"A strength-type demon, huh?"
Ryoma's breath turned into white mist in the cold air, his gaze fixed on the mountain-like figure.
Father Spider Demon's massive fist, carrying a wicked wind that tore through the air, slammed down, and the ground cracked in response.
Ryoma dodged by a hair's breadth, the wind from the punch stinging his cheek, while also looking for an opportunity to counterattack.
Ice Breathing Style: Third Form: Thousand Ice Blades!
Ryoma's figure transformed into a swift blue afterimage, weaving around Father Spider's massive body at high speed.
Each swing of his nichirin blade brought forth a shower of diamond-like ice crystals, precisely striking Father Spider's knees, elbows, and all other critical joints.
Frost rapidly spread across Father Spider's body. While unable to completely freeze his massive form, it effectively slowed his movements.
"Roar—!"
Father Spider roared in anger, but his movements had clearly become stiff.
Suddenly, his massive body twitched violently, as if something alive was writhing beneath his skin, like something was about to break out of a cocoon.
"Shedding his skin? No way."
Ryoma suddenly pushed off with his feet, his body soaring into the sky, landing on Father Spider's shoulder.
He couldn't let him shed his skin successfully. Otherwise, all the previous damage would be for naught, and the thing after its transformation would be too troublesome. He didn't want to face an even stronger monster.
Ice Breathing: Seventh Form: Piercing Ice Spear!
His nichirin blade gathered an unprecedented chill, and the tip glowed with an extreme pale blue light. He poured all his strength into this one thrust.
The blade tore through Father Spider's tough neck muscles like an icebreaker, and the extreme coldness surged madly into the wound, instantly transforming Father Spider's entire head, along with part of his spine, into a lifelike ice sculpture.
Crack!
With a crisp snapping sound, the frozen head rolled off, and the massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Just then, a childish yet cold voice sounded from the darkness.
"Impressive. You killed my 'father' so quickly."
A boy who looked only eight or nine years old emerged from the shadows. He had pale skin and blood-red eyes, and in the pupil of his left eye, the characters "Lower Five" were clearly etched.
Twelve Kizuki, Lower Rank Five, Rui!
Rui's appearance instantly made the atmosphere of the entire forest heavy.
He looked like a child, but the oppressive aura emanating from him was completely incomparable to the demons before. This was the true strength of a Twelve Kizuki, Lower Rank Five.
"None of them fulfilled their mission. Every time, it's always the same." Rui's voice was calm, without a ripple.
"But it's fine. I'll use you to fill this void and become my new family member."
"False bonds, a twisted role-playing game, it's time for it to end." Ryoma pointed his nichirin blade at Rui, the cold air radiating from him instantly frosting the grass beneath him.
"You, you… what did you just say?"
A terrifying aura erupted from Rui's small body, causing Ryoma's breath to hitch.
"You…"
Rui's pupils suddenly contracted. "Repeat what you just said."
"It'll be the same no matter how many times I say it. In the end, they are nothing but false things." Ryoma's voice was not loud, but every word was clear.
"Arrogant." Rui commented indifferently, his fingertips moving slightly.
Whoosh!
An almost imperceptible cutting sound tore through the air.
Ryoma's pupils constricted, and he instinctively swung his blade to block.
Ice Breathing: Fourth Form: Ice Prison Wall!
A thick ice wall instantly solidified in front of Ryoma. However, Rui's silk's sharpness far exceeded imagination.
Crunch—Boom!
The hard ice wall was easily cut and shattered by the threads like fragile glass.
Amidst the splashing ice crystals, Ryoma rapidly leaped backward, but his arm was still grazed by a thrusting thread. Before blood could flow, it was frozen, bringing an bone-chilling coldness and sharp pain.
"So hard… such fast threads."
Ryoma's heart was solemn. The description in the anime was less than one percent of the pressure he experienced firsthand.
"Your Breathing Style… is very peculiar, carrying a strange power."
