Chapter 141: The Price of Blood

The night was thick with tension, the silence broken only by the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind and the muffled sound of Shinji's swift footsteps through the trees. His breath was heavy, his heart pounding at a frantic rhythm, while Jun'ko, wounded, leaned against his shoulder. Every step was a race against time. They couldn't stop. Not now.

When they finally reached the battlefield, it took Shinji only an instant to grasp the situation.

The scene before him was a chaos of blood and exhaustion.

Hiroshi lay on the ground, his body taut with pain, Aoi kneeling beside him, his hands stained with blood as he tried to stop the bleeding. A little farther ahead, Yukiko, utterly drained, was barely able to stay on her feet.

But his eyes locked onto Kurara.

She was still there, still standing, still ready to fight, even though her body trembled from fatigue. The kusarigama was clenched between her fingers, her arms weak, but in her eyes remained that spark, that flame of someone who refused to surrender.

Before her, the masked man advanced slowly. His breath was labored, his body marked by the blows he had taken, yet there was still danger in his movements. He was wounded, but still lethal.

Shinji gently set Jun'ko down against a tree, ready to intervene.

But before he could move—

Two shadows emerged from the mist.

A sound of controlled footsteps.

The slender figure of Misaki stepped forward, her presence calm and analytical. Yuki Sora walked just behind her, his face impassive, his eyes taking in every detail.

Yukiko slowly turned toward her cousin. She fixed him with a look filled with contempt.

"I didn't think you would sink this low," she murmured, her voice laden with disappointment.

Sora didn't reply immediately. His face remained unreadable, but in his gaze, there was something heavy.

The masked man turned slightly toward the newcomers, his breathing ragged.

Misaki studied him for a moment. Then she spoke, her voice firm, without hesitation.

"That's enough for today," she said flatly. "Retreating is the wisest choice."

The masked man clenched his fists. "No."

Misaki stared at him. She didn't seem surprised by his response, but her gaze grew slightly colder. "You're in no condition to continue. If we stay here, we lose our advantage."

There was a moment of silence.

The masked man remained still. He seemed to be reflecting, weighing his options.

Then—

A smile spread beneath the mask.

And in an instant, he moved.

A flash of steel tore through the air.

The strike was lightning-fast, lethal, precise.

The masked man used the chaos to hurl a dagger directly at Kurara.

She didn't move.

Too exhausted. Too slow.

But even Misaki and Sora were caught off guard.

Misaki's eyes widened, her body tensed for an instant, as if she hadn't expected such a move.

Sora barely lowered his gaze, his hands clenching into fists, but he didn't move.

Kurara only managed to lift her head weakly.

Then—

A glimmer of ice.

With the last remnants of her strength, Yukiko raised her hands, concentrating every fragment of chakra she had left.

"Ice Release: Arctic Barrier!"

A wall of ice rose between Kurara and the blade.

But it was too weak.

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The blade pierced through it.

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Kurara didn't have time to react.

The dagger embedded itself straight into her chest.

Silence.

For an instant, the world froze.

Then—

Kurara collapsed to her knees, her breath hitched, her trembling hands desperately trying to stop the blood pouring from her body.

The scarlet liquid stained the ground.

Misaki held her breath.

For a moment, she almost seemed regretful.

Her eyes shifted to the side.

And they saw Ren.

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Ren had arrived.

His steps came to an abrupt halt, his breath controlled, but his body was tense like a blade ready to shatter.

His gaze settled on the scene before him.

Kurara, kneeling, mortally wounded.

The blood slowly spreading beneath her, scarlet against the damp earth.

The masked man, still with his arm extended from throwing the dagger.

Shinji, Yukiko, and the others, their expressions frozen in shock, unable to move.

Misaki, motionless, her face devoid of expression.

But in her eyes, a flicker of hesitation.

Sora slightly lowered his gaze, as if he didn't want to see any more.

Ren stopped.

Kurara weakly lifted her gaze. Her vision was blurring, the pain growing more distant, and yet…

She saw him.

Ren.

His eyes were different. Cold. Lethal.

She mustered a faint, bitter smile.

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At least… I managed to buy you some time…

Fatigue weighed down her eyelids, her body growing heavier.

What a shame… I won't be able to stop by Yuki's shop anymore…

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Simple thoughts. Fragments of a life that, perhaps, she had always taken for granted.

Then, her head tilted forward slightly, her breath uncertain, the thread of her consciousness on the verge of snapping.

The air grew heavy.

The temperature seemed to drop.

Ren's chakra began to boil.

The masked man slowly turned his head toward him.

Misaki felt the shift in his chakra and clenched her teeth.

Sora took a step back.

Ren said nothing.

But anyone who looked at him in that moment knew that something had just changed.

[ Hi there, Itokun here, this chapter was hard to write, sometimes we need to do some choice, probably now none will understand this choice, but it was already part of the plot and later you'll figure out why this happened. 

Thanks everyone specially Jayroy_63 ,Sami_Alfoheday, BagusPardana, thefarmerboy007_7, Daoist9Qy0Nv, Darkosiris_Lopez, Alexx_Sejas, Werty_9247, RyuB201, shadowborn, Yasmin_Silva_3876, RyuB201, DaoistVVm1Vi,Saryman, DaoistDW5XU4, Acnol,DaoistSEsItM,bndr, RyuB201, VanHellsing6969, Daoist710883, WertyTribola,GuyWithSomeInteres, LevinCloth, Daoist0thxiB, bndr, AKIB19,LevinCloth, DaoistAZmi17,Alexx_Sejas, Morgoph, Strandarn, Gothrog, Nonymous_H, Ikaro_Rodrigues, Radical_Hamburger1, Misteriboi, AKIB19, Syndulyr, Abdul_Salam_FASAMI,julii_garcia, averious, Storm2010, Henrique_Aaa, SAGAR11, sip_Yo, Saryman, NathanBESH, Daoist9Sa84q, Gothrog, shadowborn, DarkGambit, Miguel_024 and Meltis_Pach!

Sorry if i forgot someone ^.^

 Sincerely Thanks and remember about the Power Stones, these are the motivation for my work :) ]