Good Person?

"Stop dawdling and throw it already!" Duan Mu lowered his voice and roared, cutting off Iwao's question.

Iwao opened his mouth, then finally, as if making a desperate decision, said fiercely, "Fine, I'll throw it!!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the encroaching crowd around them, took a scarlet flare from his waist, and hurled it directly at the ground beneath his feet.

BANG—!

With an explosion, pungent, irritating red smoke instantly enveloped the area where Duan Mu and the other five were located. The approaching people couldn't help but stop, all warily watching the strange red mist.

"Kidō #21: Sekienton!"

At the same moment the red smoke exploded, a low chant could be heard.

The red smoke suddenly swelled, as if being compressed by something, and then burst outwards, spreading instantaneously without giving the surrounding crowd any chance to react.

"What is this… My eyes… cough cough cough cough~~"

"So spicy…"

"Fall back! Cough, fall back quickly…"

"…"

Wherever the red smoke passed, screams erupted. Some people were rubbing their eyes, others were covering their mouths and noses, their faces turning bright red.

"What is this?"

Iwao looked at the rising smoke around him, his expression somewhat dazed. While instantly casting over twenty Kido spells was surprising, it wasn't unheard of enough to warrant such a reaction. However, the timing of this Kido's release was simply too masterful!

Because at the moment the Blood Tear Bead exploded, Duan Mu had cleverly used the impact generated by Sekienton to push the chili smoke outwards, ensuring not a single speck of it reached himself and his companions.

The smoke came and went quickly. As his vision began to clear, Iwao's first instinct was to look for where Duan Mu had been.

"Take Hawk and the other four, run to the back left!"

A deep voice came, and Iwao's face showed confusion. Although the voice was Duan Mu's, the tone of his speech gave him a sense of unfamiliarity.

Subconsciously following the sound, Iwao looked, and just as he did, Duan Mu suddenly vanished from his spot.

Iwao's eyes widened, as if he had seen something incredible, his gaze filled with bewilderment.

Was that Duan Mu?

Even though it was just for a moment, was that figure truly the Duan Mu he remembered – the one with a gentle demeanor, always willing to help, often called a 'nice guy'?

"Iwa… Brother Iwao?"

After the recent commotion, Hawk and the other four finally snapped back to reality. Looking at the dazed Iwao, they asked tremulously, "Should… should we run in the direction Little Duan Mu… cough, Brother Duan said??"

"Huh?"

Iwao came back to his senses. Meeting the startled gazes of Hawk and the other four, his expression became stern. The current situation was clearly not the time to ponder Duan Mu's changes.

Daimaru stood at a distance. Being a cautious person, he had already retreated when Iwao pulled out the Blood Tear Bead, thus avoiding the chili smoke.

"Who is that black-haired youth standing next to Shiba Ganju? Is he a student from the Soul Reaper Academy?"

Daimaru asked the subordinate beside him. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but after Iwao threw the chili smoke bomb, the spiritual particles around the black-haired youth seemed to show signs of agitation, reacting somewhat like a Soul Reaper releasing Kido.

"That black-haired youth?"

The subordinate was taken aback for a moment and replied, "He's not a student from the Soul Reaper Academy. Information about him is very easy to find, as almost no one in the stable areas of West Rukongai doesn't recognize him. As far as I know, he only came to Rukongai four years ago and opened a 'Yorozuya' in District 38, a shop that does all sorts of jobs."

Speaking of which, a strange smile appeared on the subordinate's face. "It's said that he's kind and helpful, and is known as the 'nice guy' of West Rukongai."

Came to Rukongai only four years ago?

Daimaru's previously raised heart finally relaxed. He didn't join the Soul Reaper Academy. A kid who only arrived in Rukongai four years ago, how could he possibly use Kido? I must have seen it wrong.

"The smoke is about to dissipate. Have them keep a close eye on them, don't let… Huh?"

Daimaru's words abruptly stopped. Almost instantly, sounds of chaos came from afar.

Looking in the direction of the noise, he saw a figure, like a phantom, suddenly appear in the crowd!

