The mummy ignored Hiruma and turned to grab a member of the Kakushi squad. It still appreciated the boy's talent, after all; it was hard to come across a human who could put up a fight. But its patience was limited.
"You can't kill me right now, can you?"
Hiruma sprang to his feet and taunted it.
Even as an original Upper Rank, after being buried underground for nearly a thousand years, its strength had been greatly diminished. He was certain it could not kill him.
And he had guessed correctly. It did not attack partly because it appreciated Hiruma's talent, but also because it could not kill him.
But before becoming a demon, it had been a martial artist who revered strength above all else. In its eyes, Hiruma had talent, but he was not absolutely powerful.
Those words and that tone made it feel that its dignity had been insulted.
"Boy, aren't you a little too ignorant of your place?"
The mummy gave up feeding to defend its dignity as a martial artist. Seeing this, Hiruma hurriedly signaled to the Kakushi.
Even on the verge of death, the Kakushi squad members still clutched the swordsmen's belongings tightly.
They were only weak in strength; their will was no weaker than that of any comrade fighting on the front lines.
The mummy allowed those ordinary people to flee. Right now, all it wanted was to fight Hiruma. Nothing else mattered.
It assumed a stance, and its body instantly shriveled even more, as if something were draining its blood.
Sure enough, the sleeping eyeballs on its chest began to squirm. Twenty dark-red eyes opened at once, and its presence surged again.
"Martial artist, Hundred Eyes!"
It solemnly announced its name. This was the respect for martial arts carved into its bones,