Drake and the one-eyed demon collided again and again—wood against claws—sparks and splinters flying with every clash.
Drake grit his teeth as he blocked another swipe.
The demon was stronger. Faster.
Drake survived only through technique and every dirty trick he could think of—feints, misdirection, and Thief skills.
But every time he managed to cut the demon—
It healed.
Instantly.
CLANG!
The two struck with so much force that both were forced back several steps.
"Kekekek… you know," the one-eyed demon said, his tone amused as his shredded ear bubbled back into existence, "you're stronger than any human I've eaten so far. You're nearly as strong as a Demon Slayer. If you had a Sun Blade, I'd be dead already."
He grinned wider, jagged teeth gleaming.
"I wonder how your flesh tastes—"
He didn't finish.
Drake lunged forward and sliced the demon's hand clean off, then immediately aimed for the head.
But the demon flipped away, landing lightly on his feet. His hand was already sprouting bone and sinew.
"Kekek! Isn't it a bit unfair to attack someone mid-sentence?"
Drake smirked, chest rising and falling with each breath.
"Isn't it unfair that you regenerate every damn cut?"
He pointed the cracked wooden katana at the demon.
The demon chuckled, lowering his stance.
"You're right."
He blurred forward with terrifying speed.
Drake barely raised his katana in time.
CRACK—
A long fracture crawled along the wood.
It was a miracle the sword had lasted this long.
CRACK… CRACK—
With each parry, the cracks deepened, widening with every brutal blow.
Fuck! Why did I leave the iron katana at home?!
"System! How much until dawn?!"
[Roughly one hour and forty minutes, host.]
One hour and forty—?! It's only been twenty minutes?!
Panic clawed up his throat.
How the hell am I supposed to last until then?!
The demon ramped up his assault, claws slashing in a relentless flurry. Drake was forced into defense, each block shaving more chunks off his dying weapon—
And then—
A cold drop hit the back of Drake's hand.
He blinked.
Another drop hit his cheek.
Then the sky opened.
Rain began to fall.
Drake's eyes widened as the raindrops fell.
Then he smiled.
His grip on the cracked wooden katana tightened.
It might not be perfect, but…
He inhaled.
Slow. Controlled.
He exhaled.
Steady. Deep.
His breathing completely changed.
The one-eyed demon rushed at him immediately, his claws slicing through the rain toward Drake's throat.
But Drake was calm.
He kept breathing.
[Physical Stats +20%]
Warm oxygen surged through his muscles, his lungs, his limbs—power flooding a body that had been moments from giving out.
The demon blurred toward him—
—and Drake saw it differently.
Through the rain. Through the darkness.
His vision had sharpened to razor clarity.
And from his wooden katana…
Drake could almost see rippling waves forming.
He smirked.
Yeah… it should work.
"Kekek—"
The demon's laugh was cut short.
Drake's voice was quiet, steady, lethal.
"Water Breathing… First Form—Water Surface Slash."
SWHIP—
A single horizontal strike.
The demon's head spiraled through the air, rain spraying from the severed neck.
And yet—
"Kekekek… Demon Slayer Breathing Style, huh?" the severed head hissed as it fell. "Pretty cool. Too bad you can't kill me without a Sun Blade!"
Before the head even hit the ground, the demon's neck reformed, its shoulders bubbling and starting to grow back.
Drake's breathing steadied, but his strength didn't.
I need to stall him for another hour and a half…
He looked at his weapon.
The wooden blade had completely splintered, reduced to useless chunks held together by luck alone.
The demon's regeneration sped up, arms and torso reforming like melting wax solidifying.
"Kekekekek!"
The demon spread his arms, delighted.
"You're done!"
…Until a voice cut through the rain.
"Good job."
Drake's eyes snapped up.
Urokodaki's voice.
"Catch."
Something gleamed in the moonlight, spinning through the air toward him.
Drake's heightened senses kicked in instantly—he snatched it from the air.
His eyes widened.
"A… Sun Blade?"
It was unmistakable.
Urokodaki's own Nichirin Blade.
Drake's face twisted in irritation.
"You bastard! You were WATCHING, weren't you?!"
Urokodaki didn't respond.
Drake huffed, calming down.
"Fine. Whatever." He lifted the blade. "Now your time has come, demon—"
He turned.
The demon was already running away on its arms, his torso finishing to regrow and his legs starting, shrieking internally.
Shit! Shit! That guy got a Sun Blade! I'M DEAD!
Drake exhaled.
"Second Form…"
He launched into the air, flipping high above the arm-running demon. His body rotated, the blade spinning with him.
"Water Wheel!"
Visible waves exploded from the Sun Blade, a spiraling vortex of water.
SHRRRRRK—
The demon didn't even finish turning before its head was split clean in two. Its body collapsed, dissolving.
Drake landed lightly beside the corpse.
[Ding! Quest Completed!]
[Reward Obtained — Trait: Sun Descendance (Epic)]
Panels flooded his vision.
[Sun Descendance (Epic)]
[You descend directly from the sun. Your blood is the demon king's greatest nightmare.
• You can use Sun Breathing.
• If transformed into a demon, you adapt rapidly to sunlight, becoming immune.
• Your talent with the blade is unmatched in the Demon Slayer world.
+10% to all stats.]
[Detected talent-enhancing effect. Taking it out of the trait and merging it with Swordsman (Common)…]
[Merge Complete.]
[The trait Swordsman (Common) has been trasformed into Sword Genius (Epic)!]
[Sword Genius (Epic)]
[Your sword talent appears once every hundreds of years.
• You can recreate sword techniques after seeing them a few times.
• +250% EXP to sword-related skills
• +200% Power to sword-related skills]
Drake read the panels with widening eyes, grin growing by the second.
He glanced at the demon's fading remains.
"Thank you."
Then he turned.
Urokodaki was approaching through the rain.
Drake opened his mouth—ready to yell—when he noticed someone behind him.
A boy about his age, wearing a checkered haori. Black hair fading into dark red at the tips.
Kind eyes, despite the exhaustion in them.
A scar on his forehead, and a determined expression that seemed carved from willpower.
Kamado Tanjiro.
To be continued...
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How was this chapter? Liked it?
Did I make the new traits a bit too OP?