Naruto: The Chosen Undead

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Chapter no.63 The Taurus Demon

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Naruto ascended the staircase, the blue tearstone ring catching the sunlight as he emerged from the shadowy stairwell into the open air.

He stopped at a landing, glancing between two paths: the familiar descent to the bonfire or the unknown climb ahead. A grin spread across his face, his hand tightening on the Zweihander. "Forward it is," he muttered, taking the first step upward.

The stone stairs wound upward, narrow and claustrophobic, when suddenly a strange rumbling reached his ears.

"What the—?" Naruto barely got the words out before a flaming barrel came hurtling down the stairs toward him, its fiery glow illuminating the shadows as it picked up speed.

"Oh, come on!" Naruto shouted, summoning a fireball with a quick hand sign. Without thinking, he hurled it at the barrel.

Bad idea.

The fireball struck the barrel dead center, and for a split second, Naruto thought it had worked. Then the barrel exploded in a fiery burst, sending smaller, burning chunks of metal ricocheting down the stairs like deadly pinballs.

"Great idea, Naruto!" he scolded himself, leaping backward. He twisted in the air, flipping gracefully before landing on an uneven platform outside the staircase. His foot caught on something, and he stumbled, arms flailing. But the iron rusted ring kicked in, stabilizing him just before he could topple over.

Looking around, he realized he'd landed on a forgotten patch of stone, overgrown with thick weeds and vines. The once-pristine masonry was barely visible beneath layers of moss and decay, like a garden lost to time. Beneath his boots, something solid creaked—an old wooden chest hidden in the undergrowth.

"Well, don't mind if I do!"

He kicked the weeds aside and flipped the chest open. Inside was a small container filled with golden sap, faint sparks dancing across its surface.

[Item: Gold Pine Resin]

[Description: Rare pine resin that emits golden sparks. Applies lightning to a weapon. Effective against enemies resistant to magic or fire, and particularly devastating against dragon-related foes.]

Naruto read the description and let out a low whistle. "Lightning? Oh, this is going to be awesome."

Eagerly, he scooped out a handful of the resin and smeared it along the Zweihander's blade. The effect was immediate—the resin spread like liquid energy, coating the steel in golden light. Sparks crackled and hissed along the edge of the sword, the air around it humming with static.

Naruto flexed his hands as the tingling sensation traveled up his arms. His grin turned feral. "Alright, time to test this baby out."

He spotted his target: a hollow hunched over the top, shoving another flaming barrel into position.

"You!" Naruto yelled, pointing the crackling Zweihander at the hollow. "You're so dead!"

Channeling chakra into his legs, he vanished in a blur of speed, the Shunshin no Jutsu propelling him forward. The hollow barely had time to turn before Naruto's blade came down in a sweeping arc.

The Zweihander sliced through the hollow with ease, the golden sparks igniting as they coursed through its body. The hollow crumpled to the ground, its charred remains smoking faintly, the lightning still dancing along its severed halves.

Naruto stood over the smoldering corpse, raising the crackling Zweihander high above his head. "I have the power!" he shouted, grinning ear to ear.

With the hollow dealt with, Naruto climbed the remaining stairs to find himself on a new floor. A single wooden door stood in front of him, framed by moss-covered stone walls. He grabbed the handle and twisted it, but it didn't budge.

"Locked," Naruto grumbled, shooting the door a glare. "Why is every door in this place always locked?!"

For a moment, he stared at the door, wishing he'd picked the thief class. That master key thing probably would've solved so many of my problems.

Shaking his head, Naruto sighed. "No use crying over bitter ramen—" Then his stomach growled loudly, cutting him off. He paused, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "Wait… bitter ramen? That could actually be good. Oh man, when I get back, I'll have to pitch this to Ayame!"

With a grin at the thought, Naruto turned away from the locked door and climbed the narrow, spiraling staircase.

The higher he climbed, the more the tower changed. The cold stone walls gave way to splintered wooden beams and piles of broken barrels. Finally, the stairs came to an abrupt stop, the path to the roof destroyed long ago. Instead, a side passage opened onto a wall walk.

Naruto stepped out, his boots clinking softly against the uneven stone. The path stretched ahead, broken and jagged in places, a relic of a time long past.

To his left, a breathtaking view unfolded. Jagged mountains pierced the fog, their peaks veiled in mist. Pillars of golden light broke through the clouds, casting the valleys below in a dreamlike glow. For a moment, Naruto's worries faded, replaced by awe at the sheer beauty of the world.