This figure was none other than Duan Mu. His eyes, which used to hold gentleness, were now replaced by a kind of… indifference, as if he had cast aside all emotion in an instant.

The two people in the front, who were rubbing their eyes, their expressions changed. Habits honed on the edge of life and death made them instinctively throw punches at this suddenly appearing person.

Who would have thought that Duan Mu, as if he had predicted it, swayed his body like a pendulum, leaving two afterimages. Like a loach, he slipped smoothly between the two.

At the same time, Duan Mu's hands formed blade shapes, and like venomous snakes, they brushed past the Adam's apples of the two men, striking precisely at their throats.

With a crisp snap, the eyeballs of the two men bulged outwards. The immense force caused both their feet to lift off the ground, blood gushing uncontrollably from their mouths. Before they even hit the ground, they had already lost their lives.

This scene caused the expressions of everyone around to change.

What a ruthless fellow!

Killing was commonplace for them, but encountering someone as powerful and ruthless as this black-haired youth was rare. Duan Mu gave them the feeling of not being an ordinary Rukongai resident at all, but rather more like one of their own kind!

However, they wouldn't be intimidated just because two people died.

Almost simultaneously with the deaths of the two, fierce expressions appeared on the faces of everyone around them, and they charged towards Duan Mu with a frenzy that could only be described as madness!

"Kill him!!"

"Attack!"

The crowd surged towards Duan Mu like a tide.

Duan Mu slowly raised his head, a chilling aura emanating from the depths of his soul. This aura seemed to have been suppressed for a long time, and the very air around him grew colder the moment it was released.

Compared to the villains around him, he appeared even more terrifying.

Facing the rapidly approaching crowd, Duan Mu didn't dodge. Instead, he leaped forward like a great bird, charging into the throng.

The wind whistled past his ears like a blade. Duan Mu's pupils began to dilate, his body reacting as if by instinct. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly…

People really aren't meant to change that easily!

In the center of the crowd, seeing Duan Mu hurtling towards them like a meteor, everyone scattered. They swung their various weapons towards Duan Mu, who was rapidly descending from the sky.

Though these weapons were merely common iron tools, they were swung with the enhancement of Spiritual Pressure, creating a continuous whistling sound and a fierce aura!

A clear shout suddenly rang out from the sky.

"Windmill!"

At the last moment before impact, Duan Mu, in mid-air, flipped and his Spiritual Pressure surged explosively, no longer appearing as weak as before. He unleashed a powerful kick that whipped up a gust of wind, deflecting every weapon aimed at him.

BOOM!!

The ground cracked, and the resulting shockwave sent several people nearby flying.

The next moment, screams erupted from the crowd. A black figure, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, caused screams to echo wherever he went.

The dense crowd descended into utter chaos, but Duan Mu moved as nimbly as a loach.

As time ticked by, the crowd rapidly thinned.

It wasn't just the overwhelming Spiritual Pressure, but also the crushing superiority in skill. With both combined, Duan Mu didn't even need to use any specific techniques. Everyone he encountered, without exception, died by his hand.

Soon, Duan Mu's black work clothes were stained crimson.

The remaining people, though still charging towards Duan Mu, had the madness in their eyes gradually replaced by fear.

It wasn't about how many had died, but…

They had discovered something terrifying. When this cruel, black-haired youth began fighting, he had clearly shown a sense of awkwardness. But as the battle continued, that awkwardness gradually disappeared. He had adapted to the feeling of life-or-death combat in an incredibly short amount of time!

Moreover, his methods of killing had become increasingly brutal and efficient!

Was this kind of adaptability something a human could possess?

His heart pounded wildly. In his past life, and in this one, Duan Mu had never felt anything like this.

If he had to describe it with a single word.

Exhilarating!!

That word was undoubtedly the most fitting to describe Duan Mu's current mood.

"Is this guy supposed to be a good person!?"

Daimaru withdrew his gaze, looking at his subordinate beside him with extreme gloom.

If this could be considered a good person, then most people in District 79 could be called angels. Had those idiots in the safe zones been living too comfortably, to the point where their eyes had gone blind?