Train Urban Legend

With someone taking the lead, the others fled as well, keeping away from Kurozawa and the female demon. Unfortunately, people from other carriages heard the huge commotion and came over to see what had happened. They blocked the passengers trying to escape, wanting to get inside themselves, only to be pushed back out by the passengers from that carriage.

Amid the chaos, no one could explain what was happening. The people in the carriage crowded at both ends, locked in a standoff, leaving an open space in the middle for Kurozawa and the female demon.

The places on Kurozawa's body where the red hair had wrapped around him sent waves of searing pain through him.

He could feel the red hair tightening bit by bit into his flesh, continuously corroding it.

My body and strength may already surpass those of many demons, but that near-immortal regenerative ability demons possess is still enviable.

The constant burning pain in his arm made Kurozawa keenly aware of the limitations of the human body.

Even with his strength, agility, and other attributes overwhelmingly superior, he would still be injured if the female demon's attacks landed.

That was already on the basis that Kurozawa's physique far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

If an ordinary person were wrapped in this red hair, they would probably be corroded into several pieces in an instant.

With a thought, the Pitch-Black Aura swiftly extended to his arm, burning the red hair wrapped around it into ash.

Kurozawa had already tested on Mount Fujikasane that the Pitch-Black Aura was particularly effective against attacks formed by Blood Demon Arts, and that it could be shifted to different locations.

However, as the distance increased, the Pitch-Black Aura would grow thinner. At present, Kurozawa could only extend it from his palm to his elbow. Covering more parts of his body would cause the Pitch-Black Aura to lose its power, leaving it unable to stop the encroachment of a Blood Demon Art.

This was not absolute. If it were an Upper Rank demon's Blood Demon Art, he might have to concentrate the Pitch-Black Aura in his palm just to resist it.

Once the red hair around his arm was no longer obstructing him, Kurozawa sat directly on the female demon, pinning down her movements before bringing down a fist.

He ignored the red hair around his waist and abdomen. Though the searing pain stimulated Kurozawa's nerves, and dense red wounds surely covered his waist and abdomen, the pulling force trying to drag him away could not shake his body in the slightest.

The fist wreathed in Pitch-Black Aura grew larger before the female demon's eyes. She desperately dodged, turning her head aside.

Bang! A crater was smashed into the carriage floor, with bloodstains at the bottom.

The female demon, missing one ear, saw Kurozawa raise both hands again and hurriedly shouted, "Why?! We're the same kind, so why are you being so ruthless?!"

Kurozawa's body paused.

"Same kind?"

Thinking Kurozawa had wavered, the female demon forced out half a smile.

"I'm sorry for intruding into your hunting ground. In exchange, I'll offer you some high-quality—"

After seeing the Pitch-Black Aura around Kurozawa and sensing the powerful strength of his body, the female demon no longer believed he was human. She thought the train was Kurozawa's hunting ground, and that he had attacked her only because she had invaded his territory.

But the truth was vastly different from what the female demon imagined.

Crack! Bang! Before she could finish her final words, Kurozawa brought down a fist, striking the female demon squarely in the forehead.

Bones shattered, fluid splattered everywhere, and another crater appeared in the train floor.

The red hair around his waist drooped limply, and the continuous searing pain vanished at the same time.

Kurozawa slowly rose to his feet, looked down at the corpse with its exploded head, then leaped up through the human-shaped hole in the roof and onto the outside of the train.

Immortal Man-Eating Demon Power of Despair +8, Potential Points +60.

Inside the train, the female demon's dark-red body was directly blown apart by the fierce wind rushing in through the hole in the roof.

Amid the howling wind and the rapidly retreating scenery, Kurozawa pulled the Nichirin Blade embedded in the train roof free and sheathed it at his waist.

While doing so, he examined his injuries and clothing.

His haori and the sleeves of the inner lining beneath it were already in tatters, covered in ruined, corroded marks. The clothes around his waist and abdomen had likewise been destroyed, exposing bloodied flesh.

Using his Breathing Technique to control his blood flow, Kurozawa stopped the blood that was about to seep out.

The wounds looked terrifying, but they had only damaged the surface of his skin, similar to scrapes from a fall.

At the same time, an itchy sensation was spreading from the wounds. Given Kurozawa's powerful physique, these injuries would probably heal within two days.

Such a frail body.

At this moment, Kurozawa wanted an immortal body like a demon's more than ever.

It was only because it was him that he could withstand the female demon's attacks head-on to restrain her movements and prevent her from escaping.

If any other swordsman had been in his place, unless they possessed the overwhelming strength to kill her instantly, giving the female demon even the slightest time to react would have allowed her to leap off the train and swiftly disappear into the deep mountains and forests.

That caused quite a disturbance. If anyone sees me now, they'll probably think I'm a monster.

There had been quite a few spectators on both sides during Kurozawa's battle with the female demon.

The passengers in this carriage had been crowded in by those who came over. Unable to escape amid the chaos, they had no choice but to watch a battle between a human and a demon.

But they had also clearly seen the Pitch-Black Aura surrounding Kurozawa.

Kurozawa understood human nature very well. The female demon's dark-red skin and Demon Marks made her obviously inhuman. Though he looked no different from a human, the existence of the Pitch-Black Aura would probably make people see him as a monster hiding among humans as well.

To the passengers who had witnessed everything, this battle had not been fought to protect them. It had merely been a fight to the death between two monsters.

Let me think. What should I do now?

Kurozawa had no intention of staying on the roof, buffeted by the wind, all the way to Hachijo Island.

Looking down, the human-shaped hole beside him gave Kurozawa an idea.

He moved along the high-speed train, walking forward for roughly the length of six carriages.

After pondering for a moment, he knocked downward.

"Anyone in there?"

A young man who was squatting over the toilet suddenly went rigid, then mechanically raised his head.

Knock, knock, knock.

A sound like knocking on a door rang out above him. At the same time, another ethereal, distant voice whose origin he could not place echoed through the stall.

"Anyone in there?"

Kurozawa's voice was muffled by the train roof and distorted by the howling wind outside. By the time it reached the young man's ears, it sounded like the hollow voice of a ghost, sending chills across his entire body.

In an instant, all kinds of urban legends and supernatural tales flashed through the young man's mind.

His hands trembling, he hurriedly wiped himself and stood up. He did not even notice that he had gotten some on himself.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"I didn't mean to offend you!"

Still screaming apologies, he flushed with one hand and bolted from the restroom like the wind, drawing astonished stares from all around.

From that day onward, there was one more person in the world who dared not use the bathroom alone—and one more ghost story about a speeding train.

Kurozawa's hearing was nothing like the young man's, and he was somewhat surprised and puzzled.

"What happened?"

Unable to figure it out, Kurozawa did not dwell on it. He simply repeated the same method in a restroom in another, more distant carriage. After confirming that no one was inside, he lightly broke through the roof and dropped down.