"I—I agree—"
The moment Hantengu stammered out those words, the parchment in Shuya's hand dissolved into white light and sank into the demon's body.
Hantengu immediately felt something important being ripped out of him.
His Blood Demon Art.
Within seconds, the knowledge of how to use his abilities vanished from his mind. He could still split his body into younger, stronger clones, but they no longer possessed any special powers. They were no different from ordinary Lower Rank demons.
Hantengu felt a twinge of regret, but nothing more. The terrifying man in front of him had actually done it—he had taken his Blood Demon Art. And that meant the promise written on the parchment was probably real too.
He was going to live.
That single fact mattered more to him than anything else. So he accepted the loss without resistance.
A colorful orb of light rose from Hantengu's body and flowed into Shuya.
Countless scenes and techniques flooded Shuya's mind. He quickly sorted through them and fully absorbed Hantengu's Blood Demon Art.
He raised his hand and easily manifested the weapons the clones had used earlier—Aku's lightning staff, Sorrow's spear, Pleasure's fan, and even Zohakuten's massive taiko drums.
Even without turning himself into a demon, he could use their abilities normally.
Shuya felt both relieved and slightly disappointed.
Relieved that he hadn't obtained the ability to create emotion-based clones. He had zero interest in dealing with independent copies that could eventually betray him.
Disappointed that most of the powers were tied to weapons rather than giving him direct control over lightning like he had hoped. Still, it was better than nothing.
He looked down at the trembling Hantengu and released the chains.
"You can go."
"Y-Yes! Thank you, my lord! Thank you!"
Hantengu kowtowed repeatedly before scrambling away on all fours like a real rat.
Mitsuri suddenly jumped onto Shuya's back from behind, pressing herself against him.
"Shuya, let me play with them! Let me play with them~"
Yushiro kept his head down, not daring to look at her. After getting sent flying earlier, he had no desire to provoke her again.
Tamayo stared at Mitsuri in shock, completely misunderstanding the situation.
Shuya flicked Mitsuri on the forehead. "Can you not phrase things in ways that make people misunderstand?"
Mitsuri stuck out her tongue playfully, then held out both hands with sparkling eyes.
"Come on, come on. Give me those weapons. I want to try them!"
Shuya sighed and manifested the weapons again, handing them over.
"Be careful. Don't hurt yourself."
Mitsuri kissed his cheek, made a heart with her hands, and happily started swinging the weapons around.
Watching her play, Shuya suddenly had an idea.
What if he used Equivalent Exchange to trade the stolen Blood Demon Art to one of his contractors? Then, through his contract ability, he could sync and obtain the same power from them.
Would that let him double up on abilities?
It was worth testing.
His time and energy were limited. The more abilities he collected, the harder it would be to develop them all properly. Handing suitable powers to his contractors would let them grow stronger while saving him time. In exchange, they could "pay" with their bodies.
One transaction. Double the gains.
The synergy between Equivalent Exchange and his contract ability was perfect.
He looked at Mitsuri, who was still excitedly testing the weapons, and smiled.
He already knew who he was going to test this theory with first.