109 The Elusive Exit

“Master?”

Seeing Kurama still unmoving, Gen, who was beside him and still somewhat worried about his injuries, softly called out and took a step forward, intending to check his master’s expression—to confirm whether he was truly unharmed or if his earlier words of “feeling much better” were merely to reassure him.

However, before Kurama’s face could be seen, Gen himself suddenly half-kneeling as if something had violently seized his soul, his body and movements becoming stiff and sluggish in an instant...

“Gen?”

Kurama turned at the sound, only to see his shikigami weakly collapsing toward the ground. The slight frown on the fox demon’s brow deepened into a crease. He quickly stepped back two paces and caught Gen in his arms before he could fall completely.

“Gen? What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Gazing at the rabbit-eared youth in his arms, whose face was even paler than his own—no, it was almost deathly white—Kurama’s eyes flickered with confusion and concern.

—Dilumdomo had clearly said that Gen and Cui were protected by his intervention and thus spared from the temporal-spatial forces’ assault.

But now...

Watching as Gen struggled to maintain his human form, shrinking rapidly back into the form of a snow rabbit in Kurama’s arms, he reached out to gently stroke Gen’s emerald-green ears. Yet the moment his fingers touched them, an abnormal sensation made his brows knit tightly once more—

They were burning hot.

Gen had reconstructed his body with ice and snow as the core foundation. Kurama had used exquisite materials; the ice and snow forming the primary substance of Gen’s body were not ordinary flakes but crystallizations from the summit of the Demon World’s renowned Everfrost Peak, condensed over thousands of years. Thus, both Gen and Cui’s demonic aura and their inherent power carried a heavy essence of ice and snow.

Though they could regulate this aura, their body temperature was inevitably influenced.

Especially in their snow rabbit form, no matter how much they controlled it, their small bodies felt cold to the touch—not freezing, but undeniably cool.

To feel burning hot like this...

This was absolutely unnatural!

Summoning his own demonic power, Kurama isolated Gen and this world entirely within a barrier of green demonic energy. Watching the snow rabbit within the shield relax, the torment and agony that had seemed to plague Gen even in forced unconsciousness appeared to recede. Holding the pure white little rabbit enveloped by the barrier, Kurama’s expression grew grave beyond anything before—

He thought, perhaps he now understood where they were.

***

“Hm? You say an astonishing life force burst forth near the ‘entrance’?”

In the darkness, a tall man dressed in a form-fitting black robe sat upon a high chair. Though his face was unseen, the slender waist beneath the cloak and the outlines of long, pale fingers extending from the sleeves were visible. His voice was calm and melodious, carrying a mysterious allure that seemed capable of beguiling the soul.

His tone was composed and elegant, as though the grave news just reported by a subordinate was nothing to worry about at all.

“Heh. No need for me to intervene.”

The man chuckled lightly, tapping his fingers leisurely on the armrest.

“My brother has surely already set off toward the ‘entrance,’ hasn’t he?”

“Life force… Heh, I’d love to see the expression on his face.”

—The latter words lingered in the air like a whisper, but the man’s figure had already vanished from the high chair.

The subordinate, half-kneeling and awaiting orders, remained bowed a moment longer, then wiped sweat from his brow and slowly rose.

“What a miserable fellow,” he muttered with a sinister chuckle, turning to leave, speaking with a mock sympathy.

“Discovered by these two lords… Haha, it’s just as the saying goes.”

“—No escape from hell, yet you insist on barging in.”

As he disappeared beyond the great hall, only two empty tall chairs remained side by side in the main chamber atop the layered mountain peaks, and in a side hall slightly behind, an unfinished game of black-and-white chess lay scattered.

The howling mountain wind swept through the entire building, echoing a mournful, plaintive sound—

As if foretelling that something unpredictable was about to descend upon the Mischievous Sorcerer.

***

Cradling the snow rabbit—whose breathing had gradually steadied, now stable except for the forced protective slumber triggered by the sudden invasion of counteracting power—Kurama dashed swiftly across the barren land.

Dandelions struggled to proliferate freely in this harsh environment, severely limiting Kurama’s ability to gather information.

He was forced to pause briefly after some distance, conjuring demon-world dandelions anew and manually encouraging their dispersal.

At last, he neared the black specks he had glimpsed from afar earlier.

His suspicions proved correct—the specks were groups of people clustered in threes and twos, lined in long, sparse yet unbroken queues, their faces numb and movements stiff as they collectively advanced toward a distant giant volcano.

