Just as the blood-stained claw was about to touch Hanako's head—
Sizzle!
Several long, dazzling arcs of lightning, like venomous snakes appearing out of thin air, suddenly tore through the night, emitting an ear-splitting crackle!
The light flashed and vanished, and everyone's eyes didn't even have time to adjust to the sudden intense brightness.
Little Hanako only felt her waist tighten, and the terrifying scene before her rapidly receded as the wind howled in her ears.
When she came to her senses, she found herself having been moved from her original spot.
She was now being held by a tall, dark-haired young man in a dark haori, standing in a safe place more than ten meters away from the demon.
When Takigawa Sosuke and Takeda Eisuke could barely see, they were surprised to find that the little girl who had been standing in front of the demon had appeared more than ten meters away, gently put down by a suddenly appearing dark-haired young man.
In the young man's other hand, he held an ancient-looking long nichirin blade.
A faint golden glow flowed over the blade, with subtle electric arcs flickering intermittently, emitting a soft "sizzle" sound.
"Thump."
A soft sound came.
Everyone subconsciously looked over, only to see that the long-necked demon's recently extended arm had been severed at the wrist and fallen to the ground.
The arm quickly turned charred black, then shattered like burnt charcoal.
"Ah—!"
The demon let out a roar mixed with pain and fury, and the flesh at its severed wrist wriggled frantically, and in almost a breath, a new arm regrew.
The terrifying sight made the two hunters' scalps tingle.
The long-necked demon's blood-red eyes stared intently at Cheng Mo, who had suddenly appeared, especially at the "startled insects" in his hand.
Its eyes were filled with violent killing intent.
But more than that, there was a deep sense of apprehension and solemnity.
"Demon Slayer Corps?"
It asked hoarsely, its voice distorted by anger.
Although Cheng Mo was not wearing the distinctive uniform, the unique aura of the nichirin blade, specifically designed to counter them, made it extremely uncomfortable.
More importantly, the opponent's incredible speed just now, as well as the faint, powerful aura around him, like a dormant thunderstorm, made it feel a great threat.
It subconsciously took a slight half-step back, its blood-red eyes darting around, seemingly weighing whether to fight or flee.
Cheng Mo gently placed the petrified Hanako behind him at a safe distance, his gaze indifferently sweeping over the demon.
Seeing the viscous blood around it that could freely transform into shields or spears, a fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of satisfaction flickered in his eyes.
"A Blood Demon Art that energizes its own blood and maintains specific forms?"
The Eye of Truth silently activated, and a faint golden glow swirled in his eyes.
The long-necked demon's method of manipulating blood to form shields, weapons, and even regenerate its arm—the energy operation method and the internal 'technique' structure—were being rapidly analyzed and memorized by him.
"Materializing liquid energy, changing its form at will, and even possessing multiple effects such as defense, offense, and regeneration..."
Cheng Mo quickly analyzed and compared in his mind.
"My Lightning Release Chakra is difficult to maintain a precise structure after leaving my body, let alone long-term shaping. This Blood Demon Art's energy application model just makes up for the lack of ideas in this area... It's very valuable."
As his thoughts raced, the subtle lightning arcs flickering around him quietly receded into his body.
Only a faint golden glow remained on the "startled insects" blade.
He raised his nichirin blade, pointing its tip at the long-necked demon, his tone calm and unwavering, yet with clear provocation:
"Attack me."
"Use your full power."
The long-necked demon was first stunned, then enraged!
Its demonic ferocity was completely unleashed.
"Human! You're courting death!!"
It roared, and the blood flowing around its body instantly boiled!
More blood seeped from its body, instantly transforming into several ferocious blood-red spears, swords, and cleavers, suspended in the air.
The spear tips and blade edges were all aimed at Cheng Mo!
At the same time, two thicker, constantly wriggling, wave-like giant blood shields appeared crisscrossed in front of it, completely protecting most of its body behind them.
Although it was enraged, it had not completely lost its reason.
It demonstrated combat prowess far exceeding that of ordinary demons, with both offense and defense.
"Blood Demon Art: Berserker Blood Blades!"
The next moment, the blood spears and blood swords tore through the air, carrying a heavy stench of blood, and lunged and slashed at Cheng Mo from various tricky angles!
Facing this storm-like attack, Cheng Mo's figure moved.
He no longer used that terrifying speed, but merely stepped, sidestepped, and swung his nichirin blade seemingly casually.
His movements were concise and efficient.
"startled insects" transformed into streaks of faint golden light in his hand, parrying, blocking, deflecting, or slashing.
Blood spears were easily deflected, blood swords were precisely shattered, and blood knives were cleverly diverted to smash into the ground.
His footsteps showed no trace of panic, even carrying a leisurely composure, as he approached the waiting demon step by step.
The long-necked demon grew more and more alarmed with each strike!
All of its attacks, no matter how cunning or vicious, seemed unable to touch even a corner of the opponent's clothing.
