Chapter 27 — Three Demons at the Door · A Style of One's Own
With a sudden twist of his wrist, Asuka exerted force through the blade. The distorted shadow—an apparition made entirely of darkness—was violently pried free from the ground. It writhed wildly in midair before slowly drifting down.
"A demon! It's a demon!"
The moment people inside the bookstore saw the scene, panic exploded. Yuka's face turned deathly pale, as if the sight had stirred up memories she desperately wished to forget.
"Back off! Everyone stay inside!"
Although Harada Tadakazu had no idea whether the term demon was real or not, the strange phenomenon before his eyes was undeniably real. He immediately shouted toward the people behind him, trying to keep them from getting dragged into the danger.
But pulling the shadow-demon out was only the beginning.
The drifting apparition shrieked sharply, and the air around the bookstore turned even colder, as though malice itself were spreading through the atmosphere.
Then—
The pitch-black mass of malevolent energy began to convulse.
Without a sound, it split apart.
In the blink of an eye, the shadow peeled itself into two identical faceless specters.
"One becoming two? Or… are these not demons at all, but manifestations of a Blood Demon Art?"
Even when he had shattered the previous shadow-demon, Asuka had felt something was wrong. It hadn't felt like killing a real, physical demon.
Now that he had witnessed the creature divide before his eyes, the suspicion grew stronger.
The shadows behaved exactly like before.
They ignored Asuka completely.
The instant they formed, both shadows lunged straight toward Harada Tadakazu.
"Not happening!"
Asuka barked coldly as his body shot forward like a launched arrow.
His Nichirin blade flashed, severing both specters' attacks midair.
The ghostly arms they had extended scattered into smoke under the wind, dissolving into nothing. Yet the two shadow bodies merely swayed slightly before stabilizing again, facing Asuka with sinister silence.
A Blood Demon Art that controls two shadows at once… Could it belong to a Lower Moon?
Asuka wasn't certain.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for any suspicious corner that might reveal the demon controlling this ability.
When the two shadows realized their attack had failed, they immediately separated—splitting left and right.
Their goal was clear: force Asuka to defend two fronts at once. If he failed to cover one side, even for an instant, the other shadow could slip past and assassinate Harada.
Asuka twisted his body and pivoted on his feet.
His Nichirin blade struck again, swift as a gale, clashing relentlessly with both shadows.
The scene descended into chaos.
The workers from Sanmonji Bookshop turned pale. Some of the more timid ones had already begun praying to every god they could think of.
"Don't panic! Mr. Asuka is strong—he'll handle this!"
Asano Mori tried to calm the crowd while urging Yuka to lead everyone out through the back door.
This wasn't a fight ordinary workers could survive.
The priority was preventing more casualties.
"And what about you?!" Yuka cried in alarm. She had never witnessed anything like this before, and her mind was spinning. "What about Mr. Asuka? Are we really leaving him here alone?"
"Don't worry! I'll stay!"
Asano Mori thumped his chest bravely.
Though the confidence in his voice wasn't entirely convincing.
As the crowd hurriedly evacuated the Sanmonji Bookshop and Asuka's blade began to move faster and faster—
Whoosh!
The hairs on the back of Asuka's neck suddenly stood on end.
A cold presence he had sensed before—fleeting and sinister—struck like a viper that had been waiting in ambush.
From the dark corner near the bookstore's back door—
A third faceless shadow-demon emerged.
Whether controlled deliberately by its master or simply cunning by nature, this one had remained completely still in hiding the entire time.
It had waited patiently while Asuka fought the other two shadows and the crowd fell into chaos.
Now it struck.
Silent.
Blindingly fast.
Its target was once again Harada Tadakazu.
"This is bad—Brother Harada!" Yuka cried out as a gust of icy wind brushed past her face.
Asuka had already withdrawn his blade and shifted into the fastest form of Wind Breathing, racing to intercept the shadow before it could reach its prey.
But—
It was too late.
Rip—!
The tearing sound of claws ripping through flesh rang out.
It was the first time the faceless shadow-demon had unleashed such a vicious attack. Clearly, the demon behind it had finally decided to kill—no longer bothering with slowly draining life through shadows.
But when the spray of blood settled—
Harada Tadakazu did not fall.
