Kujo Koji slowly spoke:

"Do you guys think it's possible..."

"That the Yasakani no Magatama is right on us?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.

Bhadra widened his copper-bell-like eyes, his face full of suspicion.

"On us?"

"How is that possible?"

"Soma Kosuke isn't a fool; why would he hide the true body of the Yasakani no Magatama on us?"

However, Kujo Koji's gaze was exceptionally calm.

"Perhaps, this is precisely a reverse-logic move he played."

"He is certain that no matter how we investigate, we would never check ourselves."

"Don't forget, this is inside his Domain."

"Wanting to quietly place the Yasakani no Magatama on us is not a very difficult thing."

"He could completely disguise the Yasakani no Magatama. You can carefully sense right now if there is anything strange on your bodies."

Hearing this, several of them suddenly felt it made some sense.

The entire World Within the Painting had been swept over by Bhadra's world-destroying strike just now.

If the true body of the Yasakani no Magatama truly existed in this space, it made no sense that not even a trace could be found.

Then, the only explanation...

Is that it was hidden in a place they would absolutely never expect.

The four of them no longer hesitated and immediately began to carefully check their bodies.

They used their Mental Strength to meticulously probe all the equipment, accessories, and even every inch of skin on their bodies.

However, one minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

Five minutes passed.

They gained nothing.

Everyone's body was clean, without any suspicious items or energy attached.

Bhadra was the first to lose his composure, irritably scratching his hair.

"There's nothing!"

Wada Hirayama also shook his head, his expression solemn.

"I'm the same."

Kujo Koji's usually calm face rarely became ugly at this moment.

His own judgment was wrong.

For a time, the atmosphere among the four people was unprecedentedly solemn.

Even the strongest attack could not destroy this world, and the only clue was broken.

It was as if they were truly going to be trapped to death forever in this weird blood-red world.

Just at this moment, the Man in White Suit, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head and looked toward the sky.

"How strange."

Bhadra was holding back a belly full of fire, and upon hearing this, he asked in bad humor: "What is it again?"

The Man in White Suit pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, the lenses reflecting the light of the blood moon in the sky.

"This Soma Kosuke is not right."

"Every time he resurrected before, he would rapidly launch an attack at the very first moment, not giving us any chance to breathe."

"But this time, he actually gave us so much breathing time."

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a wake-up call.

Wada Hirayama abruptly raised his head, looking at Soma Kosuke under the blood moon in the sky, his expression turning pale instantly.

He seemed to have thought of something extremely terrifying, his voice even carrying a trace of trembling.

"This fellow... This fellow seems to be releasing an ultimate skill!"

An ultimate skill?

Hearing these three words, everyone present, including the consistently composed Kujo Koji, changed expression.

That was the ultimate skill that Classer could only master after reaching level eighty.

In this world, Classer who could reach above level eighty were already as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Many people exhausted their entire lives without ever witnessing it with their own eyes.

But being crowned with the name "Termination", its effect was absolutely terrifying enough to destroy heaven and earth!

"Quickly stop him!"

The Man in White Suit was the first to react, shouting harshly.

He brought his hands together, and countless profound runes rapidly formed a complex magical array in front of him.

Bhadra and Wada Hirayama also reacted instantly, powerful energy bursting from both of their bodies at the same time, transforming into two streaks of light as they fiercely charged to kill Soma Kosuke in the sky.

However, facing the thunderous strike of the three,

that condensing figure in the sky only revealed a relieved smile.

A hoarse yet calm voice slowly came out from his mouth, resounding through the entire World Within the Painting.

"Trading my old life for the lives of Kujo Koji and three SS-Rank Professionals."

"It's really... so worth it."

He opened his arms wide, as if wanting to embrace the entire world.

"Farewell, gentlemen!"

"Painting Extremity of Myriad Phenomena!"

The moment the words fell, Soma Kosuke's figure was pierced through once again by the attacks of Bhadra and Wada Hirayama, turning into ink dots filling the sky.

But this time, he did not lose his vitality again.

Those ink dots seemed to possess life, merging into this heaven and this earth.

Right at this moment,

"Rrumble—!!!"

the entire World Within the Painting began to tremble violently.

The sky, the earth, the distant mountain ranges, the nearby ruins...

Everything was gradually transforming from three-dimensional to two-dimensional in an unbelievable way.

The distant peaks lost their thickness, turning into a flat silhouette.

The earth beneath their feet lost its texture, turning into a flatly painted color block.

The entire world seemed to be forcibly flattened and smoothed out by an invisible giant hand.

Everything in the scene seemed to be turning into still animations.

Furthermore, this force of "dimensional reduction" was rolling toward the location where the four people were like a huge millstone.

"Ah—!"

Bhadra let out a painful roar.

He discovered in horror that his own arms were actually starting to become "flat".

The contours of his muscles disappeared, replaced by thick black lines.

The texture of his skin was gone, turning into a monotonous bronze color.

His entire person was transforming from a three-dimensional, living life into an anime character drawn on paper!

"My hands! My body!" Wada Hirayama also let out a terrified cry; his arm holding the saber was losing its three-dimensional sense.

On Kujo Koji's face, a panicked expression emerged for the first time. Looking at his body that was undergoing "paperization", he roared out of control,

"Think of a way quickly! Think of a way quickly!"

"When this world truly turns into a painting, all of us will be completely erased!"

"Roar—!!!"

At the critical moment of life and death, Bhadra let out a heaven-shaking roar.

He slammed a step forward, golden light bursting from his body, and once again transformed into that twenty-meter-tall golden body of the Dharma-form Buddha.

"All of you get behind me!"

The giant golden Buddha blocked in front of everyone, its six arms propping up a huge golden barrier, desperately resisting that sweeping force of "assimilation".

"Zhi la—"

The power of two-dimensionalization collided with the golden barrier, making a harsh sound.

Under the crushing of this force, Bhadra's huge golden body actually began to show signs of distortion and flattening.

His bell-like, resonant voice carried a trace of pain and urgency,

"At most... I can only hold out for five minutes!"

"Where on earth is the Yasakani no Magatama?!"

The Man in White Suit's brain was running crazily, countless clues and possibilities flashing rapidly in his mind.

Disguise, reverse logic, Domain, ultimate skill, sacrifice...

Suddenly, he seemed to have grasped something, a flash of inspiration flickering in his eyes.

He abruptly looked toward a certain direction.

"I seem to... know where it is."