Following the method Orochimaru taught him to break the seal on a sealing scroll, Ryoma picked up the scroll marked with the character for "sword," placed it in his palm, and rapidly formed hand signs.
Then, he shouted: "Release!"
A puff of white smoke rose and dispersed, and in Ryoma's hand unexpectedly appeared a slender longsword, approximately one and a half meters in length.
The scabbard was entirely dark purple, engraved with all kinds of eerie patterns that drew one's gaze in involuntarily with just a glance.
The hilt, however, was made from a dark red material, and upon closer inspection, it was also painted with various ferocious beasts and demons, the reddish-brown hue making it impossible to tell if this was the material's original color or the result of being stained by the blood of enemies.
The moment this sword appeared, the temperature of the surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees, the whole blade exuding a strange, soul-devouring aura that even affected Ryoma for a time, making him unable to look away.
A voice in his mind continuously urged him to pick up the sword before him.
Suddenly steeling himself, Ryoma bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain instantly restoring his clarity.
Good grief, this sword is a bit strange.
It really doesn't look like any kind of righteous weapon.
Ryoma immediately decided to put the sword aside for now and study such a dangerous thing later.
He himself then ran over and began opening the second sealing scroll, marked with the character for "technique."
Another puff of white smoke dispersed, and an ancient book, emanating an aura homogenous with that of the sword from earlier, appeared before Ryoma's eyes.
"Damn... is this a set?" Ryoma asked, forcefully resisting the uncomfortable feeling in his body as he carefully examined this ancient text.
From the worn-out cover of the book, Ryoma could barely make out a few characters.
"Demon... Demon Sword... Mò Yé?!"
Ryoma rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things.
For a moment, Ryoma even began to doubt the reality of this world.
Unable to contain himself, he hurriedly opened the ancient book, only to discover that apart from the cover, the inside was completely blank.
Ryoma was instantly dumbfounded; what kind of situation was this, giving the item but not the instruction manual, right?
At this moment, Ryoma suddenly noticed Mò Yé, which he had set aside, and engaging his clever mind, he grabbed the ancient book with one hand while his other hand reached straight for Mò Yé.
The moment he picked up Mò Yé, Ryoma felt a sharp sting in his palm; he hurriedly threw the sword aside, spread open his palm to look, and found several long cuts had appeared.
"This thing even bites!"
Ryoma kept blowing on his palm, completely failing to notice that after being stained with his blood, the Demon Sword Mò Yé beside him was gradually emitting an eerie, dark purple glow.
Ryoma suddenly sensed a powerful grudge appearing beside him, surging towards him as if to devour him.
It was none other than the Demon Sword Mò Yé, tainted with Ryoma's blood.
Ryoma's mind trembled; oh no, it seemed he had activated it!
At that moment, Mò Yé suddenly flew up from the ground and, carrying a dense aura, shot straight for Ryoma's face.
Ryoma subconsciously raised his hand and caught Mò Yé directly in his grip.
The aura around the blade continuously intensified, and Ryoma was constantly assailed by various grudges and strange auras.
Before long, even Ryoma's eyes took on a tinge of red, appearing extremely terrifying.
Unable to control himself, Ryoma drew Mò Yé in one motion; under the sunlight, the black-purple blade reflected an eerie, demonic light.
And now, Mò Yé was using its own power to corrode Ryoma's body, Ryoma feeling as if his body were filled with killing intent and malice.
Just as Ryoma felt he was about to be unable to bear it any longer, the mask that had been dormant inside his body made its move.
It actually began to vigorously absorb the energy emitted by Mò Yé.
Naturally, Mò Yé also noticed this and started a fierce struggle with the masks within Ryoma's body.
Ryoma felt as if his insides had turned into a huge arena, where all kinds of negative emotions, grudges, and the Shadow Force's power of shadow were all vying for supremacy inside him.
The excruciating, heart-wrenching pain emanating from within sent Ryoma rolling on the ground.
