Chapter 139: Close RashoMon
Bai Wei decided to solve the problem before dawn.
But they had to prioritize sending the sword witches to a safe place.
With him in charge of escorting, the journey went smoothly and without any dangers.
The cannibalistic demon was not yet extinct, but Bai Wei hung Yamaoni Doji's head in front of the motorcycle, just like ancient armies would display severed heads to intimidate enemies. In this way, they easily walked out of the mountains.
Three hours later, he safely delivered the sword witches to a secure location.
Not far ahead, they could see the checkpoint set up by the police station. Bright lights and many police officers were visible there.
Bai Wei stopped walking and said, "We've arrived, let's get off the vehicle."
Saki Jingūji looked up and asked, "Won't you come along with me?"
"I will bring you all here," Bai Wei said. After Jingūji got off the vehicle, Bai Wei straddled the motorcycle, started the engine, and tossed the head of the evil demon to a nearby sword witch. "Take this souvenir too. You never know, maybe it can help us figure something out," Bai Wei added.
In the world of Godzilla, one of King Ghidorah's can be transformed into Mechagodzilla. Perhaps this can be done too.
The sword witch didn't mind at all. She casually placed the head on the tip of her weapon and balanced it on her shoulder. With a smile, she jokingly said, "Returning like this makes it seem as if we have triumphed in battle and returned in victory."
Bai Wei was serious and focused. He put on his helmet and goggles, and twisted the throttle. With a graceful skid on the street, in just a moment, the motorcycle came alive like a legendary stallion on the battlefield, leaving behind a trail of red light on the road.
"Ah, ah... He actually left." a sword witch, with golden hair dyed and dressed like a fashionable hot girl, complained, "Didn't he even stay to say a few nice words? Jingūji, your boyfriend seems to be lacking in charm, huh?"
"Is he going back to continue the mission?" a small and delicate sword witch, with her hair styled in a princess-like manner, expressed her concerns, "Will it be too dangerous?"
"Jingūji? Are you okay?" Mizuko supported her shoulder, making sure she was alright.
"Um, I'm fine," said Saki Jingūji in a calm tone, whispering as if she was in a dream, "I was just thinking, we really made it through, didn't we?"
Upon hearing this, the seven sword witches fell silent one after another. Having survived the ordeal, their hearts were heavy, and it was hard for them to shake off the feeling of unreality, as if everything was just a dream.
They ultimately managed to stay alive. After a day and two nights had passed, having gone through this experience, they finally understood the weight of life.
They also felt their own weakness and helplessness.
"Let's go," one person said, taking the lead. "Standing here won't help us, will it?"
The sound of the engine faded away, and the sword witches walked towards the patrol station. They were illuminated by the lights, and the police officers quickly recognized their weary steps. They hurriedly went up to greet them, for another set of events has begun.
...
Bai Wei drove back to the deep mountains.
Because the motorcycle couldn't climb mountains, they had to leave the vehicle at the base of the mountain and continue on foot.
His speed was very fast as he made his way up, using his sword to clear the path.
In fact, Bai Wei was already very tired. If it wasn't for the fragments of the Heroic Spirit Principle that he obtained earlier, which temporarily strengthened his soul, he would have likely been unable to withstand the physical and mental exhaustion.
But after all, his human body was still tired from the non-stop running for over ten hours. Along with the battles he encountered along the way and the fierce fight with Yamaoni Doji, his physical strength had indeed been weakened. So even though there were cannibalistic spirits lingering around, he tried his best to refrain from using his sword, opting instead to unleash a surge of killing intent to drive away the creatures.
The aura of fear was still very effective.
And so, he climbed up the mountain, reaching a height of about three hundred and fifty meters, which wasn't extremely high compared to mountains that reached thousands of meters. But as soon as Bai Wei reached this height, he found himself surrounded by a thick, gray fog.
Misty haze.
Miasma.
He was very familiar with this aura. For ten long years, he fought against demons in RashoMon. Little by little, his body underwent changes from the miasma and the blood of monsters. Eventually, he transformed completely into a demon. If it weren't for his unwavering spirit, he might have become a member of the powerful Demon Clan like Yamaoni Doji. This would mean retaining his consciousness while gaining a formidable demonly physique, but no longer being human.
Following the trail of the miasma, Bai Wei discovered the door.
Just like before, the door tightly clung to the mountainside, resembling a machine that dispenses surprise eggs. Every few seconds, a man-eating demon would fall from it. This automatic production function seemed to be built-in like a super bio-weapon factory.
Bai Wei had entered RashoMon for a full ten years, but he had not been able to uncover the secret of this door or the origins of the man-eating demons.
But since they were already acquainted, when Bai Wei approached the door once again, it stirred slightly.
The pitch-black gate ceased spitting out new surprise egg demons, as they would be instantly slain by Bai Wei upon hitting the ground.
In the middle of its wide-open gate, there appeared to be a mysterious whirlpool that seemed to go on forever.
Before Bai Wei arrived, it remained unchanged, like a still puddle of stagnant water. Only when it spat out evil demons would there be a slight ripple on its surface.
