Chapter 102: The Crimson Clash

The sound of shattering chains echoed through the Void Realm.

One by one, the links snapped, each breaking with the force of a falling star. The last of the chains exploded in a flash of crimson and silver.

The Blood Demon stood unbound.

For a heartbeat, the entire realm held its breath.

Then, the cliff shook.

The void itself seemed to recoil as the demon rose—not simply in size, but in presence. The air grew heavier. Gravity shifted. It was as if the very laws of existence were bending around him, unwilling to contain what had been suppressed for so long.

He stretched his arms wide, cracked his neck, and let out a low, rumbling breath that turned the mist red.

"At last."

His voice was deeper now, darker, carrying not only rage but euphoria.

Kai stepped forward, blade drawn, jaw clenched. Beside him, Yin Shuang summoned both of her twin sabers, their edges pulsing with protective runes. Han stood between them, still drained, his Qi flickering like a guttering flame—but his eyes were sharp, focused.

"His presence…" Yin muttered. "It's even worse than Shen Zhenhai's."

Kai nodded grimly. "This is what he truly is. Shen was only a shadow of this."

The Blood Demon took a step—and the ground beneath his foot shattered like fragile glass.

Diabolical wings unfurled from his back—vast, ragged, made of bone and red flame. His armor reformed, not from steel, but from the raw will of the demonic Qi, plating his body in shimmering plates of dark crimson. Each movement radiated overwhelming power, bending the Void Realm's energy into submission.

"You're insects," he said casually. "But I'll savor this. I've endured ages to imagine your screams."

Without warning, he vanished.

A sonic boom cracked the air as the Blood Demon appeared in front of Kai with blinding speed, arm lashing out in a wide arc. Kai blocked, but the force of the strike hurled him across the void.

Yin reacted instantly, launching a flurry of sabers infused with wind. They spun like silver comets—but the Blood Demon waved a hand, and a shield of blood-qi swallowed them whole.

Han leapt first, his cloak of flame reactivated—though not as wild as before, it moved with renewed purpose. He struck high with a flaming fist, the Dragon Cloak's spirit roaring overhead. The Blood Demon caught it with one hand—but stumbled a half-step.

Kai was already behind him, blade glimmering with compressed lightning. He sliced across the Blood Demon's back—sparks erupted, but the blade barely nicked the armor.

Yin came in low, her sabers carving wind into a cutting cyclone that tore at the Blood Demon's legs. Her assault forced him to shift stance—an opening.

"Now!" Kai shouted.

Han summoned every shred of Qi he could. The Dragon Cloak burst outward in twin arcs of fire, forming a ring around the demon's feet. Kai planted four glyphs into the air with rapid slashes, each glowing a different color. Yin followed by weaving her blades in a figure-eight, anchoring wind seals along the circular perimeter.

The three techniques snapped together, creating a triangulated sigil trap: Heaven's Pivot Binding.

For the first time, the Blood Demon paused.

He strained against it, and the seals groaned. But for the moment—just a moment—he was bound.

The trio staggered back, heaving.

"That won't hold him long," Yin said, panting.

"We don't need long," Han said. "Just enough."

But even as they watched, the Blood Demon's limbs surged. The chains of light frayed, his wings flexed wide.

"You think you've outwitted me?" he growled, voice echoing in multiple tones. "You only delay what is inevitable."

The ground cracked.

"His Qi is rupturing the formation," Kai shouted. "I can't reinforce it without another anchor!"

Yin slid beside him, blood running down her arm. "What if we triangulate again, use Han as a pivot?"

"No," Han growled. "I'm barely holding on as it is."

But the demon strained harder. Cracks split the runes on the ground. One of Kai's glyphs shattered with a flash.

"Then we change tactics," Yin said. "The one we used to practise at Serenity Grove."

Kai nodded. "Right."

Yin slashed with a peerless sword technique again, this time casting a crescent of wind above the demon's head. Kai launched a barrage of pure Qi energy like lightning-struck daggers from opposite sides. The combined assault drew the demon's attention upward—exactly as intended.

Han focused. Fire built in his palms—not raw rage, but a refined core flame, one born from clarity. He pressed both hands against the fractured runic field.

A single word formed on his tongue.

"Bind."

A final anchor flared beneath the Blood Demon's feet, interlocking with the other seals.

The demon snarled, energy exploding from his back—but for a second longer, he was halted.

"That's the last of it," Han whispered, collapsing to one knee. "I'm spent."

Kai and Yin joined him, breathless, weapons dimmed.

Across from them, the Blood Demon growled, arms straining against a prison of light and elemental force.

"You think this will stop me?" he spat. "You cannot stop true chaos!"

The seal pulsed and they knew.

They had bought only moments.

Yin looked to Han, then to Kai. "There has to be a deeper seal. A way to restore the cliff's bindings."

Han's eyes narrowed. "Then we find it."

The sky cracked above them. The void trembled.

Time was running out.