"Where are you hiding? Here? Or here?"
Countless blue-black arms attacked from all directions. Kiyokawa Izumi swung the nichirin blade in his hand with all his might, but he found it difficult to block all the attacks.
His right waist took a heavy blow, and he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, the nichirin blade long since slipping from his grasp.
By the time he regained his senses, all four of his limbs were being held fast by thick, powerful hands.
In the next second, an unbearable, searing pain surged through him.
His two arms were the first to be torn off. A massive amount of blood sprayed out, and his screams echoed through the Yamanaka at night.
"Delicious, truly delicious!"
Playful words and unrestrained laughter rang in his ears.
"Are you going to beg for mercy? If you beg me, I might let you live for a few more days!"
Startled awake, Kiyokawa Izumi suddenly gripped the nichirin blade resting beside him, as if the weapon could provide him with a faint sense of security.
He sat up dazed, looking around blankly.
What he had just seen was only a dream, yet it felt incredibly real.
Perhaps he really might end up like that.
Grumble...
Feeling a pang of hunger in his stomach, Kiyokawa Izumi didn't bother thinking more about the dream. He decided to go to the creek for some water and gather some wild fruit to eat.
'When I'm sleeping, my breathing is completely erratic.'
'I've mostly memorized the rhythm of Water Breathing, but I always forget to breathe that way.'
'Breathing habits kept for years aren't so easy to change, but they must be changed.'
He looked up, the blinding sunlight making it hard to keep his eyes open.
Was it around noon?
His sleep and diet over the past few days had been a total mess; his body still hadn't returned to its Peak... Night fell.
Sitting by the campfire, Kiyokawa Izumi felt that the sense of being watched from the surroundings wasn't as intense as before.
But this was not a good thing.
On this mountain, the strongest was undoubtedly the Hand Demon.
Having an overlord like it targeting him was enough to discourage many other demons from making a move.
Demons would kill each other.
The wait was undoubtedly long. Kiyokawa Izumi was also hesitating over whether he should try to stay as far away as possible from the direction where he had encountered the Hand Demon before.
But by doing so, could he really avoid meeting that one?
While he was still hesitating, the faint sound of heavy footsteps approached.
Kiyokawa Izumi's heart sank. He was about to turn and run, but his steps suddenly stopped.
He was clearly afraid; if he kept running, he wouldn't even have the courage to fight later.
Should he run or not?
No matter how much preparation he made, it never felt like enough.
He didn't feel like a match now, but would he definitely be stronger than this one after mastering the Breathing Technique?
Flee or fight.
The choice became difficult at this moment.
"Not running? If you don't run, you'll die!"
"Won't you give it a try? Maybe you can escape!"
A playful voice came from afar, and that hideous, mountain-like figure appeared before his eyes once again.
"I don't know!"
Kiyokawa Izumi said softly, looking a bit lost.
Would giving me a few more days even help?
I can't eat well here, and I can't rest well either.
I haven't mastered the Breathing Technique yet; would I be able to master it in a few more days?
Who knows!
"Let me count... you should be the forty-ninth... no, maybe the fiftieth!"
The Hand Demon was in no hurry, even taking the time to count how many people it had eaten.
"So?"
Kiyokawa Izumi was expressionless. As he slowly stood up, he resolutely drew his sword.
If there was any difference between tonight and last night...
It was probably that he had finished his mental preparation.
Barely overcoming the fear in his heart, barely maintaining his composure.
"Boring."
Failing to see an expression of fear on Kiyokawa Izumi's face, the Hand Demon felt it was a bit dull.
It slowly extended its thick, powerful arms, veins bulging under the blue-black skin. In that instant, it was as if countless venomous snakes were striking from the shadows.
The bluish tip of the blade glinted in the Gekko.
The slender, long spine of the blade seemed to reflect Kiyokawa Izumi's blood-red eyes.
[System: Sword Technique has reached the entry level.]
In other words, Sword Technique LV1.
It wasn't to say he was incredibly powerful.
But it was enough to let him calmly deal with the arms attacking from all sides.
He swung his sword continuously, making soft sounds as it sliced through the air. Several arms were cut clean off by Kiyokawa Izumi. A large amount of blood flowed uncontrollably, which also made him slightly surprised.
Do demons bleed too?
It seems so.
But it was useless; these were all futile actions.
No matter how many arms were severed, the Hand Demon could regenerate them at an extremely fast speed.
These wounds were not fatal.
"It's useless, it's useless!"
The Hand Demon was clearly dismissive, its attitude still relaxed.
"Really?"
Kiyokawa Izumi asked back with a calm expression. "Do you think I'm the kind of fool who would do something pointless?"
He knew very well that it was useless unless the neck was severed.
Why, then, would he perform such futile actions?
The continuous hacking seemed fierce, but the wear and tear on the blade was real.
Many notches had already appeared on the edge of the blade.
He had not overlooked these.
As he finished speaking, the Hand Demon's severed arms did not regenerate at a visible speed.
It was as if countless purple-black little snakes had swarmed under the blue-black skin, constantly devouring everything.
What was that?
"It's poison, no need to be surprised."
Kiyokawa Izumi's voice came from afar.