To his right, the grand castle loomed. Its towering spires reached for the heavens, their intricate stonework carved with the precision of a master craftsman. The castle was both beautiful and intimidating, a monument to power and age.

Naruto stood there, caught between wonder and unease. "Man… this place really is something else."

Then he heard it.

A deep, thunderous slam echoed across the wall walk, shaking the stone beneath his feet. Naruto froze, his heart skipping a beat as he slowly turned toward the source.

At the far end of the wall walk, a massive creature lumbered into view, monstrous and primal. Its body was a horrifying fusion of beast and humanoid—thick, muscular limbs rippled with raw power, and its rough, dark skin was streaked with patches of fur. Its head resembled a bull, with glowing yellow eyes that burned like embers and two massive, curved horns jutting from its skull-like face.

In its clawed hands, it held a crude, massive weapon—a brutal axe-like blade that looked capable of cleaving the wall itself in half.

The Taurus Demon hunched low, its glowing eyes locking onto Naruto with deadly intent. It raised its weapon high and slammed it into the stone with a deafening boom, shaking loose bits of debris.

For a second, fear crept into his chest. But then the cackle of the lightning on his blade seemed to whisper a challenge of its own.

Naruto grinned, steadying his grip on the Zweihander. "What am I afraid of?" he muttered, his confidence growing. "I've killed the Asylum Demon. I've taken down a Black Knight. And now…" His grin widened as he crouched low, the Zweihander humming with electric energy in his hands.

"…I'm going to add you to the list."

[ Name: Taurus Demon ]

[ HP: 1,215 / 1,215 ]

Naruto stood his ground, taking the Fool's stance, the Zweihander hanging low as if he barely cared to hold it. His body language screamed vulnerability, an open invitation for the Taurus Demon to attack.

It worked.

The beast crouched, its massive legs tensing like coiled springs. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

Here it comes.

The Taurus Demon leapt high into the air, bringing its massive greataxe down in a thunderous vertical smash. Naruto jumped back just in time, the axe slamming into the wall walk with enough force to crack the stone and send dust flying everywhere.

But Naruto didn't wait to admire the destruction. With a burst of Shunshin, he closed the gap, aiming the Zweihander directly at the demon's eye.

The blade shot forward like a spear, but the Taurus Demon tilted its head at the last moment. The Zweihander met the beast's horn with a resounding clang, sparks flying in all directions. The force reverberated through Naruto's arms as he felt the blade deflect, his hands nearly slipping from the hilt.

The Taurus Demon responded with a horizontal slash of its greataxe, the massive weapon cutting through the air with terrifying speed.

Substitution Jutsu!

A split second later, the axe cleaved through a log, turning it into a fine spray of sawdust. Naruto reappeared midair above the demon, his Zweihander crackling with lightning as he prepared a plunge attack.

He brought the blade down with everything he had. Lightning erupted from the blade as it connected with the demon's horn, slicing it clean off. The Taurus Demon let out a deafening roar, staggering back from the sheer force of the attack.

"Ha! Gotcha!" Naruto shouted, his confidence surging as he landed gracefully on the wall walk.

He prepared to go for another strike, but then it happened. A sharp sound whistled through the air.

Way of Focality kicked in, showing him the threat—a pair of arrows.

Too late.

Both arrows slammed into Naruto's bicep, pain lancing through his arm as his grip on the Zweihander faltered. His attention wavered, just for a moment.

The Taurus Demon didn't need more than that. Its greataxe swept across in a wide, brutal horizontal slash, and everything went black.

[ YOU DIED ]

[ Through sacrifice, no souls were lost. Ring of Sacrifice shattered. ]

Naruto groaned as he woke up back in his room.

"Of course, there had to be some stupid crossbow hollows in that fight," he muttered, sitting up and rubbing his temples. "Like, because fighting a giant bull demon with a greataxe isn't hard enough already, right?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. Thankfully, his backup plan had worked. The clone he'd stationed at the bonfire with a Ring of Sacrifice had preserved his souls. It wasn't elegant, but it worked.

"Alright," Naruto muttered, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Should probably be heading to Training Ground 7 right now… but Kakashi's always late anyway."

With a grin, he broke the Darksign in his hand, feeling the familiar pull as he was transported back to Lordran.

"I want my round two. Fair and square, this time feabag. Dattebayo."

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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 5k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 30, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.

To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!