In just a few seconds, the demon's leg had reattached, and it stumbled to its feet.
Its eyes were wide with rage, its blood-red vertical pupils nearly dripping blood!
Although, as a demon, ordinary wounds couldn't kill it, even if its neck was severed by a normal blade, it could struggle and regrow it, forming a complete body again.
But this kind of recovery had its limits.
With each feeding, the flesh and blood gave it not only satisfaction and pleasure but also a powerful surge of strength.
And repairing the body was something that consumed this flesh and blood energy stored within.
It wasn't one of those big demons that could eat people regularly, and certainly couldn't compare to the legendary Kizuki… the flesh and blood energy in its body was inherently scarce.
If it regenerated lost limbs too many times, its power would weaken, affecting its hunting efficiency. How could it not be enraged?
'This damn brat, causing trouble for me again and again!'
Taka's repeated provocations seemed to ignite its vicious nature. It charged wildly with no holds barred! Like a heavy cannonball, it slammed into Taka's back as he was still clumsily fleeing!
Boom—!!
A sweetness rose in his throat… his internal organs instantly shifted. A large mouthful of blood spewed out, and Taka felt like his bones were coming apart!
He was blasted forward, crashing heavily into the snow, his body plowing a shallow crimson trench through the accumulated white!
Taka tried to get up, but then felt a sharp pain in his shoulder!
Shlick!
The demon was already upon him, thrusting its claws directly into Taka's shoulder, skewering him!
"I told you, I'd tear you apart bit by bit!" The demon snarled.
Feeling the world spin and hearing the vicious laughter in his ears, Taka could feel blood gushing from his body, staining the snow beneath him.
'I was too impulsive... Gratitude or something, how ridiculous...'
He helplessly felt the snowflakes hitting his face, as if time itself had slowed down at that moment...
'Was I going to die?'
'Like those nameless corpses in the Rukongai, dying by the filthy ditches, dissolving into Reishi?'
'Like those frozen passersby, gnawed clean by stray dogs?'
'Like... the old man, throat torn open by a monster, lying dead in the cold snow with eyes wide open?'
'...No'
'Absolutely not!!'
A violent, unwilling, angry voice suddenly exploded in Taka's mind! Fiercer than any fight for moldy bread, crazier than when he was beaten and flailed his fists while spitting blood!
'How can I die here!'
'I have to live! My debts aren't settled yet! The ones I need to kill are still alive!'
'These humiliations... I'll repay that glasses-wearing freak a hundredfold! I'll make those high-and-mighty bastards taste every bit of it!'
Feeling its prey writhing violently on its claws, the demon's interest was piqued again. It taunted playfully, "Oh my, oh my, only now getting scared?"
"Yeah, that's it, squirm, struggle! Like a dying stray dog!"
"Haah... haah..."
Inarticulate hisses came from Taka's throat, a low growl like a dying beast. His grip on the broken sword tightened, his nails digging into his flesh, blood slowly trickling down the hilt.
"It's over, kid!"
The demon opened its huge mouth wide, pulling Taka's body closer, preparing to savor him slowly, starting from the head.
"...Chew to pieces..."
"What?"
A low hissing sound reached the demon's ear, making it pause for a second in confusion. Then, to its astonishment, it found the brat had inexplicably fallen from mid-air.
'Huh?'
Before it could even react, it turned its head and saw its own hand... had been severed!
"Ah—!!"
Squirt!!
Blood sprayed out, and the demon let out an even more miserable roar than before!
Taka had somehow squeezed out a final shred of strength, actually managing to slash through the demon's claw!
He tumbled to the ground, half of the still-writhing demon claw still stuck in his body, but he seemed oblivious. He just spread his stance, contorting his body, turning his five fingers into a claw that firmly gripped his blood-stained broken sword!
"Damn brat! I'll crush you!!"
The demon gave up. It no longer intended to slowly savor this human, who was as hard to kill as a bedbug and kept causing it troublesome injuries!
To avoid any more mishaps, though it was a bit regrettable, it decided to completely pulp Taka!
The claws whistled down, this time aimed at Taka's crown! The speed was so fast it left five blurred black afterimages in the air!
But all of this, in Taka's eyes at that moment, was incredibly slow.
'I have to live! No matter how ugly, how desperate!'
'Even if the opponent is immortal, even if it's a god! I'll bite a chunk out of them!'
A voice from the depths of his soul, mixed with the strange vibration and hum of the longsword in his hand, like the first thunderclap at the dawn of creation, was forcibly squeezed out from between his blood-soaked teeth:
"Chew and Swallow - Tonan!" (T/N: Tonan means theft.)
Hum—!!
The longsword in his hand, the moment its true name was called out, suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light too bright to look at directly!
A wave of energy, a mix of blood-red and iron-grey, surged out, filled with a primal, violent, ferocious, and furious aura!
A newfound sense of power filled his entire being, making him shudder, as if this sword had become a part of him, an extra arm, a new limb!
At that moment, he suddenly remembered that the longsword in his hand wasn't just some broken blade, but the weapon called [Asauchi] that the glasses-wearing weirdo had thrust upon him.
The light instantly engulfed Taka's arm holding the sword, spreading wildly along the blade!
And the deadly claw reaching for him, the moment it touched the edge of that violent light, seemed to hit an invisible wall, unable to advance another inch!
Sizzle—!!
The terrible sound of burning flesh rang out, causing the monster's expression to change drastically. It quickly withdrew its stinging claws and stumbled back several steps, distancing itself from Taka.
At that moment, for the first time, its blood-red vertical pupils showed the shock and fear that should belong to the hunted!
The intense light came quickly, and faded just as fast.
The wind, carrying snow and grit, blew past. The light dissipated, revealing Taka's form, kneeling on one knee.
Although he was still covered in blood, the demon's claw that had pierced his shoulder was gone, leaving only a terrifying bloody hole. His cotton-padded clothes had also transformed, becoming a tattered, pure black kimono top and wide trousers.
And the broken sword in his hand had completely changed.
The rust-covered longsword was gone. In his grasp was a jagged greatsword, entirely iron-grey, with an unusual metallic sheen!
The blade was covered in fierce, uneven, canine-tooth-like sharp serrations. The blade itself was broader and heavier, feeling powerful and fierce in his hand...
Just staring at the cold gleam on the blade's edge seemed to allow one to hear low, faint whimpers of a pack of dogs. A terrifying sense of oppression, as if targeted by countless hungry strays, instantly seized the heart!
"You! What kind of monster are you!"
The demon covered its injured claw in terror, its voice no longer sounding as composed as before.
It was shocked to find that its body was having difficulty healing.
The burning sensation on its claw was strong, but it wasn't fire… it was a tearing feeling that penetrated the soul.
It was like being constantly bitten and torn apart by starving wolves, torn apart only to be viciously clamped onto again. The demon could feel the life energy within it draining away, while the speed of healing was unimaginably slow!
'This human is a demon! This is Blood Demon Art!' That was the thought that sprang from its limited cognition.
Taka slowly raised his head. Although the blood and grime on his body were still piercing to the eye, and the wound on his shoulder was terrifyingly gruesome, his eyes were exceptionally bright.
"Pay back the old man's blood debt... now!"