"A demon's presence!"
Moriyama Akira's expression changed instantly. His hand flew to the hilt of his sword as he scanned the surroundings with sharp vigilance.
Dusk had fallen, the light already dim, but the sun hadn't fully set yet. Even the lingering glow of twilight should've been enough to make demons keep their distance.
They shouldn't be active at a time like this.
The two exchanged a glance and split apart at once, eyes sharp as hawks as they swept across street corners, alleyways, and the shadows beneath the eaves.
And yet—
As night truly descended, the street lay empty.
Aside from a few scraps of debris stirred by the wind, there was nothing. No people. No movement. A deathly silence that made the skin crawl.
That intense demonic aura—so clear just moments ago—had vanished without a trace.
Moriyama looked at Ryōsuke in confusion.
"It's gone? Th–then where the hell is this thing hiding?"
Ryōsuke tugged at the corner of his mouth, folding his arms with a cold chuckle.
This wasn't an accident. Either that demon had done it on purpose—or it had slipped up spectacularly.
Choosing this time. This place. Flaunting its scent right in their faces…
"Interesting," Ryōsuke muttered. "This demon's pretty damn arrogant."
Moriyama froze, then realization hit.
This wasn't exposure—it was provocation.
Anger surged straight to his head and he couldn't help but curse aloud.
"Damn it! If you've got the guts, come out! Hiding like a rat—what kind of demon does that?!"
Ryōsuke stepped forward without hesitation, heading toward a small general store by the roadside.
He crouched down, pinched some scattered debris between his fingers, and rubbed it lightly—understanding dawning in his eyes.
"Ryōsuke-san?"
Moriyama hurried after him, puzzled. "You… you buying something?"
Ryōsuke didn't answer.
He stood beside the shop's door, tilting his head slightly as he listened.
Inside—absolute silence. Not even the faintest sound of breathing.
The smile on Ryōsuke's lips deepened.
Without warning, he pivoted sharply and drove his right foot forward with full force—
straight into Moriyama's backside.
"Wha—AHHH?!"
Caught completely off guard, Moriyama was launched forward. His body smashed through the half-open door and tumbled violently into the darkness inside the shop.
"YASUI RYŌSUKE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
The furious shout had barely left Moriyama's mouth when—
The door slammed shut on its own.
Not slammed—snapped shut, like a living thing, sealing away the last trace of light.
Then the room changed.
The floor. The walls. The ceiling.
Everything began to soften, swell, and writhe.
Gluurp… squelch… squelch…
Wet, nauseating sounds echoed through the space.
Bulging masses of flesh rose from the walls, splitting open to reveal bloodshot eyes—dozens of them—rolling madly as they locked onto Moriyama.
The walls lost all shape, turning into dark-red flesh slick with stinking slime.
From every direction, countless tentacles armed with suckers and serrated teeth shot out like venomous snakes!
"AAAAAAAH—!!!"
Moriyama screamed, fear shattering his composure.
Relying purely on instinct, he rolled across the floor in a panic, his Nichirin Blade swinging wildly.
"Water Breathing—Second Form: Water Wheel!"
A crescent of blue light spun out in front of him, severing several tentacles. The cut limbs splattered across the floor.
But there were too many.
For every tentacle severed, two or three more burst out of the pulsating flesh.
"YASUI RYŌSUKE! YOU KNEW THE DEMON WAS HERE, DIDN'T YOU?! YOU USED ME AS BAIT!!!"
Moriyama roared in despair as he struggled to block the attacks.
A tentacle lashed across his back, sending him stumbling forward. More instantly wrapped around his limbs and neck!
He rolled desperately, barely keeping himself from being fully restrained.
"Hahahaha! A pitiful fool betrayed by his own companion!"
A shrill voice echoed from deep within the flesh-lined walls.
At the center of the room, a lump of writhing meat bulged outward, reshaping itself into a humanoid form.
"How does it feel to be abandoned? Such a beautiful expression—fear, rage, despair! Hahaha!"
"Don't worry. Once I eat you, I'll deal with that other one too. Be a good boy and become part of me!"
The demon shrieked with laughter as even more tentacles lashed out like whips, completely sealing off Moriyama's remaining escape routes and binding his body.
"W–Wait! Mom! I wanna go home! Someone help me—!!!" Moriyama wailed.
BOOM!
Thunder shook the darkness.
A single, blinding point of white light flared to life.
The scream of a blade split the air—fast as a lightning strike!
The sealed wooden door and a massive section of the writhing flesh wall were pierced straight through by a streak of lightning!
"Thunder Breathing—First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
Ryōsuke burst through the explosion of smoke and blood mist.
He didn't retreat.
He advanced.
His Nichirin Blade moved again, lightning roaring as another technique followed immediately!
Thunder Breathing—Fourth Form: Distant Thunder!
A violent, straight-line surge of lightning tore through the space, cleaving directly into the demon's newly formed body!
The jade-white blade passed cleanly through its neck.
The demon's triumphant laughter cut off abruptly.
Its head flew high into the air, its face frozen in shock and disbelief.
"Ugh… gghh…"
The severed head tumbled, its mouth opening and closing.
But the body didn't disintegrate.
Around them, the flesh walls boiled like a swamp. Even more eyes and tentacles erupted, the squelching sounds growing louder and more frantic.
The entire shop had become a massive nest of living flesh.
The flying head was caught midair by a tentacle, letting out a venomous roar.
"As long as there's even a scrap of flesh left in this house! Even a single drop of blood! I can regenerate endlessly! Can you keep cutting forever?! Hahaha!"
"The sun's fully set now—you're both going to be devoured!"
Moriyama, having just broken free from the bindings, turned deathly pale.
Infinite regeneration…?
How the hell were they supposed to fight that?!
Ryōsuke lowered his head slightly, bangs shadowing his eyes. Fine arcs of lightning crackled quietly around him.
He let out a low, mocking laugh.
"Can't cut it all?"
BOOM—! BOOM!!!
An even more violent power erupted.
The temperature skyrocketed, turning the space into a blazing hell.
Thunder Breathing—Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!
Scorching lightning rampaged through the room.
As Ryōsuke's blade swept through the air, vast swaths of flesh walls and tentacles were pulverized in an instant, reduced to ash and debris.
His strikes were blindingly fast—and monstrously powerful.
With a single technique, more than half the room's living flesh was erased, the air filling with a thick stench of burning meat.
Fifth Form: wide area, massive damage, and burn effects.
Its only drawback was short range.
But in a sealed room like this?
It was downright broken.
The demon panicked, frantically activating its Blood Demon Art to condense what little flesh remained.
That was exactly what Ryōsuke had been waiting for.
He sheathed his blade.
As the guard clicked forward—
The thunder around him exploded violently!
Thunder Breathing—First Form: Thunderclap and Flash — Triple!
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/NightScript