Chapter 23: Devil Ape and Black Dog
Frost Breathing... First Form: Scrap Silver Slash!
Two arc-shaped frosty blade lights collided with the heavy fists and sharp claws, instantly breaking through the biological armor's defense, slicing through the arms of the two Ghouls and knocking them back to either side.
Devil Ape and Black Dog!
Their real names were Enji Koma and Kaya Irimi.
In the original plot, both of them were standouts among SS-Rank Ghouls.
Once, they each led large Ghoul organizations named "Devil Ape" and "Black Dobers," frequently clashing in the 20th Ward.
While fighting each other, they also wantonly took the lives of many humans and Ghoul Investigators.
Later, the SSS-Rank Ghoul Yoshimura Kuzen, known as the "Non-Killing Owl," approached them with the ideal of peaceful coexistence with humans, persuading them to end their meaningless struggle and establish Anteiku.
In this coffee shop that served both humans and Ghouls, the two encountered all kinds of people, gradually accepting Manager Yoshimura Kuzen's philosophy, and their personalities softened.
Of course, that was them in the original plot; the Devil Ape and Black Dog standing before Roland now were filled with ruthlessness and violence.
"Are you the bastard! The one who killed Ayato and Nishio and ate them!"
Devil Ape shook off the frost on his body, stepping from Roland's left side to his right in a clockwise direction.
"I'll rip your head off and place it before their graves! You damned monster!"
Black Dog swung her sliced arms to press them back together, stepping from Roland's right side to his left in a clockwise direction.
Surrounded in a circle, Roland knew there was no possibility of communication, so he didn't waste his breath and instead calmly thought of an offensive strategy.
"The biological armor on them is like a 'Kakuja' but slightly different, though it's certain that the structure is mostly composed of Kagune."
"Compared to Devil Ape's Ukaku, the armor formed by Black Dog's Ukaku is more speed-oriented and thinner in defense; perhaps I can find a way to take her out first."
"I must be fast! Can't give them any time to react; it's best to achieve a one-hit kill!"
Roland took a deep breath and slowly crouched down. The nichirin blade in his hand was pulled back as far as possible like an arrow on a bowstring, entering a "charging" state as a layer of blue spiritual light rose over his body.
Combining the fastest thrusting technique in Water Breathing, "Drop Ripple Thrust"...
...with the secret technique "Great Shinobi Thrust," painstakingly developed by Owl the Rogue Ninja, which even the "Sword Saint" Isshin Ashina finds difficult to react to and dodge!
Just how terrifying the speed and penetration of the resulting move were remained a mystery even to Roland, the creator of the technique.
Fortunately, the three people present would soon witness it!
Frost Breathing, Seventh Form: Snow Owl Droplet Wave Thrust!
Consumes 7 stacks of Breathing Technique; after a brief charge, quickly launches a thrusting charge forward, increasing attack speed by an additional 18% and armor penetration by an additional 15%!
Devil Ape and Black Dog sensed something was wrong the moment the blue light appeared, but Roland's charging process took only a single second.
By the time they reacted, Roland had already turned into an arrow released from a bow, flying towards Black Dog on the left.
It was too fast! There was no time to block or dodge at all!
Black Dog felt like a cub facing the raid of a bird of prey, watching helplessly as the tip of the blade, creating ripples, rapidly enlarged in her vision.
Puchi!
The tip of the blade pierced straight through Black Dog's forehead, exiting from the back of her head.
Roland twisted the hilt, withdrew the blade with a diagonal upward slash, and then performed a backward backflip, passing the lunging Devil Ape in a parallel position, one above the other.
Reverse Dismounted Hawk Water Wheel!
Devil Ape's attack, which he couldn't pull back in time, slammed into Black Dog's limp body. She was instantly knocked off the roof like a rag doll, spraying blood as she fell.
Roland gave him no more time to react. Upon landing, he assumed a high-level stance and performed three consecutive forward lunges combined with three powerful Ichimonji slashes, pushing Devil Ape to the edge of the rooftop.
Frost Breathing, Third Form: Momentary Flowing Dance!
Not finished yet: elbow strike, palm thrust, and shoulder ram!
After the heavy three-hit combo, Devil Ape was also knocked off the edge of the rooftop, plummeting rapidly toward the ground below.
Senpou Arts, Praying Strikes: Exorcism!
A whistling foul wind came from behind; Roland knew it was an attack from another Ghoul.
There was no time to turn back to block or dodge. With a forward lean, he leaped directly off the high building, diving after Devil Ape's falling body.
He adjusted his posture in mid-air. The moment they drew close, he pulled the other party and sent the cold blade into Devil Ape's vital spot, completely ending his life.
Using Devil Ape's corpse as a buffer, Roland kicked off hard and leaped toward the outer wall of another high-rise building.
Skill [Gecko] activated, his body clung to the wall like Spider-Man in the movies!
After getting a slight buffer, Roland looked up. The group of Ghouls was still chasing him relentlessly, roaring as they charged toward him.
Roland could only leap down again toward the unsafe ground below!
Those Clones had been waiting below for a long time. Once Roland's landing point was determined, a dense barrage of attacks covered him completely.
Roland used Scrap Silver Slash several times in succession to barely clear an open space for himself.
The consequence of using sword forms multiple times was that his Breathing Technique stacks were exhausted, causing his offensive to enter a temporary slump.
Fortunately, the Demon Slayer Corps Pillar-level Swordsman Haori draped over his back provided an equipment effect that "increased the accumulation speed of Breathing Technique stacks by 12%." Additionally, the breathing efficiency of the max-level [Frost Breathing] was also extremely fast.
As long as he was given a moment's respite, he could accumulate at least 20 stacks of Breathing Technique.
Amidst the surrounding Monstrosities and Clones, after a burst of fighting, Roland successfully picked up the corpses of Devil Ape and Black Dog, along with the dropped treasure chests, and stored them in his [storage space].
A surging blue pillar of fire struck, which he dodged by crouching low.
He couldn't stay here any longer!
Roland's brain quickly made the correct judgment. After swinging his blade to kill a few more Clones and opening a gap in the encirclement, he dove into a narrow alley.
Over a dozen Clones using Ukaku were jumping back and forth on the walls of the alley on all fours, attempting to block him again.
Roland threw several High-Explosive Grenades, using the impact of the explosions to temporarily pull away.
Flipping over a high wall, the skill [Gecko] was activated again. His feet stepped onto the wall, and after charging for two seconds, he kicked off hard, crashing through a floor-to-ceiling window and entering a private residence.
The Clones soon followed his trail, but upon entering the residence, they found the target's figure had already vanished without a trace.