Chapter 29: The Immortal Demon Has Arrived

When the shrine maiden of the shrine reappeared before the crowd, Nord keenly noticed that the softness and compassion on the girl's face had vanished, replaced by a cold and hard demeanor akin to the icy mountains of Antarctica. She seemed to have made up her mind to carry out an outrageous act, to fulfill a mission that must be completed.
Aso is holding a massive bow, nearly as tall as a person, in her steady hands. The bowstring is taut, and this bow is a temporary borrowed magical bow. Although it is a ritualistic item, it doesn’t mean that this bow is merely a decorative piece. In her other hand, she holds an arrow fitted with a sharp golden tip.
“Demon lord, are you still stubborn in front of Amaterasu?” The girl once again stood before Lin Yi, her expression cold as she asked.
Lin Yi did not respond. Ever since he captured Altai, he had spoken very little. He was too lazy to waste energy on others, even though according to the setting, he had boundless energy.
Without a response, Aso glanced deeply at Heng Shen, and sighed inwardly.
She walked to the front, knelt in front of the bright and ancient Yata no Kagami, holding the onimaru high with both hands, bowing her head with closed eyes as she recited the ritual words, revealing her long and fair neck.
“Noble Amaterasu, your subjects have no choice but to commit this evil act... I hope you forgive others and place all sins upon me; I am willing to descend into the deepest hell and endure the utmost suffering and punishment!”
After speaking, the girl grasped the arrow and slowly stood up. Her left hand tightly gripped the arrowhead, and her palm was cut by the sharp tip, bright red blood seeping through her fingers.
The priestesses kneeling around her looked at their high priestess in panic, all sensing the terrible event about to unfold. One priestess attempted to rise to stop Asaka from taking the next action, but her words were silenced by a pair of cold and authoritative eyes.
Aso Heng looked at Lin Yi again, stopping his body, holding his breath, raising the large bow in his hand, skillfully bending the bow and nocking the arrow. The sunlight from the outside filtered through the gaps in the eaves, falling on the arrowhead coated with gold, shimmering beautifully.
The girl's gaze focused on Lin Yi's forehead, the bowstring drawn tight, her hands strong and steady, the arrow aimed unerringly at the target. Once she released, the arrow would accurately pierce Lin Yi's eye socket, embedding itself in his brain, with the bloodied pointed tip emerging from the back of his head, symbolizing the end of a life.
But the girl had not yet released the bowstring; fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she caught a glimpse of Asou Yutai, sitting resolutely in his seat, nodding at her.
Cold yet fervent words echoed again in the girl's mind,
```html“For the land beneath our feet, for the weakened nation... please kill him!”
Asao constantly recited in his heart: “For the land beneath our feet, for our nation...”```
The girl gazed at Lin Yi, making her final choice in her heart. She coldly uttered a phrase,
“Kill the demon lord.”
箭簇上的属于纯洁少女的血液尚未干涸，因为重力的作用凝聚成一颗血滴，吊在箭簇边缘，下一刻，血滴脱离，坠向地面。
At this moment, the girl released her right hand, and the twisted bowstring aimed to tighten again. Thus, the long arrow swiftly shot out, leaving a fleeting shadow in the air...
The sharp arrowhead instantly reached Lin Yi's unprotected left eye, piercing through like a needle through white paper, effortlessly penetrating the eyeball, severing nerves, splitting muscles, and delving into the skull, easily piercing the fragile brain.
Lin Yi's neck bent backwards due to a tremendous impact, and he could no longer stand firm on his feet, his body swaying and on the verge of collapsing.
His left hand raised stiffly, the iron spoon dropped to the ground, and the rhythmic clanging came to an abrupt halt.
Aso Hirotai watched as the arrow pierced through Lin Yi's head, and he couldn't help but feel ecstatic, almost standing up and dancing with joy. He turned to Nord and said with great delight, "My lord, the demon has been slain!"
However, Nord only glanced at him coldly before turning his attention back to the swaying but still standing Lin Yi.
Masao Yutai's joy was doused with a bucket of cold water; sensing Nord's attitude, a thought struck him as he looked toward that ordinary figure, his deep black pupils suddenly constricting.
…………
“Hoo~~” Aso let go of the long bow, and the wound on her hand throbbed faintly. She saw that the arrow she shot had precisely hit the man's eye socket, a testament to her years of archery practice. However, this time she would not feel any joy from hitting the 'bullseye.'
“I killed someone... I really... killed him?” The girl took off her serious and decisive mask, that arrow took away all her courage, kindness, anger, and passion... When she realized that she had truly killed an unrelated stranger, she suddenly felt an overwhelming chill, her blood had run cold. She felt her body hollow, as if she were plummeting into hell.
Aso turned his blank gaze towards the surrounding priestesses, who were screaming in terror.
“Ah!!! Someone was killed! The high priest killed someone before Amaterasu!”
"How could this be? How can it be like this?"
"It's just demon-slaying, why kill people!"
"Is the High Priest going mad?"
"No! No! This can't be! Why..."
As Aso’s gaze shifted, the priestesses hurriedly turned their heads away from her, as if dodging a pointed, bloodied slaughtering knife aimed at them. Some even let out screams, falling backward and crying out for mercy, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! I’m not possessed by the demon! Please, High Priestess, don’t kill me!”
Aso felt as if her heart had been pierced by several sharp knives; every scream deeply hurt her soul. She instinctively looked towards Aso Yutaka, seeking her brother's comfort and encouragement, only to see him in a state of ecstasy, bowing and currying favor with the man beside him.
The girl was bewildered, recalling those words that had once ignited her passion, but this time, it was a deep doubt about those very words.
“Is the future of a nation or people that needs to kill unrelated individuals to gain hope and a future truly beautiful?”
Just as she was in a daze, the priestesses let out a scream that nearly toppled the roof and disturbed the divine beings.
Ashou had a constant premonition that their scream was not because of her. The next moment, she followed the direction of the priestesses' gazes and found the source of their terror—the man she had already 'shot dead'!
At that moment, her doubts about her brother's words, her skepticism towards the bigwigs seeking help from the Izumo Shrine, her compassion for Lin Yi, and her shame and heartache over her own misdeeds were all swept away!
Looking at the bizarre scene before her, the girl felt increasingly cold, her face pale as if she were in the underworld!
Lin's swaying body seemed to find a new pivot; he bent his neck back into an unnatural angle and then suddenly snapped it back, lowering his head. After a moment, he slowly raised it, his intact right eye opening. From it, there was no sign of pain or anger, just a calm and deep stillness, like a bottomless abyss.
```htmlHe reached out, grasped the trembling arrow shaft, and yanked it out forcefully.
Pop~~
Like pulling the rubber stopper from a warm water bottle, Lin Yi effortlessly pulled out the half-arrow that had embedded itself in his brain, amid the terrified gazes of the crowd. Hot blood poured out from his eye socket in a spectacular spray, and on the arrow was the eyeball that had been pierced along with a long, bloodied nerve.```
In the ravaged eye socket, dark red blood trickled down, and the unpleasant smell of rust spread through the air, making the sunlight feel three degrees colder.
Lin Yi looked at Mao Sheng Shi Heng with the only eye he had left, and revealed a gentle smile half-covered by bright red blood.
The girl slowly retreated until she bumped into the wall, with nowhere left to escape. Her legs softened, and she involuntarily collapsed to the ground, watching as the man's wound healed rapidly, as if time were reversing. Witnessing this miraculous yet frightening scene, she thought of Asaka Yutai's words.
Then the girl said in a trembling voice:
“The immortal devil has come!!!”