Director Edward

Chapter 214: Episode 5 · Paradox Spiral! (12)

In The Garden of Sinners film, Ryougi Shiki and Araya Souren suddenly launched into an intense battle.

In an instant, Shiki lunged at Araya, aiming to drive her dagger straight into his chest in one decisive strike.

However, at that very moment, the atmosphere abruptly shifted—

"Notto, Vajra, Visha," Araya Souren intoned.

As his words fell, three circular sigils materialized around him, freezing all movement in their tracks.

Simultaneously, white, web-like threads coiled around Shiki, completely stripping her of her ability to move.

"This body of yours—I, Araya Souren, shall claim it," he declared.

As he spoke, Araya slowly approached Shiki, extending his left hand, as if to crush her head in his grasp.

Fighting through the overwhelming dread, Shiki instinctively slashed out, severing Araya's left hand in one clean stroke.

"Revenge!" she shouted.

And yet, despite the severed limb, Araya's arm regenerated seamlessly with a single utterance: "Giant Sutra." Not a trace of injury remained.

"Pinnacle Sutra."

In the next moment, Araya reached out with his right hand and effortlessly grabbed Shiki by the face, lifting her into the air.

"Ah—!"

A tremor of fear coursed through Shiki's entire body as terror gripped her.

Meanwhile, Araya, unfazed, coldly stated, "Foolish. This left hand contains a Buddhist relic. Even with your Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, you cannot see its lines of mortality. A mere physical severance will do me no harm. Moreover, I cannot die. My origin is stasis. By invoking the origin, one can command it. A being who has already achieved stasis—how do you intend to kill such a person?"

Shiki didn't answer. Her mind was working at full capacity, desperately searching for the "lines of death" that must exist somewhere on Araya's body.

All the while, Araya's grip tightened as he prepared to crush her face entirely.

In this dire situation, Ryougi Shiki finally spotted an impossibly faint line that would normally escape all notice. Without hesitation, she severed Araya Souren's right hand in a single strike.

"—Ugh."

As Araya staggered back from the injury, Shiki immediately took the opportunity to put distance between them, escaping from the triple-layered barrier under his feet.

"So that's how it is. I was careless," Araya said, regaining his composure. "Life or death, as long as something can act, you can sever the source of its action. That's your ability. Even though my life has already stopped, the fact that I exist creates lines sustaining me. Severing those lines would indeed bring about my death. As expected, your eyes are too dangerous—far too perilous as an accessory to Ryougi Shiki."

Araya spoke as he prepared to strike again.

But Shiki smirked coldly. "It's pointless. You've already lost your chance. A so-called barrier is nothing more than a boundary. If its edges act as magical walls to block others, then all I have to do is sever its lines, and its power will vanish."

With those words, Shiki drove her dagger into the ground, directly destroying the outermost layer of the triple barrier in one decisive move!

"Even so, there are still two left…"

"That won't matter!"

With that, Ryougi Shiki opened her prosthetic arm, revealing a hidden compartment. From within, she pulled out a backup dagger and hurled it straight at Araya Souren.

"Clang!"

Taking advantage of the brief distraction, the girl suddenly closed the distance, driving her blade straight through the man's torso.

Without hesitation, she followed up by stabbing the dagger through his neck as if to finish him off completely.

"Gah—ah!"

The devastating injuries caused Araya Souren to stagger backward, blood pouring from his wounds. He seemed on the verge of collapsing.

The audience watching the scene unfold outside the battle collectively let out a sigh of relief, believing Ryougi Shiki had claimed victory.

However, both Shiki and the spectators were far too quick to relax.

Though his body had been pierced and death seemed imminent, Araya Souren suddenly spoke:

"Still not giving up? At this rate, you'll lose your way on the path to the underworld, Shiki."

"Why?! How are you still alive?"

"It's true, these were my vital points. But that alone isn't enough. Even your Mystic Eyes of Death Perception cannot bring an end to someone like me, who has existed for two hundred years. I've long since prepared for this—this body has already been dead for a long time."

As he spoke, Araya's left hand slowly rose, and with a single strike, he sent Shiki flying across the room.

"——!!"

The walls surrounding them suddenly began to writhe and shift, coming alive to engulf the unconscious Ryougi Shiki, swallowing her whole.

...

Ryougi Shiki's defeat was an outcome few in the audience could have anticipated.

When Araya Souren's body had been pierced, many believed the battle had already been decided in Shiki's favor.

But the final result completely overturned everyone's expectations.

The nobles, who had been chatting incessantly just moments earlier, now fell silent.

The tension in the narrative left them speechless, unable to find words to break the atmosphere.

In contrast, the Duke of the Southern Region sitting beside Durin muttered in shock,

"How can Araya Souren's power be this terrifying? Is he really just a magus?"

Before Durin could respond, Arcueid, sitting nearby, answered instead:

"He's far from a simple mages. According to the lore, Ryougi Shiki's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception can kill anything that lives. So, for Araya Souren to survive an attack from her, it's clear he no longer qualifies as a living being."

"This… could it be…?"

The surrounding nobles exchanged astonished glances, quickly piecing together the implications.

If Araya Souren wasn't alive, the answer could only be one thing: he was already dead.

"Are you saying Araya Souren is an undead?" Daphne blurted out instinctively.

Arcueid gave her a gentle smile and replied,

"Not quite. The essence of an undead is still that of the living; they've merely transformed into another state of life. Araya Souren, however, exists in the form of the dead. Fundamentally, he's no different from concepts like zombies or revenants."

"I see…"

Hearing this explanation from her ancestor, Daphne shrank back slightly, evidently unnerved by the idea.

After all, until today, she had no idea her family harbored a True Ancestor vampire who had lived for countless generations—none other than the first Duke of the Southern Region.

The revelation naturally wasn't easy to process.

While the nobles in the duke's manor were left stunned and speechless by the unfolding events in the film, the people gathered at the television taverns of the Southern Lands erupted into heated discussions.

Ryougi Shiki's defeat had exceeded expectations and left many unable to accept the outcome.

The shocking twist sparked fervent debate among the common folk as they grappled with the unpredictable turn of events.

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