I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

Sara barely had time to react before the pack of rifthounds surrounding them was obliterated, leaving no trace behind.

The serpentine flames that surged into the sky and the scorched black earth beneath were a testament to a calamity that the perpetrator brought about with effortless grace.

Although Sara had previously witnessed her master's unparalleled prowess—manipulating wind, ice, thunder, and fire to decimate countless more rifthounds than this—this display of casual devastation left her in a different kind of awe.

"Why the surprise? I was just messing around. In the past, I had no choice but to amuse myself with these small fry. But now, there's a major boss appearing, and time's of the essence. Those outdated mobs are naturally getting left behind." Kiichi Hougen casually set both Sara and Chika down before continuing, "It's like surviving on instant noodles—fine when it's all you have, and the taste is passable. But if you've got a lobster hotpot in front of you now, why stick to the noodles you've been eating for days? Into the trash they go!"

At that moment, the chains coiled around the stone pillars suddenly went taut.

The golden light flickering across the chains grew erratic, accompanied by strained creaking sounds that echoed ominously.

It didn't last long. With a deafening crash, one of the chains finally gave way, snapping apart.

The broken chain whipped around violently, smashing into a neighboring chain with a shower of sparks, and that chain, too, soon met the same fate, snapping into two.

The thrashing chains cut through the air, slamming heavily against a stone pillar and leaving a deep gouge in its surface.

This was just the beginning. More chains began to snap, one after another. And with each chain that broke, the shadowy sun hanging overhead darkened, oozing malice into the surrounding air.

Sara's face turned ashen as she instinctively covered her nose and mouth.

It felt as though she were drowning in a mire of filth or standing in a blood-soaked sea of stench.

It wasn't poison, yet this malice surpassed any toxin in its sheer malevolence. It didn't target the body, organs, or blood—but life itself.

It was the perversion of life itself, stripped of the peace, equality, and mercy of death.

It was rage, jealousy, arrogance—the very antithesis of life, despised by all living beings and the world itself, yet inseparable from it.

A sharp whistle cut through the air.

A broken chain lashed toward Kiichi Hougen and her companions.

The speed was so blinding that neither Sara nor Chika caught even a glimpse of its afterimage before it was already upon them.

Yet, as if protected by an invisible barrier, the chain struck something unseen and was deflected harmlessly away.

The snapping chains were mere distractions to Kiichi Hougen. What truly caught her attention was the black sun above—or rather, the presence within it.

The black sludge spilling from the sun was no longer a metaphor but a tangible substance, oozing malevolence.

And with it came a massive black claw that hooked onto the sun's edge, prying it apart.

Cracks began to form around the black sun's edges, and from within, two crimson eyes brimming with savage fury glowed menacingly.

The black sun's boundaries were torn asunder, and the being sealed within for five centuries finally revealed itself to Kiichi Hougen and the others.

Its first feature to emerge was a wolf's head, far more menacing and regal than the rifthounds. If the others were wolves, then this creature was undoubtedly the king of wolves.

As it slowly emerged from the fissures, Kiichi Hougen immediately thought of a similar monster.

The Golden King Rifthound?

But she hesitated. This creature was different. Its sheer size—estimated at nearly 800 meters in length—was far beyond the Golden King Rifthound she recalled from the game.

Moreover, it wasn't gold. This creature was pitch black, interspersed with ominous streaks of dark purple.

While it shared the floating wolf heads of the Golden King Rifthound, this one had four claws. If not for its distinctly lupine head, Kiichi Hougen might have mistaken it for a dragon.

After five centuries of slumber, the creature's first act upon awakening was to stretch its mountainous body mid-air, raising its head for an earth-shaking roar.

"ROOAAARRR!!"

Sara and Chika covered their ears, their faces pale.

"Hey, you bastard! You scared my disciples!"

Kiichi Hougen's bellow cut through the creature's deafening roar.

The ambient elemental forces surged at her command. Fireballs, ice spikes, stone pillars, and lightning spears launched an all-out assault on the creature from all directions, detonating in a cacophony of explosions.

"ROOAAARRR!!"

Amid the billowing smoke, the creature roared again, but this time, the sound carried an undeniable note of agony.

Sara and Chika stared at Kiichi Hougen with stunned expressions as she declared with fiery confidence, "Waking up after five centuries, even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven would be tempted to cause a ruckus. Sure, stretch your limbs, yawn all you like—but I won't let you frighten my disciples!"

For the first time in ages, Kiichi Hougen unleashed the full authority of her status as a great yokai to warn the monster before her.

But the creature neither understood nor cared for such authority.

It only knew that it had been attacked—and it hurt.

As a spirit born of nature itself, Kiichi Hougen could feel the surrounding elemental forces trembling in fear, retreating.

The creature emerged from the smoke, baring its fangs. Opening its massive maw, it unleashed a corrosive breath toward Kiichi Hougen and her companions.

The purple-black beam swept across the ground, devouring their silhouettes. The blistering heat alone was enough to melt metal, but the abyssal power within it—far more corrosive and insidious—was the true threat.

The ground dissolved, the air combusted, and even the elemental forces in the vicinity were eroded, fading away with mournful wails.

Yet amid the torrent of destruction, a flash of crimson light suddenly pierced through.

Compared to the overwhelming tide of purple-black energy, the crimson light seemed no more significant than a small boat in a raging sea.

But against all odds, the crimson light pushed through the cataclysmic surge, piercing the monster's head and erupting into a fiery blaze.

With its head smoldering and scarred, the colossal creature crashed heavily to the ground, triggering another quake.

Kiichi Hougen flicked her wrist, and the corrosive flames around them were extinguished by a gust of wind. The trio stood unscathed.

---

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