Unlike the weak demons Mo Wu had encountered before, the demon standing before him now appeared almost human.
A faint smile rested on its face as it stared straight at Mo Wu with eyes full of interest.
It even spoke.
"Once in a while, it's nice to have a swordsman who struggles."
The demon licked a trace of blood from the corner of its mouth and scratched its cheek.
"The food I had earlier didn't struggle at all. Eating it was too easy. Honestly, it was boring."
As if to prove its point, the demon reached into a torn pocket of its ragged clothes and pulled something out.
Then it casually tossed it at Mo Wu's feet.
"Look at this piece of meat. Too soft. No chew at all."
"Heh. I hope your flesh has a bit more bite."
With a savage grin, the demon's eyes filled with killing intent as it stared at Mo Wu.
Mo Wu looked down at the bloody lump on the ground.
His usual cold decisiveness when killing demons vanished.
For a moment, his expression froze. His stomach churned violently, and even the hand gripping his Nichirin Blade began to tremble.
If he hadn't discovered the use of his talent earlier…
Would that piece of flesh have been his?
"Do you remember how many people you've eaten?"
"Hm?"
The demon clearly hadn't expected its prey to ask such a question before dying. It paused, confused, then rubbed its chin as if savoring a memory.
"I've lost count."
"You probably wouldn't remember how many meals you've eaten in your life either."
It yawned and looked mildly annoyed.
"Talking to you is boring."
"But… I suppose I can let your flesh and blood do the talking."
Its long tongue slid out like a snake's, licking the blood from its nose.
"I'd better finish you quickly. I can smell another human somewhere nearby."
Its hands clenched slightly. Nails shot out from its fingers, forming claws as sharp as blades.
The demon's face twisted grotesquely. Its muscles tightened as it lowered its body, preparing to burst forward at any moment.
Watching the demon crouch like a predatory beast, Mo Wu's gaze turned ice cold.
Why…
Why could it talk about eating people so casually?
The anger boiling inside him surged like a tidal wave.
Whoosh.
The demon kicked off the ground and leapt into the air. Its clawed hands slashed forward like a tiger pouncing on its prey.
"My bloody feast begins again!"
Ah, what a wonderful scent.
Yet when it saw Mo Wu standing there without moving, the amusement in the demon's eyes faded slightly.
Already scared stiff?
And here I thought answering his question—
"Slash!"
A crimson blade flashed.
Before the demon could even process what had happened, it felt a sudden warmth at its neck.
Then its body stopped responding.
"Too slow. Trash."
The demon stared at the man below it, unable to understand.
When did he draw his blade?
And…
Where was its body?
Why was there a headless corpse standing ahead of it?
Wait.
Was that… its body?
The demon's head shot into the air, while the burning body beneath it stumbled forward from inertia and collapsed at Mo Wu's feet.
Ignoring the final murmurs of the severed head tumbling through the sky, Mo Wu flicked his blade and sent the demon's blood splattering behind him.
He spun the blade in a small flourish, sheathed it, and turned toward the shadows.
Several demons lurked there, their bodies burned by the suddenly ignited blood.
Mo Wu smiled.
A bright, radiant smile.
To those demons, it was even more dazzling than freshly blooming wisteria.
"When demons are killed… they die."
"Don't you agree?"
"D-demon…!"
Reason finally overcame their hunger.
Staring at the smiling man before them, the demons felt their blood freeze.
"A monster! He killed Shiche! If even he died, how could we possibly fight him?!"
The moment those words were spoken, the demons scattered in all directions like frightened animals.
The same creatures that had been drooling over Mo Wu moments earlier fled desperately.
Crack.
One demon stumbled while running and fell clumsily to the ground.
"P-please don't come closer!"
"I haven't eaten a single person yet! Please, let me go!"
Baring its fangs, the nameless demon knelt and begged as Mo Wu approached.
But Mo Wu already knew that every demon on this mountain had eaten humans before being captured and brought here.
So a demon like this…
He would never believe it.
Without mercy, Mo Wu delivered judgment.
His blade swung.
The scorching blade-light instantly burned the demon's head to ash.
Thud.
The headless corpse collapsed to the ground before gradually dissolving into drifting ash.
Objective: Kill ten demons (7/10)
Ignoring the demons fleeing in other directions, Mo Wu coldly watched the three demons running ahead of him.
"Third Form: Solar Mirage."
He pushed off the ground with his right foot and accelerated.
In an instant, Mo Wu shot into the air.
His breathing intensified, hot air streaming from his mouth and nose. Gripping the Nichirin Blade with both hands, his muscle memory activated as two blazing red slashes spun rapidly through the air, forming twin crescent arcs of fire.
One breath.
Just one breath.
Amid the swirling leaves—
Three demon heads flew into the sky, their twisted faces frozen with terror and unwillingness.
"Phew!"
His breathing grew slightly heavy. For the first time, Mo Wu felt a trace of fatigue. His right hand gripping the blade trembled faintly, and his left shoulder ached from the force he had exerted.
"Was that pushing it?"
Mo Wu frowned slightly.
After using so many Sun Breathing techniques in succession, even with his body strengthened three times, his stamina was struggling to keep up.
In truth, he hadn't intended to slaughter so many demons at once.
But the crushing pressure from when he first arrived here had made Mo Wu extremely desperate to survive.
And whenever he saw these demons treating life as worthless, he simply couldn't suppress the anger raging in his heart.
"He… he's out of strength?!"
"Come on! Let's eat him together!"
One of the fleeing demons had glanced back and happened to see Mo Wu leaning on his sword while catching his breath.
Immediately it shouted loudly, trying to rally the others into attacking him together.
"Perfect."
Mo Wu muttered quietly as demons began rushing toward him from all directions.
His right hand trembled slightly. His mind even tingled faintly.
But none of it came from fear of being surrounded.
Objective: Kill ten demons (10/10)
"Mission: Lord of Mount Fujikasane."
"First phase complete. Dream Points awarded."
The cold mechanical voice announced the mission's completion, but Mo Wu barely paid attention.
His ears twitched slightly.
He was waiting.
Waiting for that voice.
When it finally came, Mo Wu's brows relaxed.
Both hands gripped the Nichirin Blade tightly as a powerful surge of energy gathered within his body. An immense wave of heat radiated outward from the blade.
"As long as the blade endures, demons shall fall!"
"Ten demons slain. Condition achieved."
"Milestone unlocking…"
"Ding."
"O hunter of demons…"
"Miracle granted: state reset, strength increased, speed increased, stamina increased."
"Miracle granted: Basic Swordsmanship Lv5."
"Miracle granted: Demon Sense Lv2."
"Miracle granted: Nichirin Blade Enhancement +1."
"Continue onward toward the next milestone on the path of Great Feats."
Ten demons in total…
Mo Wu's nose twitched as the stench of blood rushed at him from every direction.
"Phew."
He exhaled slowly. The temperature of the Nichirin Blade in his hand continued rising.
The demons had already sensed something was wrong.
Of course they had.
Anyone could feel the waves of heat pouring toward them.
Yet the overwhelming pressure coming from the center of that heat made their legs feel paralyzed.
"M-monster…"
One demon stared at Mo Wu with wide eyes, trying to speak.
But the only response it received was—
"Second Form: Clear Blue Sky."