse! High Priest Takihata is waiting for you all over there, at Lord Jashin's side."
The gloomy man's face darkened. "Do you really think you've got me cornered?"
With that, he stepped back—and his entire body turned transparent, disappearing?!