'Aura' is a subtle thing, but in reality, it is nothing more than the product of one's eyes, actions, and language being amplified by one's own special power. Just like Lancer 'killing intent' is actually the product of his indifference to life during combat and the strengthening of his own bloody aura. At least, that's how Lancer understands it so far.
The strength of the three Oni Clan leaders in front of him is immense. Lancer can sense it even without fighting them, but in terms of aura, they are inferior to the several Heroic Spirits Lancer has encountered.
The most basic requirement for a so-called 'Heroic Spirit' is to be 'dead.' Except for a very few individuals who possess the status of 'Heroic Spirit' as living people, all the others are existences who resurrected after death because of their conviction, upholding their beliefs until death.
The aura displayed by that conviction, carried through to death and coupled with immense strength, has time and again revolutionized Lancer worldview.
The Greek hero who possessed a similar 'immortal body' but still pursued a 'fair fight'; the Son of the Indian God whose skill and fighting spirit were impeccable; the 'Shishō' who sacrificed his life to show him 'possibility'; the devotee whose obsession was warped but still shone with dazzling light...
Even the seemingly cheerful Astolfo would show an extremely serious expression at certain times, such as when he said, 'Even if I am weak, as a hero, I will not push away the hand reaching out to me for help.' Lancer had to admit that the other party was truly cool.
There are many similar instances. Even a certain unnamed Caster (Lancer still doesn't know Shakespeare true name) who caused trouble from beginning to end and caused his own death showed his lofty belief of 'causing trouble until death.'
Leaving everything else aside, Lancer is quite confident in his mental defense. It is incredibly difficult to make Lancer submit relying solely on aura.
But even so, he still felt incredibly uncomfortable amidst the clash of auras from three people who were clearly stronger than himself, and he finally had to speak up and ask.
'If you have nothing, I'll leave.'
This was Lancer thought at the time, but what he didn't expect was that when he asked the question, the three of them all paused for a moment. Then, Suika Ibuki, who was closest to Lancer, looked at Lancer with a strange expression.
"We were looking for you? Did we?"
Looking for someone? Suddenly, Yuugi Hoshiguma remembered what she had said a few days ago.
"Could it be that you are the 'Red Demon'?"
As she spoke, she scrutinized Lancer. Firstly, his height was unacceptable. Although Lancer height was exceptional among ordinary people of this era, for the Oni Clan, whose average height far exceeds 2 meters, Lancer height was undoubtedly far too short.
Secondly, Lancer extremely short-cut hair also showed that he did not have 'horns,' the iconic organ of the Oni Clan, on his head. One must know that the preciousness of the horns on the heads of male Oni can be compared to their private parts.
Coupled with the fact that Lancer, no matter how you look at him, has nothing to do with the word 'Red.'
But —————— did any of this matter?
The most crucial reason why Yuugi Hoshiguma wanted to find the 'Red Demon' was because he killed the Great Demon Tsuchigumo, which undoubtedly drew the attention of her, a battle maniac. So, whether Lancer was the 'Red Demon' or not was completely irrelevant. What was important now was that Lancer could actually remain composed under the pressure of the three's aura. Sure enough, let her...
"'Red Demon'? The demon in the rumors who defeated that coward 'Tsuchigumo'? Hoho~ He looks pretty good~ Let me be your opponent!"
Before Yuugi Hoshiguma could speak, Suika Ibuki jumped in first with a 'snatch.'
On the other side, Lancer showed no sign of wavering while looking at the somewhat drunk 'child' in front of him. After all, he had long passed the stage of judging the actual age of a person in front of him based on their appearance.
Thinking carefully, among the people he knows, let alone determining age by appearance, there are even people he knows whose gender cannot be determined by their appearance.
Moreover, he had not forgotten the powerful aura the other party showed just now.
Generally speaking, in this situation, there are only two choices if he wants to continue triggering the combat scenario.
① Mock the other party's child-like stature. Predictably, the mockery of 'Airstrip' is effective against all flat-chested females of any age group.
② Directly accept the other party's challenge and naturally enter the combat phase.
However, Lancer, as an adult, naturally —————— chose neither.
He had not forgotten the description of the 'Oni Clan': they are completely a group of battle maniacs. Leaving aside that his strength might not be enough to defeat these three people, even winning would be meaningless.
Lancer is not afraid of combat, but he won't engage in a fight that brings no benefits and only causes a lot of trouble. Losing might mean death (GG), and winning would most likely result in endless challenges from persistent opponents.
Does a person who thinks 'We'll be friends after I take a shot at you' even exist in this world? Wouldn't both sides have to be either sadists or masochists?
But before Lancer could even speak, the Oni Loli, whose height only reached Lancer chest (including the horns), swayed and lunged towards Lancer.
As the saying goes, 'Loli have three virtues: clear voice, soft body, and easy to push over,' but clearly, this Loli, who is likely permanently shelf-stable, is not included in this category.
Although the two were still several meters apart, the intense sense of crisis made Lancer take out the 'Zero' tucked into his waist without hesitation.
With a fierce swing of his right hand into the empty space, 'Zero,' which was only a short rod, instantly entered its first stage: a black long spear.
Then, he barely had time to grip the suddenly emerging spear shaft with his left hand, holding the spear body defensively in front of him ————————
"Boom!!!"
"Clang~ Clang~!"
Amidst the terrifying air blast, the sound of a hard object grinding against the ground was incredibly jarring, and everyone's sight was stunned by the scene before them.
Lancer, who was originally standing in front of everyone, was now several meters away, maintaining a two-handed spear stance, while two terrifying furrows plowed by Lancer feet ran along the ground.
However, the reason for their surprise was not Lancer retreat, but the fact that he was still standing there. One must know that there were only a few Oni on Onigashima who could withstand a single blow from the Three Oni Kings and remain standing, as the Oni Clan, being battle maniacs, had no concept of holding back.
Not only were the surrounding onlookers surprised, but even Suika Ibuki's face involuntarily showed an expression of excitement.
Unlike Yuugi Hoshiguma, she didn't know anything about the 'Red Demon.' Now, discovering that Lancer seemed very resilient to being beaten made her feel that her luck this time was good, and she might be able to properly stretch her muscles.
However, her joyful smile looked like the 'smile of an evil spirit' in Lancer eyes. The original plan to 'drink and make friends' was instantly thrown to the back of his mind.
At this moment, his mind had only one thought ——————
'Shoot the opponent first.'
Lancer is not some overly good person; he simply dislikes trouble, but that doesn't mean he is afraid of trouble.
Combat was imminent.