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The demon was already standing right in front of him.
And she was telling him, It's that one?
Did she think he couldn't see it?
Cold Cry shot Noe an icy glare, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
The moment their eyes met, Noe lowered her head guiltily, not daring to say another word.
The confidence she had shown before coming here had vanished completely. She had been humbled almost immediately, and even she felt ashamed of herself.
Cold Cry grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her closer, his voice low and stern.
"Stay alert. We're not just dealing with this demon. There are still two more hiding on the second floor."
His gaze remained as cold as ever.
"I'm warning you. If this happens again, I won't save you a second time. I don't expect you to help, but at the very least, don't become a burden."
Noe clenched her fists.
Every word felt like a blade piercing her heart.
During their training on White Dragon Mountain, she had pushed herself relentlessly, hoping that one day she would be able to stand beside Cold Cry in battle.
She never expected her first real mission to end with her needing to be rescued.
"From now on," Cold Cry continued, "your only job is to protect yourself."
He raised a hand toward his face.
"I'm about to seal my sight, hearing, and sense of smell. If something like that happens again, whether you scream for help or die in front of me, I won't see it or hear it."
His voice remained completely emotionless.
"Do you understand?"
Noe remained silent for several seconds before finally nodding.
"...I understand."
"And maintain your enhanced physique."
He glanced at her.
"Didn't you say you could increase your muscle density sixfold? Keep it active."
"I... I understand."
Cold Cry said nothing more.
A thin layer of frost formed over his ears, nostrils, and eyelids.
In an instant, sound, scent, and light disappeared from his world.
Only temperature remained.
Within his perception, everything appeared as heat signatures.
The gently rippling hot spring...
The wooden floor...
The artificial rock formations...
And four distinct figures.
The warmest was Noe beside him.
The other three possessed the cold body temperatures unique to demons.
One crouched atop the rock garden—the Water Demon.
The remaining two were still hidden inside the corner of the second floor.
The Water Demon suddenly leaped from the rockery and lunged toward Cold Cry.
Without relying on sight, Cold Cry calmly sidestepped.
Freed from the distractions of his other senses, his temperature perception had become even sharper.
The Water Demon missed.
Just before it struck the ground, a strange black circle appeared beneath it, like the entrance to another world.
Its body disappeared into the circle.
An instant later, another black circle opened behind Cold Cry.
The Water Demon burst out of it and clawed toward the back of his neck.
A spatial movement ability...
Cold Cry immediately understood.
If he failed to kill it in a single strike, the demon would retreat into those portals and escape.
He needed one decisive opportunity.
Pretending not to notice the attack, Cold Cry merely tilted his head at the last moment, allowing the claws to narrowly miss his neck.
Earlier, he had lured the demon into revealing its true form.
Now...
He intended to lure it into its own death.
Using the black portals scattered across the ground, the Water Demon darted back and forth like a burrowing mole, launching attacks from every conceivable angle.
Cold Cry deliberately acted overwhelmed.
He staggered under the relentless assault, swaying left and right as though he were barely hanging on.
Each attack missed him by only a hair's breadth.
Occasionally, he even allowed the demon's claws to brush against his clothes.
It was all part of the act.
And just as before...
The demon took the bait.
Believing its prey was already exhausted, the Water Demon gradually lowered its guard.
Eventually, it stopped relying on its portals altogether.
Sometimes, after landing, it would simply turn around and charge again.
Cold Cry had deceived not only the demon...
...but Noe as well.
Watching from nearby, Noe's heart nearly leaped into her throat.
This wasn't how Cold Cry usually fought.
Back on Mount Fujikasane, he had faced three demons at once without being pushed into such a desperate situation.
Why did he now appear so powerless against this tiny demon?
Several times, she almost rushed forward to help.
But then she remembered his warning.
If this was part of his plan, interfering would only make things worse.
So she bit her lip and forced herself to stay where she was.
Hidden in the shadows of the second floor, Tamayo and Yushiro silently observed the battle below.
Earlier that day, Tamayo had praised the young Demon Slayer.
Yushiro had disliked hearing it.
To him, Lady Tamayo was unparalleled, and he disliked hearing her compliment anyone else.
Watching Cold Cry seemingly struggle against the Water Demon, he couldn't help but sneer.
"Lady Tamayo, shouldn't we help? At this rate, that white-haired swordsman is going to be eaten."
Tamayo smiled gently.
"Yushiro... you've underestimated him."
Her eyes never left the battlefield.
"The one who's about to die isn't the boy."
"It's the Water Demon."
"I doubt it will even have the chance to escape."
Yushiro frowned, unable to understand why Tamayo held such confidence in the young swordsman.
Just as she predicted...
The battle reached its conclusion.
The Water Demon lunged from behind once more.
Cold Cry ducked beneath the attack and swung his Nichirin Blade wildly several times.
The demon twisted its small body with ease, effortlessly dodging every slash.
It grinned triumphantly.
Jumping around excitedly, it mocked its prey.
Completely unaware...
...that it had already stepped into the trap.
Repeated success had made it arrogant.
Its vigilance had disappeared.
After landing, it didn't even bother using its portals.
Instead, it casually turned around and leaped straight toward Cold Cry's face.
It believed this slash would be no different from the others.
It was wrong.
You can deceive me a hundred times...
But I only need to deceive you once.
Cold Cry inhaled deeply.
His arm exploded with power.
A wave of icy air burst from the snow-white blade, instantly freezing the surrounding steam into glittering ice crystals.
Without assuming any formal stance, he swung his sword in one clean horizontal arc.
"Ice Breathing... Second Form: Drifting Snow!"
The slash swept forward like a blizzard.
Elegant.
Swift.
Beautiful enough to resemble a spirit dancing through falling snow.
Only then did the Water Demon remember the terrifying speed of Cold Cry's sword.
But it was already too late.
Before it could even scream—
Its head separated cleanly from its body.
"Yushiro," Tamayo said softly.
"Prepare to collect its blood."
She rolled up her sleeve and lightly sliced open her arm with her sharpened fingernail.
Crimson blood drifted through the air like delicate silk threads.
Although Cold Cry had sealed his ordinary senses, his temperature perception still detected Tamayo's movement on the second floor.
He sensed something warm spreading into the air.
Though he couldn't identify it with certainty, he instinctively guessed it was blood.
And the strange fragrance that had weakened him the previous night...
...had most likely originated from it.
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