Wiping away her tears, Sirin helped Shu as they began to make their way out. Shu still struggled to walk, but his recovery rate had returned to normal. It wouldn't be long before he was back in fighting form.
Now, they just needed to stall until he recovered.
With the basement exposed due to Bella's actions, Shu glanced at the sky. Dark clouds had obscured the sun, making it as dark as a starless night. The dragon's breath, which could have provided some light, had been extinguished by the wind from Bella's takeoff. They were now shrouded in true, impenetrable darkness.
Sirin, gritting her teeth, led Shu quickly outwards. Just then, a sharp howl pierced the darkness.
Startled, Sirin whipped around.
Countless pairs of red and green eyes materialized around them, fixated on the two figures in the pit with predatory, cruel gazes.
Shu was forced to channel the little [Hope] he had recovered, straightening up to survey their surroundings.
They were at the bottom of a pit, surrounded by a wall of grotesque, twisted monsters. Their bodies were pitch black, emitting black and red smoke. Leading them was a massive wolf, about three meters tall, its eyes burning with bloodlust.
Shu felt Sirin tremble beside him. Looking down, he saw her clutching his hand tightly, her body shaking slightly as she stared at the black wolf.
Shu was silent for a moment, then placed a reassuring hand on Sirin's shoulder, gently squeezing. "Don't be afraid…"
"I… I'm not afraid of dogs…" Sirin's voice trembled, but this time, she didn't retreat, staying close to Shu.
Shu took a step forward, his heart pounding at the sight of the overwhelming horde.
He instinctively looked up, considering escaping with Sirin through the air.
But the flapping of wings above quickly made him abandon that idea.
Countless crimson eyes had appeared in the sky. A rain of black feathers drifted down, landing around them.
The Demon King's army… The Demon King always had legions of minions, not just a single dragon.
The late-arriving army had finally surrounded their targets at the most opportune moment, poised to overwhelm them like a tidal wave.
Shu pulled Sirin behind him. Two flying swords shot out from the rubble, piercing through several monsters before returning to hover around him.
The sound of flesh being sliced was the last sound of quiet before the storm. The monsters' red eyes reflected in the swords' surfaces, Shu's own eyes glimmered with multicolored light.
The black tide encircled a void, and Shu, standing before the endless wave, took a deep breath.
"Awooo—!"
A resounding howl shattered the stillness, followed by a chorus of roars and shrieks.
The black tide surged down from the broken edges of the pit like a waterfall. Shu's pupils contracted; the two swords beside him flared with blinding light.
Dozens of sword beams erupted like a blossoming flower, centered on Shu. Every monster caught in their path was cleaved in two.
Ink-black liquid gushed from the monsters' bodies, their remains carried forward by the momentum before being trampled into a bloody mire by those behind them.
The sword beams carved bloody paths through the monster horde, but a tide never feared a momentary break.
The even more ferocious monsters behind were not hindered in the slightest; the deaths of their comrades only fueled their frenzy!
The now useless swords returned to Shu's hands. He pressed Sirin's head down, urging her to crouch, then spun around, unleashing a circular wave of sword Qi.
The ripple of energy pushed back the tide several meters, but the aerial assault was unavoidable.
Crows, larger than Sirin herself, dove towards Shu one after another. The first crow opened its sharp beak, about to pierce the back of Shu's head.
But it was the crow's head that was pierced instead. The other Xuanyuan Sword, hidden in the darkness, had transformed into a streak of light the moment the crows descended, skewering several of the front runners.
If the ground monsters were a relentless tide, the crows were a torrential downpour.
Waving his hand could knock away a few raindrops, but what about the rest?
Shu held his ground!
With one sword, he weaved an impenetrable defense, while the other darted through the horde and the flock of crows, taking down monster after monster, covering the angles Shu couldn't reach.
The constantly splattering black liquid now truly resembled a downpour. Shu's figure blurred within a small circle, moving with incredible speed and precision, cutting down any monster that came close.
A violent tremor shook the ground, causing Shu to stumble, opening a gap in his otherwise airtight defense.
A massive figure leaped into the air, hurtling towards Shu and Sirin like a meteor.
Shu looked up sharply and hurled his sword skyward. A circular sonic boom scattered the nearby crows, and the sword blade flashed with blinding light once more.
The enormous monster froze mid-air, a gaping hole appearing in its chest. In the next instant, its entire body was ripped apart by the aftershock.
Now unarmed, Shu grabbed a crow from the air and slammed it into a monster lunging at Sirin. The two creatures merged into a mangled mess, instantly torn apart by the other monsters.
Before the shredded flesh could even land, a vicious kick smashed into the face of another approaching monster, obliterating its head.
Shu moved even faster now, using each approaching monster as a weapon against another. But this method was less efficient than having his swords.
Some monsters, with particularly thick hides, were pushed to the forefront by the others, requiring two punches from Shu to kill before he could throw them.
Finally, a sharp claw found an opening, raking across Shu's side.
Bright red blood spurted out, adding a stark contrast to the pitch-black night.
The sharp pain was instantly registered by Shu's heightened senses. Without even looking, he swiped his hand across the wound, stopping the bleeding, but not healing it further.
We can't stay here any longer…
Shu abruptly stopped, scooping up Sirin with one arm, and stomped his foot on the ground.