Chapter 229: The Tens of Thousands of Predators
"You... are you from the Aka Clan?" Usagi tested the waters, her voice steady, though her fingers trembled slightly.
The man finally halted. His gaze remained hollow, yet there was an eerie coldness in his eyes, as if he could freeze the very air around him.
"Do you know where Aka is?" His voice was low and hoarse, like a blade scraping against metal, sending a shiver down Usagi's spine.
"Lord Aka... How could he possibly be here now?" Usagi quickly composed herself and shook her head slightly. "We have no leader now. You should know that."
The man's gaze flickered briefly, as if lost in thought.
"Aka's influence is immense. Can't you feel it?" His tone was probing, yet still as cold as ice.
Usagi grew wary, her mind racing. Was he trying to extract information? Or did he have another motive?
Taking another deep breath, she responded, "If Lord Aka were here, why wouldn't he reveal himself? If you can sense him, why not find him yourself instead of asking me?"
The man lifted his head slightly, his expression deep and unreadable. His voice grew even colder. "Only after becoming like this... did I start to faintly sense Aka's luminescent presence. Forget it..."
With that, he turned away, as if losing interest, and slowly walked off in another direction.
"Wait!" Usagi couldn't help but call out, confusion lacing her voice. "Who are you? Why are you looking for Lord Aka?"
The man's footsteps paused for a moment, his back still facing her. His voice drifted back, chilling and distant. "Miyato Geta. If anyone can open the gates of hell... it's Aka."
"The gates of hell?" Usagi echoed his words, an ominous feeling creeping over her.
Geta continued, "Entering hell... to slay the demons."
Slay the demons?! Usagi's eyes widened in shock, her mind reeling.
Without another word, Geta vanished into the darkness, leaving an eerie silence in his wake.
Usagi stood frozen, twin blades in hand, yet a chilling sense of powerlessness crept up her spine. The information in their brief exchange was far more terrifying than anything she had heard before.
"The Aka Clan... Predators? Hell? Slaying demons?" She clenched her jaw, countless questions swarming her mind. But she knew one thing for certain—she had to leave this place immediately and find Hayato to discuss their next move.
Usagi stood motionless, Geta's words echoing in her mind. "Aka Clan's Predators... entering hell... slaying demons..." Each word cut through her thoughts like an icy blade, impossible to ignore.
Though she didn't fully believe Geta, one thing was clear—before Aka's true revival, there was no way his clan could launch a unified assault, nor could they make any real progress. Yet, Geta's appearance and the information he shared threw everything into uncertainty.
Usagi's eyes sharpened with resolve. She realized that Sonia City might be a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment. If Geta's words were true and the Predators were already here, any disturbance could ignite an irreversible catastrophe.
She knew firsthand the destructive power of Aka. Every resurgence of the Aka Clan had always brought unforeseen disasters. Now, their mere existence was a blade hanging over the world's future. She wasn't the type to play the mastermind in such a chaotic situation, nor could she easily predict her enemies' motives. The best choice was to avoid entanglement and not poke the hornet's nest.
Looking up at the cloud-covered night sky, Usagi made her decision. Rather than staying in Sonia City, she would head to Gabria—to escape this dangerous maelstrom.
"This is no time to linger," she murmured, quickening her steps toward where Hayato was waiting. If the Aka Clan's Predators were on the move, she had to leave the city at once.
The streets of Sonia remained bustling, but to Usagi, an ominous shadow loomed over everything. She reminded herself to remain unnoticed, especially by anyone connected to the Aka Clan.
"Gabria is where we need to go. We have to regroup with Akari as soon as possible," she whispered, as if pushing the lurking danger to the back of her mind, though her vigilance only heightened.
She moved swiftly, weaving through the crowd with silent, precise steps. But just as she was about to reach a more open area—
A powerful energy wave, impossible to resist, surged toward her with overwhelming force!
"Boom—!" The sheer force of the energy tore through the air, blasting toward Usagi. Her pupils shrank as she instinctively raised her twin blades to block, but the impact sent her flying. She spun through the air, the wind roaring past her ears.
In that instant, flames roared around her, their crimson hue illuminating her resolute face. Her twin blades danced, erupting with searing sparks. The red fire coiled around her weapons, blooming like a blood-colored flower in the night.
As she stabilized herself mid-air, her gaze swept the battlefield below—
Her heart nearly stopped.
A sea of black figures swarmed the land like an endless flock of crows. Their eyes were vacant, yet brimming with suffocating menace. Agile and precise, they resembled relentless hunting machines.
Hundreds of thousands... No, far more than that!
A crushing sense of pressure bore down on Usagi, as though the abyss itself had locked onto her. And their target—was her, a member of the Aka Clan!
"These... are all Aka Clan Predators?!" Usagi clenched her teeth, a rare surge of fear creeping into her heart.
Countless icy, venomous gazes pierced through the night, isolating her completely. Suspended in the battlefield's center, she was a lone drop of blood falling into an endless black ocean, helpless yet dazzling.
The wind swept back her rabbit-eared hoodie, revealing a face of striking beauty. Her twin ponytails fluttered in the cold wind like silk ribbons. And within her scarlet eyes—
Burned the depths of the abyss itself.
Her heart sank. At this moment, she felt utterly alone, completely abandoned. No allies. No escape. Only the overwhelming hostility of thousands.
For a fleeting second, she wanted to cry, to be weak, to scream—
"Is there anyone who will come for me?"
But the moment passed. Usagi bit her lip, her eyes flashing with defiance and fury. The loneliness and despair inside her transformed into raging fire—
A fire of Aka blood, a fire of unyielding will.
"I will not back down!" she growled, her voice trembling yet unwavering.
At that moment, her twin blades ignited with an even more violent, crimson blaze. The fire roared skyward, as if tearing through the darkness itself.
With a fierce swing of her blades, she became a streak of red light, descending upon the battlefield like a falling star.
"Fight———!!!!!!!!"
She roared, blades slashing through the air, flames raging like an inferno. Amidst the sea of black, a lone warrior stood defiant—
The crimson battle goddess of the Aka Clan had descended!