The moment the words fell, a seal resembling a Bagua formation materialized behind Liu Ziwen. With a sudden, violent expansion, a tremendous roar erupted as a massive white monster burst forth from the seal, soaring toward the heavens!
Its blood-red eyes burned with savage killing intent. Its head resembled that of a wolf or a dog, and its body, stretching over ten meters long, coiled in the air like a white dragon, bound by thick, obsidian chains. A chilling aura of death emanated from it. Though smaller than an Onix, its presence was ten, even a hundred times more potent.
"This is..." Even the unflappable Lin Luo was stunned speechless upon seeing the creature, his face etched with disbelief. "This is... Bai Rui!?"
His shock stemmed not from fear, but recognition. As an anime aficionado, he couldn't possibly mistake this being—Bai Rui! The most powerful spirit beast commanded by the heroine Kagura Tsuchimiya in Ga-Rei: Zero!
"First Pokémon, then World of Warcraft, and now Ga-Rei too. This guy actually has three worlds backing his harem..." Lin Luo muttered, a sudden sense of profound imbalance unsettling him, even considering the opponent was a Beastman type.
"So you recognize her, Lin Luo! You must be quite surprised, haha. With my previous abilities, I could only summon multiple, lesser spirit beasts. But after overcoming my inner demons, I can even summon a singular entity like Bai Rui... This is my final trump card, Lin Luo. Let's descend to hell together!"
Under Liu Ziwen's command, Bai Rui let out a ferocious roar and charged, its cavernous maw snapping viciously toward Lin Luo and Mikoto.
The two swiftly retreated as a dark tide surged up from the ground once more. The Iron Sand Whip lashed out like a scythe, striking Bai Rui across its body. The creature howled in agony, its form violently knocked backward.
Truly deserving of the title 'Strongest Spirit Beast,' the Iron Sand Whip, capable of easily cleaving a ten-times-strengthened Onix in half, failed to sever Bai Rui. It only managed to carve a deep gash into its flank.
"Aoooh!"
Severed and grievously wounded, Bai Rui showed no fear; rather, its savagery was amplified. Its deafening roar nearly shattered the eardrums of the two onlookers.
Seeing it prepare to charge again, Mikoto dared not hesitate. Under her control, the tip of the Iron Sand Whip transformed into dozens of sharp blades that met the oncoming beast head-on... A collision of black and white!
Thwack!
The Iron Sand Whip pierced through Bai Rui's abdomen, skewering it completely. With a mournful cry, the colossal body plummeted like a crumbling mountain.
However, what astonished them was that Bai Rui did not die. Its wounds were visibly knitting back together at a terrifying speed. Within ten seconds, every laceration was healed, and it stood firm once more!
"How is that possible..." Mikoto cried out in alarm. "Is it an undead creature?"
"Bai Rui is indeed undead, but... it shouldn't possess regeneration this potent, right?" Lin Luo frowned. As the incarnation of the Nine-Tailed Fox spirit, Bai Rui's strength lay in its immortality, yet even so, it lacked such overwhelming self-healing capabilities!
Thinking this, Lin Luo turned his gaze toward Liu Ziwen. The man's complexion looked somewhat improved from before, but Lin Luo could see it was merely a final burst of energy—Liu Ziwen's life force was almost depleted, and the majority of that remaining energy...
"It seems that bastard truly intends to drag us all down with him!"
"What do you mean?" Mikoto paused, confused.
"Liu Ziwen has completely linked his life force to Bai Rui. Whenever Bai Rui takes heavy damage, he uses his own life force to heal it... Liu Ziwen is burning his own lifespan to fuel his last burst of combat power!"
"That..." Mikoto's expression shifted slightly. To sacrifice one's own life for power seemed almost incomprehensible to her. If life itself is gone, what use is strength?
"So what do we do now?"
"We have to kill Liu Ziwen first!" Lin Luo stated coldly. He had given the man a chance; since he didn't cherish it, Lin Luo would grant his wish and send him to death.
"Kill... kill him?" Mikoto's voice trembled slightly, hesitation flickering in her eyes. Naturally kind, and only fourteen, fighting monsters posed little issue, but killing a person... clearly, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
"I'll do it!" Lin Luo had anticipated this. He never expected Mikoto to become a blood-soaked executioner; he felt that burden was his alone to bear. "You keep Bai Rui tied up!" Without waiting for Mikoto's response, Lin Luo entered the Synchronization state, pushed off his toes, and sprinted forward rapidly.
"Lin Luo..." Mikoto instinctively tried to stop him, but he was already tens of meters away. On the other side, Bai Rui had fully recovered and charged in without regard for its own safety.
"Aaaaaah..." Although Mikoto despised taking a life, she recognized there was no better option at this critical juncture. Facing an unkillable monster, even her own power was useless. Seeing Bai Rui rush toward Lin Luo, Mikoto gritted her teeth, wildly swinging the Iron Sand Whip to strike the beast and knock it aside.
