I felt dozens of arms sprouting from my back, dangling uselessly, touching my sides, my neck, my face.

My stomach twisted violently.

My body reacted before my mind could. I nearly vomited from the sheer wrongness of it.

But I gritted my teeth, and forcefully calmed myself.

I wrapped my arms around the inn girl and held her tight, forcing myself to stay grounded.

"Ca… Caelum?"

Her voice reached my ears. Or maybe it didn't.

Maybe it was just another hallucination layered on top of everything else.

I didn't answer.

I just protected her.

The sensations weren't Dante attacking me directly.

This was just the side effect of being caught in his range, of existing too close to something that wasn't meant to be perceived by anyone.

He couldn't attack me directly anyway.

I was his owner.

Though I could not understand why he was going on a rampage.

'Yuna, how much time?' I shouted in my mind.

"Lord of Shadows, Saint Maverick has reached the door. As soon as he uses the key, the door will lead to the Cursed Spirit, Bermuda Triangle's domain. We can escape then."

I took deep breaths, forcing my body to endure.

Just a little longer.

The door should lead to Nautlis, the City Below the Sea.

Once we were there, we wouldn't need to worry about the Gods and Exorcists of the Japanese Branch.

Just a few more seconds.

But…

"What is it?"

The voice was calm, yet terrifyingly cold.

The moment it echoed through the hall, everything changed.

The pressure of Dante's vanished.

The hallucinations snapped away as if someone had flipped a switch.

My skin stopped crawling. The phantom arms disappeared. My stomach settled, though the nausea lingered.

Dante's rampage stopped.

Surprised, I looked back, and….

'Dante was cut down?'

Every form of his body visible to me through Hollow Eyes had been cleaved cleanly in half, as if a perfect blade had passed through him without resistance.

At that moment, I heard it.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound of steps.

The temperature dropped sharply.

My body began to shiver.

I wasn't the only one.

The crewmates trembled where they stood.

The inn girl clutched my clothes tightly, her fingers numb.

Cold.

It was extremely cold.

"I was on my way to meet my disciple, but what is happening here?"

The man walked into the hall without haste.

He glanced around first, taking in the scene with a detached gaze.

Injured Exorcists lay scattered across the hall.

Some were conscious, some weren't.

Broken weapons and blood marked the floor, but none of it seemed to interest him for more than a moment.

Then his eyes shifted.

Towards us.

They stopped briefly on Saint Maverick, who was trying to use the keys.

Saint Maverick froze.

In the next instant, Saint Maverick was cleaved in half.

A massive chasm tore through the ground, starting from where Saint Maverick had been standing and extending all the way to the man's feet.

It was as if an invisible blade had been swung casually, splitting stone and flesh with equal ease.

Shiver.

Shiver.

My body trembled harder than before.

The cold thickened, pressing down on my chest until every breath felt heavy.

The man's gaze moved again.

This time, it landed on me.

My body's reaction was instinctive.

I lowered my eyes immediately.

My shoulders sagged, my posture shrinking, as if I could somehow fold myself smaller and disappear.

Fear crushed into my mind.

No matter how much I tried to calm myself, my body refused to listen.

My teeth clattered uncontrollably.

Still, I didn't move away from the inn girl.

I tightened my hold around her, shielding her with my body.

If she was attacked, everything would end here.

The guardian would retaliate, and the clash would wipe us all out.

After what felt like an eternity, the man's gaze shifted away.

It moved toward Tomoe Gozen, who lay unconscious on a medical bed nearby.

Only then did I dare to lift my eyes.

He wore white Japanese robes with long, wide sleeves.

His hands were folded within them.

The lower half of his clothing was similarly loose and austere, traditional in design.

At his waist rested a katana.

Just looking at the sword made my entire body shudder.

It was sharp.

It felt as if merely seeing it could cut me.

My skin prickled, and my instincts screamed in alarm.

'This power…'

My entire being was telling me to run away.

'It's a Rank 5 Exorcist.'

The last time I had faced the Vampire Prince, his bloodlust hadn't been directed at me.

That was the only reason I had been able to remain functional.

This time was different.

This man wasn't even trying to intimidate me, and yet the pressure alone made me feel small, and insignificant.

My shaking wouldn't stop.

Then, someone among our group moved.

"Ah, it seems my head has finally decided to behave," Valen said mildly, cracking his neck as the last traces of regeneration faded.

His tone was calm, refined, and carried an unmistakable pride.

"How troublesome it would have been to continue without it. Hmm? Musashi?"

The Rank 5 sword-wielding Exorcist turned his head.

He began walking toward the Vampire Prince.

Each step he took sent a sharp sensation through my body, as if countless blades were brushing against my skin.

Breathing became difficult.

The air felt thin, and hostile.

"Vampire Prince Valen, my disciple told me some rather interesting things about what happened in the Bermuda Triangle's domain," Miyamoto Musashi said as he stopped in front of him.

Valen was taller, looming over Musashi slightly.

He looked down at him with a faint, courteous smile.

Musashi met his gaze calmly.

He was short, yet he presence was ginormous like a mountain.

Their gazes clashed.

The pressure between them erupted.

One half of the hall burst into hellish flames. Heat distorted the air.

The other half grew terrifyingly colder, slash marks appearing across the walls and floor as if an unseen storm of blades were carving through them.

"I suspect she neglected to mention that she was possessed by a Cursed Spirit. We intervened and exorcised it to save her life," Valen said pleasantly, his voice smooth and unhurried.

"…What?"

For the first time since his arrival, Musashi's expression changed.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.