All around me, there were nothing but vicious-looking ghosts, each one exuding black mist and wailing mournfully. The oppressive chill in the air kept growing heavier. I raised my hand, and the Phoenix Blade appeared in my grip.
“Heh heh, these aren’t ordinary ghosts. They’re fiends, born after being consumed by desire. Over countless years, this place has accumulated an endless number of such fiends. What will you do now? Let me watch as you’re swallowed up, piece by piece. Hahaha…”
"Shut up!" I roared, brandishing the Phoenix Blade and pointing it at the woman. She fell silent, watching me with amusement, her hand propping up her chin. I started to laugh.
I didn’t need her to say it—I knew. These ghosts had lost all sense of self. Their faces were deathly pale, each dressed in identical white robes, shrouded in black mist. They were formidable.
Looking up at the sky, I saw there were already several hundred of them.
“So fast.”
No sooner had I spoken than a black shadow—a ghost—appeared right in front of me. In an instant, it raised its head: pale skin, lifeless eyes. As I lifted the Phoenix Blade, I felt a sharp pain in my back.
“Ha…”
I shouted, flames erupting all over my body. I swung my sword at the ghost before me, and it was instantly engulfed in fire. With a piercing scream, it turned to ash and vanished.
I turned my head—three or four ghosts were gnawing at my wings. My balance faltered as they clung to me. More and more ghosts drifted my way, some fast, some slow, and soon I was completely surrounded.
I beat my wings, sending bursts of crimson flame that reduced the ghosts clinging to my wings to ashes. As my wings regenerated, I gave a powerful flap and, with a roar, transformed into a streak of fire, shooting up into the sky.
I managed to escape the encirclement for the moment. Suddenly, a ghost appeared, looking strange—its body was covered with countless mouths, each filled with icy sharp teeth and blood-red tongues, chewing noisily.
My heart skipped a beat as the ghost reached out its hand. I swung the Phoenix Blade, but its tongues stretched out like ribbons, slimy and wet, wrapping around my arm. It showed no fear of my flames.
Even when the tongues touched my flames, they instantly sizzled and turned to ash. The ghost whimpered but lunged at me without hesitation, its mouths gaping wide, trying to bite down.
Panic surged through me. I raised the Phoenix Blade and swung at its head. A sharp pain shot through my back—I gritted my teeth and slashed, severing the ghost's head. I kicked its body off me and spun around.
A female ghost with pointed claws, faceless except for a pair of glowing green eyes, lunged at me, her hands outstretched, razor-sharp nails aiming straight for me.
Immediately, I let go of the Phoenix Blade and grabbed her with a flaming phoenix claw. I took a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of fire—the female ghost was reduced to ashes.
Then I felt my feet being grabbed. Looking down, I saw a dense swarm of ghosts clutching my legs. More kept coming, mouths open, eager to bite.
My right leg, made of branches, was quickly chewed away. I roared, beat my wings, and tore my bloodied left leg free, flying off to the left.
Just as I shook off those ghosts, a shadow flashed behind me. Instinctively, I sensed it, spun around, and accelerated backward. With a swish, a hulking ghost wielding a massive blade appeared—its skull caved in on one side, and its left eyeball was bulging from the crushed part.
I barely dodged as the ghost swung its massive blade at me. I raised the Phoenix Blade, slashing across its path.
Another ghost darted in from the corner of my eye, grabbing my right hand—the one holding the Phoenix Blade. I hesitated for a split second, then frantically beat my wings, but the ghost with the blade swung down at my chest.
Blood sprayed through the air. My chest, split open by the blade, was seared by fire. I immediately used my left claw to finish off the ghost clinging to me.
I flew backward, raising the Phoenix Blade. With a boom, flames erupted, burning away a large chunk of the ghost’s body. Still, it grabbed my flaming blade, wildly swinging its massive weapon at my shoulder.
"Damn it."
I roared, swinging my left wing. Crimson feathers shot out—swish, swish—burning holes through the ghost’s head and body, until it exploded and turned to dust. But the blade still slashed down my shoulder. The force wasn’t great, but I took a hit.
