The demon suddenly raised both of his hands.
Then—
WHOOSH!
Dark shadows spilled out from his palms.
They crawled across the ground like living creatures, twisting and stretching toward me.
I jumped backward.
"Nature Breathing..."
"Sixth Form!"
I swung my katana.
SLASH!
The shadows were cut apart.
They disappeared instantly.
I stared at my blade.
"Strange..."
The demon laughed.
"Oh?"
He looked genuinely interested.
"Nature Wheel!"
I rushed toward him, spinning my katana.
Green energy wrapped around the blade as I attacked from every direction.
The demon dodged backward.
"Whoa!"
He smiled.
"Which Breathing technique is that?"
"I've never seen anything like it!"
I stopped for a moment.
"Just remember how it felt."
I raised my sword.
"They're going to ask you about it in hell!"
The demon's smile disappeared.
Then he attacked.
And so did I.
I didn't care how strong he was.
I didn't care how dangerous his Blood Demon Art was.
I just had one job.
Kill the demon.
I launched every form I had learned.
"Fifth Form!"
I dashed forward.
"First Form!"
My blade shot toward him.
"Sixth Form!"
I spun around him.
"Fourth Form!"
I jumped over his attack.
"Third Form!"
I swung upward.
"Second Form!"
I struck downward.
And finally—
"Seventh Form!"
The demon used his Blood Demon Art at its full power.
Shadows covered the entire street.
They came from the walls.
The rooftops.
The ground.
Everywhere.
I kept dodging.
Cutting.
Running.
Attacking.
But the battle was taking its toll.
My arms were getting heavier.
My breathing became rough.
I had several wounds across my body.
The demon wasn't looking much better either.
But he was still standing.
I knew I couldn't keep this up forever.
I needed one final attack.
I took a deep breath.
"Nature Breathing..."
"Fourth Form!"
I jumped into the air.
The demon looked up.
"Got you!"
I came down directly toward him and grabbed him by the neck.
He struggled.
"Let go!"
I held on tighter.
He tried pulling my hands away.
"LET GO!"
I didn't.
Then...
A tiny ray of sunlight appeared over the rooftops.
The demon froze.
"...Sunrise?"
The first rays of sunlight touched his skin.
Smoke immediately began rising from his body.
"No!"
He struggled harder.
I held on.
The sunlight spread across him.
His body began turning to ash.
Within moments...
The demon disappeared completely.
I landed on the ground and looked at the rising sun.
I took a deep breath.
"Mission accomplished."
My watch suddenly vibrated.
BEEP!
I looked down.
A message appeared.
MISSION 2
I stared at it.
"...What?!"
I had barely finished my first mission.
And they were already sending me another one?
I sighed.
"Well..."
"I guess being a Wing isn't as relaxing as I thought."