The Price of Blood!

Sumire carried Kaminari’s limp body and rushed down the building’s stairwell, her feet pounding each step in desperation.

Ryujin, far above, stood still and exhaled heavily. “They made me use my aura too much. I should rest… and recharge my aura.”

Sumire’s breath hitched as she ran. “You saved me. If that attack had hit me… I would’ve died immediately. Devil King! Can you hear me?”

A gruff voice echoed from within her mind. “Yes.”

“Please, use your powers to heal him,” she pleaded while still racing down the stairs.

“No need to order me,” the Devil King growled. “I’ve been healing him from the aura’s effects for a while now. You take care of his external injuries.”

Suddenly, Sumire skidded to a stop near a door marked with a red cross. “It’s… it’s… the medical room! Right on time!”

She shoved the door open, hurried inside, and gently laid Kaminari on a bed. Her eyes darted around frantically for supplies. After a few tense seconds, she spotted another locker, yanked it open—and found several bandages.

“I found it!” she exclaimed, quickly wrapping Kaminari’s chest. “Bandages won’t heal him… but he can’t even drink blood in this condition.”

The Devil King’s voice growled again. “I treated the internal injuries caused by dense aura. That Ryujin has ash manipulation. If I hadn’t held that aura back, the kid would’ve been reduced to ash… and scattered away.”

Sumire stiffened, fear rising in her throat.

“Don’t worry,” the Devil King reassured. “He’ll be okay soon.”

“Thank god…”

“I don’t sense Ryujin coming down. So it’s safe now. Rest a little and figure out how to defeat him.”

Sumire nodded silently, sitting down to catch her breath. She closed her eyes, replaying the battle in her mind.
After a few minutes of quiet reflection and strategic discussion with the Devil King, her gaze sharpened—calm, but resolute.

The Devil King’s voice rumbled from deep within Kaminari’s consciousness, low and sharp.
“Ryujin’s power has weakened significantly since his crystal shattered. Normal attacks won’t phase through him anymore.”

Sumire’s eyes flicked toward Kaminari’s resting form, then upward toward the battlefield. “Then why don’t you help Kaminari-kun?” she asked, her voice tense with urgency.

“I’ve already done everything I could,” the Devil King replied flatly. His tone dropped to a quiet, almost reluctant murmur. “If he dies a natural death… the contract will dissolve on its own.”

Sumire blinked, startled. “So… that’s how aura contracts work?”

Suddenly, Sumire’s eyes widened. “Wait! He’s moving—look! His fingers are moving!”

Kaminari’s index finger twitched ever so slightly.

“You gotta leave, quick!” the Devil King ordered. “Ryujin is recharging his aura on the terrace. Leave him to me!”

“But—”

“Don’t worry. I’m with him.”

Sumire hesitated… then nodded. She turned toward the window—and burst through it, soaring into the sky in a golden flash.

High above, Ryujin exhaled and narrowed his eyes. “Tch… it’s you again.”

Sumire and Ryujin met midair in a violent crash, her hand coated in searing light aura, his scythe responding with a deadly arc. They clashed at blinding speeds.

Sumire broke away, gaining distance. She raised her index finger and fired a homing light ray.

Ryujin took a direct hit and plummeted—but quickly recovered and rocketed back into the air. “You are impressive. That was a lot of aura,” he grunted. “But now… let’s make it quicker.”

He vanished.

In a blink, he reappeared behind her.

Sumire’s Ryogan flared to life—her golden-black star pupils glinting. She caught Ryujin’s wrist mid-swing and hurled him to the ground.

Ryujin grunted, flipping back onto his feet. “Not bad… but that blood user was something else. Where is he?”

“None of your business!” Sumire snapped.

She conjured a glowing bow of light and launched three arrows in rapid succession. Each impact shook the air with an explosion—but Ryujin dodged, and his scythe began absorbing the energy from the arrows.

Suddenly, he disappeared again—reappearing behind Sumire.

He kicked her from behind and detonated a burst of ash aura. The explosion rocked a fifteen-meter radius, but Sumire barely escaped in time.

Ryujin narrowed his eyes. “What kind of aura user are you? Such speed…”

Sumire straightened, her golden aura shimmering. “The fastest thing in the universe… light. And it’s effective against you.”

“Hmph. That’s good for you,” Ryujin said coldly. “But I have two hundred years of fighting experience.”

He retaliated with a slash of his aura-infused scythe, but Sumire blocked—only for him to inject his aura into her hands. He withdrew the weapon and snapped his fingers.

The aura inside her hands exploded.

Sumire screamed as she tumbled from the sky, crashing onto the terrace below. As she fell, she smiled calmly and said, "He's back."

She raised her index finger one final time.

“Bang!”

A beam shot forth—direct hit.

Ryujin also crashed to the ground.

From the shadowed entry of the building, a new presence emerged.

Kaminari.

He stepped into the light—one eye glowing a vicious red aura, the other still normal. With every step, crimson energy flared beneath his feet.

Ryujin’s eyes widened. (His aura… it’s furious. Did he grow stronger? He should’ve been turned to ash… shouldn’t he be dead?)

Kaminari’s footsteps echoed through the broken hallway as he emerged from the shadows—one eye glowing blood-red, crimson aura erupting with every step like a storm barely contained.

He came to a halt. His gaze locked onto Ryujin—eyes burning, chest still aching, but his resolve unwavering. He remembered the pain of losing Shakazuki… the fear in Sumire’s voice… the broken silence of a forgotten family.

He raising his hand slowly—red mist swirling around his fingers like smoke from a brewing storm.

“You crave blood, don’t you?” he said, his voice low and venomous.
“Then watch… as it becomes the reason of your death.”

The ground cracked beneath his feet as his aura surged like a tidal wave of rage.

—To be continued