Chapter 138: Underworld

"Huh?" Zenkichi turned his head to the source of the pleading voice, and his eyes widened.

Lying on the ground with torn clothes and a very battered body was a young woman. Her skin was pale and bruised, and she looked barely conscious.

With long blonde flowing hair tied into a twin-tail, smooth pale white skin with multiple cuts and bruises marring its surface, and a pair of ruby-red eyes that flickered weakly open, she presented a heart-wrenching sight. Her clothes were in tatters, barely clinging to her battered frame, though it didn't matter much except for her shredded red robe, she wore a tight black strapless dress with golden accents that now barely covered her privates.

'That's....!'

Zenkichi's breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight of the severely injured woman. Although he wasn't completely sure, the setting of the land around him and her characteristics made him hazard a guess on who it was.

After surveying his surroundings for enemies, he cautiously approached the young woman.

The place they were in was of rocky terrain and filled with various bird-like cages with blue flickering wisps within them that seemed to let out whispers of incoherent words, adding to the unsettling atmosphere. He quickly reached the young woman, kneeling beside her to get a closer look at her injuries.

"Holy...! What the hell did this to her?" Zenkichi muttered, his voice a mix of shock and anger. Using structural analysis of the injuries on her body, he quickly found out that the deep cuts and bruises weren't simply from mortal doings or even divine force.

They were of...monstrous nature, so to speak. Having dealt with a foe of a similar nature a while ago and having devoured it, he could easily tell the origins of her injuries.

Speaking off, her injuries hadn't simply damaged her body, though her wounds looked hideous and horrible, it was even worse than they were! Analyzing her injuries, Zenkichi found out that they continue ravaging her body, like tiny worms burrowing into her as they eat everything.

Not just her flesh, bone, and blood, no, it was digging into something deeper...her existence.

Both her human vessel and the portion of Goddess currently inhabiting it were on the verge of oblivion, the latter was even being affected in her own true body in whatever realm she was hiding in. Whoever attacked her, was truly vicious enough to obliterate her thoroughly.

'Can I get rid of her injuries?' Zenkichi began skimming through his skills to think about which would be effective in healing her. 'But first, I have to get her out of here, or else whoever attacked her would come and finish the job.'

He reached out, gently lifting her head to rest on his knee. "Hey, can you hear me?" he asked softly, his voice filled with concern.

The young woman's ruby-red eyes flickered open again, focusing weakly on him. She tried to speak, but her voice came out as a strained whisper. "Help... me..."

Zenkichi looked around, his mind racing. He couldn't leave her here, not in this condition and certainly not in this place. "Hang on, I'm going to get you out of here first," he assured her, trying to sound as comforting as possible as he gently hooked her right arm over his neck, his right arm under her thighs and his other arm over behind her and protectively held her left shoulder.

He looked down to see if she was uncomfortable, but she fell right back to unconsciousness. Her complexion slowly getting paler, Zenkichi looked down to see that her legs were becoming translucent!

'I gotta hurry!' His eyes widened and he hurriedly channeled his Quincy abilities instinctively and immediately used Hirenkyaku—only for his eyes to widen further as he burst forward with greater speed than he was used to.

His legs stumbled around and he almost ran into one of the large cages, if it weren't for him making last ditch effort to dodge.

"W-What the hell? Why am I so...fast compared to before?" Zenkichi questioned, stabilizing himself as he looked over himself for the answer.

The answer was obvious, when he saw a surge of Reiryoku(Spiritual Power) and Reishi(Spiritual Particles) from the atmosphere around him and started flowing into him, another world or not, the principles still stands—this is the land of the dead, of spirits.

Of course, the soul energies he needed to use were abundant here, it stands that it also boosted his soul-based abilities.

"Well damn, this is pretty cool. I just hope that it doesn't get the attention of whatever's chasing after you, little miss Underworld ruler." He slightly smiled down at the sleeping girl and raised his head.

'Just to be safe...' His red and blue eyes glowed a mystic blue glow, and the Reishi around him began to converge next to him; like pieces of paper being put back together, and three clones of himself while also carrying the girl appeared.