Instead, he stared forward in frozen horror, eyes wide with disbelief at the figure standing in front of him.
"Mori!"
Harada had known he was already being targeted by the demon. That was why he hadn't run toward the crowd—he refused to drag his fellow workers into danger.
Even knowing something might strike from the shadows, he had prepared himself to fight to the death.
But he had never expected Asano Mori to step in front of him so decisively—taking the full force of that savage attack.
"…Brother Harada… Mr. Asuka… you must… avenge my brother…"
Mori's voice bubbled with blood.
The demon's claw had nearly torn open his chest. The fact that he was still standing and speaking was already a miracle.
His head tilted weakly, his mind fading into darkness as his body began to collapse.
"Mori! Don't fall! Stay conscious!"
Harada rushed forward and caught him, pressing his clothes against the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding.
But the blood continued to gush out.
The situation was becoming critical.
"Mr. Asuka! Do something!" Yuka cried out in panic, her voice breaking.
"…"
Asuka said nothing.
Instead, he slowly drew the second blade from his waist.
"Wind Breathing · Dual-Blade Form…"
The Asauchi flashed from its sheath like lightning, scattering sparks that illuminated the night. One blade before, one behind—the two swords mirrored each other, gleaming with lethal cold light.
"Blazing Wheel!"
A storm rising in the night.
A cyclone tearing roofs from houses.
A wind powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone.
In an instant—
Asuka's body transformed into a black-green tempest, crashing forward with unstoppable force.
His twin blades spun into a high-speed spiral of death.
Each swing tore at the air itself, sending violent tremors through the atmosphere.
And more than that—
Within the blades surged a primal force born deep within Asuka's soul.
It was the savage spiritual pressure that devoured everything.
The gray-black wind was no longer just a visual metaphor.
It became a real tornado of slicing wind, a vortex of blade-like currents that shredded anything caught inside.
This was his own form.
His own style.
The embodiment of his unleashed fury.
The faceless shadow-demon that had struck Mori immediately joined the other two, all three moving together to eliminate their target.
But the moment Asuka's violent storm erupted—
Even these soulless puppets of Blood Demon Art sensed the overwhelming destruction within it.
All three froze.
Shrrrk—shrrrk—shrrrk—!
In the blink of an eye, Asuka was upon them.
The gray-black storm swallowed the three shadows whole.
Under the combined force of his sword technique and spiritual pressure, the shadows began dissolving like cloth thrown into acid.
If simple destruction were all, it would have ended there.
But Asuka's ferocious spiritual pressure tore at their shattered bodies like a pack of wild hounds.
Every fragment of shadow became food.
Every scrap was devoured.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Three faint sounds echoed—like bubbles bursting.
After twisting violently, the three shadow-demons collapsed into countless tiny dark-red particles, each radiating an ominous aura.
They scattered like frightened fireflies, fleeing in every direction under the lingering winds of the storm.
The tempest subsided.
Asuka stood where he was, both blades lowered slightly, his stance still poised for the final strike.
As his breathing gradually slowed, the gray-black currents surrounding him dissipated into the night air.
"Yuka."
Asuka spoke coldly, though urgency edged his voice.
"Take care of the injured."
"Y-Yes!"
Yuka was still stunned by the sight of him destroying three demons in an instant, but she quickly gathered herself and nodded frantically.
With the help of two workers and the tearful Harada, she began tending to the gravely wounded Asano Mori.
"Where are you going?" she called out anxiously as Asuka turned to leave.
But Asuka didn't answer.
All his focus was on his spiritual perception.
Following the trail of the escaping dark-red energy, he dashed through the streets and crowds at high speed.
People shouted as he bumped into them.
Some even stared in shock at the young man carrying swords openly through the city.
He didn't care.
For some reason, a restless irritation burned inside him.
The farther he chased the trail, the colder the air became.
He knew it.
The source was close.
Following the sinister aura through a quiet pine forest—
He suddenly emerged before a massive shrine.
Black lacquered buildings gleamed faintly beneath the moonlight, accented with golden ornaments that gave the place an air of solemn grandeur.
At the entrance stood a towering torii gate, like a doorway leading into another world.
The spiritual heart of Sendai—
Ōsaki Hachimangū Shrine.