Yoshida Saki's appearance made Kael realize that this crossover anime world was not as beautiful as he had imagined. This world, filled with two-dimensional characters, also contained unimaginable darkness. These shadows hid in unseen places, ignored by people's subconscious, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. On the contrary, they were like parasites clinging to human society, constantly feeding on human blood.
Realizing this, Kael's mind suddenly cleared. His previous hesitation was instantly cast aside. At that moment, he felt reborn.
Before, he truly hadn't wanted to become a ruthless demon without limits, killing indiscriminately just to grow stronger. But once he realized that some people truly didn't deserve to live in this world, he felt he had found a new purpose.
Humans are called human because of their inner sense of morality. Without morality, they are nothing but beasts. And Hayato, the one who led Saki to ruin, in a sense, no longer deserved to be called human. He never saw Saki as a person, only as a tool to make money and to toy with at will.
Since Hayato didn't treat his own kind as human, Kael wouldn't treat him as human either. Killing such a beast carried no psychological burden for Kael. Perhaps acting as heaven's enforcer was a good choice. Not only could he use these animals to grow stronger, but he could also rid human society of parasites. It was killing two birds with one stone.
Of course, Kael didn't intend to be Batman, because he knew he wasn't Batman. Nor was he Superman—what kind of Superman would forge his strength from human flesh, blood, and souls? Even an evil Superman wouldn't go that far.
Kael positioned himself as a Punisher. And not just any Punisher, but a darker, more twisted one. Only a Punisher could make those parasites feeding on society's blood tremble in fear.
That said, Kael knew that with his current strength, even if he found Hayato, he might not be able to kill him. More importantly, though Hayato was just a small-time delinquent, he surely had people behind him. Killing one thug was easy, but taking down an entire yakuza organization was much harder.
So Kael had to grow stronger before Yoshida Saki encountered Hayato. And the fastest way to grow stronger was killing.
His mind was filled with countless demonic arts, and the best way to cultivate them was through killing. Flesh, bones, souls, life—all could serve as nourishment for demonic arts. As long as Kael dared to kill, his cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds! That was the advantage of demonic arts—the progress was extremely fast. Though there were hidden dangers later, the early stages were truly quick.
However, after thinking for a moment, Kael rejected the idea. He couldn't kill indiscriminately just to grow stronger. As for killing only bad people, that was also difficult—he had no information, no way of knowing who was bad and who was good. After all, bad people didn't have "bad guy" written on their foreheads. How could Kael tell? And some people, though bad, didn't deserve death.
So his first step was already blocked.
Kael calmed himself, and during class, he kept flipping through the demonic manuals in his mind. He wanted to find one suitable for him, one that could help him grow stronger quickly.
At that moment, the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art resurfaced in his mind. This was a soul-cultivating technique, allowing one to devour human souls to grow stronger. Even among the vast collection of demonic arts Kael had received, the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art was still a supreme method, directly pointing toward ascension and immortality.
This art was extremely domineering—human souls were the best nourishment. The stronger the soul, the greater the benefit to the practitioner.
But Kael couldn't bring himself to target humans. Just as he was about to skip this technique and look for another, a strange thought suddenly arose.
The Soul-Devouring Demonic Art consumed souls, and while human souls were the best nourishment, that didn't mean it could only consume human souls. Could animal souls work?
Kael wasn't sure, but it was worth considering.
Thinking of this, Kael grew excited. He immediately pulled out his phone under the desk, opened the map, and searched for slaughterhouses near Tokyo. Slaughterhouses killed hundreds, even thousands of animals every day. Perhaps their souls could be used.
Soon, Kael found a large slaughterhouse on the map. He noted its location and quietly waited for school to end.
Another class passed quickly. Lunch break arrived.
Unable to wait any longer, Kael slipped out behind the school, climbed over the wall, and left. He boarded a bus and sped toward the slaughterhouse.
After more than two hours of swaying on the bus, Kael got off near the slaughterhouse. He then ran for another half hour before finally reaching the place marked on the map.
This slaughterhouse was one of the largest near Tokyo, covering a vast area. Its gates were tightly shut, with guards preventing outsiders from entering.
Fortunately, Kael didn't intend to go inside. Instead, he circled to the back of the slaughterhouse. Behind it was an overgrown field. After confirming no one was around, Kael sat cross-legged and began practicing the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art.
When Kael had received the vast collection of demonic manuals, he had already understood and mastered them all. This was the backup the system had left him. His understanding of these arts was no less than that of their creators.
Therefore, when he cultivated, there were no obstacles.
As Kael pushed the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art to its limit, he clearly felt strands of soul fragments being drawn to his own soul. Like rivers flowing into the sea, they entered his body.
At that moment, Kael's heart trembled. He had succeeded. The souls of animals could indeed be used.
But he found that most of these souls were from chickens, ducks, and fish—extremely weak. Occasionally, there were cow or sheep souls, but they were still weak. Compared to human souls, they were nothing alike.
Still, their advantage was in sheer quantity. Over the next half hour, fragments of animal souls poured continuously into Kael's body. He absorbed them all.
While visualizing his own soul, Kael absorbed the fragments. His soul, nourished by the vast influx, expanded rapidly.