He had never slacked in his training of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō, the Four Pillars of the Shinigami.
Now, his Zanjutsu, combined with his spiritual pressure, could generate sword pressure with every swing, which was how he could bisect five men with a single slash.
Sword pressure is a technique where spiritual pressure from the Zanpakuto is projected outward to attack enemies, acting as an extension of the slash.
When facing large enemies, ordinary slashes are ineffective because the wounds they inflict are too small, no matter how sharp the blade.
That's where sword pressure comes in.
In the world of Shinigami, it's common to see Hollows as tall as buildings cleaved in two with a single strike—this is the effect of sword pressure.
Rayleigh's sword pressure was still weak, but it was more than enough to slaughter these Evilus grunts.
Then there was Shunpo.
This unique footwork technique, developed and perfected by Shinigami over countless years of research and practice, utilized spiritual pressure in a way Adventurers could only dream of.
Some ancient technique in this world might have concepts of footwork, but they were confined to the realm of martial arts.
Adventurers possessed superhuman physical abilities, but their methods of utilizing them were completely different from a Shinigami's, and they couldn't freely manipulate the 'Mind' within their bodies.
In terms of attack power and speed, Rayleigh far surpassed ordinary Adventurers!
"Aaaah!!"
"Wait, stay back!"
"Sp-spare me! Aaaah!!"
The sheer efficiency of Rayleigh's slaughter terrified the Evilus.
In just a few seconds, they had lost over twenty members, leaving the survivors to stare in horror at the monster that was Rayleigh.
The hunters had become the hunted, screaming as they fled for their lives.
"Trying to run?"
Rayleigh used Shunpo to appear on a rooftop, watching the fleeing Evilus members with Senbonzakura standing upright before him.
"The moment you laid a hand on the Hephaestus Familia, your fates were sealed."
He infused his voice with spiritual power, ensuring every fleeing member of the Evilus heard his words.
Using such a technique on those about to die wasn't a waste, it was meant to heighten their terror before the end.
After all, death itself was instantaneous.
It was too easy.
"Scatter... Senbonzakura."
The mirror-smooth blade dissolved into a storm of sakura petals.
Under Rayleigh's control, the thousand blades drifted toward the Evilus members, catching up to them in the blink of an eye.
The beautiful petals fluttered past them, and suddenly, one man stumbled and fell to the ground.
Thud!
From the sound of it, it looks like he had fallen hard, but still desperate to escape the slaughter, he ignored the pain and gritted his teeth, trying to get back up.
After struggling for a moment, he realized something was wrong, he force himself to turn and look down at his legs.
Everything below his thighs had vanished.
"My... my legs! AHHHHH!!!"
The man shrieked in agony as several petals drifted before him, then pierced his forehead, throat, heart, and lungs.
When the sakura petals passed, they claimed a life.
A gust of sakura wind swept through the remaining Evilus members, and in an instant, their running forms transformed from intact bodies into bloody corpses.
Thud—Thud—Thud, They fell in rows.
When the sounds of battle ceased, the blacksmiths cautiously peeked out, terrified by the sight of the mangled bodies littering the ground.
Even though these people had just been attacking them and destroying their workshops, seeing them reduced to such a gruesome state was still horrifying.
Watching the petals fly back to circle around Rayleigh, the blacksmiths swallowed hard as cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
The handsome black-haired youth stood above and the beautiful sakura petals now eerie and sinister, stained with blood.
"Is everyone alright? Are there any casualties?"
Rayleigh called down to the people below, but for a moment, no one dared to answer him.
Finally, a dwarf stepped forward, his voice thick with grief and rage. "Five of our youths are dead... and an old man..."
Rayleigh was surprised to see him, it was the same old dwarf who'd given him the materials for his Asauchi.
'So several people died...'
Rayleigh felt a pang of regret, pushing off lightly from his perch and dropping toward the ground.
Just an instant before his toes touched down, he vanished, reappearing among the pile of corpses with a Shunpo.
He bent down, grabbed one of the bodies, and hauled it to its feet.
"Ugh, AHHHHH!!"
"Did you think you survived because you were lucky?" Rayleigh's voice was ice-cold. "Don't expect an easy death until you've told me everything you know."
"Don't... don't kill me! I didn't kill anyone, not a single person! I swear, please don't kill me!"
The man was scared shitless.
The spreading wet patch on his trousers made it clear: he'd lost control of his bladder!
Rayleigh frowned and hurled him toward a wooden crate.
Crash!
The force sent the man flying like a shadow, smashing into the crate with a bloodcurdling scream.
Rayleigh followed instantly with Shunpo, drawing Ruri'iro Kujaku from his waist and plunging it through the man's shoulder.
The blade pinned him to the wood and his feet dangling helplessly.
Unbearable agony ripped through him, and his screams echoed through the streets.
After securing him, Rayleigh hooked a smaller crate with his foot, pulled it over, and sat down.
He stared at the Evilus member, who now resembled a crucified prisoner.
"You're Evilus, no doubt about it. Start by telling me which Evil God's pawn you belong to."
"I... I'll talk... I'm from the Thanatos Familia."
"Why did you attack this place?"
"I... I don't know."
Rayleigh was unsatisfied with that answer.
He raised his hand, extended his index finger, and aimed it at the man's abdomen.