In the end, a good tiger cannot withstand a pack of wolves—let alone when each Shadow Mask was itself a fierce tiger—Mò Yé was directly subdued and brought into line.
It began obediently channeling its energy to the masks.
The Shadow Masks, for their part, fairly divided the spoils: part of it helped the Night Bat Mask break its final shackles, while another part went straight to the Warrior Mask, aiming to activate the Armored Corps in one go.
After a long while, the turmoil inside Ryoma finally subsided.
The Demon Sword Mò Yé also lay quietly in Ryoma's hand, no longer daring to cause any trouble.
Ryoma could actually see something akin to obedience in this sword.
Of course, Ryoma was clear about what had happened internally; it seemed this Demon Sword Mò Yé had been tamed by the masks within him, and had now submitted to Ryoma.
Ryoma broke out in a cold sweat; this damn thing really was sinister.
If it weren't for the more powerful Shadow Masks inside him, he might have really capsized in the gutter and been controlled by this demon sword.
Ryoma calmed himself down, sheathed the Demon Sword Mò Yé, sat down cross-legged, and began to fully communicate with the Night Bat Mask.
With the help of the energy Mò Yé had accumulated, Ryoma smoothly broke the final shackles of the Night Bat Mask, preparing to seize the moment and directly summon the Shadow General of the Night Bat Corps!
The shadow beneath Ryoma continuously expanded before him, and a golden-skinned figure slowly rose from the darkness.
A robust build, a streamlined torso, and a pair of wings growing from its back that were larger than itself.
Unlike the other Shadow Generals, General Bat wore a short, compact half-armor, highlighting his characteristic: speed!
His stature was several times larger than that of an ordinary Flying Corps soldier, and the moment he appeared, he immediately spread his wings and soared into the air.
Ryoma stood up and watched Bat soaring in the sky, his heart filled with wild joy.
Finally appeared, the third Shadow General: Bat!
Bat noticed Ryoma's gaze, flapped his wings, and appeared instantly before Ryoma, his speed so fast that Ryoma couldn't even track his flight path.
Bat folded the wings on his back and knelt on one knee.
"Your subordinate, Bat, pays homage to His Majesty the King!"
Hmm~!
Looking at Bat before him, Ryoma felt great once again.
This also signified that Ryoma now possessed the ability to fuse with the Night Bat Mask.
Ryoma immediately decided to conduct a simple test; after all, time was short, he just wanted to see the effect, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Mainly, Ryoma was very curious about what improvements fusing with the Night Bat Mask would bring him.
Would he gain the Night Bat Corps' ability: flight!
With the experience from fusing with the Ninja Mask for the first time, Ryoma's fusion process had become much smoother.
With the complete fusion of the Night Bat Mask, Ryoma once again felt that long-missed sense of power within his body!
Ryoma opened his eyes, his irises once again turning crimson.
In an instant, Ryoma disappeared from his spot and picked up the Demon Sword Mò Yé, his speed so fast it only left an afterimage.
Ryoma looked at the increasingly docile Demon Sword Mò Yé in his hand, grinned wickedly, and spread his arms.
Suddenly, a pair of enormous black wings unfurled from Ryoma's back.
Ryoma let out a long howl, flapped his wings, and slowly lifted off the ground.
Looking at the ground getting farther and farther away beneath his feet, Ryoma felt a sensation he had never experienced before arise in his heart.
So this is the feeling of flying?
It's seriously, way too fucking awesome!
After getting used to the feeling, Ryoma began performing various difficult maneuvers in the air; he discovered that with the enhancement of the wings, his speed was even faster than in his previous state.
Ryoma drew the Demon Sword Mò Yé, moved his wings, and instantly vanished into the air, reappearing this time in the forest below.
He swung the blade in a horizontal slash; the demonic aura of Mò Yé itself combined with the power of the Shadow Corps, and the blade instantly erupted with an eerie and powerful sword aura.
With Ryoma's slash, the forest around him was directly cleared, creating a vacuum zone.
Ryoma looked at the trees flying everywhere in the sky, a satisfied expression appearing in his crimson eyes.