Boom!
Standing in the ruined doorway was a menacing young man. Dark blue, criminal-like tattoos covered his body, and an endless, suffocating pressure radiated from him.
Beneath the heavy veil of night, the silence was absolutely deafening!
A bone-chilling aura permeated every single corner of the room.
The illusion born purely from piercing killing intent—Tetsuya could never forget this intensely familiar sensation.
The air around them grew impossibly heavy. Tetsuya's expression darkened, his chest heaving as he listened to his own heart hammering wildly against his ribs.
Etched directly into those golden irises were the kanji for Upper Rank and Three!
On the bed, Kanae parted her pale lips. So this was the true terror of an Upper Rank demon!
Both of their minds raced, desperately trying to formulate a countermeasure.
But with Kanae’s wounds severely infected and her fever skyrocketing, how much combat power she actually had left was completely unknown.
No matter how hard they brainstormed, relying solely on the two of them to fight Akaza head-on was an absolute impossibility!
Kanae's beautiful eyes softened. She offered a gentle smile; even if she had to do it all over again, her choice wouldn't change.
Tetsuya's pupils reflected Kanae's tragic, beautiful smile. He clenched his fists in bitter frustration. His lips moved, silently mouthing the words: "Your Nichirin Sword is under the bed. Grab it and run!"
With that, Tetsuya turned around, leaving Kanae with the view of his resolute back.
"Wait..." Kanae reached out her small hand, desperately trying to grab him, but her fingers only brushed the fabric of his sleeve.
Tetsuya stepped forward, facing Akaza head-on once again.
"I thought you were already dead," Akaza chuckled. He had slaughtered quite a few people in this town; the Demon Slayer Corps was bound to send their swordsmen.
But he hadn't bothered to warn Tetsuya.
That Man's blood wasn't something to be taken lightly. This was the second trial he had prepared for the boy—only those who could survive being hunted by the Demon Slayers were worthy of becoming truly strong!
'You bastard,' Tetsuya cursed inwardly. His eyes turned icy as he replied, "I guess I didn't disappoint you."
"Heh!" Akaza didn't seem to care, his apathetic, merciless gaze drifting past Tetsuya to the bed behind him.
Boom!
In that split second, Akaza lunged forward. His figure completely vanished, darting ahead like an eerie phantom.
In less than a heartbeat, he bypassed Tetsuya entirely, materializing right in front of Kanae. His massive fist rocketed straight toward her frail body on the bed.
'So fast!' Kanae’s face paled in horror, a single thought dominating her mind. 'So this is the sheer power of an Upper Rank!'
Sharingan!
Tetsuya's eyes flared a brilliant crimson, the twin tomoe spinning wildly as they tracked Akaza’s trajectory. Without hesitation, he threw a vicious punch right at Akaza's exposed back.
If Akaza followed through with his attack on Kanae, he would have to eat Tetsuya's punch in return.
Bang!
A ferocious grin twisted Akaza's face. He spun on his heel, instantly shifting his target to Tetsuya.
The two fists collided, generating a ferocious shockwave. Wave after wave of explosive air pressure blasted outward, blowing the furniture and debris entirely across the room.
Kanae tumbled off the mattress, hitting the floor hard. Turning her head, she spotted her Nichirin Sword tucked neatly under the bed frame.
"This woman is my prey. Keep your hands off her, Akaza!" Tetsuya demanded, his voice chilling.
Demons were far from harmonious creatures. When it came to a human with a rare blood type or unique constitution, fighting over the prey was commonplace.
The law of the jungle. Survival of the fittest. That was the absolute rule among demons!
"I just thought she was too weak! She'd only get in the way of our fight!" Akaza laughed maniacally. He typically didn't kill women or children, but Demon Slayers were the sole exception to that rule.
As he spoke, Akaza poured more strength into his arm, violently pressing forward and crushing Tetsuya's defense.
Tetsuya’s expression warped. An overwhelming, utterly irresistible force transmitted straight through Akaza’s fist.
