Chapter 38: The Fallen Bird
Ignored... completely.
Seeing that Natsuya neither retreated nor acknowledged her existence, Kanae felt a wave of complex emotions.
"The Twelve Kizuki? Mmm... I can tell you..."
Before the sentence finished, the pack of wooden hounds lunged.
"...but only after I've eaten you!"
The demon didn't risk its own neck this time. After nearly being decapitated by the "butterfly," it had grown wary. It decided to use its Blood Demon Art summons to test the newcomer's strength first.
In an instant, several wooden hounds blurred through the air. Natsuya didn't even assume a defensive stance.
Is this swordsman frozen? the demon wondered. Did I scare him stupid?
Then, it realized in horror that the boy hadn't failed to react. It was just that the hand gripping the hilt...
Had vanished.
The hounds were still mid-leap. A flash of blade-light flickered.
Every single wooden head was severed in the same microsecond.
No! It wasn't that his hand disappeared! He drew his sword too fast for my eyes to track!
[Thunder Breathing]
[Sixth Form: Electric Lightning Rumble]
It was so fast that not even the afterimage of the lightning remained in the demon's retinas. Before it could process what happened, its entire pack of hounds had been reduced to woodchips.
Kanae, watching from the side, widened her eyes in disbelief.
She knew Thunder Breathing was famous for its speed, but this was on another level. Even my best strike earlier wasn't this fast, she thought. Is he a Hinoe rank? No, he must be a Kinoe!
"Can we talk normally now?" The boy tilted his head, resting the Nichirin Sword on his shoulder. "You're way too weak to be wasting my time like this."
[Tanmoku ???]
[Power Level: 119 (Body: 73, Tech: 29, Mind: 17)]
[Blood Demon Art: Mimicry (Iron)]
If this were a month ago, his hardening gimmick might have given me trouble, Natsuya mused. But now? He's just a stray dog.
The demon was essentially a "previous patch" monster. Pure physical attacks, no unique crowd control, no elemental attributes. His stats couldn't keep up with the current "meta."
Tanmoku went silent for a moment, his ego bruised by Natsuya's casual dismissiveness. Then, veins bulged on his forehead as he let out a roar, charging forward with a metallic sheen rippling across his skin.
So what if you're fast?! My body is as hard as steel!
That girl only cut me because I was careless! If I push my Blood Demon Art to the limit, I'm harder than your sword!
He lunged, every step kicking up a spray of dirt.
Natsuya saw right through him. Relying on raw muscle density? Ballooning your stats with a curse?
How can that compare to my optimized skill tree?
[Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!]
The blade ignited. Five interlocking arcs of lightning-fast slashes tore through the air, aimed precisely at the demon's joints.
Black blood sprayed. Tanmoku's limbs were severed instantly, sending him crashing into the dirt in a pathetic heap.
"H-How... how is this possible?!" the demon shrieked. "My perfect iron body! How could you cut it?!"
Oh, so he metallizes his skin, Natsuya noted. No wonder the feedback felt a bit crunchy. Like cutting through a hard wafer biscuit instead of butter.
Natsuya gave his sword a sharp flick, shaking off the blood.
"Iron is just the starting point of a true master's journey," Natsuya bluffed, walking up to the downed demon and lifting its chin with the tip of his blade. He felt like the scene needed a bit of flair.
"As the saying goes... uh... 'The blade is unseen, cutting steel like paper.'"
He forgot the actual poem he was trying to quote, but figured the gist was enough. My sword is better than your armor. Simple as.
Tanmoku wasn't in the mood for poetry. He desperately tried to regenerate his limbs, but the moment a tiny bud of muscle appeared, a flash of steel lopped it off again. The regeneration couldn't keep up with the damage frequency.
"I ask, you answer."
Who am I... where am I... why is this kid so broken? Tanmoku stared at the stars, his consciousness drifting.
Seeing the demon's "stubbornness," Natsuya sighed. "It must be convenient not feeling pain."
"You won't say a word even with your limbs hacked off? I'll give you this much—you've got some backbone."
