Clang—
Amid the clash of metal, lethal sparks burst forth.
At the critical instant, Gyutaro swung the Blood Sickle in his hand, blocking Kurosaki Rei's strike.
He had misjudged Kurosaki Rei's speed, which was why he received the blow so awkwardly—but he still managed to catch it.
Yet this did nothing to ease the alarm screaming in his mind. Instead, his eyes widened, because that slash, boosted by extreme speed, carried a terrifying, irresistible force.
If Kurosaki Rei had struck him head-on, he could have blocked it. But now, holding the Blood Sickle with one hand and intercepting the blow from the flank, he had no leverage at all—so the scene that filled him with shock and fury unfolded.
Kurosaki Rei's blade nearly pressed along his arm and Blood Sickle as it advanced. It was both unmatched violence and extreme technique—controlling fluid-like power at high speed and pouring it directly into his enemy.
Under the stunned gazes of the explorers and Gyutaro's furious eyes, Kurosaki Rei's slash, carrying Gyutaro's Blood Sickle along with it, forcibly swept across Daki's slender neck. Her delicate face still wore an expression of astonishment as she fell from the air.
"Little sister!"
Gyutaro cried out—but he wasn't overly worried. Even as he shouted, he counterattacked, the Blood Sickle in his other hand slashing toward Kurosaki Rei's chest.
His Blood Sickle was poisoned. To be struck by the toxin of his Blood Demon Art was to be sentenced to death.
Just as he thought the blow was about to land, Kurosaki Rei's elbow dropped, smashing into the flat of the Blood Sickle and jolting it downward.
Immediately after, Kurosaki Rei reversed his blade and slashed toward Gyutaro's neck.
Gyutaro hastily withdrew, activating Blood Demon Art: Circular Slash Reversal – Flying Blood Sickles. Spiral-shaped slashes of blood wrapped around his arm, shielding his vital points together with his weapon.
Kurosaki Rei's blade first cut through the spiral blood web formed by the Blood Demon Art, then struck Gyutaro's Blood Sickle. As the blade slid across it, a piercing screech rang out, sparks exploding like silver blossoms on iron trees.
Boom—
With Thunder Breathing active and the Brute title's boost, Kurosaki Rei gained the advantage in raw strength, smashing Gyutaro away. He crashed through three houses in succession before finally coming to a stop.
As Kurosaki Rei steadied himself, he tilted his head slightly. A spinning bullet, trailing fierce wind, brushed past his hair.
At the same time, a figure lunged out from the rear flank—it was the assassin of the explorer squad, Moose. His dagger stabbed toward Kurosaki Rei's back, joy flashing in his eyes.
He judged that after dodging his companion's sniper shot, at this distance and angle Kurosaki Rei would have no way to evade his heart-piercing strike. Even if he couldn't pierce Kurosaki Rei's heart, as long as he broke the skin, the dagger coated in deadly poison would take half his life.
Clang—
In Moose's stunned gaze, he heard a sound that should never have come from stabbing a human body. In fact, the feel of the strike had been wrong from the very start.
The moment his dagger touched Kurosaki Rei's loose black haori, it felt as though he had stabbed into a swamp—the strange elasticity had already drained much of the force. When the blade pierced through the clothing and struck Kurosaki Rei's flesh, the sound was like metal colliding with metal.
"Moose!"
The white-robed swordsman who had rushed in shouted—but it was already too late.
Kurosaki Rei first drove his elbow backward, smashing into Moose's chest and throwing him off balance. Then Kurosaki Rei turned and followed with a spinning slash, severing Moose's head.
Moose died without ever understanding why, despite being an excellent assassin, his all-out strike couldn't even break Kurosaki Rei's skin—couldn't even scratch him.
"Die!"
Without sparing even a moment to mourn his companion, the man charging at Kurosaki Rei was their adventure party's leader, the white-robed swordsman everyone called Brother Yu.
Using the moment when Kurosaki Rei turned back, he judged that Kurosaki Rei's blade couldn't possibly come around in time to block his strike. Like an immortal descending from the heavens, he stepped down as if on moonlight, thrusting his sword toward Kurosaki Rei's side of the neck, aiming to pierce straight through his throat.
