Chapter 35: Kocho Kanae
The demon before them possessed speed and strength far superior to any they had encountered before.
Even Kanae wasn't confident she could win alone.
But right now, there were three of them.
Although their teamwork wasn't seamless, it was enough to cover each other's openings and chain attacks.
After a bitter struggle, they managed to push the demon back. The cost was merely a light injury to one of the swordsmen.
Kanae panted slightly, standing her ground and thinking.
Just now...
Did the demon's body get harder as the fight went on?
"Senior, should we pursue?" one of the swordsmen asked hesitantly, looking at the swathe of destroyed forest ahead.
The girl thought for a moment, then spoke decisively. "Send the Kasugai Crow with a report first. Then we pursue immediately."
According to the demon, it planned to winter in these mountains and had captured many innocent people as food reserves.
Now that its location was exposed, it would likely move its base. The captives would either be taken along... or silenced permanently.
After explaining her reasoning, the swordsmen agreed. Gripping their blades, they followed Kanae into the depths of the forest.
However, the uncharted sea of trees wasn't meant for human travel.
In less than half a day, their stamina had dropped significantly.
A thought rose in Kanae's mind: Is the demon leaving these tracks on purpose to lure us here?
Just as she thought this, the ground beneath her feet softened.
It collapsed.
"It's a trap!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the demon burst out from a tree trunk again.
Its target wasn't Kanae, who had fallen into the pit, but the two weaker swordsmen.
"It's trying to pick us off one by one!"
Kanae shouted, "Watch out!"
The two swordsmen reacted quickly. One took a defensive stance to block frontally, while the other accelerated to flank the demon from behind.
His Nichirin Sword became a point of cold light, thrusting toward the demon's nape.
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"
Use the fastest form! Hit it before it can block!
The swordsman thought.
But the demon didn't even turn around. The muscles on its back rippled, and its skin instantly took on the cold, hard sheen of iron.
Only then did they realize the demon's skin color had changed.
CLANG!
A crisp sound rang out.
The tip of the blade struck an iron wall. Instead of piercing the neck, the entire blade bent, nearly snapping under the stress.
The demon ignored the frontal attacker entirely, letting sparks fly as the sword skidded harmlessly off its chest.
It spun around and grabbed the flanking swordsman who hadn't retracted his blade in time.
"Mmm... the first one..."
Its claws pierced through his chest as easily as punching through paper.
"Bastard!"
The other swordsman's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Veins bulged on his temples as he frantically channeled his Breathing, slashing at the demon's arm to save his gutted comrade.
However, his full-power strike couldn't bridge the massive gap between human and demon.
The demon delivered a casual side-kick.
The swordsman flew like a broken puppet, crashing into the bushes far away. Silence followed.
At that moment, Kanae climbed out of the pit.
The first thing she saw was the lifeless body of the swordsman hanging from the demon's hand like a rag doll.
Even with her gentle nature, she couldn't hold back a roar of anger.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
These young swordsmen had bright futures ahead of them. They might have found happiness one day.
But now, it was all over?
Like flowers withering in spring, dead before the dawn.
All because of this demon's senseless malice and gluttony?
She suddenly remembered the malice and misfortune that had descended upon her own family without warning...
Grief and rage boiled in her chest, turning into power.
Her pink Nichirin Sword turned into a streak of light, whipping up a storm of fallen leaves and petals that bloomed like a peony.
Elegant and light. But sharp and deadly.
The slashes landed on the demon's vitals.
[Total Concentration!]
[Flower Breathing]
[Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!]
Throat, heart, wrists, eyes...
But to Kanae's shock, her full-power technique fell far short of her expectations.
Just a moment ago, she could sever its limbs. Now, her blade barely cut through the skin and muscle.
seeing the greenish-gray hue flash across its body and the fading wood grain pattern...
Kanae's pupils shrank. She began to understand.
"Mmm... Mmm... looks like you noticed, Little Butterfly."
The demon stopped hiding it. With a heavy claw swipe, it forced her back several steps, its tone smug.
"Your slashes are decent. You can cut through the Cloud-Mist Cedar, the hardest wood in this forest."
"But... what if it's steel?"
It stroked its own body like it was a treasure. Under the moonlight, the skin that once looked like wood grain now reflected a metallic luster.
"With those fragile little toothpicks of yours, I doubt you can cut through a body forged of steel, can you?"
This monster...
It could change the material and hardness of its body by touching objects!
Its initial defense was already abnormal—likely from absorbing the properties of a special hardwood in the logging camp.
During the previous skirmish, it had been constantly analyzing and adapting to the metal composition of their Nichirin Swords, until it finally completed the transformation.
It had caught them completely off guard.
With no time to mourn her fallen comrade, Kanae looked up and shouted.
"Kasugai Crow! Emergency Backup!"
The sound of wings flapping came from above as the crow took flight.
The demon noticed it instantly.
Grinning, it tore a massive chunk of wood from a tree and hurled it at the fleeing crow.
The wood shattered into shrapnel under its monstrous strength, covering the crow's entire escape route.
[Flower Breathing, Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum!]
A slender figure leaped into the air, intercepting the debris between the demon and the crow.
Her blade traced the shape of a plum blossom, deflecting every single shard of wood.
"Go quickly," Kanae whispered to the frightened bird, a flower-like smile blooming on her face.
"I will protect you."
The crow flapped its wings frantically and flew away.
"Mmm... what's the point of calling for help?"
The hollow-eyed demon shook its head.
"I'll just tear the butterfly apart and leave with my food."
The smile faded from Kanae's face.
She looked at the demon, her eyes devoid of warmth.
"Does turning your body into metal give you that much confidence?"
"But your offense hasn't improved much. Is it because your Blood Demon Art is purely defensive?"
"Also... the place where you keep the captives is nearby, isn't it?"
The trap earlier didn't look freshly dug. Is there an underground lair?
Hearing this, the demon's limbs twitched uneasily.
"I will not forgive you."
Her voice was soft, but it carried the weight of iron.
"Tonight, I will slay you here."
☆☆☆
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