The journey proved longer than expected.
According to the route provided by Tecchin, even traveling day and night, it would take three days to reach the destination.
Sosuke, however, was impatient. Though he knew traveling at night was unwise, he was more concerned about Kanae's safety.
Thus, he covered two days' worth of travel in a single sleepless day and night.
His good luck: he encountered no demons. His bad luck: a sudden torrential downpour.
The torrential rain blurred the mountain path, forcing Sosuke, who had hoped to reach a village before nightfall, to seek shelter in a dilapidated building instead.
This place had likely been a temple at some point, though what deity it had once enshrined remained a mystery.
The statues were long gone, and the roof was riddled with holes. Sosuke improvised, using a ceremonial brazier he found on the premises and filling it with debris from the ruins to start a fire for warmth.
As he watched the rain pouring outside and dripping through the roof, he muttered to himself about his misfortune.
"I walked all night on the first night without encountering a single demon. Surely my luck can't be this good again tonight?"
He murmured, setting down the Heavenly Artisan's Forging Hammer he had been carrying on his back.
Sosuke had brought quite a bit with him on this trip.
In addition to Kanae's new weapon, he carried a bundle containing two boxes: one ornate and one plain.
The ornate box held the rice balls he had prepared for Kanae.
The plain one... naturally contained his own rations.
Besides that, there was the Heavenly Artisan's Forging Hammer.
He wasn't sure why, but he had instinctively grabbed it before leaving.
He figured he could use it for self-defense, though he wasn't sure how effective it would be.
As for Kanae's new weapon, he had no intention of using it, even if he encountered a Demon.
Not for any particular reason, mostly because he didn't know how to use it.
Someone unskilled in sword techniques could easily break the blade by swinging it with all their might.
Only a Swordsman could truly unleash its full potential.
Sosuke understood this perfectly. So, if the Heavenly Artisan's Forging Hammer proved useless against a Demon, he would have only one option left... to run!
He'd rather flee until dawn than risk damaging this meticulously crafted weapon, whose sharpness had reached level 3.
After all, his stamina was now extraordinary. Even maintaining a high-speed sprint, he could easily last until daybreak.
"Still, I shouldn't dwell on these thoughts. My luck can't be that bad. Yeah, I definitely won't run into any demons! I'm the God of Luck!"
Sosuke adjusted his mindset, set his backpack on the ground, opened the box, and pulled out a rice ball.
Just as he was about to take a bite, he noticed a figure standing before the temple.
Despite the torrential rain, the person seemed completely oblivious to the downpour.
When Sosuke's gaze fell upon him, the figure snapped his head up!
Crimson eyes, ashen skin, grotesque fangs, bulging veins on his forehead, and a forked tongue flicking out like a snake.
"Holy... shit!"
Sosuke's face paled instantly. A demon!
What else could look like that?
Seriously? Just moments ago, he'd been bragging about his good luck, and now the heavens had delivered this "gift" right to his doorstep!
'I need to run!'
The instant he made the decision, he froze, cursing under his breath. "Damn it!"
Earlier, Sosuke had been focused solely on escaping the rain, giving little thought to his surroundings. As a result, he now found himself trapped in the inner corner of the temple, with walls on both sides and no escape route.
The nearest window had been bricked shut for some unknown reason.
This left him with only two options: a distant window, which he could reach if he moved fast enough to jump out before the demon charged, or the doorway where the demon stood.
The choice was obvious: he had to jump through the window.
Ignoring the rice balls on the ground, Sosuke grabbed the Heavenly Artisan's Forging Hammer and charged toward the window.
Almost simultaneously, the demon moved as well.
Both lunged for the same window. Though Sosuke seemed slightly faster, the demon was closer to the window.
Their simultaneous charges resulted in an inevitable collision.
Seeing the crash was unavoidable, the demon let out a triumphant laugh: "You think you can escape... Aah!"
With a dull thud, the man and the demon collided violently. The demon was sent flying, its entire form lifting off the ground before crashing through the window with a thump. Its final words were cut short.
Sosuke felt as if he had slammed into a block of iron. Though he had knocked the demon back, the impact forced him to stumble backward, finally collapsing onto the floor with a thud.
With a snap, the strap of his sword case suddenly broke.
His expression darkened as he scrambled to his feet, turning to retrieve the sword case. But just then, he heard a rush of wind behind him, instantly recognizing the demon's return.
His face fell further as he realized the situation was hopeless. Grasping the Heavenly Artisan's Forging Hammer, he spun violently, swinging the hammer with all his might.
"Take this, you bastard!"
The hammer arced through the air, the demon's furious face looming close. Yet the demon didn't even glance at the incoming strike.
Just a blow from a mere mortal. Nothing to worry about.
He wanted nothing more than to tear apart the human who had dared to send him flying, and then devour him whole.
Clang! Crack!
In the midst of his fury, the Heavenly Artisan's Forging Hammer struck the demon's right arm first. A dull thud was followed by the sickening crunch of bones shattering.
Anger morphed into shock as immense force surged through the demon's body. Like a cannonball, it shot through the air with a whoosh and slammed violently into the temple's massive pillar.
Boom!
Dust billowed momentarily before being extinguished by the rain. Tiles rained down from the roof. Sosuke quickly clutched his sword case to his chest and retreated two steps to avoid the falling debris.
He glanced around. Where was the demon?
"It hurts..."
A faint voice drifted from beneath the pillar.
Even the perpetrator couldn't bear to look.
The demon was in terrible shape, its body twisted beyond recognition.
Sosuke stared at his hand in disbelief, then back at the demon pinned beneath the pillar. "Did I do that?"
The demon's face darkened. Who else could it be?
Its body writhed and contorted, bones snapping back into place with sickening cracks as it struggled to rise. "How dare you treat me like this..." it hissed, its voice dripping with venom.
As he spoke, his foot slipped, and he crashed to his knees with a thud.
Pressing his forehead against the ground, he continued to snarl fiercely, "I'm going to devour you... I will devour you!"
He jerked his head up, wanting to force that damned human to meet his malevolent gaze.
But when he looked up, all he saw was a massive iron hammer descending from the sky!
"Heavenly Justice descends!"