No matter how much they wept and wailed, darkness descended upon them all the same.
Worse still, the darkness that enveloped them seemed to possess substance, and it began trying to assimilate every single person there.
Screams of agony rose one after another.
"I don't want to die… AHHHH!"
Amidst inhuman shrieks, a young man in his twenties suddenly began to mutate.
In just a few seconds, he transformed into a monster — neither human nor ghost — drooling at the mouth, his eyes vacant and empty.
Like a chain reaction, within moments, nearly half the group had turned into similar creatures.
But there were exceptions.
When the darkness finally lifted, only three out of the hundred remained mostly unchanged. Their bodies were distorted in places, yet they could still be called human.
What followed was even more horrifying.
"Kill them… live."
At the sound of that voice, the monsters filling the chamber surged toward these three "abnormalities," their eyes blood-red.
Under normal circumstances, over a hundred monsters attacking three ordinary humans would have meant a gruesome, inevitable death.
But reality was the complete opposite.
These three survivors seemed to have awakened some kind of innate power, turning them into something extraordinary.
Survivor 1 had hands that had mutated into sharp claws. As he swung them, black energy clung to the blades, slicing through the charging monsters effortlessly.
Survivor 2, while fleeing, completely merged into the surrounding shadows. Not only was he immune to all attacks, but he also devoured one monster after another using the darkness itself.
If Shinji had been there, he would have found this ability very familiar — almost exactly like that of the deformed dwarf they had encountered back in the Land of Salt.
Survivor 3 possessed the strangest power of all. Any monster he touched instantly turned pitch-black and was absorbed into his shadow.
And after consuming several creatures in a row, his shadow detached itself from him, stood up on its own, and began actively hunting everywhere.
It was as if it wasn't a shadow at all, but a parasitic creature hiding within him all along.
As time passed, the three became more and more efficient at killing, mastering their new abilities with growing skill.
They retained their human minds, yet also acted with the instincts of Cursed Spirits — instincts that grew stronger and more dominant with every kill.
Eventually, every monster in the room was dead.
The red glow faded slightly from the eyes of Survivors 1 and 2. They knew they had passed the test.
But before they could even feel relief, a dark shadow crept silently closer. Suddenly it lunged, biting off Survivor 1's head in one bite!
"What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!"
Survivor 2 stared in horror at Survivor 3, who was now laughing maniacally. He immediately dived into the shadows to escape.
But this time, his new power couldn't save him.
Because Survivor 3's shadow was itself made of darkness — and could follow wherever shadows went.
"No! Have mercy… AHHHH!"
Screams and the sound of crunching bones echoed from the darkness, marking the end of Survivor 2.
"Kill… kill… KILL!"
By now, Survivor 3's mind was filled with nothing but bloodlust, completely taken over by instinct.
But aside from himself, there was nothing alive left in the chamber.
And for some reason, the space was sealed tight — no one could leave, not even Survivor 2 earlier with his shadow-walking ability.
Driven into a frenzy, Survivor 3 lashed out wildly… until finally, his own shadow lunged and bit his head off.
If there was nothing else left to kill… then kill yourself.
A truly terrifying thought.
Once the experiment was complete, the goat-headed monster opened the chamber and began clearing away the broken remains.
Soon enough, the next batch of test subjects would be brought in.
No one truly knew what the master of this place was trying to achieve. But in the beginning, the experiments had resulted in extremely high death rates.
Now, however, after repeated trials, they could mass-produce those mindless, low-intelligence monsters with 100% success.
And the number of humans who awakened special powers was growing — their stability improving as well.
It was an undeniably terrifying development.
---
Outside — The Slaughter Continues
Now holding nothing back, Shinji and Hidan had entered full "war mode" — completely abandoning defense to focus solely on maximum, ruthless destruction.
This was how Hidan always fought, so nothing new there.
But when Shinji unleashed his full power, the sheer devastation was breathtaking.
Unbound by any limits, his Red Blood Manipulation became like a meat grinder. Anything within his sight — near or far — was instantly slaughtered.
Dozens of arms made of blood extended from his back, each wielding a sharp blade, cutting every Cursed Spirit nearby into fine pieces.
Countless blood bullets sprayed everywhere without restraint.
At this moment, to Sasuke and Tamamo Hotaru, he looked like the true monster.
The first wave of over a hundred Cursed Spirits was wiped out completely.
"Guarding the rear"?
Not needed at all.
They were basically just spectators.
Sasuke couldn't help wondering: When… when will I ever be this strong?
They pushed forward, clearing everything in their path.
Shinji was fully immersed in the thrill of the slaughter — especially the satisfying feeling of watching his "savings" of points keep rising higher and higher.
It was a joy he couldn't describe to anyone else.
If possible, he would happily farm all the way to 200,000 Curse Soul Points.
"Here's the entrance!" Tobi suddenly called out.
They rushed over and saw that the inside of the mountain had been completely hollowed out, revealing a vast, hidden space.
"Are… are we just going to barge in like this?" Tamamo Hotaru swallowed hard.
She couldn't believe someone as weak as herself had actually gotten involved in something this dangerous.
If the first wave of attacks had that many monsters, entering the enemy's main base would be suicide — anyone could see that.
"Then you can wait outside for us."
Shinji didn't care what she thought. Throwing those words over his shoulder, he marched straight inside.
Today, not even the Sage of Six Paths himself could stop him from clearing this dungeon!
Hidan, Sasuke, and even Tobi — who kept chattering about how scary everything was — followed right behind.
Tamamo Hotaru, holding Kagetsu tight, froze in place.
But as soon as she realized that staying alone outside was actually more terrifying, she shivered and hurried after them.
"Wait for me…!"
Of course, Shinji wasn't going to wait. She knew she wasn't important enough for that.
Fortunately, they hadn't gone too far ahead — otherwise she really would have been left behind.
____________________
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