The power of the sun imbued in the Nichirin Sword caused the demon's body to dissipate like smoke.
Lexon looked at Masakazu Shika, who had already retreated to the doorway, and asked, "Your 'threat' has been eliminated. What do you plan to do now?"
Masakazu Shika didn't reply. Instead, he fled in a panic, shouting as he ran, "Master, save me! Master!"
'There's someone else behind him?'
Lexon glanced at the spot where the demon he had slain had died.
'Was that just cannon fodder?'
He didn't use a breathing technique to chase him, simply following behind Masakazu Shika at an unhurried pace.
Masakazu Shika's shouts alarmed many of the remaining members of the Shika family. Thinking that the rumored man-eating demon had appeared, they surrounded the area with swords and spears.
"Quick! Kill him! Kill him! The disappearance of our family members is because of him! He's the man-eating demon!"
Masakazu Shika yelled at the top of his lungs.
The surrounding Shika family members looked at each other. Although the person following behind was holding a long sword, his clean clothes and handsome face didn't look at all like a man-eating demon.
However, compared to an outsider they had never seen before, the members of the Shika family were more inclined to believe their own family head, who had not been in his position for long.
They raised their weapons and gradually surrounded Lexon.
"Tsk."
Lexon curled his lip. These people were just deluded members of the Shika family. It would be hard to justify killing them all.
'But I can't just let him get away either.'
The next moment, the Nichirin Sword in Lexon's hand quietly flipped over, the back of the blade facing up.
Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide.
The sound of flowing water suddenly rang out. Azure currents swirled, forming successive waves that rushed towards the surrounding people.
All who were touched by the waves rolled their eyes back and slowly collapsed.
One by one, the people fell, their weapons clattering to the ground.
By the time everyone was on the ground, Masakazu Shika was nowhere to be seen.
However, Lexon wasn't worried. The scent of Masakazu Shika still lingered clearly in the air. All he had to do was follow the smell.
He walked step by step in Masakazu Shika's direction.
He continued until he arrived before a tightly closed hall.
Lexon's nose twitched. He confirmed it again: Masakazu Shika was inside.
But there were no other scents.
'Where is his "master"?'
Lexon walked to the door and casually slashed it open with two strikes.
Looking inside, he saw a large number of porcelain items displayed in the hall. Masakazu Shika was facing a certain porcelain piece, speaking anxiously and nonstop.
That porcelain piece was a pot, mostly white with a bright red pattern of flowering branches.
"Master, Master! That demon hunter is too strong! We need you to kill him!"
"Master, Master! He's coming! Master! Save me!! Master, save me!"
Seeing the door being slashed open and the demon hunter striding in, Masakazu Shika's voice grew progressively louder.
"Hee hee."
Suddenly, a giggle came from within the pot.
Hearing the response, Masakazu Shika's face lit up with joy.
"The scent of a demon," Lexon stopped in his tracks. "And a powerful one at that."
The next moment, a small hand, as tiny as an infant's, suddenly stretched out from the pot.
The small hand violently grabbed the overjoyed Masakazu Shika.
"M-Master, I-I am your servant!"
Masakazu Shika cried out in terror.
But the small hand completely ignored his reaction, swiftly lifting him up and pulling him back towards the pot.
The opening of the pot was normally not large enough to fit a person, but it was as if the small hand possessed limitless power, forcefully squeezing Masakazu Shika's flesh and bones into the mouth of the pot.
Masakazu Shika did not die instantly, but only after a series of blood-curdling screams.
A moment later, the pot returned to its original state.
As if nothing had happened.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger."
He circulated the Flame Breathing technique. This was the first time Lexon had used it, but a skill from a sign-in was ingrained in his bones; there would be no unfamiliarity.
Flames blazed, clinging to the blade. With a swing of the Nichirin Sword, a ball of fire erupted, forming a roaring, majestic flame tiger that lunged towards the pot to devour it.
However, the moment before it hit, the pot suddenly leaped up, did a Thomas Flare in mid-air, and landed with a wobble.
The Flame Tiger's slash was thus avoided.
"That was close, that was close," a somewhat gloomy and mocking voice came from within the pot.
Then, a half-bodied demon emerged from the pot. It was entirely white, with yellow eyeballs and green lips. It had two mouths where its eyes should be, tongues lolling out, and its eyes were on its forehead and mouth. Several small arms hung down from the hair on its head, and its scalp was covered in purple fins.
The demon's upper body was connected to the pot, as if it were one with it.
Seeing the demon before him, Lexon raised an eyebrow.
'A big fish has really appeared.'
His mind raced.
He recognized the identity of the demon before him.
The Upper Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki, Gyokko!
A terrifying fellow.
One of the strongest in the demon camp.
Perhaps if he had met this guy a few months ago, he would have had no chance of victory.
But... now... that wasn't necessarily the case.
Lexon's eyes sharpened, his Nichirin Sword held low.
After all, in the original work, Gyokko was slain by the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, after he had awakened his mark. And the current Lexon, even in his base form, had already surpassed the marked Mist Hashira.
Therefore, Lexon was quite confident.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you going to kill me already? You demon hunters are so strange... I only ate a few people..." Gyokko said in a sleazy tone.
"What was the deal with Masakazu Shika?" Lexon didn't rush to attack, but instead asked a question.
"Him...? A foolish fellow... I originally saw how much he revered my works of art and gave him a chance to offer me food. I even gave him a little demon to help him out. I didn't expect the blood offerings he provided recently to become less and less frequent, so I had him compensate with himself... But it doesn't matter, I was just playing around..."
For some reason, Gyokko actually answered the question.
Just as Lexon was about to speak again, his [Intuition] sent him a warning of danger.
Without a doubt, he focused his mind and went on high alert.
In the next instant, from the pots in a pile of porcelain next to Lexon, a large number of fish with sharp teeth and vicious mouths suddenly burst out and charged at him.
Blood Demon Art: Biting Fish.
'Ah, right. Gyokko can move freely between the pots he creates and launch attacks.'
Lexon realized.
However, because he was on alert, this surprise attack didn't throw him into disarray.
"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation."
Just like a character in an anime, Lexon had a habit of calling out the names of his techniques when he used them. It could be considered a hobby.
Flames rose, forming a series of whirlpools around Lexon with his slashes, protecting his entire body within a shield of blazing vortices.
The moment the ferocious fish rushed into the whirlpools, they were swept up and roasted by the flames, falling like snowflakes.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]