"After all Seven Kill Lamps are fully lit, it's not mandatory to immediately release Piercing Shadow Strike. The vengeful souls imprisoned within the blade will be retained, but the duration they can be kept is currently unknown…"
"Additionally, the blade can hold a maximum of seven vengeful souls at any one time. Any kills made after it's full will not trigger the Soul Imprisonment effect. In other words, if you want to imprison a specific person's soul, you must make sure there's still space in the Seven Kill Lamps—it cannot already be full."
"Enemies slain by Piercing Shadow Strike also do not trigger Soul Imprisonment. It's likely that during the execution of Piercing Shadow Strike, the blade is in a state of energy leakage. Only after the technique fully ends can new souls be imprisoned again. Of course, it's also possible that that slash annihilates the enemy's soul entirely…"
"Just now, I cut through quite a few weapons. A few times, I noticed minor damage appearing on the blade, but once the blood on the sword body was absorbed, it regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye."
"It seems that after completing its cursed-tool transformation, the Executioner's Blade's original regenerative ability has been further enhanced."
"However, the issue of insufficient durability still hasn't been resolved. Against truly powerful opponents, it wouldn't be strange for the Executioner's Blade to be broken. Still, for now… it's good enough."
Shinji reviewed the pros and cons of the weapon in his hands, summarizing what he had learned from testing the blade. Without realizing it, he had once again returned to the area near the sedan chair where he had previously been surrounded.
Clang!
Seeing this man—carrying a massive blade and walking forward like a demonic god—approach step by step, the surviving guards immediately tensed and drew their weapons.
It wasn't that they wanted to repay kindness with hostility; the pressure they were facing was simply overwhelming. This was the only way they could give themselves even a sliver of reassurance.
But at that moment, a soft, sweet voice came from inside the sedan chair.
"Put your weapons away. Pointing blades at someone— is that how you treat your savior?"
The guards exchanged glances. In the end, they gritted their teeth and sheathed their weapons.
First, because it was the princess's order.
Second, because they had finally come to their senses—given the other party's terrifying strength, even if they added all their weapons together, it still wouldn't be enough to match that single great blade.
Shinji also happened to stop at this moment, casting a somewhat surprised glance toward the sedan chair.
He had actually been thinking that he might as well kill this group too and save himself the trouble.
After all, anyone who dared point a weapon at him could basically be considered an enemy.
He just hadn't expected the person inside the sedan chair to suddenly speak up, which ruined the excuse he had already prepared in his mind.
He couldn't tell whether the other party had sensed his killing intent, or if it was merely a coincidence.
As Shinji weighed whether to kill or leave, the voice from the sedan chair rang out once more.
"Thank you, sir, for saving my life. To repay such a great kindness, I should present a generous gift. However, this journey was made in haste, and nothing was prepared in advance. If you like, you may take everything we have on hand. If you are willing to leave an address, I will certainly have additional gifts sent afterward to fully repay this debt."
Seeing that Shinji still didn't respond, she added, "If you have any requests, you may state them as well. I will do everything in my power to fulfill them."
"Tsk, tsk~"
Shinji clicked his tongue twice, glanced at the Executioner's Blade on which all Seven Kill Lamps were lit, and after a moment's thought, slung it back onto his back and secured it.
"The ones you should be thanking… aren't me."
"They're those corpses."
After leaving behind that meaningful remark, Shinji turned and walked away.
Considering how smoothly this blade test had gone, he decided to spare them.
Once Shinji's figure disappeared from view, many of the guards' legs immediately gave out as they collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
But the air was still thick with the stench of blood, causing some of them to turn pale and begin retching.
Inside the delicate sedan chair, a dignified young girl in the bloom of youth also let out a long breath. Her heartbeat, however, was still frighteningly fast.
Though she had never stepped out of the sedan chair throughout the ordeal, she had seen everything outside clearly through the window.
Including the moment that mysterious and terrifying man slaughtered all the bandits as easily as killing chickens and dogs.
And also the instant when the guards instinctively drew their weapons afterward—when he casually revealed a gaze that looked at them as though they were already dead.
It was in that moment she finally understood: that man was not some heroic savior who had come specifically to rescue her.
That man… had simply come to kill people and test his blade.
And if killing people to test a blade was the goal, then bandits would do—but so would guards.
Even… a princess.
With a single slash, there would be no difference at all.
That was why she could no longer hold back and immediately ordered the guards to put their weapons away.
Then, she tried to entice him with rewards, hoping he would take what he wanted and spare their lives.
Yet the other party remained completely unmoved, which nearly drove her to despair.
To be honest, even earlier—when they were overwhelmed by bandits—she had never considered it a true dead end.
But at that moment… she had genuinely come close to despair.
Fortunately, the heavens had not abandoned her.
She didn't know whether it was her words that had worked, or if that man wasn't as terrifying as she had imagined.
All she knew was that he left.
And she lived.
"The ones you should be thanking aren't me, but those corpses…"
What exactly did that mean?
The princess murmured to herself, her face suddenly turning pale.
She was now even more certain—she truly had just walked past the gates of death.
"It was because there were enough bandits… enough for him to finish testing his blade… so he didn't kill anyone else, wasn't it…?"
The princess was very smart. She quickly grasped the key point.
If the number of bandits had been just a little smaller…
She couldn't help but shiver, a chill running through her entire body.
That terrifying man, like a demonic god, was now deeply etched into her mind.
...
Meanwhile, when Shinji returned, Hidan only needed to glance at the bloodstains splashed on his clothes to roughly guess what had happened. Still, he couldn't help asking,
"Why did you take so long? If I'd known killing a few people would be this slow for you, I might as well have gone myself."
"You? Say that again after you can beat me. When that day comes, whatever you say, I'll do."
"Fine! It's a deal! Just you wait—one day I'll take you down. When that happens, I'll make you kneel at my feet and beg—ah!"
After retracting his fist, a terrifying smile appeared on Shinji's face.
"Thoughts like that don't need to be said out loud. Also, you seem to have forgotten one thing…"
"Right now, I'm the boss!"
Bang!
As the saying goes, if you don't discipline someone for three days, they'll climb onto the roof and tear off the tiles.
Seeing Hidan starting to get a little too full of himself again, Shinji had no choice but to put in some effort and teach him how to behave.
Thus followed a thorough beating—refreshing and satisfying!
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20 Power Stones= 1 additional chapters.