Chapter 403: Annihilation |
The blinding white light faded, and her vision instantly cleared.
Hoshino Rin panted heavily as she looked around her surroundings.
This was her brother's office; she recognized it at a glance.
Next, she looked down at "her own" hands, finally confirming that she had indeed swapped bodies with her brother.
She naturally knew the effects of that black ring. After all, during summer vacation at the beach, her brother had used those Paired Rings to transfer his soul into Sasaki Ayane's body to guide her in using her superpowers.
Therefore, even after having this kind of unbelievable personal experience, she was not all that surprised.
To be honest, she was still shaken from the fright.
At the time, she and her teammates had been rehearsing on stage, with the stage lights sweeping across the venue. In a momentary daze, the audience seating area, which clearly only had a few staff members, suddenly appeared packed with a hazy crowd of spectators.
Every single one of those "spectators" had an ashen complexion and a vacant stare. Even someone like her who had seen her fair share of the supernatural was scared completely stiff, let alone the others.
It was a scream of terror from Asahina Kaoru, who was acting as the lead singer for that rehearsal, that made Hoshino Rin notice someone else had appeared on stage at some unknown point, even taking over the lead vocalist's position...
Amidst that eerie figure's singing, she watched her teammates' expressions become vacant and hollow one after another. She even realized her own body was slipping out of her control, forcing her to queue up with the others to leave the stage and take a seat in the audience.
Then, her mind slowly clouded over, and her consciousness gradually drifted away...
Fortunately, at the final moment, she remembered the ring her brother had given her before she left home, allowing her to narrowly escape that disaster.
But she immediately realized that her brother was now sitting in her place at that arena over four hundred kilometers away, and she could not help but begin to worry again.
Although she knew her brother possessed immense supernatural abilities, he was in her body now. It was hard to say how much of his true power he could unleash—
Right at that moment, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a beautiful figure walked in with a brisk step. "A-Gen!"
Hoshino Rin was currently on edge. Startled by the sudden intrusion, she instantly bounced up from her chair.
Shirayanagi Ayaha, who had just entered the room, blinked in confusion. Looking at the highly strung "Hoshino Gen," she tilted her head, her face filled with puzzlement. "What is wrong with you?"
"Ah..." Hoshino Rin panicked slightly. Of course, she knew Shirayanagi Ayaha. Although they had only met recently, the other girl had left a profound impression on her. This was her brother's childhood friend, after all!
"Nothing... nothing is wrong..." Hoshino Rin's mind raced, and she subconsciously asked in return, "Why... why are you here?"
Shirayanagi Ayaha held her hands behind her back, blinking her bright eyes as she carefully scrutinized the young man in front of her. "It is Saturday today. There are no classes at school, and I do not know where Carole went. I was dying of boredom at home by myself, so I thought I would come see you..."
As she spoke, she walked a full circle around "Hoshino Gen" with an odd expression on her face.
When she returned to her original position and their eyes met, Shirayanagi Ayaha had already furrowed her elegant brows deeply. "You..."
"You are not A-Gen, are you?"
Hoshino Rin felt her heart skip a beat, and she could not help but take a step back.
But then she immediately realized something. Wait, it was not like she was some villain who had secretly stolen her brother's body. Why should she act so cowardly?
That ring was a protective charm her brother had given her. She could just explain it openly! Why was she acting all sneaky, as if she had something to hide?
Thinking up to this point, Hoshino Rin instantly calmed down. She took a deep breath and declared frankly, "I am Hoshino Rin."
Shirayanagi Ayaha widened her eyes slightly. Although she had noticed right upon entering that this "A-Gen" was acting strange and was in all likelihood an imposter, she truly had not expected a situation like this.
Filled with puzzlement, she asked, "So... what exactly happened? Why did Rin-chan turn into A-Gen..."
Hoshino Rin showed some hesitation before shaking her head. "I am not sure if I am allowed to tell you."
"Oh." Shirayanagi Ayaha looked thoughtful. "I see..."
She walked right up to Hoshino Rin and reached out a hand.
"Eh..." Hoshino Rin clearly had not expected the other girl to make a move and instinctively shrank her neck back. However, that outstretched hand simply landed on her cheek and gave it a gentle pinch.
Following that, she watched as the girl in front of her, who was as pure and weightless as a feather, broke into a radiant smile. "I have always wanted to try doing that. Thank you for giving me the opportunity!"
She released her grip, took two steps back, and put her hands behind her back again, saying with a grin, "Remember to tell A-Gen that I dropped by. I will come visit him next time when he is actually around."
With that said, she waved her hand, turned around, and left.
Watching her silhouette disappear out the door, Hoshino Rin plopped heavily back into the chair. She blinked and touched her pinched cheek.
'My brother really has a heart of stone. To think that even a girl like her cannot win him over...'
......
A lightning glow swept out, and the surrounding evil spirits wailed as they turned into black smoke, their souls scattered and spirits dispersed.
At this moment, let alone the Five Thunder Orthodox Method or Qimen Dunjia, he even had to be extremely careful using a low-power version of Palm Thunder, deeply afraid that he might accidentally drain his sister's "little pond" of energy completely dry—
Therefore, when faced with the utterly terrifying number of evil spirits filling the arena, Hoshino Gen avoided them whenever possible, locking his target directly on the true body of the Vengeful Ghost upon the stage.
That bizarre singing was still circling throughout the venue. Hoshino Gen could naturally hear the dangerous aura hidden within it. Was it not obvious from how the hollow expressions of all the living people were looking more and more like the faces of corpses?
From this, it was not hard to see where the arena full of spirits controlled by this Vengeful Ghost had originated from.
Countless spirits reached out with terrifying spectral claws toward Hoshino Gen, and endless wails surged forward in waves like a relentless tide.
At this very moment, let alone a concert venue, this entire arena was simply a living hell.
Let alone an ordinary, newly awakened Transcendent, even a standard D-tier or C-tier expert arriving here would almost certainly end up dead.
Fortunately, although the sole Transcendent in the arena at this moment was only a newly awakened E-tier, he possessed an SS-Level soul.
The instant the Sword Control Method was forcefully activated, a chair from the audience seating abruptly levitated. Hoshino Gen stomped down hard, stepping onto that mid-air seat.
Using it to push off in mid-air, he completely shook off the endlessly entangling tide of spirits and plummeted toward the stage in a rapid dive.
On the stage, the Vengeful Ghost, whose face was obscured by long hair, suddenly raised its head. A thick look of pure malice covered its ghastly and terrifying visage.
While still in mid-air, Hoshino Gen bit down on his left thumb to draw blood. The moment he landed, he executed a sidestep, dodging the Vengeful Ghost's attack that was already right in front of his eyes.
He pressed his bleeding thumb against his right palm, smearing the blood across it, and then thrust his hand forward in a reverse palm strike.
Palm Thunder—
Pale red Thunder Power erupted from his palm, instantly engulfing the Vengeful Ghost before him.
A shrill, terrifying shriek echoed so loudly that it made Hoshino Gen's eardrums ache, but even that sound was quickly swallowed by the lightning glow in the blink of an eye...