But in the next instant, Kurosaki Rei's response filled his eyes with disbelief.
Kurosaki Rei made what seemed to him a ridiculous combat decision—he extended his left hand, using his palm to meet the incoming sword!
Had this powerful man gone mad? This was a purple-quality treasure sword with exceptional sharpness, and he dared to catch it barehanded? Did he think this would stop his throat from being pierced?
Just as the white-robed swordsman believed victory was at hand—that he would pierce through Kurosaki Rei's palm and then his throat—the shocking happened.
Crack—
Accompanied by the sound of shattering metal, the purple-quality treasure sword he had bought just last world began to crumble inch by inch, starting from the tip the moment it touched Kurosaki Rei's palm.
By the time its remaining momentum was spent, only the hilt slammed into Kurosaki Rei's hand.
The white-robed swordsman's eyes were filled with disbelief, as if he had witnessed the most absurd thing in the world. Under his stunned gaze, Kurosaki Rei's palm closed, gripping the hand that held what remained of the sword.
Looking at the devilish smile on the man's face, the white-robed swordsman finally understood the real reason this man dared to come alone, unafraid of traps.
They had never been hunters—only hunting dogs who had wandered into the forest and encountered a mountain tiger.
Kurosaki Rei seized the white-robed swordsman's hand, grinned, reversed his blade, and slashed upward, cutting him in two from bottom to top.
"Captain!"
"Brother Yu!"
"Captain!"
Three remaining members shouted in fury, but they were too late to save him. Before their despairing eyes, Kurosaki Rei followed with a horizontal slash, severing the head midair.
Watching the white-robed swordsman's corpse roll down from the ruins, Kurosaki Rei flicked the blood from his blade.
"Upper Rank? That's it?"
"You monster!"
Amid furious roars, the main tank known as Steel Plate charged at Kurosaki Rei with his tower shield raised, while the remaining two explorers attacked as well.
They were veterans who had survived many worlds in the space. They could see the situation clearly—now that they had obtained Muzan's demon bloodline and it was daytime, there was nowhere left to run.
If they broke and fled, they would be hunted down and killed one by one. The only chance left was to gamble with their lives.
Facing Steel Plate's charge, Kurosaki Rei first leapt backward, dodging the sniper's bullet. His jump carried him more than seven or eight meters, landing him against the wall of a house on the opposite side of the street.
The tall Steel Plate, tower shield in hand, continued charging like a bull in heat. He knew he was the team's main tank. With their "berserker," "assassin," and "swordsman" already fallen, he had to hold the front and keep pressing forward—otherwise Kurosaki Rei would break free and slaughter their mage.
Kurosaki Rei planted both feet on the wall and kicked off with his legs. Lightning wrapped around his body. In the next instant, amid thunder, the wall behind him exploded, wooden fragments blasting outward in a ring.
At extreme speed, Kurosaki Rei charged forward. He didn't slash at the massive tower shield—instead, he kicked it.
Crack.
Under the combined force of speed and overwhelming power, cracks spread across the shield. In the next moment, it shattered completely.
Steel Plate was sent flying as well, coughing up blood. He felt as though he had slammed headlong into a train during his charge.
"Blood Demon Art: Crimson Smoke Spirit Flame!"
A female mage's low shout came from the flank. A fire pillar more than two meters thick surged toward Kurosaki Rei, forcing him to abandon the pursuit. He burst forward with footwork, combining Flash Step and Thunder Breathing, moving so fast that those in the field could only see afterimages as he vanished.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye—from Kurosaki Rei severing Daki's head to two members of the explorer squad falling, only a few seconds had passed.
When Kurosaki Rei's form solidified and he came to a halt in the street, Gyutaro burst out from a ruined house nearby.
He looked completely crazed, countless blood-red blades coiling around his body. The Blood Sickle in his hand seemed to swell larger, slashing toward Kurosaki Rei with extreme killing intent.
Kurosaki Rei calmly raised his hand and blocked the strike with Demon-Imprisoning, borrowing the force as his feet slid backward across the ground.
After that slash, Gyutaro didn't pursue. Instead, rage and terror twisted his face.
"What did you do to my little sister!?"
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