Sudden Terror

"Taking the train to the seaside, then a ferry to Hachijo Island—it really is a hassle."

"I've been traveling for days. I'll find somewhere to rest for the night and take the train tomorrow."

Just as Kurozawa had that thought, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd.

When he turned to look, he saw a burly middle-aged man, his face flushed as if drunk, grabbing a woman by the wrist.

"Hey, beauty. Spend the night with me and I'll pay you. What do you say?"

The woman wore a magnificent red kimono. Standing amid the crowd, she possessed an air that made her stand out like a crane among chickens. There was no fear on her face, only disgust and impatience.

The woman tilted her head and glanced at the man, her eyes filled with icy, bone-chilling killing intent.

"Get lost."

As she spoke, the killing intent around her had already become terrifyingly dense, as though it had accumulated from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Pedestrians across the entire street suddenly felt a chill run through their bodies. Their hairs stood on end for no apparent reason, and instinctively, they wanted to move away from the woman in red.

In that instant, Kurozawa actually had a hallucination.

The woman in red stood in a sea of blood, surrounded by countless floating corpses. The blood surged and churned, while countless pale faces wailed endlessly within it.

Looking closer, many of those faces belonged to the pedestrians currently on the street. There was even Kurozawa's own face.

Damn! Kurozawa felt ice-cold inside. He knew he had run into serious trouble.

This woman was most likely a vicious demon.

In that instant just now, she had definitely entertained the horrifying thought of killing everyone around her.

Moreover, the overwhelming killing intent surging around her was beyond even the aura Sakonji Urokodaki exuded when he got serious after slaying countless demons.

Unfortunately, ordinary people did not understand something like killing intent. Some followed their instincts and left, but others continued watching with great interest.

Not a single person stepped forward to help.

The drunkard had not realized how terrifying the woman before him was. He was still clutching her wrist, refusing to let go.

At that moment, the woman looked at the drunkard coldly, and the corners of her lips suddenly curved into a breathtakingly beautiful smile.

Kurozawa, already intimidated by her killing intent, felt his heart begin pounding like a pump.

This woman really intended to make a move!

Killing intent was the manifestation of one's thoughts and will. Just now, Kurozawa had seen himself and the surrounding pedestrians in that illusory sea of blood. That meant that if the woman acted, she would kill every witness, and he would not be spared either.

Thus, Kurozawa, who had already half-turned and intended to walk away as though nothing had happened, could only change his mind.

He braced himself, strode forward, and kicked the drunkard flying.

After spinning several times, the drunkard crashed to the ground and began howling in pain.

"I, Kurozawa, can't stand scum like you!"

Ignoring the drunkard's cries of pain and his threats to make Kurozawa pay, Kurozawa walked up to the woman with somewhat stiff steps, then forced a bright and handsome smile onto his face.

Inside, Kurozawa frantically called out to Gray-White.

Charm Stat, increase it! Put it into my smile! Add two hundred points!

In an instant, his Potential Points dropped by two hundred, returning to a barren state.

This was also the first time Kurozawa had used so many Potential Points at once.

He could sense the gap between them. Adding those Potential Points to his physical attributes would have been completely useless. Besides, everything had happened too suddenly. Kurozawa had not been mentally prepared at all, so he could only take a different approach.

The instant the Potential Points were consumed, an indescribable change occurred within Kurozawa.

The moment he smiled, it was as though the sun had descended into the night. His radiant, dazzling smile left everyone around him stunned.

"Sorry, you must have been frightened."

"People like that really are everywhere, aren't they?"

Faced with Kurozawa's smile, the woman opposite him was also dazed for a moment.

The killing intent that had been in her eyes vanished like smoke because of Kurozawa's smile.

A man's smile possessed a magical power.

Because of his smile, you would fall in love with his lips, his eyes, his brows, and ultimately, everything about him. You would fall in love with him.

Kurozawa's smile now held exactly that sort of magic.

At the same time, Kurozawa's heart was bleeding madly. He had originally intended to use the Potential Points he had saved up on Mount Fujikasane to break through the fifth stage of his Breathing Technique, yet they had been spent on his Charm Stat instead.

Only now, at close range, did Kurozawa clearly see the woman's appearance.

She had a cold, peerlessly beautiful face. Even amid the most turbulent sea of people, as long as she stood there quietly without saying a word, she would still draw every gaze like a cold moon hanging high in the sky.

No wonder that drunkard had been so close to her killing intent and still refused to let go. So such a beauty truly existed in this world.

In his previous life, Kurozawa had seen countless female celebrities adored by multitudes, but none of them could compare to the woman in red before him.

"Your heart is beating very fast. The one who was frightened was you."

The red-clad woman's scarlet lips parted, uttering those few words. After giving the Nichirin Blade at Kurozawa's waist a casual glance, she raised her head to look at him and said nothing more.

The red-clad woman's gaze fell on Kurozawa's face, making him miserable inside.

He could sense the intense desire in her eyes.

It was not a worldly desire, but the possessive urge to collect him.

The woman in red had developed a powerful curiosity toward his smile.

I don't want to die before I've even gotten started! Kurozawa's survival instincts surged as he flashed another charming smile. "Seeing someone as beautiful as you, how could anyone's heart not race?"

"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen a woman as beautiful as you."

"May I ask your name?"

A dazzling, brilliant smile rested on his face, but beneath it, every hair on Kurozawa's body stood on end.

Who would have thought that just after entering Asakusa, while he was still reminiscing about the bustling metropolis of his previous life, such a terrifying being would suddenly appear?

My ancestors must be spewing black smoke from their graves.

Could the woman before him be the Demon Progenitor, Muzan Kibutsuji?! The feeling the red-clad woman gave Kurozawa was far too horrifying. Even calling her an Upper Rank felt like an insult to her.

That lofty, indifferent aura that disregarded all things—she was most likely the Demon Progenitor.

Only the status of Demon Progenitor could match such an aura and murderous intent.

"My name is Hongyue."

"That's a beautiful name. Then, may I call you Hongyue?"

I'm done for! I should be finding an excuse to slip away!

Kurozawa, Kurozawa! Why are you getting familiar with her instead?! In truth, Kurozawa was so nervous that he barely knew what he was doing. His back felt icy as he forced himself to keep talking.

"You may address me by name."

After hearing Kurozawa's request, Hongyue furrowed her brows slightly. She stared at him for a while before slowly speaking.

After the initial terror faded, and with Hongyue's killing intent gone, she merely looked like a cool and beautiful woman. Kurozawa gradually calmed down and began considering how to get away.

"Hongyue, I'm very happy to have met you."

"However, I still have some matters to take care of, so I'll be leaving first."

"The next time I come to Asakusa, I hope I'll run into you again. Haha."

After flashing a carefree smile, Kurozawa suddenly turned around, waved, and walked away step by step.

His smile possessed a strange magic, leaving Hongyue dazed once again.

By the time Hongyue came back to her senses, Kurozawa had already walked four or five meters away.

Watching Kurozawa's retreating back, Hongyue stuck out her small, delicate tongue and lightly licked her lips, her eyes filled with desire.

"That smile... is very interesting."

Hongyue watched Kurozawa leave without making any move.

Afterward, Hongyue glanced at the drunkard lying unconscious on the ground, then quickly withdrew her gaze and left.

At the same time, the drunkard's neck suddenly split open, scarlet blood spilling out and terrifying the passersby.

Before long, guards arrived and asked what had happened, but every passerby claimed not to have seen anything unusual. In the end, the matter was dropped.