In the Synchronization state, Lin Luo possessed the strength of a peak Level 3 ability user. Against a full-strength Liu Ziwen, he would have had no hope of winning. But the current Liu Ziwen was already dying, and with Bai Rui momentarily preoccupied by Mikoto, Lin Luo was fully confident in taking him down. Moreover...
"I need to kill him as fast as possible!" After the previous exchange, Mikoto's power was nearly exhausted. While Liu Ziwen's lifespan was also minimal, the power unleashed by his Level 2 Beast Taming Book combined with the life-force burning might still possess the means to wear them down.
Lin Luo closed the distance in an instant, the hundreds of meters vanishing in the blink of an eye. Facing the enemy who might drop dead at any second, Lin Luo's expression was blank. Zzzzt! All the electricity in his body gathered in his right fist, and he struck!
Liu Ziwen acted as if he didn't see it, making no move to dodge or block.
CRACK!
The fist, charged with a hundred thousand volts, landed directly on Liu Ziwen's heart. The man's body convulsed, his skin instantly blackening. A look of agony contorted his face, but beneath it, a faint smile emerged, his lips moving slightly.
"Lin Luo, you... lost..."
The voice was barely audible. If not for his enhanced physical condition in the Synchronization state, Lin Luo would have missed it entirely. But those words...
"Are you kidding? You're the one who lost!"
"Hmph." Liu Ziwen merely smiled, then his expression froze on his face. He was dead.
What was going on? Lin Luo felt a strange chill. Liu Ziwen's words deeply troubled him. And earlier—he had clearly seen the punch coming yet offered no resistance, as if accepting his fate. This...
"Lin Luo, dodge, quickly!" Just then, Mikoto's desperate cry echoed.
Lin Luo reacted instinctively, whipping his head around to see a monstrous maw rushing toward him—Bai Rui!
The eerie, terrifying mouth was less than half a meter away, the stench of death washing over him. Lin Luo was seized by sheer terror, his body almost paralyzed!
Yet, possessing the consciousness approaching that of a Level 5 Esper, he calmed down in an instant. He unleashed his full Level 3 electrical power, his feet acting as if rocket boosters had ignited, Zzzt! as he narrowly flickered to the side...
CRUNCH! The sound of bone shattering.
...
"Lin Luo!" Mikoto rushed over, her eyes filled with concern.
"I'm fine, thanks to you," Lin Luo shook his head, indicating he wasn't seriously hurt, though cold sweat beaded on his face from the pain. In that split second, he had violently stimulated his body with his internal bio-electricity to maximize his speed, escaping Bai Rui's jaws by the narrowest margin. He had brushed shoulders with death itself.
While he had saved his life, the intense electrical surge had inflicted severe internal damage; some organs were temporarily paralyzed. This kind of self-inflicted wound could not be healed by the Sacred Healing Art, so Lin Luo could only grit his teeth and bear the pain.
Upon hearing his explanation, Mikoto relaxed momentarily, and both turned their attention to the other side... Bai Rui's massive jaws were opening and closing, actively devouring Liu Ziwen's corpse!
Lin Luo sighed silently. He finally understood what had happened. Liu Ziwen had intentionally allowed himself to be struck. In the instant before death, he had forcibly broken Bai Rui's seal. And the first thing the unsealed Bai Rui targeted was its master... Liu Ziwen had planned to use himself as bait for a mutual destruction!
And his calculation didn't stop there!
Having broken the seal, Bai Rui had now undergone Nine-Tailed transformation, growing infinitely stronger after consuming its master's soul. Its eyes, crimson as fresh blood, fixed upon the pair.
"Lin Luo, without Liu Ziwen's life force supporting it, can we finally kill that monster?" Mikoto's voice was sharp, now tinged with genuine killing intent.
Lin Luo nodded, then shook his head. "That's debatable. We might not be able to kill it outright, but without the continuous supply of its master's life force and soul, its regenerative powers will cease."
"I see. Then..." As she spoke, Mikoto pulled a coin from her pocket, flicked it into the air, and unleashed a torrent of chaotic electricity from her entire body, resembling a chorus of a thousand birds. In an instant, her small frame was enveloped in dazzling current.
"Aoooh!" The Nine-Tailed Bai Rui was the epitome of destruction and slaughter; its only consciousness was to kill and devour. It flicked its tail, its entire body charging toward them with earth-shattering momentum.
Simultaneously, Mikoto's charge reached its maximum capacity. She straightened her right arm, linking her index and middle fingers together, aiming directly at the charging Bai Rui. The coin drifted down from the sky, settling perfectly between her fingers.
"Hya!"
With a sharp cry, Mikoto's thumb snapped forward. Over one hundred million volts of electricity concentrated entirely into her right hand. The coin shot out, cleaving the air in an orange-red beam, trailing a shrill sonic whistle as it hurtled toward the charging Bai Rui!
It was the Railgun!
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