Rui tilted his head, threads coiling around his fingertips again.
He said, "But it can't protect you, nor can it protect any 'family'. You are unworthy of bonds."
Ryoma said, "Worthy or unworthy is not something a relationship maintained by fear like yours can define."
Ryoma didn't retreat. Instead, he advanced, launching a proactive attack.
Ice Breathing: Second Form: Ice Wheel Whirlwind!
His body spun at high speed, creating two massive icy vortexes, like sharp ice saw blades, slashing towards Rui. Wherever he passed, the ground froze, and moisture in the air turned into ice crystals.
Rui was expressionless, waving his hands, and silks wove into a massive net.
Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Cage!
The ice wheels and silk net collided violently, emitting a teeth-grinding cutting sound.
The ice wheels struggled to cut and freeze the silks, but the silks were endless and incredibly tough, constantly eroding the ice wheels' power. Eventually, the ice wheels shattered, and the silk net experienced a brief delay.
"Effective, but not enough."
Ryoma seized this momentary opportunity.
Ice Breathing: Fourth Form: Glacial Descent!
His nichirin blade swung, and countless sharp ice spikes shot towards Rui like a torrential downpour. They covered an extremely wide area, attempting to block all his escape routes.
Rui simply raised his hand slightly.
Blood Demon Art: Murderous Eye Basket!
Dense threads instantly wove into a perfect spherical shield in front of him. All the ice needles struck it, without even causing a ripple, and were cut into their most basic ice dust.
"Your power is very interesting. It can freeze my threads, making them slower and brittle."
Rui's voice remained calm, but his attack suddenly intensified.
"But that's all it is. You disturbed the peace of me and my family, and you must be punished."
The next moment, Rui's offensive exploded.
Countless threads, tougher and sharper than before, attacked from all directions, like a vast net, intending to cut Ryoma into pieces.
Ryoma instantly fell into an unprecedented bitter struggle.
Ice Breathing: First Form: Ice Surface Slash!
Used to sever the thick threads attacking head-on.
Ice Breathing: Sixth Form: Ice Tornado!
Creating an ascending ice whirlwind to temporarily deflect the dense thread attack net.
Ice Breathing: Seventh Form: Piercing Ice Spear!
Breaking through the surface with a single point, attempting to penetrate the thread defense and strike the main body, but always forced back by more and faster threads.
New wounds constantly appeared on his body. Although the cold air could instantly freeze wounds to prevent excessive blood loss, both his stamina and magic power were rapidly depleting.
Rui's threads had too wide a range, were too fast, and incredibly tough, each block left him numb.
"Struggle, then despairingly understand the price of destroying others' bonds."
Rui manipulated the threads, as if playing with a bird in a cage, tightening the noose of death step by step.
Ryoma was pushed to the brink, the ground beneath his feet a frozen wasteland shattered by threads.
"It's not over… I absolutely cannot fall here."
Ice Breathing: Fifth Form: Heavenly Weeping: Infinite Ice Prison!
This was the strongest technique he currently mastered.
Full magic power output!
His nichirin blade plunged into the ground.
Centered around Ryoma, extreme coldness erupted. The sky seemed to shed invisible icy tears, and the earth instantly froze.
Countless sharp ice pillars frantically pierced out of the ground, not only attempting to attack Rui, but more importantly, forming a massive frozen domain, madly slowing down and freezing the crisscrossing threads in the air. Many threads visibly slowed down, and even frost condensed on their surfaces.
A hint of surprise finally flickered in Rui's eyes. The movement of his threads had been greatly hindered.
"To actually… be able to do this much?"
Rui's patience seemed to have run out. He decided to give this defiant prey the most thorough destruction.
He intertwined his hands, and a bloody aura far exceeding before began to permeate the air.
Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Rotation!
Countless threads began to spin at high speed, forming a giant cutting vortex. Even the air was cut by these threads, emitting a sharp whistling sound.