Unlike its previous sharp, gleaming appearance, the blade in Mo Chen's hand now resembled more of a charred wooden sword with lingering embers than a traditional katana.
This was another form of Ryūjin Jakka after its Bankai release—Zanka no Tachi.
All the raging flames from before had been absorbed into this seemingly unassuming blade.
Yet, this harmless-looking wooden sword held terrifying power.
Holding Zanka no Tachi, Mo Chen strode step by step toward the battlefield where the two forces clashed.
His pace was leisurely, as if taking a casual stroll through his own courtyard.
The moment he set foot on the battlefield, everything around him—whether Raptures, amalgamations, living beings, or wreckage—spontaneously burst into flames before even getting close to him, reduced to ashes in mere moments.
Under Mo Chen's signal, the twin sisters quickly disengaged from the fight and retreated far away.
Meanwhile, Indivilia had already reverted to her massive scorpion form, towering like a small mountain as she roared and charged toward Mo Chen. Her enormous pincers rose high, ready to shear him in half, while her tail arched upward, gathering terrifying energy at its cannon-like tip.
"Though I don't know what has corrupted you… now, be freed."
Mo Chen slowly raised Zanka no Tachi and swung it down the instant Indivilia lunged at him.
The blade's tip, blackened as if scorched to charcoal, lightly touched the ground.
Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin!
All of Ryūjin Jakka's flames and heat were concentrated at the sword's edge—neither burning nor erupting, simply erasing everything it touched without a trace.
"Ding—!"
In that split second, the ground where the blade made contact instantly vanished. It was as if it had been wiped clean off the map.
The next moment, a force equivalent to 100 million atmospheres of pressure, carrying extreme heat, erupted outward like a gamma-ray burst!
There was no resistance. A colossal canyon, gouged straight through the earth, appeared in an instant.
The bottomless fissure resembled a jagged tear ripped open from the depths of hell, stretching all the way to the horizon!
Everything in its path was obliterated into dust.
As for Indivilia's massive scorpion body—her ultra-resistant alloy-like exoskeleton was split cleanly down the middle, the central portion completely erased as if rubbed away by an eraser.
Only the limbs on either side remained, frozen in their last movements.
"Haaah—!"
Mo Chen exhaled deeply, his breath heavy with exhaustion.
The sword in his hand reverted to its original form as he lowered it.
His entire body ached—muscles sore, bones creaking, an indescribable fatigue weighing him down.
As expected, using this move was still too much of a strain.
Even though he had achieved Bankai, that didn't mean he could wield it with the same destructive power as Yamamoto.
After all, a Zanpakutō's strength was tied to its wielder.
The reason Mo Chen could unleash such overwhelming force was due to the Blacklight Virus drastically enhancing his cellular activity in short bursts.
But there was a drawback.
After each use, the explosive expenditure of energy left his body overworked and drained, forcing him into a low-power "energy-saving mode."
In other words—he was drained. If he wanted to use it again, he'd have to wait a while.
After all, moderation was a virtue.
Reckless squandering would only lead to regrets in old age.
Still, Mo Chen couldn't help but wonder—how the hell did Yamamoto, that two-thousand-year-old fossil, still have such terrifying stamina at his age? It was downright unnatural.
Was he, like Zhang Sanfeng, a lifelong virgin who cultivated pure yang energy?
While Mo Chen silently complained, his stamina gradually recovered a little. He walked over to the massive remains of the scorpion, which now seemed devoid of life, reduced to nothing more than a hollow shell.
Mo Chen bent down and touched the carcass. The moment his fingers made contact, tendrils of black mist seeped out, writhing like living things as they coiled around his hand.
"Crack—!"
Flames flickered and the black mist dissolved into smoke.
Just as he suspected.
Indivilia had also been infected—just like Snow White and Alice. Some mutated virus with extreme corruptive properties.
It bore some resemblance to the Punishing Virus, but wasn't quite the same.
However, her infection seemed deeper, to the point where even her mind had been affected, turning her cruel and bloodthirsty.
That was also why she could unleash such terrifying power.
Regardless, she was free now.
Mo Chen turned and walked toward the other side, stepping over scorched earth and wreckage until he reached Nihilister's lifeless body.
"Drip… drip…"
Raindrops fell from the sky.
They landed on the charred ground, leaving tiny dark spots.
Then, more rain followed.
Perhaps the residual heat from before had raised the surrounding temperature, and now that the flames had dissipated, cold air rushed back in, colliding with the still-warm atmosphere. The moisture condensed, turning into rain.
"Patter, patter—!"
The downpour intensified.
The steady rain soaked Nihilister's lifeless body, her once-fiery form now drenched and still.
Mo Chen took out what looked like an ordinary stone.
It was Nihilister's core.
But unlike before, when it burned with an inner flame, the core was now silent, its heat completely gone.
Its energy had already been used to temper Ryūjin Jakka.
That didn't mean the core was useless now, though.
Mo Chen crouched beside Nihilister, carefully placing the core back into the gaping hole in her chest. Then, he pulled out a recovery spray and gave it a few pumps.
Almost instantly, the massive wound began visibly healing at an astonishing rate.
Unlike conventional medicine, the nanomist spray worked via repair nanobots rather than stimulating the body's own cells. In other words—it could fix damage even on a corpse.
Whether the corpse stayed dead, however, wasn't its concern.
But Mo Chen knew Heretics weren't so easy to kill. Their resilience was on par with old man Welt—doing push-ups in the face of death was just another Tuesday for them.
Sure enough, Nihilister's core showed faint fluctuations.
A rhythmic pulse, like a heartbeat.
After a moment's thought, Mo Chen retrieved a small vial from his system inventory and poured its contents into Nihilister's mouth.
It was the modified antidote Syuen had developed—capable of neutralizing that strange virus. Otherwise, even if he revived her, she'd just remain a puppet.
Useless.
Sure, the antidote had… minor side effects.
But right now, that was the least of his worries.