"Of course." The man's eyes gleamed. "He promised me that if I killed you, he'd make me like him. I'd have power beyond all limits!"
At that, he burst out laughing. "But he's afraid of you... A human. You're only human, yet he's afraid of you."
The corner of Tetsu no Sosuke's mouth seemed to twitch. Then his blade flashed, and the man's head hit the ground!
Killing a person... was different from killing a demon.
Tetsu no Sosuke had killed countless demons, but very few people.
Come to think of it, this was probably his first time.
But this man had to die!
The next moment, he reached the door and went inside.
The room was empty.
The furniture had vanished, and there was no trace of any demon.
Yet Tetsu no Sosuke knew the demon was in the room.
He didn't even need the heightened senses Meditation gave him. He knew the demon was there.
But... where?
He could take in the whole room at a glance, yet saw no sign of his opponent.
There was no visible trace, but a voice spoke.
"That man was a fool... There are always humans like him. I knew that, but we usually eat them without bothering to talk. In truth, with the right conversation, you can persuade some people to betray their own kind...
"All it takes is the slightest reward, even one they have no real hope of getting."
The voice seemed to come from every corner of the room.
Tetsu no Sosuke scanned the room. A mass of blood began to churn, gradually taking human form.
Its features were hollow, and its mouth split into an eerie grin. "A pleasure to meet you, Hammer Pillar! You're a nightmare to us—a ghost story. Two successive Upper Moon Ones have