Swish, swish, swish!
Seeing the eight handballs whistling toward him like cannonballs, Ren immediately dodged. However, those handballs behaved like homing missiles; after he evaded them, they suddenly changed direction, looping back to strike at Ren's back.
'Yahaba's ability?'
Ren thought to himself. Yahaba could use his Blood Demon Art to create invisible arrows, forcing any object to move along their trajectory. Clearly, he had just used his technique to manipulate the direction of the handballs.
In an instant, eight handballs converged from all directions, surrounding Ren completely.
"Hmph, mere parlor tricks. Water Combat Technique: Water Tornado!"
The muscles in Ren's waist and abdomen suddenly surged with power, causing him to spin in the air like a high-speed centrifuge. Sharp sword qi radiated outward with his rotation.
Clang, clang, clang!
The sword qi was as sharp as a razor, slicing through all the incoming handballs.
However, Susamaru condensed eight more handballs. This time, their diameter was even larger, as thick as water buckets.
"To think an ignorant brat like you dares to look down on that lord!" Yahaba suddenly spoke with a smirk. "Susamaru, do it!"
"Fine, let's show this kid the power that lord bestowed upon us. Blood Demon Art: Handball Projection!"
As she spoke, the muscles on Susamaru's eight arms bulged even further. Her entire body's musculature exerted force simultaneously, launching the eight handballs at Ren like a human catapult.
As the handballs tore through the air, Yahaba also gathered his strength and activated his technique.
"Blood Demon Art: Vector Acceleration!"
Upon Yahaba's intervention, the velocity of the handballs doubled instantly, hurtling toward Ren with even greater speed.
"Water Combat Technique: Crimson Blade—Deep Sea Vortex!"
Ren unleashed his technique once more. Although it was a water-based skill, under the glow of the Crimson Blade, the surrounding sword qi formed a scorching sea of fire.
Upon seeing the red glow of that Crimson Blade, two fragments of mysterious memories suddenly surged into the minds of Yahaba and Susamaru.
One memory came from Kibutsuji Muzan—the memory of him being sliced into mincemeat by a single strike from Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
The other memory came from Ren. Since all Berserk Demons were created using his blood, his blood naturally contained portions of his memories. The fragment they saw was from over two months ago, when Kibutsuji Muzan had been smashed into a pulp by Ren's club.
In that moment, stormy waves of shock crashed through their hearts!
"What? How could..."
"That lord was actually defeated by this kid!"
Simultaneously, Ren struck. Scorching sword qi flooded the entire corridor, not only shredding the eight handballs into pieces but also hacking Yahaba and Susamaru into bits. Their bodies slowly began to turn into ash.
"You probably don't know this, but the reason you became so powerful is that Kibutsuji Muzan obtained my blood and shared a tiny drop of it with you."
"In other words, you only received a fraction of my power. Who do you think you're posturing in front of?"
As he spoke, Ren prepared to search for the Gun & Cannon Berserk Demon. But at that moment, a soft, melodious strain of music suddenly drifted through the corridor's loudspeakers.
"Sleep, sleep, sink into the deep pool, where there is no sunrise or sunset;
Sleep, sleep, close your eyes, all pain will rot away.
Pillow the mist, meet no morning light, touch no dust;
Fall into the void, no one calls, no one wakes up.
Don't wake up... don't wake up... stay forever in this gentle embrace..."
"What kind of song is this?"
Upon hearing those eerie lyrics, a massive wave of exhaustion suddenly swept over Ren's entire body. He couldn't help but yawn, feeling a strong urge to fall into a deep slumber.
"No, I can't listen to this song, or I'll fall asleep."
Ren quickly covered his ears, but because his hearing far surpassed that of an ordinary person, he could still hear the haunting lyrics clearly.
'Is this one of Enmu's little tricks?'
Enmu was a demon of dreams who could force people into a state of sleep. After being strengthened by Kibutsuji Muzan, it was possible he could now use songs to hypnotize others.
"No, I'm falling asleep... I have to snap out of it."
Ren immediately drew his Nichirin Sword and slashed a wound into his own arm. A surge of sharp pain rushed through his body, finally clearing his mind.
"I have to deal with that guy Enmu first, otherwise fighting while listening to this lullaby is too disadvantageous..."
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed. The Gun & Cannon Berserk Demon had already reached the corridor. Smelling the blood in the air, it became exceptionally excited, letting out a series of frenzied, guttural roars.
"Hmph, trying to stop me from finding Enmu? Let's see if you have the ability!"
As if understanding his provocation, the Gun & Cannon Berserk Demon suddenly raised the two giant revolvers on its arms and aimed at Ren.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blood-red bullets were fired in rapid succession, their muzzle velocity far exceeding that of a standard revolver.
The faster the bullet, the greater the kinetic energy. Consequently, unless a hit was imminent, Ren didn't dare use his heavy Nichirin Sword to block these blood-colored bullets; he could only rely on his agile footwork to evade them.
Fortunately, his movements were extremely swift and flexible. Moreover, he could judge the bullet's trajectory by the direction of the muzzles, making it not too difficult to dodge.
Furthermore, the whistling sound of the bullets cutting through the air was so intense that it drowned out Enmu's lullaby. Here, Ren could exert his full strength. He would deal with the Gun & Cannon Berserk Demon first, then go after Enmu.
[DETECTION: HOST DODGED A BULLET. SPEED +2, FIVE SENSES +1]
[DETECTION: HOST DODGED A BULLET. SPEED +2, FIVE SENSES +1]
[DETECTION: HOST DODGED A BULLET. SPEED +2, FIVE SENSES +1]
[...]
As Ren continued to dodge the bullets, his speed attribute increased steadily. His movement became so fast that he no longer even left afterimages.
"Roar!"
Seeing Ren's speed increasing, the Gun & Cannon Berserk Demon stopped using its revolvers and instead activated the Gatling gun on its chest.
The machine gun automatically loaded high-powered armor-piercing rounds, rotating at high speed before firing.
Rat-tat-tat-tat...
Countless bullets poured out, forming a winding snake of fire that covered the sky as it swept toward Ren.
The demon's attack was too dense. Forced into a corner, Ren could only leap back toward the stairwell and run toward the second floor.
"Roar!"
Seeing Ren turn and flee, the Gun & Cannon Berserk Demon wasn't about to let this opportunity slip. It continued firing while giving chase with heavy, thundering footsteps.
Ren wasn't just retreating aimlessly; he wanted to find the broadcasting room while his mind was still somewhat clear. Enmu had to be in there.
Heaven rewards the diligent; when he reached the end of the second floor, he finally saw the broadcasting room with its door slightly ajar.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]