The holes grew larger, spreading until they surrounded Tetsu no Sosuke on every side.
At last, they formed a sea of blood. It churned around Tetsu no Sosuke, becoming a crimson vortex.
Within the vortex, layer upon layer of blades emerged from the blood. They spun wildly and closed in, ready to grind Tetsu no Sosuke to pieces like a meat grinder.
Tetsu no Sosuke closed his eyes and slowly raised the Nichirin Blade in his hand.
He seemed oblivious to everything around him.
Then he gave a gentle swing.
In an instant, the meat-grinder vortex of blood was torn apart.
A figure appeared before Tetsu no Sosuke, panic still lingering in its eyes. "How did you see through it?"
"Your Blood Demon Art was already at work the moment I came in," Tetsu no Sosuke said.
"All that talk was just meant to unsettle me. You acted as though you disagreed with the man outside, but you've been putting his words into practice all along. Or were you the one who told him those things in the first place?"
He paused to think. "Oh, a Blood Demon Art that affects the mind. While I was caught up in fear, you were planning to do something to me with that little knife of yours?"
The figure opposite him was hunched and trembling, hardly what anyone would call presentable. Yet its voice had been so courteous that it was difficult to believe they belonged to the same... demon!
Just then, Tetsu no Sosuke stepped aside.
The moment he moved, the floor where he had stood burst apart!
He sighed. "The real killing blow wasn't you... or that little knife. It was the other demon hiding beneath my feet."
Chapter 447: Ah, the Sun
A pure-white figure emerged into the room through