Tanmoku's eyes flickered, focusing on Natsuya's face. What the hell is this brat talking about? Stubborn? I'm in shock, you idiot! Ask me again!
"Since you'd rather die than talk, I won't waste any more time."
"Don't be a red-name mob in your next life."
Tanmoku: ??? Wait, no! I'm not being stubborn! Ask! Just ask me one more time!
[Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and...]
Actually, forget it. Using an Ultimate on a low-HP mob is a waste of mana.
The gathering lightning dissipated. Natsuya simply raised his Nichirin Sword.
The demon tried to crawl away, but he was too slow. In Natsuya's eyes, the world had slowed to a crawl. He could see the terror in the demon's eyes and the shock on Kanae's face.
One step forward. The blade fell with a faint crackle of electricity.
[Proficiency +253]
[Thunder Breathing] LV.3 (620/2000)
Mmm... am I... dying?
No! I can't! I won't!
Tanmoku's head rolled on the ground. His initial shock turned into pure terror and rage. He tried to scream, but without a neck, he could only gurgle. He watched his body begin to crack and turn to ash, the iron-hard skin crumbling like a sandcastle in the wind.
I don't want to die, Big Brother!
...Big Brother?
The name acted like a stone dropped into a deep, dark well, sending ripples through his fading mind. Memories buried under years of blood and gore began to resurface.
He saw a warm workshop. Sawdust danced in the air, smelling of fresh pine. A younger version of himself was hunched over a workbench, carving a wooden bird.
His brother leaned against the doorframe, a gentle smile on his face.
"Jiro, if you keep getting that close, you'll ruin your eyes."
Jiro Akabane. He had been raised by his brother. His brother's house was his entire world. He could have spent his life happily carving wood under his brother's care.
Until the day his brother fell ill.
No medicine worked. Jiro had knelt by the bed, carving a prayer-bird out of wood, his tears staining the timber a dark brown.
"Someone... please save him..."
That was when the Shadow arrived. The demon had dripped a blood-red liquid into his brother's mouth.
It wasn't a miracle. it was a descent into hell.
His brother had mutated in agony, slaughtering everyone in the room. His wife. His friends. Jiro had tried to stop him, but was easily overpowered. Then, the demon forced the same blood down Jiro's throat.
"Make good use of this 'talent'."
His human memories ended there. What followed were years of darkness—memories so twisted they made him want to vomit.
He had killed his own niece when she returned home. He had eaten the master who taught him how to carve. He had killed so many people he couldn't even remember their names.
I... I truly deserve hell.
Damn it! If only I hadn't called for help that night!
Tears of regret and pain filled his eyes. In the hazy light between life and death, Jiro saw a quiet, winding river. On the far bank, red spider lilies swayed in the breeze.
Within the shadows of the flowers, he saw his master. He saw his friends. They didn't speak. They only watched him, eventually shaking their heads with a sigh.
The silence broke his heart. The dam burst.
I'm sorry...
[Tanmoku ???] → [Tanmoku (Akabane Jiro)]
"The bird... brought misfortune... I'm sorry..."
As his vision blurred, the spider lilies faded. He saw Kocho Kanae standing over his head, her sword resting on the ground.
She didn't know what he was thinking, but she saw the tears. This demon, in its final moments, looked so incredibly sad.
Kanae gripped her sword hilt, her heart heavy. She hated every crime this demon had committed, but she couldn't ignore the sheer weight of the agony leaking from his soul.
These monsters... before they fell, they were just ordinary people. They weren't born evil. But once they touched the Blood of the Demon King, their wills were twisted, their souls corrupted.
She tightened her grip. Her hatred for the Demon King—the source of all this misery—grew even stronger.
Finally, she exhaled, steadying her emotions. She still had to support Kojiro.
Turning to Natsuya, she bowed deeply. "Thank you for your help, Senior. But the situation is still—"
She stopped. Natsuya had that "wandering in another dimension" expression again.
Kanae: ?
Is he... spacing out at a time like this?
☆☆☆
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