They were either easily dodged by the opponent, or lightly blocked by the lightning-entanglement nichirin blade, unable to shake the opponent in the slightest!
Fear seized it again, and it began to retreat involuntarily, trying to create distance.
Cheng Mo looked at its cautious posture, almost entirely focused on defense, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes.
It seemed there were no more new tricks.
He stopped, no longer pressing forward, but simply raised the startled insects in his hand.
The lightning on the blade suddenly became fierce, and the cold blade reflected his expressionless face.
"Are there no other methods?"
This calm question, however, made the long-necked demon feel a fatal crisis!
And it completely crushed its fighting spirit.
In the opponent's calm, unwavering eyes, it saw absolute confidence and a hint of... impatience?
Flee!
Must flee!
This thought instantly consumed its entire mind.
It let out a strange cry, and all the blood around its body rapidly retracted.
No longer in an offensive or defensive form, it instantly enveloped its entire body, including its twisted long-necked head, forming a huge, constantly wriggling dark red blood orb!
The next second, the blood orb suddenly bounced backward, then rolled away at an astonishing speed towards the darkness, away from the village.
It moved extremely fast, stirring up a fishy wind!
Cheng Mo watched the frantically rolling blood orb, his eyes unperturbed.
"It seems there isn't."
He murmured to himself.
Before his words faded—
Boom!
Dazzling azure lightning exploded again, illuminating his surroundings as if it were daytime!
Almost at the same moment the lightning lit up, his figure vanished from its original spot.
The next moment, in front of the frantically rolling blood orb, Cheng Mo's figure appeared out of thin air like a ghost, blocking its path.
"startled insects" had returned to its sheath at some point, and he maintained a slightly bent, drawing-the-nichirin blade posture.
The blood orb had no time to turn or stop.
Only an extremely condensed, hair-thin yet dazzling lightning blade line flashed and vanished in the air.
Click.
The soft sound of the nichirin blade returning to its sheath rang out.
The giant blood orb suddenly froze, and then countless crisscrossing cracks, shimmering with lightning, appeared on its surface!
Bang!!!
The blood orb exploded, and the viscous blood was instantly vaporized by the violent lightning field, making a "hissing" sound.
A head filled with a look of horror flew high into the air, and before it could land, it turned to ash in the scorching lightning, disappearing without a trace.
The battle ended abruptly and completely.
For a moment, only the sound of the night wind blowing through the field remained, and the heavy, suppressed breathing of the two hunters.
Cheng Mo turned around, his gaze calmly sweeping over Takeda Eisuke, who was slumped on the ground, and Takigawa Sosuke, who was struggling to kneel, clutching his daughter tightly behind him.
Hanako timidly peeked out half of her small head from behind her father's arm.
Cheng Mo had no intention of staying and turned to leave.
"Wait, wait a moment!" A weak but courageous voice rang out.
It was Hanako.
She found strength from somewhere, broke free from her father's hand, took two small steps forward, and bowed to Cheng Mo's back.
The girl's voice was still trembling, but very loud:
"Thank you, big brother! Thank you for saving me, my dad, and Uncle Eisuke!"
Cheng Mo's footsteps paused slightly, and he slowly turned his head.
At this moment, Takigawa Sosuke had already endured the sharp pain in his chest, struggling to stand up completely.
He pulled his daughter back behind him, completely shielding her with his body.
His gaze towards Cheng Mo was incredibly complex, with relief from surviving a disaster and gratitude for saving his life.
But more than that, there was an undisguised, deep-seated—
Fear.
He stared intently at the subtle, flickering electric arcs still lingering around Cheng Mo, and then at the extraordinary nichirin blade at his waist.
The man's lips trembled, as if he wanted to say words of thanks, but seemed too frightened to utter a single word, only instinctively clutching his daughter tighter.
Takeda Eisuke next to him had the same expression, slumped on the ground, not even daring to look directly at Cheng Mo.
Cheng Mo clearly saw the fear in their eyes, a fear identical to what they had shown when facing the demon earlier.
He suddenly understood.
In the eyes of these people, he, who could control lightning and instantly kill demons, might not be much different from those man-eating demons.
Both were anomalies.
Both were "non-human" beings with terrifying power, beyond their comprehension.
The only difference was that he wasn't feeding on them—yet.
This realization was like a small stone dropped into a deep pool, stirring an extremely faint, fleeting ripple in his calm mind.
He was naturally cold-hearted and didn't care about the opinions of these strangers, nor would he feel any anger or grievance because of it.
He just felt... it was to be expected.
He no longer looked at the father and daughter, nor did he care about the terrified, slumped hunter, as if they were just roadside plants.
The last trace of electric arc receded into his body, and he took a step, his figure silently merging into the dense night, disappearing from sight.
In the shadows of the treetops not far away, Kuroba stood quietly, taking in everything that happened below.
It gently flapped its wings, silently following its master's direction.