Zydrex reappeared, its form partially solid but still weakened. Horyu grinned, knowing he had found a crack in the Wraith Lord's defenses. With a swift motion, he activated the Spectral Rend technique, his blade glowing with an eerie light as it combined real damage with an assault on Zydrex's very essence. He charged forward, using the shadows to mask his approach, and struck the Wraith Lord with everything he had.
The blade cut through Zydrex's form, and the specter howled as the spiritual damage ripped through it. But even as it faltered, Zydrex wasn't finished. It lashed out with a desperate attack, tendrils of dark energy wrapping around Horyu, trying to drag him down with it. The Wraith Lord was intent on taking Horyu with it into the abyss.
Horyu gritted his teeth, feeling the crushing pressure of the tendrils. His body burned with pain as they constricted around him, but he wouldn't let this be his end. Channeling the power of the Demon of Flames, he unleashed the Nightmare Pyre. Black flames erupted from his body, consuming the tendrils and turning them to ash. Zydrex screamed, its form writhing as the flames devoured it from the inside out.
With one final slash of his blade, Horyu severed the Wraith Lord's connection to this world. Zydrex's form disintegrated into nothingness, leaving only silence in its wake.
But Horyu had no time to rest. The moment Zydrex fell, three more specters lunged at him from different directions. Their combined attacks aimed to overwhelm him with sheer numbers. Horyu's Sharingan spun wildly, taking in every detail as he dodged and weaved through the onslaught. His movements were precise, but the battlefield was unforgiving. One of the specters managed to graze his side, drawing blood.
Gritting his teeth, Horyu activated the Hellish Rebirth, the black flames healing his wound almost instantly making him stronger. He retaliated with a combination of Abyssal Flame Chains and Phantom Mirage Edge, creating afterimages that confused his enemies while the chains wrapped around them, draining their life force.
The specters struggled against the chains, their forms weakening as the cursed fire sapped their energy. Horyu took advantage of their vulnerability, launching himself into the fray with a flurry of attacks. His blade struck true, cutting through their defenses and reducing them to nothing more than dark mist.
Horyu's gaze locked onto the approaching wave of specters, their numbers seemingly endless as they swarmed toward him from all directions. There was no hesitation, no time to think—only action. He activated Hellfire Incarnate, combining it with the Divine Flame Mantle and Demonic Flame Cloak. His entire form became an avatar of destruction, wrapped in a deadly mix of black and white flames, scorching everything in his vicinity.
The ground beneath him cracked and melted as the heat radiated from his body, turning the battlefield into a nightmarish inferno. The specters hesitated, their movements faltering as they were met with the overwhelming force of Horyu's combined powers. But hesitation would only last so long—these creatures were driven by an insatiable hunger for destruction, and they lunged at him with renewed ferocity.
[System Message: Specter Name: Morok, the Abyssal Devourer]
The first specter to reach him, Morok, lashed out with a wave of dark energy, the air around it distorting as it sought to engulf Horyu in an all-consuming void. Horyu's eyes narrowed, immediately recognizing the danger. He didn't wait for the attack to reach him; instead, he blurred out of sight, using the Kurohana Owl Tribe Sage Mode to merge with the shadows and reappear behind Morok.
In one fluid motion, Horyu slashed his Uchiha Ancestral Blade across Morok's back, the blade infused with the devastating power of the Reality Warp Strike. The attack bypassed the specter's defenses, slicing through its form with a vicious precision that left it howling in agony. But Morok wasn't finished—it turned on Horyu with a savage roar, its body swelling with dark energy, ready to explode in a suicidal attack.
Horyu didn't flinch. He unleashed the Abyssal Flame Chains, binding Morok in place before it could detonate. The blackened chains wrapped around the specter, burning through its essence and draining its power. Morok's form convulsed as it struggled against the chains, but Horyu's grip was relentless. With a final, brutal pull, he ripped the specter apart, its dark energy dissipating into nothingness.
But there was no time to celebrate. Two more specters descended on him from either side, their twisted forms radiating an aura of death and decay. Horyu's Sharingan spun rapidly, assessing their movements as he braced for the impact.
[System Message: Specter Name: Velkar, the Harbinger of Despair]
[System Message: Specter Name: Kalthor, the Phantom Executioner]
Velkar's approach was swift and silent, its presence oppressive as it unleashed a wave of despair that threatened to suffocate Horyu. At the same time, Kalthor materialized behind him, its massive scythe arcing toward his neck with lethal precision.
Horyu reacted instinctively. He activated the Spectral Rend technique, blending illusion with real damage, disorienting Velkar just as the wave of despair crashed over him. The Harbinger of Despair faltered, its focus shattered by the spiritual assault, and Horyu used the opening to evade Kalthor's strike by mere inches. The scythe cut through the air where his head had been, but Horyu was already moving, his body flickering between the shadows.
He reappeared behind Kalthor, his Uchiha Ancestral Blade blazing with the white-hot flames of the God of Fire. With a vicious slash, he aimed for Kalthor's neck, but the Phantom Executioner twisted at the last moment, turning the fatal blow into a glancing hit. Black blood spurted from the wound, but Kalthor responded with a brutal backhand, sending Horyu skidding across the molten ground.
Gritting his teeth, Horyu rolled to his feet, feeling the sting of the blow. But the pain only fueled his resolve. The black flames of Hellish Rebirth flared around him, sealing his wounds as he prepared for the next assault. Kalthor came at him again, its scythe gleaming with dark energy, while Velkar regained its composure, the oppressive aura of despair returning with a vengeance.
Horyu's Sharingan caught every detail, every movement from the two specters converging on him. He couldn't afford to take them head-on; their relentless attacks would overwhelm even him if he wasn't careful. He needed to break their rhythm, disrupt their synchronization. With a swift decision, he unleashed Celestial Inferno, the scorching plasma waves erupting from his body in all directions.
The air crackled as the plasma waves slammed into the specters, forcing them to momentarily retreat, but Horyu didn't stop there. He immediately followed up by blending Nightmare Pyre with the Spectral Rend technique, creating a nightmarish illusion of flames that disoriented Velkar while simultaneously inflicting real, lasting damage to its essence. The Harbinger of Despair staggered, its oppressive aura flickering as it struggled to maintain its grip on reality.
Horyu capitalized on Velkar's vulnerability, vanishing into the shadows using his Kurohana Owl Tribe Sage Mode and reappearing behind Kalthor. The Phantom Executioner, sensing danger, spun around with its scythe raised, but Horyu was faster. He slashed with his Uchiha Ancestral Blade, infused with Reality Warp Strike, aiming to sever Kalthor's head. The blade bent space itself, cutting through the air with unnatural speed.
But Kalthor wasn't easily outmaneuvered. The specter twisted its body at the last moment, avoiding a fatal blow, though the strike still carved a deep gash into its side. Black blood spilled onto the ground, sizzling against the molten surface as Kalthor let out a furious hiss. The specter retaliated with a backhanded swing of its scythe, forcing Horyu to retreat.
Just as Horyu dodged Kalthor's scythe, Velkar recovered and unleashed another wave of despair. The crushing weight of the emotion slammed into Horyu's mind, threatening to paralyze him with fear. The oppressive aura pressed down on him, a suffocating force that could cripple even the strongest will. But Horyu was no ordinary shinobi; he fought back, focusing his willpower and activating Spectral Assimilation.