Pitch black like ink, a crescent moon hung high above the forest, its faint light casting long, eerie shadows.
"Boom..."
A sudden, thunderous roar echoed through the trees, accompanied by cruel laughter.
"Run for me… Run for me," Sanemi Shinazugawa taunted, his face twisted in frenzy, tongue flicking like a demon's, as he pursued the terrified demon ahead.
Gyuu Mooo, a hulking demon with curved horns and a face streaked with dried blood, towered at two meters. His cracked, monstrous visage reflected terror as he fled. Though not a Lower Moon, he had devoured over fifty humans and was strong, but compared to Sanemi, he was powerless.
Sanemi didn't kill him—he tormented him instead. Fear gripped Gyuu Mooo like ice.
"First Form: Scouring Slash," Sanemi shouted.
A spiral storm of wind ripped through the earth like a long spear. Gyuu Mooo was impaled, blood gushing as he slammed into a hillside. The pungent stench of his blood filled the air, and a basketball-sized hole opened in his chest.
"Too weak," Sanemi muttered, staring down at him. His real targets were the Twelve Kizuki and Kibutsuji Muzan, but their elusiveness left him venting his wrath on lesser demons.
"Tell me where the Twelve Kizuki are, and I might spare your life."
He kicked Gyuu Mooo to the ground and trampled his head.
"I'm just an ordinary demon! How would I know?!" Gyuu Mooo wailed.
Sanemi's Nichirin Blade flashed, severing the demon's legs.
"Then what use are you?"
A second strike took off his arms. "Spare me! I won't eat humans anymore!" Gyuu Mooo begged, terror-stricken.
"All trash," Sanemi sneered. Tormenting Gyuu Mooo offered no thrill. His true satisfaction lay in hunting the Twelve Kizuki or Muzan himself.
He raised his blade, preparing to finish Gyuu Mooo.
"Boom! Crack!"
A golden lightning bolt struck the forest from the horizon, dirt and debris exploding outward. Metallic clashes rang like the echoes of an ancient battlefield. A golden battle boot emerged from the dust, each step reverberating with power.
Sanemi's expression changed instantly. The figure before him radiated hostility and overwhelming strength.
A Twelve Kizuki? No.
The eyes visible beneath the golden armor glimmered like deep violet diamonds, patterned and mesmerizing.
"…It's you," Sanemi murmured, recognition flashing despite his disbelief.
"Crack!"
Lucien Graves didn't speak. His breathing steadied, golden lightning coiling around him. Cracks formed beneath his feet, collapsing the ground with a rumble. In an instant, he vanished from sight.
"Damn it."
"Wind Breathing, Fifth Form: Cold Autumn Mountain Wind!" Sanemi shouted, summoning massive wind blades to force the unknown opponent out.
"Pfft..."
The attack had no effect. Lucien's golden armor hardened to crystal-like durability, shattering the storm as he punched Sanemi squarely in the abdomen. Blood erupted from Sanemi's mouth and nose as he flew into the forest, smashing trees and tearing the air itself.
"Crack!"
Lucien combined Soru and Thunder Breathing, transforming into a bolt of golden lightning. He struck behind Sanemi before he even landed, a crystalline foot smashing into his back. Bones cracked audibly as Sanemi's flight continued, the forest shuddering beneath the impact.
Lucien ascended into the night sky and crashed down again, stomping Sanemi into the earth. The force cracked a thirty-meter radius of ground, forming a gaping pit.
Nearby, Gyuu Mooo trembled in terror, having only partially recovered from his own injuries. The power of this man—it was unreal.
Lucien bent down, gripping Sanemi by his spiky white hair. His amethyst eyes reflected no emotion, only icy indifference. Blood poured from Sanemi's face, eyes wide and bloodshot, but he could only stare, helpless.
With a casual flick, Lucien tossed Sanemi into the air and kicked him mid-flight. The ground split further, leaving a two-meter-wide gully stretching thirty meters, Sanemi's body disfigured at the far end.
Lucien walked through the wreckage, the metallic clash of his armor ringing sharply.
"Cough…" Sanemi could barely speak. His chest had collapsed, ribs exposed; four strikes had left him crippled. Standing over him, Lucien regarded him with the same disdain as earlier that day, only now the positions were reversed.
"Come here!" Lucien commanded, turning to Gyuu Mooo.
The demon had recovered slightly but froze in fear. He hadn't even witnessed the fight clearly, only its devastating aftermath.
"Come… eat him," Lucien said without emotion, his pupils like deep amethyst.
Gyuu Mooo obeyed, trembling. Human flesh, once savory, now tasted bland. All his attention was drawn to the golden warrior above him, terror gripping every nerve.
Sanemi's screams were muffled, his eyes locked on Lucien's as Gyuu Mooo devoured him. Halfway through, the once-feared Wind Pillar was no more.
Lucien then shot into the sky in a streak of golden lightning, leaving the ruined forest behind.
"Too… terrifying," Gyuu Mooo muttered, collapsing. He hadn't seen Lucien's face, yet those eyes were etched into his mind forever.
Lucien hadn't killed Gyuu Mooo because he wanted it to appear that Sanemi had been slain by a demon. No one would suspect him. The demon had witnessed only enough to carry the lie, and Lucien's hand remained hidden.
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