Manjusri advanced step by step toward the demon army.
As the demon general at the front gave the order, dozens of demon soldiers raised their spears and charged forward, trampling over the corpses of their own comrades.
A flash of sword-light swept through, shattering a dozen spears in an instant.
Another arc of sword-light, and a dozen heads, trailing blood, soared into the sky. Bodies crashed to the ground one after another.
Stepping over the corpses, Manjusri continued forward, step by step. Behind him, Right-Dharma Radiance Tathāgata and the ranks of monks and Buddhas watched silently.
"With me—kill!" the demon general at the front roared, brandishing his curved blade as he charged.
All the demons surged after him, flinging themselves at Manjusri in a frenzy.
Amid the waves of sword energy, streams of blood, severed heads, and limbs were sent flying.
Bodies collapsed within the encirclement, but more demons kept hurling themselves at him, like moths to a flame.
Demons, unlike Buddhas who fear neither death nor pain and exist only for Dharma, are in truth more afraid of dying than any human—because their lives were snatched from hardship and fate.
Yet to defend the beliefs in their hearts, they have long since had no other choice.
Treading over a field of corpses, Manjusri ascended the steps.
Beyond the door, blood splattered everywhere as his own subordinates retreated in panic into the hall. Yet Rhino stood unmoving, quietly bowing his head over his daughter, his back to Manjusri who was slaughtering behind him, motionless as stone.
......
Southern Jambudvīpa.
The Buddha fled in disgrace, racing toward Blossom Mountain. Monkey followed close behind, both speeding toward the same destination.
As they raced across the land, the battle raged on. The Golden Staff stretched and swept at the Buddha again and again, each swing unleashing a hurricane that tore across the earth.
......
Manjusri strode into the Ten Thousand Demons Hall, monks flooding in behind him.
A demon general, pierced by several swords, staggered to one knee behind Rhino. With his last strength, he said, "General... If there's ever a chance, please tell the Great Sage... I did my utmost..."