Chapter 93: Flame and Serpent
The demon's eyes darted between them, flickering with paranoia. "Hey, brats...
don't tell me you just finished fighting another demon?"
Obanai Iguro stole a glance at Natsuya. Then, using a dry, deadpan tone
reminiscent of a certain sadistic captain from a samurai comedy anime, he
replied, "None of your business."
But his best friend betrayed the secret a second later.
"Oh! You noticed?!" Kyojuro shouted, swinging his Nichirin Sword in a wide arc.
"This is the result of our hellish training with Aniki!"
Sparks flew.
The demon relied on its superior physical build to easily parry the strike.
[Suirin ??? (Power Level: 78)] [Blood Demon Art: Spatial Coordinates]
To Natsuya, this was just another "trash mob." But to Kyojuro and Obanai, who
were still in the early stages of their cultivation, this demon was a Tier-2
threat that far exceeded their solo capabilities.
[Kyojuro Rengoku (Power Level: 46)] — Flame Breathing LV.1 [Obanai Iguro (Power
Level: 36)] — Water Breathing LV.1
If either of them had encountered this demon alone, the match-up would have been
heavily skewed toward a "Game Over." But right now, they were running a
"Duo-Queue" setup.
Furthermore, Natsuya was standing just a few meters away. The demon couldn't
read Natsuya's stats, and that uncertainty acted as a massive psychological
debuff, preventing the monster from commitng 100% to its offense.
The chemistry between the two boys was sharpening by the second. The "Owl Cub"
acted as the main tank and DPS, pushing forward with the unrelenting aggression
of Flame Breathing. Meanwhile, the "Snake Boy" used a variation of Water
Breathing that was far more wicked and surgical than the standard style,
covering Kyojuro's openings.
One was direct and powerful; the other was flexible and sinister.
The sounds of clashing steel and the wet thud of blades cutting into demonic
flesh echoed across the bridge. Kyojuro and Obanai were actually trading blows
evenly with a demon whose stats were nearly double theirs.
Nobuko, hiding behind Natsuya, peeked out nervously.
"You're the samurai from Section 9, right?" she whispered. "Why aren't you
helping your friends?"
Even as a thief, she couldn't bring herself to abandon her rescuers. Looking at
Natsuya, who was roughly her age, she figured that if she had the skills of the
"Owl" or the "Snake," she'd be jumping in to help them secure the kill.
Wait... is he staying back just to protect me? she wondered, feeling a twinge of
guilt.
Natsuya didn't notice her internal drama. His eyes were darting rapidly,
tracking the frame-data of the three combatants.
"I'm not jumping in. Fighting demons is their current 'Quest Objective'."
"Is it because... because they're strong enough to win?" Nobuko asked.
"Hard to say," Natsuya mused. "Their win-rate is currently a bit lower than the
demon's."
Nobuko's eyes went wide. THEN WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?!
In Natsuya's mind, live combat against a "Spatial-type" was the best way for
them to level up their [Insight]. Besides, he didn't care about the process. As
long as he got the "Last Hit" for the XP, the script was fine.
However, the tide was starting to turn just as Natsuya predicted. The duo was
entering the [Stamina Drain] phase.
Demons had near-infinite biological endurance and hyper-regeneration. If a
Slayer didn't secure a decapitation during the initial "Burst Phase," they would
hit a wall. Their breathing would become ragged, their forms would lose
precision, and their focus would drop.
Then there was the Blood Demon Art.
Kyojuro's flames lit up the rainy night, his searing slashes repeatedly passing
through the space the demon occupied. But at the last possible frame, the demon
would vanish and reappear on the bridge railing or the boys' flank.
Obanai's Water Breathing was like a winding river, his cold strikes aimed at the
demon's vitals. But every time the blade touched skin, the demon used the same
trick to "void" the threat.
If this mob didn't have a Spatial gimmick, they would have won already, Natsuya
noted. Warping is such a BS mechanic.
"Tch!"
Obanai barely dodged a claw swipe, then initiated a high-tier move.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
A tide of kinetic energy began to stack, taking the shape of a water dragon that
lunged at the demon with chilling pressure.
The demon's claws clashed with the blade. As the momentum built, Obanai finally
broke through the demon's guard. The "serpent" bit through the demon's
silhouette.
But it was only a silhouette.
At the final micro-second, the demon warped to Obanai's side. But before he
could land, a condensed ball of fire erupted in his face, following his movement
trail.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: FLAME TIGER!"
The demon threw up an arm to block. The moment the blade bit into the bone, the
demon's shadow flickered and he vanished again, putting distance between them.
His arm regrew in a tangle of muscle fibers, but cold sweat was dripping down
the demon's neck. He knew that if he hadn't sacrificed his arm, his head would
be gone.
"If you were a few frames faster, he wouldn't have been able to trigger the
warp," Obanai said, his tone toxic despite his lack of expression. "Kyojuro, has
today's training made you lazy?"
"MY APOLOGIES!" Kyojuro shouted. "IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!"
The demon's expression darkened. These kids are dangerous. If I slip up once,
I'm dead.
Time for Phase 2.
His Blood Demon Art entered a deeper state of activation. On the bridge, the
ground, and even on the boys' rain-soaked clothes, dozens of ink-like,
eye-shaped seals began to appear.
His warp usually allowed for high-frequency jumps within a hundred-meter radius.
Long-distance jumping required a "Mark" on the target.
But what happens if I stack the Marks within my line of sight?
[Blood Demon Art: Infinite Warp!]
In the next instant, the demon's silhouette began to flicker like a corrupted
video file. He was jumping between marks at a frequency too high for the human
eye to track. To the observers, it looked like multiple demonic clones had
appeared on the bridge simultaneously.
Even though this strained the demon's own sense of equilibrium, he suppressed
the nausea through sheer malice.
In less than a second, he bypassed the spatial gap and appeared behind Obanai.
Simultaneously, "clones" attacked Kyojuro from three different directions.
The duo raised their swords in defense, but they were now completely passive.
Every counter-attack hit an afterimage. Their blades passed through ghosts,
dealing zero damage.
Meanwhile, shallow cuts began to appear on the boys' bodies. With every cut, a
new "Mark" was engraved, providing a coordinate for the demon's next
instant-transmission.
The battle was sliding toward a Wipe.
Suddenly, Natsuya's voice cut through the rain.
"RIGHT!"
Kyojuro, whose body had been re-wired by weeks of Natsuya's "Demon Training,"
moved before his brain could even process the command.
His sword was mid-swing and couldn't be retracted? Obanai's cover was too slow?
Doesn't matter.
Kyojuro kept his sword in his left hand, but his right hand exploded forward in
a straight punch, faster than any sword stroke!
[THUD!]
Without an inch of error, his fist slammed directly into the nose of the demon
as it warped into existence.
The high-frequency flickering came to a grinding halt.
☆☆☆
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