"What exactly do you want?" I broke free from several ghosts and soared higher, away from those chasing me, shouting at the woman.
"Hahaha, they’re not afraid of death, you know. You’ve killed quite a few, haven’t you? Feels good, doesn’t it? Go on, keep going."
Furious, I beat my wings, sending feathers flying. The ghosts drifting toward me were wiped out in a wide swath.
But against such overwhelming numbers, this kind of attack was basically useless. No sooner had I cleared a patch than more ghosts, trailing black mist, appeared in the sky.
"But they’ll keep getting stronger, you know. After all, these guys were formidable even when they were alive."
The sound of arrows whistling through the air—I spun around, raised the Phoenix Blade, and deflected several incoming arrows. Then I dove toward the ground, flames blazing as I slashed through, blasting open a path.
(Irrelevant system message—skip translation.)
I felt a rush of wind behind me and spun around, raising the Phoenix Blade to block. A massive hammer crashed down.
With a thunderous bang, the force sent me plummeting. Two ghosts wielding knives appeared at my side, stabbing at me. I unleashed a surge of flames.
Even though most of their bodies had been burned away, the two ghosts stubbornly pushed through the flames. With two sharp cracks, their knives pierced my flesh.
It wasn’t over yet. More arrows flew at me. I ignored them, beating my wings hard to stop my fall. I swung the Phoenix Blade, deflecting several arrows, but one struck my shoulder blade dead-on. I cried out in pain as the flames around me vanished, and I plummeted toward the ground.
Ghosts gathered before me, ready to finish me off. My heart tightened—then came the sound of frantic footsteps. It was Old Ray, mouth open, grabbing me and running for all he was worth.
In the sky, the red moon was now completely obscured by the countless ghosts swarming toward us.
I was at my limit. Facing these mindless, fearless ghosts whose only aim was to tear me to pieces, I tried to ignite my flames again, but exhaustion overwhelmed me. I was on the verge of passing out.
Old Ray was fast and incredibly sharp, dodging the ghosts' attacks again and again.
"Vermilion Bird, Phoenix Rebirth!" I shouted in my heart.
"No, Ethan Zhang. With your current soul and body, you can't withstand it. It took everything I had just to help you recover."
"Just one moment is enough. If I can take out that woman, it’ll be over."
For a long moment, the Vermilion Bird was silent.
Suddenly, Old Ray stumbled and fell to the ground, and inertia sent me crashing down too. With a bang, I slammed into the black ice block sealing Tammy Blade and stopped.
I stared blankly at Tammy Blade, about to cry out through clenched teeth.
"Phoenix Rebirth…"
With a thunderous roar, I was engulfed in flames. All the exhaustion vanished, and a surge of immense power flooded through me.
A cry from the Vermilion Bird rang out. As the flames faded, my whole body creaked and my consciousness blurred—I was on the verge of collapse. Both my body and soul screamed in agony. This time, I could clearly hear the sound of my body about to break, echoing in my mind.
"Spiral Phoenix Flame…"
With a thunderous roar, I saw Old Ray being bitten by several ghosts. Instantly, I transformed into a massive, spiraling flame, enormous wings trailing behind me.
As I swept past Old Ray’s head, the ghosts instantly vanished into nothing.
"Stop him!" the woman screamed, and a horde of ghosts surged toward me.
I knew I was about to lose consciousness. The searing heat throughout my body threatened to melt me, the immense power nearly crushed me, and I felt nothing but cold suffocation.
I roared, blasting through the mass of ghosts blocking my way, charging straight at the woman.
The Desire Fiend moved to block me, raising its hands in defense.
"It’s useless! You can’t stop me—my rage is unstoppable. Die!"
With a crash, shards of stone flew as the Desire Fiend’s arms were blasted apart by the flames. I saw the woman, terror in her eyes. As I closed in, I drew the Phoenix Blade—there was a deafening roar, a piercing shriek as I stabbed the blade at her.
"Ah—"
The woman screamed as my Phoenix Blade pierced her chest. Black blood oozed from the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with venom as she glared at me.
"No one… no one can kill me. My darkness surpasses your rage…"