Obvious confusion appeared on the man-eating demon's face.
The prey before it was clearly still the same weak boy, but the feeling he gave it had changed completely.
Those strange clothes, that strange short blade.
Most importantly, those eyes.
They no longer held fear and despair, but a coldness that made it deeply displeased.
"Enough of your tricks!"
The man-eating demon's patience ran out. It roared and lunged again.
Its sharp claws sliced through the air, whipping up a bloody gust.
This time, Uesugi Sasuke did not close his eyes again.
In his vision, the man-eating demon's movements seemed to have slowed by a frame.
Though still fast, they were no longer completely impossible to react to.
Initial system enhancement complete...
The cold notification flashed through his mind.
His body's instincts reacted before he could think.
Sasuke abruptly rolled sideways, narrowly dodging the claws.
The man-eating demon's claws brushed past his clothes and left five deep gouges in the floor.
That was close!
Sasuke's heart pounded, but he had no time for lingering fear.
He kipped up from the floor, holding the Kunai in a reverse grip, and assumed a defensive stance whose meaning even he did not understand.
These movements seemed to have been engraved in his muscles from birth.
"Oh?"
When its strike missed, the mockery in the man-eating demon's eyes deepened.
"You can dodge, too? Interesting."
It did not rush to attack again. Instead, it slowly advanced on Sasuke like a cat toying with a mouse.
Sasuke gripped the Kunai tightly, his palms slick with cold sweat.
He could feel that his strength and speed had both improved a little.
But that was still nowhere near enough.
Against this monster, he still had no chance of winning.
I have to find an opening. I have to find a weakness!
His gaze swept quickly around the room.
In this cramped space, there was almost no terrain he could use.
The man-eating demon moved.
Its figure vanished from where it stood, and a second later, it appeared on Sasuke's left.
Sasuke's pupils contracted. Without thinking, he thrust the Kunai in that direction.
Shnk!
The Kunai pierced the man-eating demon's shoulder, but it only went halfway in before its tough muscles trapped it.
"Is that all the strength you've got?"
The man-eating demon sneered, completely ignoring the wound on its shoulder as its other hand shot toward Sasuke's neck like lightning.
Sasuke's expression changed drastically. He immediately released the Kunai and threw himself backward, dodging the grab in an awkward fall.
He saw the wound on the man-eating demon's shoulder squirming and healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Regeneration!
Sasuke's heart sank.
Ordinary attacks are useless!
Unless I can cut off its head, or...
A piece of knowledge instilled by the system flashed through his mind.
Demons fear sunlight.
Sunlight...
Sasuke's gaze abruptly landed on the oil lamp still burning by the kitchen doorway!
He had a crazy idea.
The man-eating demon pulled the Kunai out of its shoulder, casually tossed it onto the floor, and advanced again.
"I'm done playing with you, brat."
Its voice turned cruel.
"I'm going to eat your arms and legs slowly, one bite at a time."
Sasuke watched it, retreating step by step and drawing it toward the kitchen.
He needed an opening.
An opening that would let him get close to the oil lamp.
The man-eating demon did not seem to notice his intention. It relished the thrill of driving its prey into a corner.
Now!
The instant he reached the kitchen doorway, Sasuke stopped retreating and instead charged forward, brushing past the man-eating demon.
The man-eating demon clearly had not expected him to dare rush toward it, and froze for a moment.
That instant of hesitation gave Sasuke precious time.
He rushed into the kitchen and, without even looking, swung his hand back and slapped the oil lamp hard.
Crack!
The oil lamp toppled to the floor, spilling oil everywhere, which instantly caught fire.
Whoosh!
Tongues of flame spread along the lamp oil, forming a wall of fire in the blink of an eye that separated the kitchen from the outer room.
"Ah!"
Startled by the sudden flames, the man-eating demon instinctively took a step back.
It did not fear flames of this intensity, but that light and heat filled it with loathing and fear from the depths of its heart.
An opening!
Without the slightest hesitation, Sasuke grabbed a burning piece of firewood beside the stove and hurled it at the man-eating demon's face with all his strength.
Then he turned, smashed through the kitchen's thin wooden window, and leaped out regardless of everything else.
His body tumbled through the air before slamming hard into the cold dirt outside.
Pain shot through his entire body, but he could not spare it any attention.
Using both hands and feet, he scrambled clumsily up from the ground and ran madly toward the dark forest behind the house without looking back.
From inside the house came the furious roars of the man-eating demon, which did not dare approach.
But Sasuke could no longer hear anything.
All he could hear was the wind and his own pounding heartbeat.
Run!
Run faster!
Stay alive!
Before you continue