Chapter 33: Not Human, The Purple Beast

**Chapter 33: Not Human, The Purple Beast**

After slaying the Lower Moon One, Kintaro stood amidst the chaos, expecting the surrounding rooms to dissolve, returning him to the real world—the mountain path he had been traversing. But instead of fading, the chaotic, infinite rooms of the castle remained. It was then that Kintaro realized another demon was present within the labyrinthine fortress.

With a grim expression, Kintaro drove his sword into the wooden floor. His violet eyes sparked with electricity, growing more intense with every passing second.

"Electro Breathing ~ Second Form ~ Charged Air!"

Tiny, almost imperceptible purple sparks of electricity spread out from his sword, creeping along the wooden floorboards like searching fingers. These sparks, gentle and harmless to the touch, expanded outwards in all directions, searching for any sign of life within a 700-meter radius. But the search yielded nothing.

Kintaro narrowed his eyes in concentration, the tension building in his muscles as he pushed his senses further. "How vast is this place, exactly?" he muttered to himself, frustration beginning to gnaw at the edges of his resolve.

The sparks continued to spread, extending his reach to a kilometer. Still, there was no trace of any living being. Undeterred, Kintaro clenched his fists, pushing his limits further. His concentration was so intense that a trickle of blood slid from his nose, a stark reminder of the physical toll his abilities were taking on his body. But he didn't stop. He couldn't afford to. His determination was unwavering, and he forced his Electro Breathing technique to extend its range even further.

Finally, at a distance of three and a half kilometers, Kintaro's senses tingled. His eyes widened, catching the faintest flicker of another presence within the vast, seemingly endless castle.

It was Nakime, the Biwa-playing demon. She stood alone in one of the many rooms of the castle, her serene expression betraying no fear as she lightly strummed her instrument. She lifted her head slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Did he just sense my presence from that distance?" she murmured, her voice calm but tinged with a hint of surprise.

The calm before the storm enveloped Nakime, her gaze fixed straight ahead as she listened. And then, she heard it—a sound akin to distant thunder, growing louder with every passing second.

Before she could react, a flash of violet light streaked towards her with terrifying speed and fury. Instinctively, she raised her hand and struck the strings of her biwa, her voice echoing through the infinite halls. "You're no human… You're some kind of monster, a purple beast! It's impossible for you to be human!"

THUD!

The doors of the infinite castle swung open, forming a barrier between her and the incoming force. Kintaro's momentum carried him straight through the opening, his sword already swinging towards her neck. But instead of meeting flesh, his blade sliced through empty air and…clouds?

To his shock, Kintaro found himself cutting through the sky, the bright blue expanse stretching infinitely around him. The glow in his hair and eyes faded as the realization hit him—he was no longer in the castle. Nakime had not only expelled him from the castle but had also placed him high above an unfamiliar snowy landscape. He was at an altitude of at least 1.3 kilometers, and the ground, now covered in a thick blanket of snow, was rushing up to meet him.

The air was crisp and frigid at this height, biting at his skin as he fell. The gentle light of dawn painted the horizon in soft hues of pink and gold, the sun mere minutes from rising. But Kintaro had no time to appreciate the beauty of the moment. His body plummeted through the air, the wind whipping past him in a roaring rush. The snowflakes, delicate and crystalline, swirled around him as he fell, their cold touch grazing his skin as they danced in the wind. It was as if he were falling in tandem with the snow itself, the world around him a blur of white and blue.

Despite the dire situation, Kintaro remained eerily calm. His body relaxed as he fell, his mind focused on the situation at hand. The snow-covered forest below grew closer with each passing second, the trees standing like silent sentinels in the cold, wintry morning.

As he neared the ground, Kintaro slowly opened his eyes, his vision adjusting to the blinding whiteness. He whispered to himself, his voice barely audible over the howling wind, "This peaceful moment ended far too quickly."

He extended his hand in front of him, his fingers splayed open, and as his eyes began to glow with renewed intensity, he aimed his palm toward the icy ground below.

"Electro Breathing ~ Free Form ~ Warm Shock!"

ZAP!

A surge of violet electricity burst from his palm, crackling through the air. The shockwave created by the release of energy was powerful enough to decelerate his fall by five times, slowing his descent just before he struck the ground. He landed softly in the thick snow, which cushioned his impact. The snow, piled deep around him—over two meters—swallowed him almost completely, leaving only the top of his head visible above the surface.

Kintaro lay there, staring up at the sky, the branches of snow-laden trees looming overhead. The world around him was silent, the only sound the gentle whisper of falling snow. It was a stark contrast to the chaos and violence he had just endured. The forest was tranquil, the snowflakes continuing their lazy descent, covering everything in a pristine white blanket.

The scene around him was peaceful, almost serene. The trees, their branches heavy with snow, stood tall and unmoving, as if frozen in time. The morning light filtered through the thick clouds above, casting a soft, ethereal glow over the landscape. It was a world of quiet beauty, untouched by the horrors of the demon world.

But Kintaro knew better than to let his guard down. He didn't know where he was, and worse, his body refused to move. The excessive use of Electro Breathing had taken its toll, and now, lying there in the snow, he was vulnerable, his strength depleted.

He stared up at the sky, watching as the first rays of the sun began to pierce the horizon, coloring the world in shades of pink and gold. The dawn was breaking, and with it, the promise of a new day—a day that Kintaro had to survive. But how long could he last in this unknown, frozen land?

For now, all he could do was wait, his breath coming in shallow gasps as the snow continued to fall, burying him deeper in its cold embrace.

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