The two stared at each other, their gazes briefly meeting. If Kamihara Tetsuya pulled the trigger, he would blow Kocho Kanae's head off.
If Kocho Kanae continued to press her nichirin blade forward, she would cut off Kamihara Tetsuya's head.
What a straightforward look.
Kocho Kanae stared into Kamihara Tetsuya's eyes. Eyes are the windows to the soul. The demons she had encountered before were despicable, cruel, insidious, and vicious, using every means in the world just to escape from her hands.
This young man in front of her was completely different.
Kocho Kanae's cherry lips moved slightly, and she whispered, "Is there some reason..."
Sharingan · Genjutsu!
Before she could finish her sentence, Kamihara Tetsuya's tightly strung eyes flashed with blood-red light. The two tomoe deep within them spun wildly, and immense ocular power surged forth as if it were worthless.
She was immersed in the Sharingan · Genjutsu!
The world in Kocho Kanae's eyes suddenly changed. The surrounding environment was so familiar.
She was back at the Butterfly Mansion, the sun shining brightly, and her younger sister, Kochou Shinobu, complained, "Sister, you're finally awake."
"Is it a Blood Demon Art that causes hallucinations?"
Kocho Kanae murmured, not expecting the opponent to have such a trick hidden away.
This way, it made sense.
Humans who were almost killed would help the other party; it was likely they were caught in an illusion, unable to distinguish friend from foe.
The chattering Shinobu, the soft and comfortable breeze, it was all so real that Kocho Kanae almost mistook it for the real world.
Bang!
Seeing Kocho Kanae fall into the illusion, Kamihara Tetsuya breathed a sigh of relief. He mercilessly pulled the trigger, sparks flew, and a bullet shot out.
At that very instant, Kocho Kanae tilted her head, and the bullet passed through her left cheek.
"What!"
Kamihara Tetsuya's face showed surprise. Even caught in an illusion, she could still react to real-world dangers. Her combat awareness was ingrained in her bones, forming an instinct.
The vibration caused by the flying bullet damaged Kocho Kanae's left ear canal. Dark red blood flowed out, adding a touch of tragic beauty to her lovely face.
Hiss!
The stimulation brought by this pain also allowed Kocho Kanae to successfully break free from the Sharingan · Genjutsu.
She suddenly opened her eyes and whispered, "Flower Breathing: Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo!"
Whoosh!
A curved double slash was unleashed from bottom to top, the blade light streaking across the void like a Streamer.
With a "bang," the blade light severed the rifle's barrel, then slashed again towards Kamihara Tetsuya's neck.
Soul Manipulation: Devourer!
Kamihara Tetsuya's rifle slipped from his grasp, his pupils trembling. He quickly activated his Blood Demon Art, and the souls stored within his body transformed into energy, rapidly merging into his being.
Under the continuous support of energy, the demon's regeneration speed greatly increased.
The arm that had been severed earlier instantly recovered.
Kamihara Tetsuya had no time to dodge and could only grab the incoming blade with his bare hands. The moment of contact, his palm was cut open, and blood gushed out.
Sacrificing one palm also slowed down the incoming nichirin blade, allowing Kamihara Tetsuya to seize the opportunity to create distance, causing Kocho Kanae's sharp slash to miss.
Bang!
Kocho Kanae's eyes were fixed on Kamihara Tetsuya, and just as she was about to pursue, suddenly, a gunshot rang out.
"Oh no!"
Kocho Kanae thought to herself that something was wrong. Due to the danger Kamihara Tetsuya presented, all her attention was on him, and she had overlooked that there was still another person.
John Deere pulled the trigger, and a bullet flew out, striking Kocho Kanae's abdomen.
Blood splattered out.
Having done all that, John Deere, exhausted from the torment of the illusion, knelt on the ground.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
Kamihara Tetsuya gasped for breath. The strength of a Pillar-level Swordsman was indeed well-deserved, but it was finally over.
Kocho Kanae covered the continuously bleeding wound with one hand, her exquisite face gradually turning pale.
The two stared at each other, the atmosphere tense.
"I won!"
A hint of killing intent appeared on Kamihara Tetsuya's face.
He took a step forward, and suddenly, a feeling of weakness surged over him. He found the ground getting closer and closer.
His body collapsed to the ground, unable to muster any strength. Kamihara Tetsuya's face turned grim, "This is!"
"This is a poison my sister formulated with wisteria flowers, specifically for demons. She wanted me to try it out on a mission." Kocho Kanae looked at the blade of her nichirin blade.
It had finally taken effect.
From the first slash she landed on Kamihara Tetsuya, the wisteria poison had already entered his body.
This young man in front of her had slightly insufficient combat experience but was meticulous in his thoughts, highly talented, and knew how to leverage his strengths to the fullest.
If not for Shinobu's poison, she might have truly fallen into his hands today.
Kamihara Tetsuya's face was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. Even with absolutely overwhelming strength, the opponent still used poison; her power and caution exceeded his expectations.
This was truly troublesome now.
"You think this little bit of poison can kill me?"
Kamihara Tetsuya struggled to his feet, forcing his body to stand, and stared coldly at Kocho Kanae.
In reality, he was very nervous. According to his estimation, even if he mobilized the energy within his body to decompose the poison at the fastest speed, it would take at least three minutes.
This amount of time seemed short, but it was enough for Kocho Kanae to kill him dozens of times over.
At this moment, Kocho Kanae made a move that greatly surprised Kamihara Tetsuya.
Kocho Kanae put down her nichirin blade, a faint smile appearing on her pale face, "Can we talk?"
"Hmm!"
Kamihara Tetsuya nodded. He would be more than happy to stall for time and decompose the poison.
"Why did you kill these people?" Kocho Kanae asked. Demons eat people by instinct, without any reason, but she felt that this young man wouldn't do so.
His eyes and every action were unlike the vicious demons she had encountered before.
"Then you should go see, open that large door." Kamihara Tetsuya pointed to the warehouse in the spacious courtyard.
He could feel the dense presences within that warehouse. If Akiyama Rinka hadn't lied to him, then the "goods" inside that warehouse were...
Boom!
Kocho Kanae frowned, dragging her heavy body over and pushing open the warehouse door.
The scene that met her eyes greatly impacted Kocho Kanae's heart.
Inside the dark warehouse were rusty cages, and what was inside them were not animals, but genuine human beings, aged between 10 and 40.
"It hurts so much!"
"Give me some more, I'll do anything!"
"My father and mother in heaven, I see you!"
...
The people lying in the iron cages were emaciated, disoriented, and constantly issue low moans.
Kamihara Tetsuya sneered, "In a month, a demon might only eat three or four people. This gangster organization traffics people, lures others to take drugs, and harms hundreds of people. Which side is truly evil?!"