"Hey. Eyes on me."
Shuya clapped his hands, pulling the clones' attention away from Mitsuri. The chains wrapped around Hantengu's main body ignited again with crimson flames.
"AAAGH!!"
The bound demon thrashed like he was being cooked alive. He reached desperately toward his clones, voice cracking. "Help—help me!"
"You—!"
Aku's face twisted with rage. Shuya's casual slap earlier had already stunned them. Combined with the commotion Mitsuri caused on the side, the clones had briefly considered grabbing her as a hostage. But the moment that thought formed, Shuya had started torturing their main body again.
Sorrow stepped in front of the furious Aku and blocked him with his spear. The four clones exchanged glances.
Even though they were all parts of Hantengu, they each had their own thoughts and personalities. Joy and Pleasure didn't want to merge back so soon—they finally had a taste of freedom. But after a quick mental discussion, Sorrow convinced them.
First, they would work together to rescue the main body. If they succeeded, they could do whatever they wanted afterward. If even all four of them couldn't beat this guy, then they would have no choice but to call out their strongest form, Zohakuten.
"Alright then… let's make some noise."
Joy spread his eagle-like wings and shot into the sky. Sorrow charged forward with his spear. Aku and Pleasure glanced at each other.
Aku slammed his staff into the ground. Red and blue lightning exploded outward, racing toward Shuya like roaring serpents.
"Die!"
Pleasure swung his fan at the same time. A violent gust of wind surged forward, feeding the lightning and turning it into a devastating storm of wind and thunder.
"Finally starting to look like a real fight."
Shuya narrowed his eyes. The combined attack was dangerous, but he didn't plan on using Hantengu's main body as a shield. He needed to break them completely.
Instead of dodging, he stomped hard on the ground. The earth cracked. He hooked his foot under a large chunk of dirt—roughly seven or eight square meters—and kicked it straight at the incoming storm.
"What the—?!"
Pleasure's eyes went wide as the massive slab of earth flew toward him. He tried to blow it away with his fan, but it was too heavy. At the last second he rolled aside. The chunk smashed into the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, Shuya was already standing right in front of him.
And in his hand was Aku's lightning staff.
Pleasure's pupils shrank. He quickly scanned the battlefield.
Aku and Sorrow were both lying headless on the ground, still regenerating. Joy was plummeting from the sky with Sorrow's spear buried in his skull.
Only he was left.
Shuya didn't attack right away. He looked at the staff in his hand, a curious glint in his eyes.
"Metal, huh?"
He tapped the staff with his finger, listening to the clear ring. Then he poured his aura into it. Under the effect of his Metal Tide ability, the staff slowly reshaped itself into a long blade crackling with lightning.
With one casual swing, lightning and blade light flashed together.
Pleasure felt a sudden heat across his neck. His vision tilted as he saw his own body standing in front of him.
"So fast…"
His severed head flew through the air, eyes wide with shock. A faint burning smell drifted in the wind.
Shuya stared at the new lightning blade in his hand, genuinely surprised.
He swung it a few more times, watching arcs of electricity dance along the edge. A wide grin spread across his face.
If a staff that shot lightning was already cool, then a sword that did the same? Way better.
Looking at the weapon he had just stolen, Shuya felt even more eager to claim Hantengu's Blood Demon Art for himself.