The girl arrived before an abandoned estate.
The gate hung ajar, the courtyard choked with weeds—utterly lifeless.
She crossed the ruined front yard and stopped before the bedroom door.
In the dead silence, a figure strolled out from within.
A tall, slender male demon.
His skin was deathly pale. His ten fingernails were lacquer-black—long, sharp, and gleaming. He wore a flamboyant robe, long hair falling loose over his shoulders, his features almost handsome enough to be called refined.
Enmu looked at the girl and smiled.
With elegant poise, he lifted a finger and lightly tapped her sleeve.
A crimson spark—like a firefly suddenly awakened—floated out from the pouch at her cuff.
It was nothing more than an ordinary seashell.
And yet now, it radiated an eerie blood-red glow.
"See?" Enmu said softly, pleased with himself.
"You like it very much."
He continued, voice full of indulgent certainty:
"Since you accepted it… you belong to me."
He tucked the shell away and stepped forward, baring his fangs toward the girl's pale neck—
A shrill screech tore through the air!
A blinding, lustrous white blade light slashed straight toward Enmu's head!
The greed on Enmu's face froze instantly, replaced by shock.
He sprang backward, narrowly avoiding the strike.
"Tch! Quick reactions."
The ambush failed.
Ryosuke appeared before the girl, blade held crosswise to shield her.
Enmu, his meal interrupted, erupted in fury. His narrow eyes swept over Ryosuke—
Lingering especially on the Nichirin Blade glowing with that strange pearly white sheen.
"Heh. Thunder Breathing—"
He tilted his head, his tone dripping with contempt.
"How vulgar. Utterly vulgar."
"A breathing style so violent and crude, wielded by a boor with no sense of artistry whatsoever—using it with such a beautiful blade is nothing short of blasphemy!"
Ryosuke didn't bother responding.
For pretentious perverts who fancied themselves elegant, there was only one proper answer—
Chop them into minced meat.
His gaze hardened.
Thunder erupted around him, rumbling without pause.
The blade's edge transformed into a bolt of lightning that tore through the darkness!
Thunder Breathing — Fourth Form: Distant Thunder!
The slash shot straight for the demon's throat!
Despite his mocking words, Enmu knew full well the terrifying speed and destructive power of Thunder Breathing.
He didn't dare take it head-on.
His body twisted away at an unnatural angle, and at the same time, he uttered a string of short, bizarre syllables.
As he chanted, countless seashells scattered around the courtyard responded as if awakened by an unseen force!
They trembled violently, emitting a low buzzing hum as eerie bloodlight spread across their surfaces!
In an instant, dense swarms of shells shot toward Ryosuke like a storm!
Ryosuke's blade stalled for a fraction of a second—thunder crackling along its edge.
Thunder Breathing — Second Form: Rice Spirit!
Five razor-sharp arcs of lightning slashed into the incoming shells!
Large numbers shattered—but there were simply too many.
Several slipped through, piercing Ryosuke's arm and shoulder.
"Hmph. A brute is still a brute," Enmu sneered.
"All you know how to do is swing your sword."
"The hell did you say about my mom?! Die!"
Ignoring his wounds, Ryosuke surged forward with blade in hand!
Claws and Nichirin steel collided—
The impact forced both of them back several steps.
Enmu stared at his bloodied hands and flew into a rage.
"Vulgar! Vulgar brute of a commoner!"
"What, you whining now?"
As a fine upstanding youth of the twenty-first century, Ryosuke had long since endured the baptisms of competitive reality shows and online MOBAs.
He'd fought more ancestral-lineage wars than he could count.
Enmu's insults carried zero damage—if anything, they were stupidly endearing.
Enmu was furious.
Ryosuke sheathed his blade, leaned forward, and strode ahead.
Suddenly, steaming breath burst from his mouth and nose. Thunder coiled violently around his body, roaring!
Thunder Breathing — First Form: Thunderclap and Flash — Triple!
The blade screamed as Ryosuke became lightning itself!
Enmu raised his arms to block—but was driven back several steps.
Before he could even catch his breath, the second and third slashes arrived back-to-back!
Enmu staggered under the assault. Ryosuke's blade carved into his chest, sending him flying like a ruptured blood sack.
Ryosuke moved to finish him—
And his vision blurred.
Enmu stood back up, a cold smile curling at his lips.
"My Blood Demon Art—Nightmare Spiral Sound—isn't just about controlling those little trinkets."
With a flick of his finger through the air, blood mist burst from Ryosuke's wounds, rapidly coiling around him and binding him in place!
"The true essence of my art is insight into the human heart—drawing out the most primal, blazing desires buried deep within the soul!"
"Lust. Greed. Ambition. Hunger… whatever it is, it will be infinitely magnified, until one drowns in the vortex of desire!"
As his final syllable fell, chaos slammed into Ryosuke's consciousness!
Reality twisted and shattered, racing away from him.
He felt as though he were falling into a void, control over his body slipping rapidly away.
"Well then, vulgar demon slayer," Enmu laughed delightedly.
"Let me see—just what kind of filthy, rotten desires are hidden beneath that crude shell of yours!"
He extended a finger, blood surging as it slipped quietly into Ryosuke's mind—ready to probe, toy with, and ultimately destroy his soul.
[Kill him! Cut him into eight pieces! Mince him into paste!]
Enmu: o_0 ?
Enmu withdrew from Ryosuke's consciousness.
…That couldn't be right.
Reassuring himself, he dove back in.
[Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!]
[Chop him! Shred him! Pulverize him! Drag him into the sun! Grind his bones to ash!]
A killing intent so pure it was terrifying erupted all at once.
Within Ryosuke's consciousness, Enmu was decapitated, dismembered by countless blade lights, dragged into sunlight and burned—over and over again.
Enmu screamed in agony.
Gone was the elegant singing—what remained was a despairing requiem.
There was no hesitation.
No fear.
No greed.
No lust.
Only one thing existed.
The desire to kill Enmu.
It was like watching the most horrifying horror film imaginable.
Enmu yanked himself out of Ryosuke's mind in a panic.
He staggered back several steps, his pale face twisted and contorted.
"Madman! You're a complete and utter madman!!"
He shrieked hysterically, all pretense of elegance shattered.
"In your heart—is there nothing except killing me?!"
"You monster!! Freak!!"
His mind had suffered an unprecedented shock.
The Blood Demon Art he took such pride in—his ability to toy with hearts—had become a complete joke before this demon slayer.
Ryosuke's inner world was barren to an absurd degree—
And horrifyingly pure.
Enmu could find no weakness.
Because Ryosuke himself was the weakness.
Fury exploded.
Black hair whipped wildly as Enmu screamed:
"If all you want is to kill me—then go die!"
His body shot forward, claws screaming through the air as they tore straight toward Ryosuke's head!
The stench of death clamped around Ryosuke's throat.
And at that very moment—
Blazing flames split the night.
A scorching arc of fire descended from above!
Flame Breathing — First Form: Unknowing Fire!