Chapter 38

However, in the next moment—

The wicked grin on his face froze.

Whoosh!

A blood-red magical spear tore through the night sky like a meteor, slamming into his chest and pinning him to the ground.

Noble Phantasm – [Gáe Bolg], the legendary spear of Irish mythology.

Though to Kurosawa Ren, it had a far simpler name: The Spear That Pierces Death.

According to legend, this magical spear could splinter into thirty deadly fragments when thrown. And through Ren's projection magic, its damage and structure had been refined even further—nearing the destructive scale of Brionac, the famed "Five-Star Bombardment" wielded by the God of Light, Lugh.

With its inherent trait of "inevitably piercing its target regardless of movement or defense," this version of Gáe Bolg wielded siege-level firepower.

"Wh-What... how?!"

The strike was too fast. Too precise.

Tanzo, still clinging to life, could only stare wide-eyed.

The bald, axe-wielding brute looked up at the figure standing above the clouds.

Until his final breath, he couldn't comprehend how that young man killed him so effortlessly.

"Projection—begin."

Ren's voice was calm. Cold.

The next second—

The sky ignited in steel.

Like a downpour of blazing comets, an endless rain of bladed treasures came roaring from the sky, crashing down on the curse users below.

"W-What the hell is that?!"

A surviving Yukinoshita curse user stared blankly at the radiant cascade in the night sky, rendered speechless.

"That power... it's impossible...!"

All around them, people froze in horror.

The rest of the enemy spellcasters looked up at the mass of magical weapons descending from the heavens, their minds overwhelmed.

"Run!"

"Run for your lives!"

The battlefield descended into chaos.

Even the most battle-hardened curse users, who moments ago bathed in blood with smug confidence, were now scrambling to escape as if chased by death itself.

They had seen true terror—and it wore the face of a calm, handsome boy.

Ren let them run.

After all, curse users were lawless scum.

Some were bloodthirsty killers. Others, mercenaries with no morals.

Either way, they were the worst kind of people.

They didn't deserve mercy.

BOOM!!!

None escaped the storm.

The treasure rain tore through them like divine retribution, tearing bodies to pieces in explosive blasts.

The sky rumbled with the aftermath, and screams echoed—before falling into a haunting silence.

What remained on the battlefield was a scarred wasteland.

Deep, smoking craters carved into the earth.

Shattered limbs. Bloodied scraps. A graveyard of sorcery.

So fast. So brutal.

In less than twenty seconds—

Kurosawa Ren had wiped out every enemy curse user.

Dead silence fell over the battlefield.

Everyone—ally and enemy—stood frozen, as if witnessing the aftermath of a nuclear strike.

Yukinoshita Haruno stared, pale-faced.

Her hands clenched into fists without realizing.

She looked at Ren's elegant silhouette, unsure whether she felt awe, fear, or deep, crushing regret.

"I was so foolish… to mistake him for just an ordinary man."

Who would've imagined…

That Kurosawa Ren—the mysterious young man she doubted—

would annihilate two top-class spellcasters, and single-handedly destroy an entire battalion of enemies?

A single gesture from him had changed the course of fate.

Back in the villa, both Mrs. Yukinoshita and the white-haired sorceress Mingming stood motionless in shock.

Even Mingming, who had suspected Ren's strength, trembled now—her curvaceous form shivering under the pressure of what she had just witnessed.

What kind of monster is he…?

One flick of his hand—and the enemy army was gone.

And there had been more than one top-level curse user among them.

Beside her, Mrs. Yukinoshita blinked, coming back to her senses.

Then, her graceful, mature eyes gleamed with sudden resolve.

"We must not let someone like him slip away. Even if it takes every resource the Yukinoshita family has—we must keep him."

She had no desire to feel powerless ever again.

For Kurosawa Ren, annihilating that army was a mere warm-up.

But then, something stirred inside him—an unease. A faint pulse of warning.

Standing atop the massive black bird, his eyes narrowed.

Meanwhile, hidden behind the ruins—

Chongmen Haruta was gasping, drenched in cold sweat.

He clutched his chest, heart pounding as if it might burst from fear.

"I dodged it… I survived…!"

Somehow, he had escaped the storm of steel that had consumed everyone else.

He peeked out, trembling, and looked at the battlefield.

Every curse user around him—slaughtered.

Not even the arrogant first-rank spellcasters had stood a chance.

"They didn't even see him coming! And I—hahahaha—I'm the only one left!"

His laugh was manic. Hysterical.

But just as he crept toward the edge, ready to slip away…

A hand.

A steel hand, materializing from the void.

It clamped around his throat.

"Guh—wh-what…?!"

His eyes bulged. His feet left the ground as he choked, twitching in the air.

How did he find me…?!

Ren's expression was emotionless.

"Interesting. You almost got away."

He tilted his head slightly.

"You use the technique 'Store Miracles.' It lets you collect minor coincidences and lucky events—storing them for life-threatening moments like this."

"A useful ability. But it's wasted on you."

Chongmen couldn't comprehend how Ren knew such a deeply buried secret.

But before he could think further—

With a crisp crack, his neck snapped.

Darkness swallowed him.

Ren dropped the lifeless body to the ground like trash.

Then turned his gaze toward the Sumiyoshi stronghold.

The magic meter at his hip began to pulse.

"More of them hiding down there, huh...?"

"AHHHH! STAY BACK! STAY BACK!"

The Sumiyoshi compound erupted in screams.

The curse users were dead.

Now only the armed thugs remained—terrified, disorganized, and desperate.

BANG! BANG-BANG-BANG!!

Bullets flew from their guns, riddling the air with noise—but they did nothing.

Ren walked through them unfazed.

With his enhanced physique—comparable to a red dragon species—

the bullets might as well have been cotton balls thrown by toddlers.

Too scared to run. Too weak to fight.

They were already finished.

Ren projected twin handguns into his hands—Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, forged by the Black Guard Palace.

Each pull of the trigger released a bullet saturated with the power of the Unlimited Blade Works system.

It tore through bodies with terrifying efficiency—shattering bones, bursting organs.

He moved like death incarnate.

Room by room, hall by hall—

Bodies fell like wheat before a scythe.

Blood pooled across the polished floors.

Limbs. Viscera. Horror.

By the time he reached the inner compound, the Sumiyoshi Society had been reduced to silence.

Guided by the steady pulse of his magic meter, Ren descended into the basement of the villa.

A chilling presence surged up the stairwell—

the dark energy was suffocating.

It reeked of blood, and malicious spirits clung to the air like fog.

Even without seeing it, Ren could tell:

Something worse waited below.

From the darkness, a malformed evil spirit emerged—its grotesque form flickering like a shadow on fire.

"Hmph. Cheap tricks."

Ren narrowed his eyes, stepping forward—

Ready for what came next.