Asuka suddenly twisted his wrist, and a distorted ghostly figure formed entirely of darkness was forcibly pried out. It writhed wildly in midair before slowly drifting down to the ground.
"A demon! It's a demon!"
The bookstore instantly erupted into chaos. Yuka's face turned deathly pale, as if something unpleasant had been dredged up from her memories.
"Fall back! No one come out!"
Harada Chuichi had no idea whether talk of demons or monsters was real, but the eerie phenomenon before him certainly was. He immediately shouted toward the people inside the shop to keep them from getting dragged into danger.
Asuka's blade lifting the ghostly figure was only the beginning.
The shadow that landed on the ground let out a piercing shriek, making the air around the bookstore grow colder, as though shrouded in malice.
Then the mass of pitch-black, viscous hatred convulsed—and silently split apart. In the blink of an eye, it separated into two identical, faceless shadows.
"One became two? Or is this not a demon at all, but just a Blood Demon Art?"
When he had shattered the shadow earlier, Asuka had already felt something was off. It hadn't felt like killing a physical demon. Now, witnessing the split firsthand, he was even more certain.
Their behavior was the same as before. They completely ignored Asuka's drawn blade and, the moment they formed, lunged straight toward Harada Chuichi not far away.
"Not a chance!"
Asuka barked low and launched forward.
His Nichirin Blade flashed, severing the two demons' movements midair.
Two ghostly arms twitched briefly before dispersing with the wind. The main bodies merely swayed slightly before steadying themselves, glaring at Asuka with sinister intent.
A Blood Demon Art that can control two shadows at once... Is it a Lower Moon? Asuka wasn't sure. His eyes swept the surroundings, searching for a suspicious corner where the true demon might be hiding.
Seeing their attack fail, the two shadows immediately split left and right, trying to stretch Asuka thin and create an opening for one of them to assassinate Harada Chuichi.
Asuka twisted and stepped, his blade cutting again with wind-like speed, refusing to relent as he engaged both demons at once.
The scene descended into chaos. The workers of Sanmonji House turned pale; some timid ones had already begun praying to every god they could think of.
"Don't panic! Mr. Asuka is strong! He'll handle this!"
Asano Mori tried to steady everyone's nerves and told Miss Yuka to organize an evacuation through the back door.
This was not a fight ordinary workers could deal with. They had to avoid more casualties.
"What about you?" Yuka cried out. She had never seen such a thing before, and her thoughts were in disarray. "And Mr. Asuka? Are we just leaving him here alone?"
"Don't worry! I'll stay!"
Asano Mori thumped his chest, though his tone lacked confidence.
As everyone hurried out of Sanmonji House and Asuka's blade swung faster and faster—
Whoosh!
The hairs on Asuka's back stood on end.
A fleeting chill he had sensed before, like a venomous snake lurking in ambush, suddenly burst forth from the shadowy corner by the back door.
A third faceless shadow!
Whether deliberately controlled or simply cunning by nature, it had remained motionless in the darkness from the very beginning. It had been waiting for Asuka to be entangled with the other two—and for the chaos of fleeing people.
It moved soundlessly, so fast it left only an afterimage. Its target was Harada Chuichi.
"This is bad! Brother Harada!" Yuka felt a gust of icy wind on her face and screamed toward Harada Chuichi, who was bringing up the rear.
Asuka had already withdrawn his blade and activated the fastest form of Wind Breathing, trying to intercept it before the shadow struck.
But he was too late.
Slash!
The sound of claws tearing flesh rang out. This was the first time the faceless shadow had shown such ferocity. The demon behind it had clearly decided to kill, no longer caring about slowly merging into shadows to drain life.
Yet when blood sprayed into the air, Harada Chuichi did not fall.
He only stared in horror at the figure standing in front of him.
"Mori!"
Harada knew he had been targeted. He couldn't run into the crowd and endanger his coworkers.
Even if a hidden demon struck from the shadows, he had already prepared himself to fight to the death.
But he had never expected Asano Mori to step in so decisively, taking the brutal blow in his stead.
"...Brother Harada... Mr. Asuka... you have to... avenge my brother..."
Blood bubbled in Asano Mori's voice. The demon's claw had nearly ripped open his chest. The fact that he could still stand and speak was a miracle.
His head tilted, and his mind sank into chaos as he collapsed.
"Mori! Don't fall! Stay awake!" Harada Chuichi rushed forward to support him, pressing his clothes against the wound, but the blood continued to gush out. The situation grew critical.
"Mr. Asuka! Do something, please!" Yuka cried desperately.
"..."
Asuka said nothing. He simply drew the second blade from his waist.
"Wind Breathing: Twin Blade Form..."
His Asauchi flashed from its sheath like lightning, sparks illuminating the night. One blade before, one behind, it mirrored the Nichirin Blade, both gleaming with deadly frost.
"Burning Wheel!"
Burning Wheel—night rising in madness until dawn, tearing roofs and ripping heavy thatch, from the Song verse Yuka had just recited.
It was a howling tornado, a hurricane that split mountains and shattered stone.
In an instant, Asuka transformed into a black-green storm, charging with overwhelming force.
His twin blades formed a high-speed spiral of death. Every strike sent the air trembling.
And more than that—within the blades surged a primal force from the depths of Asuka's soul: his ravenous spiritual pressure.
The gray-black gale was no longer mere imagery. It became a true vortex of slicing wind. Anything caught within would be shredded.
This was his own form. The full fury he unleashed without restraint.
After Asano Mori fell, the faceless shadow joined the other two, attempting to eliminate their target outright.
But when Asuka's violent storm roared forth, even the soulless puppets forged from Blood Demon Art felt its destructive power. All three shadows froze.
Slice—slice slice—
In the blink of an eye, Asuka was upon them. The gray-black tempest swallowed the three demons whole.
Under the combined force of his sword form and spiritual pressure, the shadows were like cloth thrown into acid, rapidly disintegrating.
And as they broke apart, Asuka's raging spiritual pressure tore into them like a vicious hound. Every fragment became nourishment, devoured entirely.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Three soft sounds, like bubbles bursting.
After twisting briefly, the three shadows exploded into countless tiny dark-red motes of ominous light.
Like a startled swarm of fireflies, they scattered wildly in the aftermath of the storm.
The tempest subsided. Asuka reappeared, maintaining the posture of his twin blades slightly lowered.
As he slowed his breathing, the gray-black currents around him gradually dissipated into the air.
"Yuka!"
Asuka spoke coldly, urgency beneath his tone. "Take care of the injured!"
"Y-Yes!" Yuka, still reeling from the sight of him cutting down three demons in an instant, hurriedly obeyed.
"Where are you going?"
She and two steadier workers began tending to the gravely wounded Asano Mori alongside a choking Harada Chuichi, while anxiously calling after Asuka's departing figure.
He did not answer.
All his focus was concentrated on sensing spiritual pressure.
Following the direction in which the dark-red energy fled, he sped through streets and crowds. Even if he knocked people aside or was seen carrying a katana in public, it no longer mattered.
For some reason, he felt deeply irritated.
The farther he pursued, the colder the air became.
He knew the source was near.
Chasing the aura through a quiet pine grove—
A solemn, massive shrine suddenly appeared before him.
Black-lacquered halls reflected dim moonlight, adorned with golden ornaments, majestic and resplendent.
The enormous torii gate stood at the entrance like a portal to another world.
The spiritual heart of Sendai's residents—Osaki Hachiman Shrine.