Deep in the jungle surrounding the village, Kobayashi stood impatiently among his remaining men, waiting for Saito and Makato to return with Akiho.
Kobayashi had expected them to return much earlier, but the forest remained silent.
One of his son eventually grew impatient and argued that he should go and bring Akiho back himself.
Kobayashi turned toward him angrily, but before his son could take more than a few steps towards the village, a kunai flew from the darkness and struck him in the head. He died instantly.
Three figures emerged from between the trees.
Yasuo stood in the middle, with Reiji and Mio beside him. Mio immediately raised both hands, causing thick vines to burst from the ground and wrap around four of Kobayashi's men.
They struggled against the restraints, but the vines tightened around their bodies.
Kobayashi's remaining son suddenly charged toward the three hunters, but Reiji moved first, his blade flashing through the air and cutting the man down.
Kobayashi stared at Yasuo in disbelief.
"Yasuo…"
Yasuo slowly stepped forward. He recognized the man standing before him as the friend he had once fought beside, but that man had disappeared long ago.
Kobayashi had chosen the path of Naraka and dragged his clan into darkness with him.
"You chose this path."
Kobayashi answered with a cold smile before charging forward. Yasuo raised his hand and created a small glowing square in the air.
Kobayashi's fist struck the magical square, but instead of reaching Yasuo, his arm became trapped inside it.
Yasuo immediately created another box around Kobayashi's body, attempting to restrict his movements.
His box magic could trap anything that entered its space.
Kobayashi roared and broke through the magical prison. Yasuo created another, then another, but Kobayashi continued smashing them apart. Realizing that he was being overwhelmed, Kobayashi looked toward the four men trapped by Mio's vines.
He raised his remaining hand.
Their life energy began flowing into him.
The four men weakened as Kobayashi absorbed their life energy. Their bodies went limp as their lives were drained away, and they died one after another. Kobayashi's muscles expanded, and his strength increased dramatically.
Kobayashi suddenly charged toward Mio and punched her with tremendous force, sending her crashing through several trees.
Reiji rushed toward him.
Kobayashi grabbed him and struck him repeatedly, knocking him to the ground.
Yasuo continued defending himself with his box magic, creating barriers between them. Kobayashi destroyed one box after another until Yasuo finally trapped his left leg.
The magical square closed.
Kobayashi screamed and forced himself free.
But his leg was gone.
He staggered backward, yet his fury kept him moving. He charged toward Yasuo with his remaining arm and threw a powerful punch. Yasuo quickly created another box around Kobayashi's arm.
Kobayashi struggled.
The box blasted and Kobayashi's arm was destroyed.
Kobayashi now stood with only one arm and one leg. He stared at Yasuo for a moment before pulling out a smoke bomb and throwing it onto the ground. Thick smoke swallowed the battlefield.
When it cleared, Kobayashi had disappeared.
Yasuo looked toward the direction he had escaped.
"He's going back to the hidden village."
Yasuo reported everything to Shinobu and Mayumi. They immediately realized that Kobayashi could not be allowed to escape.
Shinobu and Mayumi pursue him before he could gather more followers or launch another attack.
Meanwhile, Kobayashi finally reached the hidden village.
The moment he stepped through the entrance, he stopped.
The village was silent.
Bodies were scattered throughout the streets, and the houses stood damaged and abandoned. Kobayashi slowly moved forward, looking around in disbelief. His clan had been destroyed.
Then he saw a young woman standing among the dead.
Kobayashi recognized her immediately.
The woman slowly turned toward him.
Kobayashi's expression hardened as he looked around the village. His eyes searched the bodies for his sons, especially Saito, his favorite. He demanded to know where Saito was, but Reika remained silent.
Kobayashi finally understood.
"You killed them all."
Reika raised one hand.
The dead bodies surrounding Kobayashi suddenly moved.
Invisible threads stretched from her fingers and connected themselves to the corpses. One by one, the dead rose from the ground.
Their damaged bodies were pulled together by the threads, allowing them to move like puppets.
Kobayashi stepped backward.
"You were supposed to be a sacrifice!"
Reika looked directly at him.
"But I awakened the power of our clan."
The puppets rushed forward.
Kobayashi fought desperately with his remaining arm, striking several puppets down. But whenever a puppet was destroyed, the invisible threads pulled its body back together. They surrounded him from every direction and slowly forced him toward the ground.
Then Kobayashi saw Saito.
His favorite son was standing among the dead.
"Saito…"
The puppet moved toward him while the others restrained Kobayashi. His expression changed from anger to fear as he realized that even his beloved son was now being controlled by Reika.
Reika walked toward him with her puppets.
