The demon, filled with suspicion, hissed, "Hey, brats, don't tell me you just finished fighting another demon?"
Iguro Obanai instinctively glanced at Natsunishi. Then, adopting a detached tone reminiscent of Okita Sougo, he said flatly, "None of your business."
Unpredictably, his friend sold him out in the very next second.
"Oh? You noticed? That is the result of the arduous training I've undergone with Big Brother!"
Kyojuro answered loudly as he swung his Nichirin Sword in a wide arc, launching another assault on the demon.
Sparks flew.
Relying on his superior physique, the demon easily parried the strike.
[Suiwa?? (Energy Level: 78)]
[Blood Demon Art: Spatial Coordinates]
To Natsunishi, this was merely common small fry. But for Kyojuro and Obanai, who had yet to complete their training, this demon far exceeded the scope of what they could handle individually.
[Rengoku Kyojuro (Energy Level: 46)] Flame Breathing LV.1
[Iguro Obanai (Energy Level: 36)] Water Breathing LV.1
If either of them encountered this demon alone, they would be at a massive disadvantage, with a significant risk of losing their lives. But now, they were fighting in tandem. Moreover, a swordsman whose depth the demon could not fathom stood not far away.
This sense of wariness prevented the demon from fully unleashing its power. Furthermore, the coordination between Kyojuro and Obanai was becoming increasingly seamless as time passed.
The owl-like youth only needed to push his Flame Breathing to the limit, maintaining a relentless, indomitable offensive. Meanwhile, the serpent youth used a sword style even more cunning than standard Water Breathing, constantly providing cover and following up on the attacks.
One was orthodox, the other unconventional.
One was peerlessly aggressive, the other flexible and sinister.
The whistling of slashes and the sound of blades cutting through flesh erupted continuously on the bridge. Kyojuro and Obanai actually managed to fight this significantly stronger demon to a standstill for a time.
Nobuko, the girl hiding behind Natsunishi, poked her head out. She asked nervously, "You are samurai from Special Division Nine, right? Aren't you going to help your companions?"
She hadn't quietly slipped away after recovering her strength. Even as a thief, she couldn't bring herself to abandon her saviors and flee for her life. Looking at the youth of her age, Nobuko thought that if she had the skills of the owl and the serpent man, she would have rushed in immediately to help them smash the monster—no, the demon.
Instead of just standing here staring blankly.
Wait, could this person be unable to join the fight because he's protecting me?
Natsunishi didn't notice the change in her emotions; his eyes moved rapidly, constantly tracking the exchange between the three.
"I'm not joining. Fighting demons is part of their training curriculum."
Nobuko whispered, "Is it because—they are already strong enough to defeat that monster... uh, demon?"
"Hard to say. Their win rate is a bit lower than the demon's."
Nobuko's eyes widened, as if to say: And you're still not helping!?
In Natsunishi's view, practical combat against demons was essential for their growth. Besides, he didn't care about the process. As long as the kill count was his in the end, it didn't matter.
The battle situation unfolded exactly as Natsunishi had predicted; the duo, who had held a slight advantage moments ago, gradually began to fall into a passive state.
Firstly, a demon's stamina and regenerative abilities were far superior to a human's. If the initial strong offensive failed to take them down, a swordsman would easily enter a "stagnation period" once the demon adapted to the rhythm of the battle. Stamina drops, sword moves become predictable, and focus wavers.
Secondly, it was because of this demon's Blood Demon Art.
The light of Flame Breathing illuminated the rainy night as scorching slashes repeatedly swept toward the demon, only to be evaded by the opponent in a bizarre fashion at the final moment. His figure appeared on the railing one moment and on the duo's flank the next.
Obanai's Water Breathing was like a winding river, his cold sword techniques constantly striking at the opponent's vitals. But every time the blade was about to make contact, the demon used the same method to evade the threat.
If this demon didn't have a Blood Demon Art—or even if it had a more common ability—the duo would have had a high chance of victory. But spatial types were simply too unfair.
"Tch!"
Iguro narrowly avoided a claw strike and immediately executed a powerful Water Breathing technique.
[Tenth Form: Constant Flux]
The flowing sword intent surged like overlapping waves, transforming into a rapidly advancing water python that lunged at the demon with a cold, lethal pressure!
Claws and Nichirin Sword collided with a piercing screech. Within the constantly stacking momentum, Iguro broke through the opponent's defense. The giant serpent bit through the opponent's figure.
But it was only a figure.
At the final moment, the demon used its Blood Demon Art to flash to Iguro's side again. But before the demon could even steady itself, a condensed ball of fire blossomed before its eyes, pouncing along its movement path.
[Fifth Form: Flame Tiger]
The demon raised its arm to block. In the instant the slash cut into the bone, the demon's shadow vanished again, instantly widening the distance. Muscle fibers writhed, reattaching the arm that had been mostly severed.
However, cold sweat wouldn't stop pouring down the demon's forehead. It knew perfectly well that if it hadn't blocked that slash with its hand just now, it would have been its head that fell.
"If you had been just a bit faster, he wouldn't have had time to use his Blood Demon Art." Iguro's face was expressionless, but his tongue was sharp. "Kyojuro, has today's training made you lazy?"
Kyojuro said seriously, "My apologies! It won't happen again!"
Looking at the bickering pair, the demon's expression turned ugly. If it were even slightly careless, it might actually die at the hands of these two brats.
As expected, I have to use that—
The Blood Demon Art began to operate on a deeper level. On the bridge, on the ground, and even on the rain-soaked clothes of the two youths, a large number of eye-shaped marks resembling ink washes appeared.
Its Blood Demon Art originally allowed high-frequency teleportation within a hundred-meter field of vision. Long-distance movement, however, required the assistance of techniques marked on the target.
So, what if these technique marks were layered onto movements within the line of sight? Naturally, it became faster and stronger.
Blood Demon Art: Second Stage!
In the next instant, the demon's figure resembled a skipping videotape, flashing and flickering across several spots on the bridge. It was ultra-high-frequency continuous teleportation. Because the speed was too high, it produced an illusion in everyone's eyes as if the demon were appearing in multiple places simultaneously.
Although using the Blood Demon Art this way caused a strong sense of spatial disorientation for the demon itself, it used its powerful physique and the obsession to kill all three to forcibly suppress the dizziness and discomfort.
In less than a second, it bypassed space and appeared beside Iguro. It even launched attacks at Kyojuro from three different directions at once, as if there were multiple demons on the bridge.
The duo raised their swords to defend. This time, they fell into a completely passive state. Every attack seemed to hit an illusion. Blades passed through afterimages, failing to cause any effective damage. Conversely, shallow marks began to appear on the two youths, and special symbols within them began to spread.
These were both wounds and coordinates for the demon's next teleportation. The battle was slowly being dragged in a direction favorable to the demon.
Suddenly, Natsunishi spoke: "Right!"
Kyojuro, who had been drilled for many days, reacted before his consciousness could even catch up.
The Nichirin Sword slash hadn't been retracted yet?
Iguro's cover might not make it in time?
It didn't matter—
Kyojuro held his sword in one hand while throwing a straight punch to the right with even greater speed!
Thump!
Unerringly, it smashed right into the bridge of the nose of the demon that had just flashed into existence. The ultra-high-frequency continuous flickering came to an abrupt halt.
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