8 Shura Persevered
A sword dyed red with crimson flame sliced a ghoul in two. The high temperature of the sword had cauterized the wound on the ghoul. No blood splattered out as the corpse fell to the ground.
Another ghoul's sharp claw brushed past Shura's left upper arm, leaving a deep gash. Blood poured out of the wound. Particles of red light accompanied it, leaking out of Shura's wound.
At the moment, sights like that appeared all over Shura's body. Countless wounds covered his body. Wondrous red light constantly leaked out from his body. He was covered by this light's aura. He looked like a wounded god.
Countless corpses of ghouls littered the floor. There was no blood of the ghouls on the floor. Only Shura's blood was on the floor.
Shura's eyes were shining with bright red light. The light leaked out of his body and looked pale, but the light in his eyes was always like an intensely burning flame. It was a boundless and deep red that stared at the ghouls around him with focus.
Shallow and deep wounds alike covered his body. Each time his sword killed a ghoul, they would get a strike in and wound him. Even after killing countless ghouls, even after suffering countless wounds, he was still standing tall!
He did not doubt whether his wounds were real or not anymore. Even if all of this was an illusion, he knew that he was truly wounded. This illusion formation was truly powerful to be able to inflict real harm.
Shura looked like he could fall down any time. The lights leaking out of him was becoming paler. Every time he was wounded he would doubt whether he could still stand. Every time without fail he would doubt and ask himself, "Can I still live?"
And every time he would continue to stand, his will would become firm and he would discard such thoughts. He was going to kill his way out of this and he was going to survive. If he didn't give up, if he struggled and believed himself to the end, he could do it. He knew he could.
So what if he became wounded, so what if he was unsightly to look at.
"Burn, burn, leak all the way! I don't believe my sweat and blood will become meaningless!" Shura shouted at the sea of ghouls in front of him, both living and dead.
The wrathfire inside of him shook. The leaking light from his body became denser and covered him like armor. He looked splendid and glorious, like a warrior god clad in divine light.
The ghouls were innumerable. Each time he cut one down, another would take its place in the rank of ghouls.
They all stared at him with greedy eyes. Some crawled on the floor like animals, while others stood like men. Ghouls were nothing more than men corrupted by demonic energy. They became mindless living deads and only continued to live to feed on the flesh of the living. They looked more ghastly and hideous than people and have stronger limbs and sharp claws. They could move on either two legs like a man or on all fours like a beast.
The more he fought and killed, the more ghouls appeared. He had lost count of how many he had cut down. But the number of ghouls showed no sign of decreasing.
He couldn't do it this way. These ghouls were a part of the formation, they were endless. He had to destroy the formation itself. But he had already tried once and he didn't succeed. Now he was wounded and even weaker. The only reason he was still alive was due to his tenacity and luck, nothing more. One strike of his Fiend Noble strength could instantly kill a ghoul.
But the ghoul's strike was heavy as well. In fact, it could even be considered a miracle that he was still alive. The powerful Wrathfire Refinement technique was doing its job wonderfully. Only through such a supreme body-refinement technique would he be able to unleash such a strength.
This was a real life or death fight. Nothing like the play he had earlier with the men from the Slayer Organization. They were nothing but jokers to him. Even if these ghouls were nothing but an illusion, they were still capable of taking his life.
Such a dangerous and desperate situation had unleashed his latent ability and allowed him to survive this long. The Wrathfire Refinement technique had helped him tremendously.
He was still alive, but Shura knew full well that this couldn't continue forever. He had to break through this or he'll be overwhelmed. He had to get through soon.
Shura tightened his hold on his sword. The sword vibrated. The bloody red particles of light around him swirled into a violent vortex. He held his sword up above him.
Although he used a sword as a weapon. Shura was embarrassed that he really didn't use any techniques along with the sword. There were no swordsmanship techniques within the supreme being's memories. It was odd, but there was nothing he could do about it.
He liked his sword and preferred to use it. It was the first piece of weapon that he had obtained. So even if he didn't have any sword techniques he still had used it.
Shura heard his heartbeat. It was beating very fast. Blood intermixed with wrathfire essence flooded his body and meridians. The wrathfire essence traveled back and forth throughout his meridians. The movement was so fast the meridians began to melt and dissipate.
All the energy of his cultivation was now condensed into his arms and the sword.
"Argggghhh!" Shura cried out in great pain and swung the red sword downward.
His sword disintegrated after he had finished the swinging motion and the energy was released. Blinding red light flooded his vision. All of the cultivation and energy in his body was sucked into that one sword strike and released.
All the ghouls melted when the light touched them. They turned into nothingness. The world was very bright. It was so bright like the sun had descended on the world. The dark sky and moon peeled away and the ground turned white from the brightness.
The bright redness engulfed everything. Shura felt his strength rapidly fading until there was nothing left.
He smiled anyway. He had done it. This sword strike was the most powerful and beautiful strike in his short life. He was very proud of it, even if it cost him all of his power.
The brightness receded. And a new scenery appeared before him. There was a massive hole in the form of a slash mark in the ceiling of a well-decorated building. He could see through to the outside. A large group of clouds in the night's sky was parted through it as if something had cut through it.
He had destroyed the illusion and made it out successfully. Shura's final strength was exhausted and he fell to the ground. He felt really weak. His pulse was slow and he didn't have the strength to stand.
'I really didn't expect to run into such a dangerous ruin,' he thought. 'If I make it through this, I will be more prepared in the future.'
Shura couldn't really see well. He didn't know where he was going, but he began to crawl forward.
He could see an elevated platform ahead of him. He couldn't do anything other than to continue to crawl. He felt that if he stopped, his heart would stop.
He was really weak right now. Much, much weaker than even a normal person. The platform came closer and closer to him.
A radiant smile hung on his face. Even though he was badly injured. He was still alive. He had persevered until the end and he had made it out alive. He was very proud of himself. This was the first time in his life, that he had a reason to be proud of himself. He had really done everything he could.
"If I can live after this, I will live my life to the highest peak. I will become great and lead a great life. I will obtain the riches and happiness of life," Shura said in a hoarse voice.
He had to say it. If he didn't say it out loud, he was afraid that it wouldn't come true. It was silly, but it was what he had thought at the moment.
After a long time Shura finally crawled up to middle of the raised platform. The floor wasn't even. There were pictures and symbols carved on the ground. His body ached in pain whenever his wounds rubbed them as he crawled through the uneven floor.
When he came onto the platform, he could see the ruins of a door in the distance. That was the entrance to the palace. So only his breaking of the door was real, and after that, he was already in an illusion.
"Claira!" Shura said weakly.
Claira was lying down on the floor, unconscious. Was she okay? Shura was worried. He didn't have a shred of cultivation. He couldn't sense her aura or life energy at all.
His eyes were too blurry, he couldn't see whether she was still breathing or not either.
Shura felt a stabbing pain in his heart. This silly girl that he had only known for a year. He really cared for her. Although he didn't know if it was love or not, his still felt a stabbing pain in his chest by not knowing if she was okay or not.
Light shone beneath Shura. The platform lit up as symbols made of light shot into the air and rotated around the platform. Shura looked at them. He instantly recognized what it was.
These symbols were activating a teleportation array.
"Claira!" Shura shouted hoarsely and stretched out his hand to her in the distance. He couldn't see her clearly at all.
His vision turned white and he felt his body disappear and he lost consciousness.