Though Kurama had sped ahead, increasing the distance between himself and the volcano, his keen fox eyes still clearly saw the crowd at the summit.

In the end, every one of them voluntarily, unhesitatingly plunged down the volcano’s open crater as if it were their eternal destination.

Taking a moment to rest and once more verify his bearings with demon-world dandelions, Kurama sighed softly, suppressing the myriad emotions stirred by witnessing such a sight.

Turning away from the mass, he sped off again.

—Although theoretically the “exit” he sought might be a phantom that only existed in hope, after thoroughly scouring the remnants of his memories, Kurama found a glimmer of hope for escape.

“Even if there’s only a sliver of a chance, I must try. Otherwise, not just Gen, but even I might…”

Pressing his lips together, Kurama ran for a long time. Despite the combined effects of his powerful demonic and mental energy, his wounds showed no sign of healing. His expression grew increasingly solemn, and his speed quickened.

After covering several thousand meters, he suddenly halted and looked up at the overcast sky.

At that moment, a faint sound escaped from the air.

“Quite perceptive for a mortal.”

The voice carried a mixture of suspicion, disdain, and indifference, seeming to emanate from all directions yet whispering directly into Kurama’s ear.

As Kurama cautiously stepped back two paces, his gaze fixed on a particular point in the sky.

There, the air suddenly rippled violently like a water curtain!

Then, as if cleaved by some unseen blade, the space tore open.

Through the fractured rift, shrouded in deep darkness, emerged a long, straight leg clad in black hard armor.

“Too bad, but you… cannot escape.”

The newcomer, fully revealed and clad in eerie black armor, sneered down at Kurama.

Yet at this moment, the fox demon steadied himself.

“Death God?”

Looking at the handsome man before him, black-haired and black-eyed, with a strange solid black six-pointed star marked on his forehead, Kurama raised a corner of his mouth, half to probe, half to confirm.

The man, floating high in the air, raised an eyebrow.

“Hmph. Do you mortals think I wouldn’t know who I am? Such clumsy acting… Do you really believe I’m ignorant of your purpose here?”

He waved his hand lightly, and a terrifying wave of dark black light shot from his palm toward Kurama!

Prepared, Kurama immediately activated the plant seeds in his hand.

In the next moment, flying rose petals formed an impenetrable barrier around him—

The Windflower Waltz.

One of Kurama’s most celebrated and beautiful techniques, which had once captivated countless girls smitten with the fox demon.

But clearly, his opponent was no one who would be enchanted by such a stunningly elegant art.

“Oh? You have some skill after all.”

The man’s deep black eyes finally showed a flicker of interest.

He stared at Kurama with a gaze so profound it seemed to swallow starlight, carrying the vastness of death itself, as if merely by being looked upon, all life force could be stolen away.

Kurama frowned involuntarily.

He knew it was time to act.

His opponent was clearly confident in his strength, treating Kurama as a trivial plaything to toy with, enjoying their “battle.” The fact the man casually drifted into thinking about his next move in front of him was proof enough.

Though Kurama didn’t wish to awaken his opponent.

The fox demon didn’t mind being underestimated.

Yet...

“Has no one told you that losing focus in battle is a most grievous mistake?”

Accompanying this smiling whisper came a sharp slicing sound.

The black-haired man in midair effortlessly dodged several seeds hurled at him, turning back with a mocking smile to speak—

But the next instant, a plant grew explosively from Kurama’s body, engulfing the man entirely!

Before him, amidst drifting white mist, appeared Kurama’s fox form, a cold smile curling his lips as he prepared to approach the trapped figure.

“Sorry, I can’t leave this fool to you.”

Suddenly, a pale, jade-like arm reached out from behind Kurama, and before he could react, it wrapped tightly around his neck with apparent gentleness.

Golden hair, bright as sunlight, cascaded over Kurama’s shoulder as the newcomer drew close, warm breath softly brushing his sensitive ear.

“Even if he’s hopelessly foolish, he is still… my only brother.”

The man behind spoke softly, the arm around Kurama’s neck tightening slightly, long fingers tenderly caressing the fox demon’s jade-like cheek as if comforting a lover.

“Therefore, please return him to me.”

His voice was gentle, yet in that instant, the towering figure pressed close against Kurama’s body exuded a terrifying surge of murderous intent!