"Haa!" Akaza roared, taking a solid step forward and driving a devastating punch directly into Tetsuya’s chest.
Boom!
Taking the full brunt of the heavy strike, Tetsuya’s body launched backward like a cannonball, entirely shattering the shack's sturdy wall.
Tumbling out into the open dirt, he rolled several times before finally skidding to a halt. Scrambling to his feet in a pathetic state, Tetsuya felt a sharp, throbbing ache in his chest and glanced down.
Akaza's punch had punched clean through him, leaving a fist-sized, gaping bloody hole right in the center of his chest.
But to a demon, an injury like that was no different than a scraped knee.
Writhing tendrils of flesh sprouted from the edges of the wound, knitting together and completely regenerating his chest in the blink of an eye.
Akaza strolled out of the ruined shack, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Those blood-red eyes... is that your Blood Demon Art? Looks like you've eaten quite a few people already."
Having seen the slaughtered Black Dragon Syndicate, Akaza naturally assumed Tetsuya had consumed everyone inside. It was the only logical explanation for how he had spiked his power this much in just a single day.
Tetsuya remained silent.
Chatty as ever, Akaza continued, "It's a real shame, though. Your body simply can't keep up with your eyes!"
Those crimson eyes could perfectly track his movements, but Tetsuya’s physical speed dragged far behind.
Still, it was enough to prove that Akaza hadn't made a mistake in choosing him. The kid genuinely had the potential to become an absolute powerhouse.
"It doesn't matter!" Akaza cheered, his tone ringing with excitement. "A few decades from now, or maybe a few centuries, you will definitely mature! Then, we'll finally be able to fight to the death with everything we have!"
Tetsuya let out a cold laugh. Decades or centuries were way too far away. He was only concerned about surviving tonight!
Sharingan: Genjutsu!
An icy, blood-red light flashed across Tetsuya's eyes, unleashing a majestic surge of ocular power like it cost him absolutely nothing.
Staring directly into Tetsuya's eyes, Akaza predictably plummeted straight into the illusion.
Everything around him immediately warped and changed.
Akaza's face betrayed genuine interest. He hadn't expected those weird eyes to harbor the ability to cast illusions.
Inside the Genjutsu, time flowed backward. The hundreds of years of Akaza's existence played out before him like a film reel. Watching his past battles with countless strong martial artists, for a brief, fleeting moment, Akaza actually didn't want to break the illusion.
What lay at the very end of his memories?
A sliver of curiosity stirred within him. Harboring that quiet expectation, Akaza simply waited, watching the reel spin backward.
The memory finally froze on the exact moment he was transformed into a demon—That Man’s hand piercing straight through his skull.
"That's it? How boring!"
Akaza felt like he had wasted his time.
In a sudden, hazy trance, he thought he saw a river. The rushing currents separated the two shores. Standing on the opposite bank, heavily obscured by thick fog, were three figures desperately calling out to him.
But their voices couldn't pierce through the dense, heavy fog.
After observing them for a second, Akaza entirely lost his patience and tore his gaze away. All he wanted to do was fight strong opponents!
"Technique Deployment: Destructive Death, Compass Needle!"
Akaza hesitated no longer. He fell into a martial arts stance, and a massive, glowing light blue twelve-pointed snowflake materialized beneath his feet. A profound, overwhelming aura washed over the area.
Catching sight of the glowing snowflake array, Tetsuya—who had been just about to punch Akaza’s head off—frantically leaped backward.
That was the absolute core of Akaza's Blood Demon Art.
Akaza possessed a specialized energy within his body that he called "Battle Spirit." His technique allowed him to sense an opponent's Battle Spirit like a compass, making his own strikes and evasions terrifyingly precise, almost as if they were magnetically attracted to their target.
The stronger the opponent’s Battle Spirit, the stronger the Compass Needle's reaction became, elevating his intensity and accuracy to match.
The stronger his enemy, the stronger he became!