Their aura and the girl's signature energy were pretty similar, unless one closely observes them, no one could spot the difference.

This was the first he used it on the battlefield, but this was quite literally a Spiritual Clone, made out of Reishi and Reiryoku, it doesn't have much combat capabilities but it could recreate the original's and someone else's energy signal to near perfection, moreover, it can run as fast as the original could.

"Scatter!" Zenkichi ordered, his expression serious.

"Yes!" The clones nodded indifferently and everyone, including the original, scattered in different directions.

A few minutes after Zenkichi and his clones scattered, a figure cloaked in black materialized in the spot they had just vacated. The figure's presence exuded an aura of malevolence and power, the air around them shimmering with dark energy. Though covered by a veil of darkness, there was no mistaking the feminine curves.

The mysterious woman paused, surveying the area with a piercing gaze, eyes glowing an eerie amethyst beneath the hood of their cloak.

"Hmm..." Her voice was a low, indifferent mumble. "It seems she had help. But no matter, they won't get far."

The figure extended a hand, and the space behind her began to shimmer, pulsing with a sickly purple light. Shadowy, invisible hands emerged from the darkness, stretching out and touching the ground where Zenkichi and the woman had been.

The air around the figure seemed to thrum with dark energy, and the whispering blue wisps in the bird-like cages flickered more intensely, as if agitated by her presence.

"Track them," the figure commanded, her voice carrying a sinister authority.

The shadowy hands obeyed, spreading out in all directions, leaving trails of dark energy in their wake. They moved swiftly, following the faint traces of spiritual energy left by Zenkichi and his clones.

"All that Goddess's authority, kingdom, and her body....I will have it all. It's not fair for beings such as themselves to be so perfect, they have to share it. After all, as the mortal saying goes, sharing is caring~" the figure in black mused, a twisted smile curling her lips. "Or else, they will end up attracting karma."

As the shadowy hands spread out, tracking the spiritual signatures left by Zenkichi and his clones, the figure moved with them, her movements fluid and deliberate. She was in no hurry; she knew the prey had nowhere to hide.

Zenkichi, on the other hand, was racing against time. He kept his pace as steady as possible, his enhanced speed making the treacherous terrain seem less daunting. He could feel the woman in his arms growing colder, her life force slipping away with each passing moment.

'There's got to be a safe place somewhere here,' he thought, scanning the surroundings desperately.

After what felt like an eternity, Zenkichi spotted a faint glimmer ahead. It was a small cave, partially hidden by overhanging rocks. He dashed towards it, hoping it would offer some temporary respite.

He slipped into the cave, laying the injured woman gently on the ground. The cool, damp air inside provided a stark contrast to the ominous, oppressive atmosphere outside. The cave was small but deep, and he ventured further inside, looking for a more secure spot.

As he carried her deeper into the cave, he activated his Quincy abilities to sense any incoming threats. He needed to create a safe haven for her, even if only for a short while. Zenkichi's mind raced on what ability he needed to use to heal her and he came up with only one ability in mind that could save her--Devour.

'If these injuries are indeed caused by an Ancient Monster like Zeb, then normal supernatural means are useless.' He placed his hands over her stomach, her most severe wound, and began channeling the authority of Gluttony, Devour.

A black aura surrounded his hands, shimmering with an insatiable, otherworldly hunger. The power of Gluttony, known as Devour, was a dangerous and often unpredictable ability, but it was his only hope to save her. Zenkichi focused intently, feeling the dark energy flow from his hands into her body.

As the aura enveloped her wounds, it began to consume the monstrous essence left behind by her assailant. The process was slow and painstaking, but gradually, the unnatural corruption in her injuries started to dissipate. Zenkichi could feel the malicious energy resisting, fighting back against the Devour ability, but he pushed harder, determined to cleanse her completely.

'This power in her injuries... it shares the same characteristics of Devour, but it is somehow a bit different? The Ancient Monsters correspond to the Seven Deadly Sins, and among the sins that share the same characteristics as Gluttony is...Envy!'

...

AN: Sorry for not posting the second chapter last week, Internet and electricity went out for days again. Storm is hitting us hard here.

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