In just a few seconds, the Demon's severed legs fused back together, and it staggered upright once more.
It glared with bulging eyes, its blood-red vertical pupils looking as though they might drip blood at any moment.
As a Demon, ordinary injuries couldn't kill it. Even if its neck were cut open by a mundane blade, it could struggle and regenerate, restoring itself into a complete body.
But that kind of regeneration had its limits.
Every time it fed, the flesh brought not only satisfaction and pleasure, but also an overwhelming sense of power.
Repairing its body consumed that same fleshly energy stored within it.
It wasn't a powerful Demon that regularly devoured humans, nor could it be compared to the legendary upper-ranked Demons. The amount of flesh energy in its body was limited to begin with.
The more times it regenerated severed limbs, the weaker it became. That loss of strength directly affected its hunting efficiency.
How could it not be furious?!
That damn brat—causing it trouble again and again!
Asuka's repeated provocations ignited the Demon's savagery. No longer holding back, it charged forward in a frenzy, slamming into Asuka's back like a heavy artillery shell!
Boom—!!
A sweetness surged up his throat as his organs felt violently displaced. Asuka spat out a massive mouthful of blood, feeling as though his bones were about to fall apart.
His body was blasted away, crashing heavily into the snow. The ground beneath him was plowed into a shallow crimson trench by his body.
Asuka tried to rise, only for searing pain to explode from his shoulder.
Pfft!
The Demon was already upon him. Its sharp claw plunged straight through Asuka's shoulder, skewering him in place.
"I told you—I'd tear you apart bite by bite!" the Demon snarled.
Dizziness overwhelmed him as vicious laughter echoed in his ears. Asuka felt warm blood pouring from his body, staining the snow beneath him.
I was too reckless… honor and debts… how ridiculous…
Snowflakes struck his face as time itself seemed to slow to a crawl.
Was this it?
Would he die like those nameless corpses in Rukongai, dissolving into spirit particles beside filthy gutters?
Like the frozen passersby gnawed clean by wild dogs?
Like… the old man—his throat torn open by a monster, eyes wide open in death as he collapsed into the icy snow?
…No.
Absolutely not!!
A violent, unwilling, furious voice exploded inside Asuka's mind—fiercer than any fight over moldy bread, crazier than when he'd been beaten bloody and swung his fists wildly.
"How can I die here?!"
"I have to live! My debts aren't settled yet! The people I need to kill are still alive!"
"This humiliation... I will repay that glasses monster a hundredfold! I will make all those high-and-mighty bastards suffer it all!"
Feeling the prey writhing violently on its claw, the Demon grew amused and mocked him playfully. "Oh my, oh my. So you finally know fear?"
"Yes, that's it. Squirm. Struggle. Like a dying wild dog!"
"Hrk… hrrk…"
A hoarse, animalistic growl escaped Asuka's throat. He clenched the broken blade in his hand tighter and tighter, nails digging into flesh as blood trickled down the hilt.
"It's over, brat!"
The Demon opened its massive jaws, dragging Asuka closer, ready to savor him slowly—starting with his head.
"…Chew it…"
"What?"
A low hiss sounded near the Demon's ear, making it pause in confusion for a second. Then, it suddenly realized the kid was falling from mid-air?
Huh?
Before it could react, it turned its head—and saw that its hand had been cleanly severed.
"Aaaargh!!"
Pshh!!
A pillar of blood erupted as the Demon let out an even more shrill scream.
Somehow, Asuka had squeezed out his last ounce of strength and slashed through the Demon's claw!
He tumbled to the ground, half of the writhing claw still lodged in his shoulder. Yet he felt nothing. Drawing his stance wide, he twisted his body unnaturally, curling his fingers into claws as they locked onto the blood-soaked blade in his hand.
"Damn brat! I'll crush you!!"
The Demon gave up on savoring him. This human—hard to kill like a cockroach and constantly causing injuries—was no longer worth the risk.
To prevent any more mishaps, even if it was a waste, it decided to pulverize Asuka into minced meat!
The claw screamed downward, aimed straight for Asuka's skull. Its speed was so extreme it left five blurred black afterimages in the air!
Yet to Asuka, everything looked unbearably slow.
I have to live! No matter how ugly or pathetic it gets!
Even if the enemy is immortal— even if it's a god— I'll tear a chunk of flesh off them with my teeth!
A voice from the depths of his soul merged with the strange vibrating hum of the blade in his hands. Like the first thunder that split heaven and earth, it forced its way out from between his blood-soaked teeth:
"Chew and swallow— Nugata!"
Buzz—!!
The moment its true name was spoken, the blade in his hands erupted with a blinding light that burned the eyes!
Energy waves of blood-red and iron-gray surged outward, filled with primal, violent, ferocious rage!
A brand-new sense of power flooded his body. It felt as though the blade had become part of him—an extra arm, a newly born limb.
Only then did he remember—the blade in his hands wasn't some broken junk. It was the weapon the bespectacled freak had stuffed onto him, called an Asauchi!
The light swallowed Asuka's arm and surged wildly along the blade.
The deadly claw reaching for him slammed into the edge of that raging brilliance, as if it had struck an invisible wall, unable to advance even an inch.
Sizzle—!!
The horrifying sound of flesh being scorched rang out. The Demon's expression changed instantly as it yanked its claw back in pain, staggering several steps away to put distance between itself and Asuka.
For the first time, terror and fear—emotions meant for prey—appeared in its blood-red pupils.
The light came swiftly, and vanished just as fast.
A wind carrying snow and grit swept through. As the glow faded, Asuka's half-kneeling figure was revealed.
He was still drenched in blood, but the Demon's claw piercing his shoulder was gone. In its place remained a ghastly bloody hole. His padded jacket had transformed as well, becoming a tattered black kimono top and loose trousers.
And the blade in his hand had completely changed.
The rusted longsword was gone. What he now gripped was a massive serrated blade, gray-black throughout, radiating an eerie metallic texture.
The edge was lined with vicious, uneven canine-like teeth. The blade was broader and heavier, overflowing with brutal strength and savage presence…
Just staring at the cold gleam of its edge, one could almost hear the low, distant whimpering of a pack of dogs. The terrifying pressure of being watched by countless starving hounds surged into his heart!
"You—what kind of monster are you?!" the Demon screamed, clutching its injured claw. Its voice no longer carried even a trace of earlier composure.
It was horrified to realize—its body wasn't healing properly?
The burning sensation wasn't fire, but something that tore straight into the soul.
As if starving wolves were biting and ripping at it again and again. The Demon could feel its life energy draining away, while the healing speed slowed to an unbelievable crawl.
This human is a monster! This is a Blood Demon Art!—that thought burst from its limited understanding.
Asuka slowly lifted his head. His body was still soaked in blood, the wound in his shoulder horrifying to behold—but his eyes burned with an intense, piercing light.
"The debt for the old man's blood... pay it back!"