"I'm familiar with Errenzhuan."
"Truly powerful, a single word is enough."
"I have an idea, if the Sculptor isn't killed, won't Ashina be saved?"
"No, the Sculptor has already lost his mind, he can't distinguish between friend and foe."
"I fear the entire Ashina Castle will be engulfed in flames then."
...
"The Flame of Hatred..."
Wolf stared blankly at the Corrupted Monk, the soaring crimson flames appearing ferocious.
Hell itself, in its Asura form, was no more than this.
The scorching inferno heated his completely black face. He immediately applied a buff to himself.
After a puff of light green smoke, he felt as if he were bathed in the ocean. The previous heat vanished, and he could open his eyes to observe the Corrupted Monk's movements.
*Puff puff puff!!!*
In its second phase, the Corrupted Monk used its limbs like a beast, rushing towards Kuro.
*Bang!!!*
A blazing fiery palm slammed down violently, the ground instantly consumed by the inferno.
Kuro leaped nimbly, narrowly dodging the fierce attack. The moment he landed, he resorted to his usual tactic—circling!
*Stomp, stomp, open—!!!*
However,
This time, it wasn't so smooth. Having suffered a disadvantage in the first phase, the Corrupted Monk, sensing Kuro's approach, immediately lifted a massive foot and stomped down.
Facing the sky-obscuring, vast footfall, Kuro had no choice but to temporarily evade its might.
"Roooaaarrr—!!!"
The Corrupted Monk's roars grew more desperate. Kuro's resolve to end his master's suffering became even stronger.
I must free my master from his pain!
I must!
Kuro's eyes turned crimson, his thoughts churning.
For now, circling the enemy remained the most direct method. Even though the Corrupted Monk in its second phase was deliberately wary of his circling.
But due to the difference in size, it couldn't completely block him.
It only required Kuro to exercise more patience, to find that fleeting opportunity to slip through the gaps.
Carrying the conviction to liberate his master, Kuro engaged in a circling practice for half an hour in the arena.
Time and again he fell, rose, and fell again, standing up once more with tears of blood.
Finally,
Upon standing up for the nth time, Kuro, with his health bar significantly superior, successfully depleted the Corrupted Monk's health in its second phase.
Third Phase.
The Corrupted Monk, having completely evolved into a fiery giant, had lost all reason. Its offensive desire was unprecedentedly high, and its destructive power was immense.
*Bang bang bang!!!*
*Clang clang clang—!!!!*
The war drums of the attacking army shook the heavens, but in the next moment, they were drowned out by the earth-shattering roars accompanying the soaring flames.
The Interior Force soldiers attacking the castle all turned their gaze towards the direction of the city, their eyes filled with fear.
Was there an existence in Ashina Castle more terrifying than the Sword Saint?
Then,
Over a hundred zhang of crimson flames erupted towards the sky, illuminating the entire gloomy Ashina Castle.
It was as if an evil spirit wailed in their ears, and even from afar, their legs trembled uncontrollably.
Fortunately, this wailing did not last long.
Accompanied by a final, piercing scream that echoed through the heavens, the soaring inferno gradually extinguished.
Ashina Castle plunged back into darkness.
Countless people wiped the sweat from their foreheads, the crisis seemingly averted for now. A single thought simultaneously crossed the minds of many:
Who was the divine being who subdued this terrifying entity?
Outside Ashina Castle, the Prince, who was following the flanking maneuver, paused to gaze at the soaring flames, his heart filled with worry.
Lord Wolf, please be safe.
In the center of the battlefield,
The circular area in the arena ignited with a towering inferno, forming a wall of fire.
Kuro, whistling, seized the moment when the third-phase Corrupted Monk wailed in agony and swiftly moved forward, maximizing his parry gauge.
"Farewell, Sculptor Master!!!"
Tears streaming down his face, Kuro leaped high, gripping the Purple Cloud Sword tightly, and plunged it into the Corrupted Monk's forehead.
Five minutes earlier,
The third-phase Corrupted Monk had thoroughly beaten Kuro. Just as he was about to give up, the Sculptor's voice echoed, "I beg you... you... end this..."
The Sculptor's pained roars rumbled faintly from the Corrupted Monk's throat. Kuro's lost fighting spirit surged back instantly.
However,
This pained whisper also brought back memories of his last meeting with the Sculptor. When Kuro was about to leave, the Sculptor had intentionally reminded him to make good use of the whistle crafted from the crying child's finger.
Combining the crying child and the Sculptor's youthful fragmented stories, Kuro had an epiphany.
This seemingly unremarkable whistle was a profound foreshadowing for battling the Corrupted Monk!
Immediately,
Kuro switched his whistle. As the whistle sounded, the previously violent Corrupted Monk suddenly clutched its head in pain.
This effectively put it in a half-stunned state.
The previously unbreakable stalemate was instantly reversed. With the whistle's strong counter-effect, after several repetitions, Kuro successfully created an opening in the Corrupted Monk.
*Splat!!!*
Blood splattered from the Corrupted Monk's forehead. Kuro's thoughts, which had drifted to the heavens, snapped back like lightning.
"Thank you... you... ah..."
The Sculptor's weak yet clear voice of release echoed. After a final flash of lucidity, he turned to dust.
[SLAY]
[Acquired: Combat Memory · Corrupted Monk
...omitted... The lone-armed demon consumed by the Flame of Hatred deep within the battlefield]
[Acquired: Glassware of the Source]
"Sigh... watching this all unfold, I'm in tears."
"For the Sculptor, this was the best way to find release."
"The Sculptor had already asked Wolf to kill him, knowing he would lose control and become an Asura. In the Asura ending, Wolf becomes this."
"The crying child's whistle, that foreshadowing was so deep, so deep."
"His final pose is that of the Buddha. The Sculptor has achieved Buddhahood, surely!"
"It feels like Wolf is also in pain."
"After spending so much time together, feelings must have developed."
"From the endings of Wolf and the Sculptor, I see a trace of destiny."
...
"It's all over."
Kuro exhaled a breath of stale air, his tone somewhat subdued.
He didn't even bother to inventory the items he acquired, simply stowing them all away in his warehouse.
He had expected the Sculptor to depart in some manner, as he was the last of the older generation.
He hadn't expected him to leave in a way that was both beyond his prediction and entirely within reason.
The player personally slew the master who had aided him from the very beginning, and this was something only the player, Wolf, could accomplish.
It was as if fate were playing a trick on him, and Kuro's mood sank to its lowest ebb after defeating the Corrupted Monk.
To vent his emotions, he decided against taking the secret path.
Instead, he brazenly fought his way out of the city, meeting up with the Prince.
Upon reaching outside the city, Kuro witnessed a scene that made his blood boil!
...