Captain Tanaka felt a chill in his heart, not daring to show the slightest negligence, and immediately turned around to issue orders to his subordinates.

However, just as he turned around.

"Rip—!"

Above the sky, a harsh, deafening sound came without warning.

That sound was as if a huge and tough piece of brocade was forcibly torn apart from the middle by an irresistible brute force!

Everyone subconsciously looked up.

They saw that huge ink scroll suspended over the night sky of Takamagahara, which had swallowed two SS-Rank Experts, violently bulging from the inside!

One.

Two.

Seven ferocious bulges struggled wildly on the surface of the scroll, as if some peerless vicious entity was desperately eager to break out of the picture!

"Crack!"

Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, a ferocious crack appeared in the center of the scroll.

Following closely.

Boom——!!!

The scroll exploded with a bang!

Countless fragments burning with ink-colored flames, like doomsday meteors, scattered and flew in all directions from high altitude.

Seven ferocious and terrifying giant snake heads suddenly protruded from the broken scroll, carrying unparalleled vicious might as they reappeared in the world!

They twisted their slender necks, and fourteen cold, golden vertical pupils indifferently scanned the city below that had been reduced to ruins.

One of the main heads slowly lowered, opening its bloody mouth wide.

A laughter full of endless arrogance and ridicule echoed through the clouds like rolling heavenly thunder.

"Hhahahaha!"

"Soma Kosuke, you are already old!"

Qin Ze's overlapping voice echoed in the night sky, filled with absolute confidence.

"And I, not only have I been resurrected, but I have also returned to my youth!"

"How can your Domain, which is at the end of its tether, trap me?"

The laughter stopped abruptly, replaced by a cold judgment.

"It is already hard for you to be my opponent."

"Give up, Kosuke."

The seven snake heads spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping with a hint of regret.

"After all, you are my student, and I am unwilling to see you fall like this."

"As long as you are willing to submit to Lord Hongzhi, I can spare your life."

Below, seeing this scene, Wada Hirayama's tightly clenched, aged face relaxed slightly.

It seemed the outcome was already clear.

Soma Kosuke's Domain was broken, so he must have suffered heavy injuries.

In this Peak showdown between SS-Rank Experts, Lord Qin Ze ultimately proved to be more skillful.

However, the moment Qin Ze's voice fell.

An aged and weak figure fell pathetically from the shattered remnants of the scroll like a kite with a broken string.

It was precisely Soma Kosuke.

That wrinkled face looked somewhat exhausted.

He looked at Qin Ze and sighed deeply..

"A teacher is a teacher after all..."

Looking at the seven-headed giant snake in the sky that resembled a deity and demon, Soma Kosuke's turbid eyes revealed a trace of bone-deep sorrow and resolution.

"It seems this student can never surpass this mountain of yours."

After saying that, Soma Kosuke's figure retreated explosively.

Transforming into a stream of light, he disappeared into the horizon.

"Want to run?"

Qin Ze's seven snake heads let out a cold snort at the same time, their overlapping voices full of contempt.

"Do you really think you can still escape?"

The main head located in the center suddenly opened its big mouth wide.

An energy ball flashing with destructive light rapidly formed in its mouth once again.

"In front of me, your life and death are up to me!"

Boom!

A thick pillar of energy light, carrying the aura of death that purifies everything, instantly pierced through the night sky, accurately blasting towards the falling Soma Kosuke!

"No!"

Among the crowd below, Classer who knew Soma Kosuke let out a despairing exclamation.

But everything was too late.

The speed of the light pillar was extremely fast, instantly completely swallowing that aged figure.

There was no explosion, no sound.

Soma Kosuke's body, in that dazzling white light, was instantly evaporated and vaporized like snow under the scorching sun, not leaving even a trace of ashes behind.

A generation of SS-Rank Spirit Painting Grandmaster had thus fallen.

On the rooftop, Wada Hirayama silently sheathed his blade, and no joy or anger could be seen on his aged face.

Although he disagreed with Soma Kosuke's choice, he still felt a bit of regret for this former colleague after all.

In the shadow of the corner, Zhou Huai furrowed his brow tightly.

Dead?

Just died like this?

He had exerted so much effort, even sacrificing a Hell-level BOSS, yet he still couldn't protect him?

Zhou Huai's heart sank.

This was definitely not the result he wanted.

Above the sky, Qin Ze's massive seven-headed snake body slowly descended.

He seemed very satisfied with his battle results, and in his fourteen golden vertical pupils were undisguised complacency and pleasure.

His massive body coiled on the roof that had been reduced to ruins, and one of the snake heads lowered to look at Wada Hirayama not far away.

"Hirayama-kun."

"You've worked hard tonight."

Wada Hirayama slightly bowed, putting his posture very low.

"Lord Qin Ze speaks too seriously."

"It is my honor to act as your Protector."

Qin Ze's seven heads nodded at the same time, and then his gaze swept across the messy district below, as well as the terrified crowds who had survived the disaster.

His voice sounded again, carrying an unquestionable tone of command.

"Although Soma Kosuke is dead, the remnants of the Omiya Family are still around."

"Pass down my order. Starting tonight, launch a comprehensive purge against all forces related to the Omiya Family!"

"Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

Wada Hirayama's heart shook, and he immediately bowed to accept the order.

"Hai!"

However, right at this moment.

Qin Ze's massive body suddenly stiffened without warning.

His seven arrogant snake heads turned simultaneously, and fourteen golden vertical pupils stared fixedly in a certain direction below.

Above the ruins there, I don't know when, a painting had unexpectedly appeared.

An ordinary ink painting casually discarded among the rubble.

On the painting, only one thing was drawn.

A back view.

An aged back view wearing a ragged kimono.

That back view was desolate and lonely, yet it carried a sense of unyielding resolution.

Wada Hirayama also noticed that painting; his brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

"Lord Qin Ze, that is..."

Qin Ze did not answer him.

He just stared fixedly at the painting, and his coiled snake body actually began to tremble slightly.

There was a bad premonition.

The next second.

The back view on that painting seemed to come alive.

He slowly turned his head.

A smile as if mocking something.

The person in the painting opened his mouth towards the massive seven-headed giant snake in the sky.

"Teacher, we shall meet again."

The moment the words fell, the scroll spontaneously burned without fire.

Together with the mocking smile in the painting, it turned into flying ash.

Boom!

Qin Ze's sanity was completely ignited by this silent humiliation.

An aura far more terrifying than any time before erupted from his body with a boom!

"Roar——!!!"

The seven snake heads looked up to the sky at the same time, letting out an angry roar that shook the nine heavens!

The substantive sound waves turned into a destructive shock wave, crazily spreading around.

The few remaining buildings around that were still stubbornly standing could no longer withstand this force, their glass curtain walls shattering inch by inch like fragile eggshells before collapsing with a bang!

Wada Hirayama's face instantly turned pale. He fully extended his defense to barely resist this furious shock, his figure forced to retreat repeatedly.

He looked in disbelief at the giant beast completely plunged into frenzy in the sky.

Fake?

That Soma Kosuke who was blasted to death just now was actually fake too?

Then where was the real Soma Kosuke?

When did he escape? And how did he escape?

Everything happened within that independent world shrouded by the scroll.

No one knew.

People only knew that the SS-Rank Spirit Painting Grandmaster had mocked the arrogant Yamata no Orochi in a way no one expected.

Furthermore, he successfully performed a golden cicada escape from right under the claws of this furious Ferocious Beast.

In the corner, Zhou Huai silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this Soma Kosuke wasn't as incompetent as expected.