Kobayashi fought back with his left arm, but the dead puppets overwhelmed him, forcing him to the ground.
Saito stepped closer and grabbed Kobayashi by the face. He pulled out his tongue and cut it off. Kobayashi screamed in agony, his voice reduced to a blood-choked cry.
Reika watched him without mercy.
"This is the same thing you did to my mother," she said coldly. "You tortured her because she spoke against what you were doing to my big sister and me."
Kobayashi struggled desperately, but the dead puppets held him down.
Saito raised his blade and took aim at Kobayashi's neck.
With one swift motion, he swung the sword and severed Kobayashi's head.
Reika then ordered the puppets to bring the villager.
She stood silently among the dead puppets, surrounded by the bodies of those who had once belonged to Kobayashi's clan. Her expression was completely emotionless. There was no anger in her eyes, no fear, and no hesitation—only a cold, empty silence.
They soon returned with the surviving captives, including women and children of Kobayashi's clan. The frightened villagers were brought before her while the puppets stood around them.
Before Reika could give another command, Shinobu appeared.
"Binding Technique!"
A powerful force wrapped around Reika's body and held her in place. Shinobu tried to strengthen the restraint, but invisible threads immediately appeared around Reika.
The binding shattered.
Reika attacked.
Mayumi stepped between them.
"Stay back, Shinobu."
She removed her iron chain and swung it toward the approaching puppets. The chain struck several of them, throwing their bodies across the ground. But the invisible threads immediately pulled them back together.
Mayumi stared in disbelief.
"They're rebuilding themselves…"
She attacked again, but the result was the same.
Mayumi then raised her hand.
"Iron Maiden!"
A massive iron structure appeared around Reika and closed tightly, trapping her inside. At the same moment, the puppets collapsed to the ground.
For several seconds, everything was silent.
Then the Iron Maiden began shaking violently.
CRACK!
The metal structure burst apart.
Reika stepped out completely unharmed.
The dead puppets rose again and surrounded Mayumi.
Before they could attack, footsteps echoed through the street.
Shin and Kenzo appeared, both badly injured, with Kazuto helping them move. Shin looked toward Reika and immediately realized that something was different.
"Reika… stop."
Reika froze.
"Your revenge is over."
Kenzo stepped forward despite his injuries.
"Please. You doesn't deserve to carry this burden any longer."
Slowly, the invisible threads began to disappear.
One by one, the dead puppets fell motionless to the ground.
Reika looked back at Shin and Kenzo. She remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Everything I did was for revenge," she said quietly. "But I don't want to live like this anymore. I only want to have the peaceful life that was taken away from me."
Shin and Kenzo immediately moved toward Reika. Kazuto followed them as they surrounded her, ready to catch her.
Shin caught her before she could hit the ground.
Then tears began streaming down Reika face.
Shin and Kenzo stayed beside her in silence, refusing to leave her alone.
From a distance, Mayumi and Shinobu watched quietly, their expressions heavy with emotion.
At present, Minikui stood surrounded by the dead villagers controlled by Reika. The puppets rushed toward him from every direction, but Minikui released his cursed flames, setting them ablaze. Even while burning, the puppets continued advancing toward him.
Shin stood nearby, still blinded by Minikui's cursed power. However, his special senses allowed him to detect the demon's negative aura. He couldn't see Minikui, but he could feel exactly where the demon was.
Shin tightened his grip around the iron rod.
Minikui charged.
Shin swung.
The iron rod struck the demon and forced him backward. Minikui immediately attacked again, but one of Reika's puppets moved between them and protected Shin. The puppet was destroyed, yet its invisible threads pulled its body back together.
One after another, the dead villagers were destroyed by Minikui's flames.
Eventually, they all burned away.
Shin remained standing.
Minikui laughed loudly.
"All your attacks have failed!"
Shin stood silently, holding the iron rod straight toward the demon.
Then he smiled.
"You're looking at the wrong person."
Minikui suddenly sensed something behind him.
The iron rod was pulled backward with tremendous force.
Kenzo stood behind the demon, using his telekinesis.
The rod shot forward.
It pierced directly through Minikui's chest.
Minikui froze.
Shin smiled.
"While you were distracted with me and the puppets…"
Kenzo pulled the rod back.
"…you forgot about me."
Minikui staggered backward as his body began breaking apart. Within moments, the demon turned completely into ash and scattered across the ruined street.
Reika caught Kenzo before he fell.
Soon afterward, Nao arrived with Riku and Aoi. Riku and Kenzo were too injured to continue fighting, so they remained behind to recover.
Nao, Shin, Aoi, and Reika continued toward the shrine.