"Mr. Yoizumi! Where are you going?" Komatsuse cried out anxiously, her voice sounding especially small and helpless in the eerie black mist. She took another step, desperately running in the direction Yoizumi had left, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see Yoizumi's figure.
A ominous premonition gradually rose in Komatsuse's heart. Could this mysterious black mist have hallucinatory abilities? Otherwise, why had she chased for so long yet couldn't find a trace of Yoizumi? Thinking of this, Komatsuse couldn't help but shiver.
There was no other way now. Komatsuse took a deep breath and decided to choose a direction and keep walking. After all, the area covered by the black mist should be limited, and as long as she persevered, she would eventually get out of the predicament. So, she gritted her teeth and bravely continued to run forward.
After an unknown amount of time, just as Komatsuse felt exhausted, a faint flicker of firelight suddenly appeared ahead. It was a bonfire that hadn't completely extinguished, flickering with a warm glow in the darkness. Seeing this, Komatsuse's heart was instantly filled with hope. She quickened her pace and excitedly ran towards the bonfire.
As long as she could reunite with Mr. Yoizumi, everything would be alright! Komatsuse kept encouraging herself in her heart. However, the moment she rushed out of the black mist, full of anticipation, the scene before her left her too stunned to move.
Suddenly, there was a violent distortion in the previously calm air, and then a white figure flashed out like a ghost. It was a ferocious demon with white hair and red eyes, lunging at Komatsuse with bared fangs and claws. Komatsuse's face was filled with an expression of disbelief.
"Am I... am I going to die?" Komatsuse's mind went blank, and her body trembled uncontrollably. At this moment, the demon had already extended its sharp claws, bringing with it a fierce whooshing sound, and fiercely attacked her fragile neck. Looking at the deadly claws so close, the demon's face showed a triumphant smile, as if victory was assured.
Komatsuse!
Yoizumi, who also emerged from the mist, saw the scene before him, his expression changed drastically, and he ran frantically towards Komatsuse without hesitation. However, everything happened too suddenly, and he inwardly cried out, "It's too late!"
The demon's sharp claws shot out like lightning, mercilessly tearing Komatsuse's delicate skin. Just at this critical moment, a dark shadow, like an arrow released from a bow, suddenly rushed out and slammed into the demon. Caught off guard, the demon instinctively raised its hand to block and counterattack, leaving several deep gashes on the other party's body, and blood instantly splattered everywhere.
"Ugh... Run!" With a muffled grunt, Ishii Kawa fell heavily to the ground. His chest had been brutally torn open by the demon's incredibly sharp claws, leaving a long wound extending from his shoulder to his lower abdomen. Crimson blood gushed out like a bursting dam. Despite such severe injuries, Ishii Kawa still used all his strength to let out a final cry, hoping to make Komatsuse escape this dangerous place as quickly as possible.
Warm blood splattered on Komatsuse's pale face, bringing a burning sting. The shadow of death instantly enveloped her, and that familiar figure lay lifelessly before her. Extreme fear and despair made Komatsuse's whole body go limp. She slumped weakly onto the cold ground, and even the few drops of blood that had just seeped from the demon's scratch on her neck now seemed insignificant.
But it was precisely these few drops of blood that made the demon unable to resist. The delicious sweet scent caused saliva to uncontrollably overflow from the corners of her mouth. At this moment, Mukago's desire to feed reached its peak. As for the human on the ground, she didn't care at all.
Just these few drops of blood were incredibly alluring. Mukago's eyes sparkled. This was truly a rare blood among rare bloods!
She eagerly extended her claws again towards Komatsuse, who lay on the ground without the power to resist, but this time she still didn't get her wish.
Yoizumi didn't give her another chance. His nichirin blade rose and fell, severing her arm. Mukago, who had been intoxicated by the scent of rare blood, instantly sobered up and quickly pulled away.
Clutching her severed arm, how had this demon not lost her ability to move yet?
The duck that had flown into her mouth had escaped, and Mukago's anger reached its peak.
Yoizumi's attacks continued, a series of thrusts that forced Mukago to only dodge.