"Hadō Four: Byakurai."
A flash of electricity sparked at his fingertip. The next moment, a pillar of white-hot lightning blasted through the street!
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The captive now had a hole blown through his abdomen.
The edges of the wound were cauterized, preventing blood from flowing, only wisps of white smoke rose from it.
"You can still scream that loudly... it seems you still have plenty of energy," Rayleigh remarked, his finger tracing a path across the man's body. "No wonder you aren't willing to tell me the truth. Where should I aim next?"
The man gasped for breath, cold sweat plastering his forehead.
Fear constricted his pupils to pinpricks, and his heart hammered in his chest.
He was under immense psychological pressure.
Just as Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, preparing to unleash another Byakurai, heavy footsteps echoed from the main street.
Soon, Guild staff and 'police' from the Ganesha Familia arrived as Shakti led the group.
"What... what is this?!"
The street was littered with severed limbs and mangled corpses... bodies that looked as if they'd been flayed and ground into meat!
"Ugh!"
One of the Guild staff members couldn't stomach it and vomited.
Even the members of the Ganesha Familia felt unsettled. While they were decisive and ruthless when dealing with the Evilus, they never went this far.
And... on top of a massive wooden crate, a person was nailed down with a sword!
This was something only someone who didn't see their victim as human could do.
Humans are a species capable of empathy.
Hearing the screams of their own kind, most people would feel a sense of shared suffering.
That's why some break down after killing.
But this scene... It was less self-defense and more of a massacre.
And the ones massacred were.... the attackers themselves.
'These Evilus scum really poked the tiger's tail,' Shakti thought grimly.
Spotting Rayleigh, she approached him to ask for a full account.
After hearing his explanation, she exclaimed in shock, "You're saying you did all this... alone?!"
Rayleigh nodded.
The Guild staff's gazes toward him instantly changed.
They became fearful.
"These people are from the Thanatos Familia," Rayleigh said. "I'd just gotten that out of them when you arrived."
A Guild staff member took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Rayleigh-sama, we need to take this man back for special interrogation. Would that be... acceptable?"
"Sure. Take him."
"Huh?"
The Guild staffer froze, stunned.
He didn't expect Rayleigh to be so agreeable.
After all, this was a 'Demon king' who'd just slaughtered over forty people.
Negotiating with him was terrifying.
'What if he's still in a bloodlust?' the staffer worried. 'What if he takes offense at something I say and decides to run me through too?'
How could he not be cautious?
"What's wrong?" Rayleigh asked, puzzled by the man's hesitation.
Then, realization dawned.
He walked over to the Evilus member, yanked his sword free and with a sharp flick, shook the blood from the blade before sheathing it.
Shakti glanced at the corpses scattered around the scene.
She hesitated but ultimately said nothing.
The Ganesha Familia carried away the bodies, and Rayleigh prepared to report the incident to Hephaestus.
...
After collecting the bodies of their fallen Familia members, Rayleigh and the others returned to their base.
Inside the headquarters, nearly every member had gathered to mourn.
As the Captain, Tsubaki's expression was grim as she covered each of their fallen comrades with a white sheet.
Hephaestus stood beside the bodies, her voice filled with sorrow as she called out each name.
"Gingern."
"Fernandlin."
"Jost."
"Jeff."
"Bob."
A total of seven victims.
The entire Familia gathered to send them off, with Hephaestus offering prayers for their souls.
In this world, souls didn't linger in the Lower World after death. So even though Rayleigh was a Shinigami, he couldn't see their spirits.
He'd known half of these seven since joining the Familia, and the rest were familiar faces he'd greeted dozens of times.
Seeing them murdered felt completely different from killing those enemies.
He glanced at the Goddess's expression. Even a God who'd lived for hundreds of millions of years would grieve the death of her family.
"Our comrades have been slain, but this blood debt has already been repaid by one of our own."
Tsubaki, shedding her usual carefree demeanor, addressed everyone with the authority of a true Captain.
"Rayleigh personally eliminated the enemies who murdered our comrades!"
"We're blacksmiths, but we're also Adventurers! Let those who dare to attack the Hephaestus Familia know the power of our hammers and the fury of our steel!"
"Those Evilus bastards picked the wrong people to mess with!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
The Evilus.
The Thanatos Familia.
Rayleigh knew this was just the beginning.
The attack hadn't only targeted the Hephaestus Familia, the Magic Stone Factory had also been hit.
Their objective was the Magic Stones in the industrial district.
Rayleigh understood exactly what this meant.
War was about to begin.
A full-scale war between the Evilus and Orario—or rather, the Great Feud.
Erebus must have already declared himself an Evil God, united the Evilus, and begun implementing his plan of "Necessary Evil."
Rayleigh found it both infuriating and laughable.
Erebus, also known as the 'Mentor.'
His plan was to play the role of Absolute Evil to stimulate and strengthen Orario's Adventurers in preparation for the future Apocalypse.
'What an arrogant jerk.'
'Are all Gods like this?'
'He underestimates mortal too much.'
'We aren't insects for you to save.'
'Your love for all the races of the Lower World, your pity, your grand plan... I'll tear it all down without hesitation.'
'And when that Apocalypse finally arrives, you'll watch as it's ripped to shreds.'
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