"The scent of a demon!"
Moriyama Akira's face paled instantly. His hand flew to the hilt of his Nichirin sword, his eyes darting around the darkening street with sharp paranoia.
Twilight had arrived. The light was fading fast, but the sun hadn't fully dipped below the horizon—even the lingering remnants of ultraviolet light should have been enough to keep any demon at bay. They shouldn't be active yet.
The two Slayers exchanged a glance and immediately split up, their eyes scanning every alleyway and the long, stretching shadows beneath the eaves like hawks.
However, as night truly fell, the street remained eerily silent. Aside from some trash blowing in the wind, the lane was empty. It was a deathly, hair-raising stillness.
The intense demonic aura that had flared for a split second vanished without a trace, leaving no trail to follow.
Moriyama looked toward Ryousuke, bewildered. "It's gone? Where the hell is it hiding?"
Ryousuke's lip curled into a cold smirk as he crossed his arms. This demon was either incredibly careless or incredibly arrogant. Choosing this time and place to practically slap them in the face with its scent...
"Interesting... this one is pretty cocky, isn't it?"
Moriyama blinked, then the realization hit him. This wasn't an accidental exposure; it was a blatant provocation. A surge of anger rushed to his head, and he couldn't help but snap.
"Dammit! If you've got the guts, crawl out here! Hiding like a coward... what kind of strength is that?"
Ryousuke ignored the outburst and walked toward a roadside general store. He knelt, rubbing some debris between his fingertips. He knew exactly what was going on.
"Ryousuke-san?" Moriyama hurried after him, confused. "Are you... buying something?"
Ryousuke didn't answer. He stood before the shop door and tilted his head, listening. Inside, there was total silence. Not even the faint sound of a heartbeat or a breath.
The smile on Ryousuke's face deepened. Without warning, he suddenly twisted his hips and channeled all his strength into his right leg, delivering a brutal kick directly to Moriyama's backside!
"Eh—WUAAAGH!!!"
Caught completely off guard, Moriyama was sent flying. He crashed through the unlocked sliding doors and tumbled headfirst into the darkness of the shop.
"YASUI RYOUSUKE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!!"
Before Moriyama's furious roar could even finish echoing, the trap sprung.
SLAM!
The wooden doors he had just crashed through snapped shut like the jaws of a living creature, sealing out the last sliver of evening light.
Then, the ground, the walls, and the ceiling began to soften, ripple, and expand.
Gurgle... squelch... squish...
The sickening, wet sound of shifting flesh echoed through the space. Disgusting tumors bulged from the wallpaper, splitting open to reveal bloodshot eyeballs that swiveled madly, locking onto the terrified Moriyama.
The room lost all its sharp angles, transforming into a pulsating, dark-red tunnel of stinking organic matter. Countless tentacles, lined with suckers and needle-like teeth, shot out from every direction like vipers!
"AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Moriyama's soul nearly left his body. Driven by pure survival instinct, he rolled clumsily across the floor, swinging his blue Nichirin sword in a frantic arc.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
Shink!
A circular trail of blue water sliced through several tentacles, sending severed bits flying. But there were too many. For every one he cut, two or three more regenerated from the writhing meat-walls.
"YASUI RYOUSUKE! YOU KNEW THE DEMON WAS HERE! YOU USED ME AS BAIT!!"
Moriyama screamed in desperation as a tentacle lashed across his back, sending him staggering forward into the path of a dozen more reaching for his throat. He was a mess of panic and flailing limbs.
"Hahaha! A pathetic worm sold out by his own comrade! You humans are always so wretched!"
A shrill voice echoed from deep within the walls. In the center of the room, a large mass of flesh pulsated and molded itself into a humanoid shape.
"How does it feel to be abandoned? What a beautiful expression! Fear! Rage! Despair! Hahaha!" The demon cackled. "Don't worry, once I've eaten you, I'll deal with that other brat. Just sit still and become part of me!"
The demon's laughter grew as more tentacles thickened into whips, sealing off Moriyama's escape routes and coiling around his limbs.
"Waaaaah! Mama! I want to go home! Help me!!" Moriyama wailed.
BOOM!
A thunderous vibration shook the entire building! In the absolute darkness of the sealed shop, a point of blinding white light suddenly ignited.
ZING—!
The sound of the blade was like a lightning strike. The wooden doors and a massive chunk of the writhing meat-wall were vaporized by a bolt of electricity.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
Ryousuke's silhouette appeared amidst the exploding dust and blood mist. He didn't hesitate, charging back into the fray. As his blade hummed, he transitioned into his next move.
"Thunder Breathing, Fourth Form: Distant Thunder!"
CRACK-BOOM!
A violent streak of lightning tore through the air, striking directly at the demon's newly formed body. The white-hot blade sliced through its neck with zero resistance.
The demon's triumphant laughter cut off instantly. Its head flew into the air, its face frozen in shock and disbelief.
"Ugh... gah..."
The head tumbled through the air, its mouth gnashing. However, the severed body didn't crumble into ash. Instead, the surrounding meat-walls began to boil like a swamp, spewing out even more eyes and tentacles.
The entire shop had become one giant, carnivorous nest!
"You fool!" The flying head was caught by a tentacle. It roared with venomous rage. "As long as a single scrap of meat or a drop of blood remains in this house, I can regenerate infinitely! You can't cut it all! Hahaha! The sun is gone, and now you're both on the menu!"
Moriyama, having just shaken off his restraints, turned pale. Infinite regeneration? How are we supposed to fight that?!
Ryousuke lowered his head slightly, his bangs shadowing his eyes. Small arcs of electricity crackled around his body.
"Oh?" Ryousuke chuckled, his tone dripping with mockery. "I can't cut it all, you say?"
BOOM! BOOM!!!
A surge of power, far more violent than before, exploded from him. The temperature in the room skyrocketed as if they were standing in a furnace.
"Thunder Breathing, Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!"
Blazing streaks of lightning ravaged the room. With a single wide sweep of his blade, dozens of tentacles and meat-walls were ground into ash in an instant.
The speed of his strikes was terrifying, and the sheer power was overwhelming. In one move, more than half the organic matter in the room was charred to a crisp, filling the air with the stench of burnt flesh.
Ryousuke smirked. The Fifth Form had a massive area of effect and high damage, plus a burning debuff—its only weakness was its short range. But in a cramped, sealed room like this? It was a god-tier skill.
The demon panicked, frantically trying to pull its remaining mass together using its Blood Demon Art.
That was exactly what Ryousuke was waiting for.
He slammed his sword back into its sheath. As his thumb pushed against the handguard, a violent aura of lightning erupted around him.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash... Triple Fold!"