Nightfall

"This demon's Blood Demon Art had probably only revealed the tip of the iceberg before I used the sun to take it away directly. It probably never imagined I could whip up a vortex and overturn the water's surface."

If the Water Demon could speak from beyond the grave, it would definitely curse Kurozawa for fighting without honor.

It had seen Kurozawa take the stance for a powerful move and had fully prepared itself to withstand his attack.

Who would have thought that Kurozawa had intended to let the sun teach it a lesson from the very beginning? He was utterly ruthless.

"Four times the Potential Points of an ordinary demon, along with the Power of Despair from living beings. It seems the stronger the creature, the more Potential Points and Power of Despair it provides."

"Still, the returns aren't as good as piling them up through sheer numbers."

In Kurozawa's view, killing four ordinary demons was far less difficult and dangerous than encountering the Water Demon.

Even if four ordinary demons attacked together, as long as they lacked mutations and supernatural abilities, they could not pose any threat to Kurozawa.

This result meant that when fighting powerful demons, the gains were not actually proportional to the effort expended.

Wantonly slaughtering the weak and picking on the helpless was the fastest and best way to gain Potential Points and the Power of Despair.

Kurozawa shook the droplets from his body, took his clothes from Hanada Shizuka, and put his mask back on.

Beneath the Fortune-Dispelling Fox Mask, his expression shifted slightly.

"Why does this Gray-White Panel feel like it wants to steer me toward becoming a demon slayer?"

"What a shame. I, Kurozawa, am kind and pure. Gray-White, you won't get your way."

Kurozawa had given his gray-white panel the name Gray-White.

He did not use the Potential Points he had gained this time right away, instead saving them for the moment.

He planned to use the Potential Points to strengthen the aspects where he was disadvantaged when fighting troublesome demons, using them to turn the tide.

Kurozawa still had not discovered any use for the seven points of Power of Despair belonging to undying Man-Eating Demons.

Perhaps the number needed to increase several times over before its true wonders could reveal themselves.

"Senior Disciple, you used Constant Flux just now, right?"

Hanada Shizuka tugged on Kurozawa's sleeve.

"Yeah. Wasn't it cool?" Kurozawa activated his Breathing Technique, and a faint scorching aura wrapped around his body.

He was drying himself. Being soaked through was somewhat uncomfortable.

"I want to be able to use Constant Flux too, but I've only mastered six sword forms so far."

"I feel like I can't help at all. You're always the one fighting, Senior Disciple."

Hanada Shizuka's little face fell, and she looked dejected.

She seemed to have guessed that the demon underwater had caused Kurozawa some trouble. Otherwise, he would not have used a powerful sword form like Constant Flux, which consumed a great deal of stamina.

Hanada Shizuka no longer wanted to be protected. She wanted to fight alongside Kurozawa.

"I understand. Then from now on, Junior Sister, you can try fighting demons yourself too." Kurozawa rolled his neck and spoke to Hanada Shizuka after pondering for a moment.

"Everyone takes things one step at a time. When I was your age, I could only watch from afar as Master fought demons under his protection."

"Being weak right now is fine. Even staying weak later is fine. What matters is having a heart that longs to grow stronger and refuses to submit to fate. That is enough."

Looking at Hanada Shizuka, Kurozawa seemed to see his former self. He understood his junior sister's feelings.

Perhaps watching him fight alone had stirred something in her, prompting an impulsive outburst. Or perhaps she had held such thoughts for a long time and had only now voiced them. Either way, Kurozawa would help her.

She had not called him Senior Disciple so many times for nothing.

A few minutes later, Kurozawa's clothes had dried again through his Breathing Technique and the sunlight, and the two set off once more.

Next, Kurozawa actively tracked the demons' traces, seeking them out one by one.

With his ability to sense through sight, as long as a demon dared glance at Kurozawa, it was finished.

When they encountered weak demons, Kurozawa watched from nearby and let Hanada Shizuka deal with them.

At first, whenever Hanada Shizuka faced vicious, terrifying demons that snarled and roared, her mind often went blank, and she would even forget to use her sword forms.

However, with Kurozawa looking after her, she managed to circle around the demons without any real danger.

As time passed, Hanada Shizuka grew accustomed to the demons' rhythm. She no longer feared the instinctive pressure of demons occupying the ecological role of humanity's predators, and she gradually began to counterattack. The sword forms she already knew could finally be successfully unleashed.

At this moment, Hanada Shizuka was fighting an ordinary demon.

Most of the demon's face was hidden beneath its hair. Only a pair of blood-red eyes showed through the gaps in its strands, revealing an intense thirst for blood.

Simply being watched by such a gaze would make many people feel unimaginable pressure.

But by now, Hanada Shizuka had gradually overcome that mental strain.

The instant the demon pounced, Hanada Shizuka lowered her body and rushed beneath it, arriving behind it.

As their figures crossed, Hanada Shizuka immediately drew a deep breath.

A white python-like breath surged and circulated between her nose and mouth, temporarily enhancing her physical abilities in every aspect.

The figures that had just passed one another instantly reversed course. Her Nichirin Blade traced a perfectly rounded arc of light, like a cool moon.

Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel! The cool moon-like blade light swept across the demon's neck before sliding back into its sheath.

Watching the demon turn into ashes and scatter away, Hanada Shizuka let out a long breath. Then her eyes darted around, and she flashed a smug smile, raising a V-sign beside her cheek.

"Yay!"

"I killed a demon too."

You silly child. If you couldn't even kill this demon, you should dig a hole and bury yourself.

Kurozawa only said that in his heart.

The pitiful creature Hanada Shizuka had killed was something an ordinary person had a good chance of dealing with too, as long as they could muster their courage and had a Nichirin Blade.

"Nicely done. You can already use sword forms in actual combat. This is only the beginning, so keep it up."

With a warm smile, Kurozawa encouraged Hanada Shizuka.

Then he raised his head and looked at the sky.

Since entering Mount Fujikasane, more than twenty demons had already died at Kurozawa's hands.

Among them, the strongest had still been the Water Demon, which possessed both mutations and supernatural abilities. The other demons had all been weak.

Kurozawa had now accumulated one hundred and fifty Potential Points and twenty points of Power of Despair.

That gave him ample confidence.

Above the heavens, the orange fireball that had once hung high in the sky had vanished into the night at some point. A round moon, like a perfect pearl, peeked out from the clouds.

The entire Mount Fujikasane was coated in a silver sheen, mysterious and tranquil. Faint, low roars echoed from all across the mountain, filled with danger.

At the same time, swordsmen with expressions ranging from nervous to confident entered Mount Fujikasane one after another from narrow, hidden paths.

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