Shawn Young was startled. He instantly sensed the surging power of the pentagram shikigami pressing in around him. No longer daring to be careless, he quickly activated the Celestial Essence within his body. His hands came together, forming the Seal of Supreme Clarity, and a violet glow surged from his sea of consciousness to surround him. He silently chanted: "Essence gives rise to law, mist condenses the heavens, the five dimensions intersect, treasures gather in three palaces, the Supreme Star banishes evil and binds spirits—by order of the law, dispel!"
With a sweep of his hands, a ball of violet light instantly enveloped both Shawn Young and Rachel Sasaki, forming a round violet halo around them. This was the "Diamond Ward," one of the protective Taoist spells, which fuses the energy of heaven and earth with one's own spiritual power to create an incredibly strong barrier. It repels all evil spirits and supernatural forces, and is considered a top-tier technique of the Clear Sky Order.
As the violet halo covered them, the white pentagram shikigami trying to bind Shawn Young was blocked outside the barrier, unable to get any closer. Instead, as the violet light around Shawn grew stronger—"Bang! Bang!"—the white pentagram shikigami was burst apart, and the white glow in the air vanished, turning into a puff of smoke. A burning white talisman fluttered to the ground.
Ryu Kuroda was shocked at the sight. He muttered, "Oh—Chinese Taoist arts really are something else! Heh, this is getting interesting."
With that, his left hand maintained the sword gesture while the crystal ball in his right hand quickly vanished. Suddenly, a black-and-red puppet tumbled out from his wide black robe. He gripped it with two fingers and rapidly chanted an incantation. His left hand, still in the sword gesture, pointed at the puppet in his right hand, sending a white light into it. Ryu Kuroda then tossed the puppet toward where Shawn Young was standing.
Boom—A cloud of black mist spread in midair. It quickly gathered into the shape of a beast, resembling a vicious dog with bared fangs and a ferocious face. Its eerie green eyes glowed menacingly. If a timid person encountered such a hellhound in the dark, they'd probably wet their pants from fright.
The hellhound crashed headlong into the violet barrier around Shawn Young—"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Its ferocity was terrifying, but the violet halo only rippled violently and wasn't broken.
Ryu Kuroda grew anxious. He poured more spiritual power into the hellhound, making it swell to three times its size in an instant, like a sturdy calf. Its huge mouth opened, revealing rows of sharp, white fangs. With a monstrous roar, it lunged at Shawn Young, murderous intent blazing. The hellhound bit down on the violet barrier, but was knocked back several steps by a powerful rebound, where it stopped and shook its massive head.
Shawn Young wasn't the timid type—his courage was sky-high. He snorted coldly, drew the violet light back into his palms, and the protective Diamond Ward instantly vanished. He gripped the hilt of the samurai sword stuck in the ground beside him, pulled it free, and channeled his spiritual power into the blade.
Buzz—The ordinary samurai sword erupted with a cold flash. Shawn Young roared, his figure darting forward, man and blade as one, leaving a streak of afterimage in his wake. The blade slashed straight into the hellhound's forehead.
"Awooo—" The hellhound took a slash to the head and howled, suddenly dissolving into a cloud of black mist. Dropping from the air was a black-and-red puppet, split in two. Shawn Young took a closer look—it was a finely crafted black dog puppet. Ryu Kuroda was using Puppet Mastery, a type of shikigami technique.
"Ah!!" Hugh Westhill hadn't expected his prized hellhound shikigami to be destroyed by a single slash. A sense of dread crept over him—Shawn Young's strength was far beyond his expectations.
Shawn Young didn't care what they were thinking. All he wanted now was to charge into the innermost office—anyone who tries to stop him dies!
He roared again, his figure darting forward more than ten meters, leaping through the air and slashing down at Ryu Kuroda's head. Countless blades of cold light gathered into a cluster, appearing out of thin air and shooting toward Ryu Kuroda.
Ryu Kuroda hadn't expected Shawn Young to be so fierce. In a panic, he bit his tongue, spat blood onto his hands, then spread them over his head. A golden-yellow light burst from his crown, forming a swirling vortex above him, blocking Shawn Young's strike.
Shawn Young felt a strange pull from the yellow vortex, as if his blade was slicing into cotton, his attack diffusing with the swirl. With a thought, he infused more power into the blade and pressed down hard. A dazzling silver light cut through all the yellow glow, slashing straight into Ryu Kuroda. Blade energy scattered, but not a drop of blood appeared—only scraps of paper fluttered in the air.
Suddenly, the whole corridor went dark. Silence fell, and even the sound of the blade cutting air vanished. Shawn Young was stunned—this felt just like the Mirage Prison technique from Taoist arts.
Just then, he saw Ryu Kuroda step out from the darkness, focusing intently. He pressed a pentagram talisman to his fingers, his eyes suddenly wide and veins bulging on his neck.
"Activate!" A flame rose from his palm, wrapping the pale talisman in blood-red fire. Hugh Westhill formed a spell gesture with his index and middle fingers, chanting under his breath.
"Fly!"
A streak of red light tore through the dark night, swiftly transforming into a massive red firebird in midair. The firebird shrieked, extending its huge, razor-sharp claws straight toward Shawn Young. A fierce, murderous aura swept down, powerful enough to rend metal and stone.
But Shawn Young didn't panic. He steadied himself, took the Seven-Star Step, brought his palms together before his chest, interlocked his fingers, and formed the Demonbreaker Seal. He chanted rapidly: "Eastern Sun shakes the gods, Thunder and Lightning Lord, summon the Marshal, Primordial Jade Text, protect all beings, descend through the Heavenly Gate, by order of the law—break!"
Then Shawn Young spread his hands, ten fingers reaching toward the sky. Thunder roared overhead—"Crack!"—a huge blue lightning bolt struck down on the firebird's back.
"Screee—" The red firebird took a direct hit, letting out a piercing cry right above Shawn Young's head. Shawn kept chanting, and five more divine bolts of thunder gathered in midair, each one striking the firebird in turn.
"Crack—crack—crack—crack—crack—"
All five bolts of divine thunder hammered into the red firebird. It shrieked in agony, burst into flames in midair, and in an instant was reduced to ashes. Shawn Young had just unleashed the powerful and domineering Fivefold Thunder Spell.
"Whoa—!" Ryu Kuroda spat out a spray of blood. That "firebird" shikigami was the culmination of his life's cultivation, usually residing within him as a growth-type shikigami. It could evolve by absorbing the user's spiritual power, but when attacked, the caster suffered the same pain.
Ryu Kuroda felt as if his chest had been hammered. He wiped the blood from his lips, his face ashen, watching Shawn Young close in. Once arrogant and unstoppable, Ryu Kuroda now felt a chill run down his spine—he was gripped by deep fear, certain that today would be his day of reckoning.