Now Komatsuse couldn't move, so he could only use attacks to make the demon leave here.
The nichirin blade wounded Mukago several times, each time causing her to howl in pain, the piercing screams hurting his eardrums.
Yoizumi didn't give her a moment to catch her breath. He only felt incredibly hot all over now. Another person had died in front of him, and he had clearly decided to protect everyone.
A pang of bitterness in his heart. What was this feeling?
Regret? Self-blame?
Or a sense of powerlessness towards his useless self.
Komatsuse's blood also affected him. The emptiness in his stomach and increased saliva secretion made Yoizumi clench his teeth. The poison on his face had been completely decomposed, and his body had returned to its optimal state. He raised his nichirin blade from bottom to top, then diagonally chopped down, wounding Lower Moon Four again.
Mukago was now in despair, with fear and anger intertwined in her heart, causing her to launch a final, desperate counterattack. She painfully raised her only remaining arm, muttering incantations.
Blood Demon Art: Needles!
In an instant, countless sharp needles shot towards Yoizumi like a torrential rain. However, facing this fierce offensive, Yoizumi stood firm like a mountain. He neither dodged nor took any defensive measures, simply allowing the needles to fly into various parts of his body.
When the needles first pierced Yoizumi's body, they only caused a slight pause in his movements, and then he continued to act as if nothing had happened. With his powerful regenerative abilities, those needles were quickly dissolved the moment they entered his body.
Seeing that her attack had no effect on Yoizumi, Mukago was stunned, her mouth wide open in disbelief, and she yelled loudly,
"How is this possible! How can my poison have no effect at all!"
Following that, Mukago used all her might and unleashed her Blood Demon Art again. This time, she used an even more terrifying technique.
Blood Demon Art: Poison Stream: Burst!
With her furious roar, a surging green poison stream swept towards Yoizumi like a raging tide. Where the poison stream passed, the air seemed to be corroded, making a "sizzling" sound.
In the blink of an eye, the splashing venom splattered onto Yoizumi's body. The skin that came into contact with the venom immediately emitted black smoke and made a spine-chilling sound. Many areas were even directly corroded, exposing stark white bones.
This excruciating pain would have caused an ordinary person to faint, but Yoizumi didn't even blink. Relying on his incredibly powerful regenerative abilities, in just a few breaths, the wounds on his body corroded by the venom healed completely at a visible speed.
Mukago was completely stunned by the scene before her. She couldn't understand why this guy, who had never devoured a human, possessed such astonishing regenerative abilities, and was even much stronger than herself! A deep sense of fear began to spread in her heart, and she trembled uncontrollably.
But at this point, Mukago had no retreat. In despair, she went mad, unleashing all the techniques she could use, hoping to defeat Yoizumi... Yoizumi's body was riddled with holes many times, then recovered as before. Yoizumi knew that he wouldn't be able to last much longer with such an overdraft of his physical strength.
Faster! Faster!
But Yoizumi, feeling utterly drained and struggling to even stand, collapsed to the ground. Clenching the nichirin blade in his hand, he still wanted to get up, his other hand gripping the ground tightly, only leaving a bloody finger mark on the ground.
Mr. Yoizumi has fallen!
Komatsuse, who had come to her senses not long ago, watched as Yoizumi, for her sake, attracted the demon and endured attack after attack she couldn't imagine. He was so close to killing the demon.
Mr. Yoizumi will die! Ishii-kun is already dead, I killed him. Mr. Yoizumi cannot die, if he dies everyone will be killed, and Grandma too... Watching the demon's receding figure, she knew it would surely return.
The demon is getting away!
Komatsuse scrambled up from the ground, recalling the demon's greedy desire after she was injured, and what Mr. Yoizumi had initially said:
Her blood was special, with a fatal attraction to demons.
Thinking of this, Komatsuse picked up a sharp stone from the ground. Afraid of pain, she forcefully cut a long gash on her arm. Blood gushed out, tears overflowed from her eyes, and she cast all fear aside.
Come on, come and eat me!
As long as there's a glimmer of hope, as long as she can create a tiny possibility for Mr. Yoizumi.
She was willing to die!