The gate underwent a dramatic transformation. It gathered in the center, forming a whirlpool that became restless. It was like a pot of cold water instantly heated to a boiling point. If this were a body of water, surely beneath its surface lay a colossal creature that had opened its eyes. It stirred the flow of water, creating a magnificent whirlpool.
It seemed like something was eager to burst out from inside the gate.
Bai Wei keenly sensed that the mountain itself was shaking and trembling.
He stood still, gripping his sword tightly.
Something within RashoMon let out a loud roar, causing a tremendous shaking. The vibrations from the roar echoed between the mountain walls, reaching distances of several kilometers. Cracks appeared clearly on the rocks of the mountain walls, and these cracks grew larger and larger without restraint.
If one were standing here at close proximity, this sound could even tear apart the eardrums. Bai Wei, despite timely sealing his hearing with inner energy, still felt bouts of ringing in his ears and his entire body trembling from the sound waves transmitted through his bones. That roar seemed capable of piercing through a person's skull, directly stabbing into the depths of their mind.
The chaotic and violent screams were like angry outbursts, as if restless and vengeful spirits in the depths of hell were cursing someone, refusing to accept their demise.
Then, from the door came a rumbling sound like a train emerging from a tunnel. It was coming out.
Bai Wei frowned with worry, but in the next moment, a bright white light shone from deep within the land in the mountains.
As Bai Wei stood there, a long white serpent formed from the swirling mist and spiritual energy within the mountains. It coiled and slithered through the air and along the mountain walls, coming dangerously close to Bai Wei, barely three meters away. Its massive scales shimmered as it moved rapidly, resembling a swiftly moving fortress wall, yet defying its expected weight. Despite its immense size, it moved without causing any earthquakes or disruptions, almost as if it were an astonishing creation from an AR technology in a video game.
But it did have a form of weight.
Its head forcefully collided with RashoMon.
Or, you could say, it collided with something that was trying to emerge from RashoMon.
Inside the door, there was also something enormous. It only poked out its head, squeezing it out from the door. The door seemed to be covered in stretchy black stockings. As this face rushed forward, it became covered and stretched by this layer of black fabric, revealing a monstrous, venomous-looking face.
The pitch-black head and the white serpent crashed into each other, their heads colliding.
In close proximity, Bai Wei seemed to hear the roaring ocean, fierce floods, falling meteorites, and the mushroom bomb explosion.
The lingering shockwaves in the air shook him to the core, causing him to vomit out two mouthfuls of blood.
Gosh... The injury from my spiritual meridian bones has reopened once again.
However, because of the white snake's obstruction, nothing from inside RashoMon was able to emerge.
Even more amazing, the two creatures were locked in a fierce struggle. One was trying to push it back, while the other was attempting to break free.
Instead, it made something from inside RashoMon stick its head out, just like a turtle poking its head out of its shell.
Bai Wei used the Han sword to slide across his palm, blood staining the blade, which shimmered with a fiery red light.
He took aim at the creature's neck that had emerged from RashoMon, then leaped off the mountainside, descending from the sky with a gust of wind that caused his coat to flutter and make a rustling sound.
Bai Wei fell straight down with determination. His blade sliced through the air with ordinary-looking flashes, but this strike carried all of Bai Wei's strength. The sword he swung plunged into the crevices of the mountainside, and the force of his swing even shattered half of the path, causing a twenty-meter crack to spread. This impact directly caused one-fifth of the pathway to collapse.
In the same way, the head that poked out from RashoMon also met a grim fate. It was cleanly sliced off, with the cut measuring over five meters across, separating the head from the body. The head, which had left its home, rolled down the mountainside and crashed into a deep, dark ravine.
The enormous white snake seemed to have used up all of its accumulated strength. Its body gradually faded away, transforming into small white dots of light, and then dissipated into ethereal clouds.
It was truly waiting for Bai Wei to arrive. Before that, it had chosen to remain dormant and quietly observe the shrine's witches as they became prey to the man-eating demons. It didn't believe that this group of people had the ability to confront the creatures inside RashoMon. They couldn't even reach this place in the first place. In its dreams, it called out to Bai Wei because it needed his help to slay the monsters within the gate.
The result of this collaboration was satisfying, even though they didn't plan it ahead of time.
Bai Wei started to wonder where this white snake came from and if it was a deity of the land.
Unfortunately, before Bai Wei had a chance to speak with it, the white snake had vanished without a trace.
As he swung his sword and cut off the enormous, pitch-black head, the poisonous mists in the mountains also grew fainter. The gray weapon dissipated, but RashoMon's gate remained wide open.
He looked towards RashoMon, but he had no intention of stepping inside again. Instead, he raised his sword.
The blade pressed against RashoMon, making a sharp, metallic sound, and sparks flew like tiny electric fireworks.
"Close your mouth."
RashoMon showed no response.
"I advise you to work together and not to test my patience."
The young man pointed his sword at RashoMon. The blade was ablaze, radiating the supreme majesty of an emperor. In a deep voice, he said, "If not, I have plenty of ways to defeat you!"
