Six months had passed since I left the village, and I was stronger than before. The last oni I had faced no longer posed a challenge, and now I was in a strange village, searching for information and supplies.
The village was small and sparsely populated, mostly by men, who watched me suspiciously as I walked along the road. But that didn't matter to me; I was only passing through.
During the night, some villagers arrived at the inn where I was staying, swords in hand. They thought I was asleep and wanted to immobilize me by striking my spine with their swords. One of them struck, but mid-movement caused me to explode with speed, landing right behind the attacker.
Without hesitation or emotion, I delivered a surgically precise punch, striking the man's lower spine. My expression was cold and calm, and the blow shattered the bones of his spine and severed nerves, paralyzing the attacker, followed by a powerful kick to his head that twisted and broke his neck.
I looked at the four men, stunned and with their swords drawn, paralyzed with fear. Their postures were faltering, and their hands trembled. I began to massacre them, tearing blood and bones from the dying men with my fists.
The first man tried to defend himself, but I struck him with a punch to the stomach, causing him to double over. Then I hit him with a blow to the neck, breaking his trachea and silencing him forever.
The second man tried to flee, but I easily caught up with him, grabbing him by the neck and crushing his throat with a swift movement.
The third man tried to attack with his sword, but I easily deflected it and struck him with a punch to the chest, breaking his ribs and puncturing his lung.
The fourth man, the bravest, tried to fight, but I disarmed him with a swift movement and struck him with a punch to the face, crushing his nose and blinding him.
I grabbed the villager by the neck, my hand squeezing tightly. The man screamed in pain, his eyes wide with fear. "Why did you do this?" I asked, my voice low and calm.
The villager mumbled something unintelligible, and I squeezed harder. "Speak!" I ordered.
The villager groaned, and I broke the index finger of the man's left hand with a swift movement. The scream of pain was muffled by the silence of the night.
"We... we made a deal with the oni," the villager said, his voice cracked with pain. "He wouldn't kill everyone... if we gave him people to eat."
I broke another finger, and the villager screamed again. "What kind of people?" I asked, my voice unchanged.
"Women... he likes women," the villager replied, his voice broken. "Especially young... and beautiful."
I broke another finger, and the villager began to cry. "How long has this been going on?" I asked.
"More than a year... please stop," the villager pleaded.
I broke the villager's last finger, and the man screamed in pain. "You're a monster," he said, his voice weak.
I smiled, a cold, emotionless smile. "No," I said. "I only do what is necessary to survive."
With a swift movement, I struck the villager's heart with a precise blow, and the man died instantly, cardiac arrest taking him.
I stood up, wiping my hands on the villager's clothes. I knew what I had to do now. Go to the offering site and kill the oni.
Upon arriving at the offering site in the middle of the forest, I heard voices and quickly camouflaged myself in the shadows of the night. There, I saw the villagers dragging a woman and a child; the woman was very beautiful, certainly captured before I arrived at the village.
He overheard what they were saying about the group that had to capture the man who had arrived at the village that day. They sent two to find the group that hadn't yet arrived. The women were unconscious.
The group moved to an open, secluded spot; the area had a faint smell of blood. I observed and studied the position of each one there. The villagers posed no threat; they placed the two women in the middle, retreated about 10 meters, and waited. They had a tense and fearful look in their eyes.
After 5 minutes, sarcastic words were heard in the silent night.
"Ah, my dear little dogs, did you bring me food today?" said the demon, his voice sending shivers down the spines of the villagers.
He walked calmly, with a cold, psychotic look in his eyes. As he approached the women, he observed their food and was pleased with the quality of the produce, especially that of the oldest woman.
"Ah, yes... this is a beauty. Meat is always tastier when it's fresh," said the demon with a wide grin.
When he was about to grab the older woman's head, his guard was down, and I seized the opportunity to attack.
In an explosion of speed, emerging from the shadows, I struck the demon with a swift and precise blow.
...The blow hit the demon's back like a tsunami; the force, multiplied by the technique, caused the demon's bones to shatter and dislocate. His body flew three meters, his feet leaving a path in the earth. The fight had barely begun, but I realized that this demon was not like the others; he was stronger and more resilient. A cold smile appeared on my face; now I had a challenge. I had used 50% of my strength in that blow. Around us, the villagers were terrified and fled quickly like lost dogs.
The demon stood up, its recovery already in full force, its bones returning to their place. It spoke:
"And who are you, you worm?"
"Who I am doesn't matter, demon. You're dead anyway..."
I dodged the demon's blow, feeling the wind on my face. It roared with rage, and I seized the opportunity to counterattack with a punch to the stomach. The impact was strong, but it barely flinched.
"You're fast, worm," the demon growled, "but you're no match for me!"
I didn't answer, I just continued to fight, my movements precise and calculated. The demon was strong, but its lack of control was its weakness.
He attacked me with a claw strike, and I dodged, feeling the demon's claws pass millimeters from my face. I countered with a kick to the chest, and he flew backward, but quickly got back up.
"You can't hurt me," he said with a grin. "I'm immortal!"
I said nothing, just continued to fight, my eyes fixed on the demon's movements. I knew he was abusing his infinite stamina, and I was just waiting for the right moment to attack.
The demon attacked me again, and I braced myself for the blow. But instead of blocking, I dodged and used the demon's strength against him, throwing him to the ground.
"It's not enough," I said with a scornful tone.
After several hours of fighting, the demon began to laugh, thinking I wouldn't be able to kill it and that my stamina would eventually run out. Then, it attacked again, without protection or guard; I dodged the blow, leaving its chest exposed.
With each blow I landed on his body, a quantity of energy left my body and entered his. This energy was accumulating near his heart without him realizing it.
With a clenched fist and activating the technique, I said:
" You can die now!"
My voice was cold, my fist connected with his chest. Everything seemed normal, like a weak attack. The demon even looked at me doubtfully, but the next moment, starting from the area around his chest, it began to crack and disappear. The demon's gaze changed, disbelief and terror.
He barely managed to say anything, his body was pulverized from the inside out, starting from the point where the energy was concentrated. In a matter of seconds, only a little dust remained, which was soon carried away by the cold night wind, and silence followed.