Undeterred, Ren Kuroda slapped the talisman worth a whole hundred reputation points onto his weapon in the middle of battle, his face twisted in the kind of pain usually reserved for someone watching their bank account burst into flames.
According to the item description, this "Demon Aura Talisman" was supposed to be ridiculously powerful—something far too majestic to cost so little.
…Well, the truth was that Ren simply didn't want to admit he'd gotten ripped off. He was grasping for excuses, any excuse, to justify it.
To be fair, the talisman was incredibly effective. The moment it activated, it turned a rusty butcher's knife into a dragon-slaying blade capable of carving through gold, jade, and probably someone's family lineage.
But it burned out fast—so fast it might as well have been a soap bubble trying to hold shape in a hurricane. In seconds, the demonic glow faded, the blade softened, and the talisman itself disintegrated into a whisper of ash.
A one-time consumable. Yes, it could temporarily turn ordinary objects into "demon weapons," but the duration was tragically, humiliatingly short.
If you used it inside a proper formation array, its explosive burst of power was undeniable—but even one, two, or five of them were basically pointless if the effect evaporated almost immediately.
Ren could accept that it was a single-use item. What he could not accept was that the duration was so pathetically brief.
This thing cost 100 reputation points! As soon as he slapped it onto the butcher knife and took a swing, the weapon lost its demonic edge mid-swing, the glow flickering out like a dying firefly. By the time it landed, it was nothing more than a regular, sad butcher knife.
Ren had demanded an explanation from the system, declaring that just because he was handsome didn't mean the system could scam him. Even handsome men have pride—especially handsome men.
But the system's response was brutally straightforward:Everything produced by the system was genuine, powerful, and properly priced—including the Demon Aura Talisman.
The talisman didn't generate its own demonic energy. It used the user's demonic energy as fuel. Higher-grade talismans could hold higher-grade energy—but you needed higher-grade demonic energy to begin with.
The reason Ren's talisman fizzled so quickly was simple:
His demonic energy was weak.
In other words—Ren Kuroda himself was the problem.
He could only maintain the boosted state for a few seconds right now. Maybe, with growth, he could stretch that to a full minute.
It was devastating. And deeply, profoundly embarrassing.After reading the explanation, Ren felt his proud title of "Lucky King" being stomped into paste—worse, the system was basically questioning his manhood.
Fortunately, Ren wasn't the same as before. With his current boost in demonic power, the talisman now lasted a whole minute instead of mere seconds.
Don't misunderstand—Ren's limit wasn't one minute. The C-grade Demon Aura Talisman's limit was one minute.Higher-grade talismans would probably last longer and channel stronger demonic power.
But none were available in the shop right now—and even if they were, Ren's current finances made that as unrealistic as buying a luxury mansion with pocket change.
As for the Inferior Demonic Power Crystal, its only function was to restore Ren's depleted demonic power and slightly improve his own reserves.
At first glance, it looked like it had the same shocking usefulness as the talisman. But considering the talisman's nature—and its cost—it wasn't hard to imagine how meager the crystal's real replenishment effect must be.
—
Back to the present.
A massive swarm of rats had the overturned car completely surrounded. Escape was impossible.
But stepping outside now would mean being devoured alive by that ferocious, howling mass of rat demons.
Staying inside wasn't a long-term solution either. Each rat demon was the size of a hunting dog, and even an armored vehicle wouldn't hold out for long under that number.
Several rat demons had already leapt onto the chassis, gnawing holes through the metal with their razor-sharp teeth. Their claws slashed endlessly through the opening, reaching for Ren and Kujo Hinano in the back seat.
Clearly, even the rat demons thought the two humans in the back looked more tender and delicious than the two old men in the front.
Hinano froze at the sight of those talon-like claws lunging toward her. She didn't dare move. She was a complete novice—she had never faced anything remotely like this.
Even Yuzaburō in the front seat had never encountered something like this in his entire life. He'd heard stories of mysterious creatures that defied human understanding, but this was his first time seeing one with his own eyes.
DING!
A sharp metallic ring echoed through the cramped interior.
Hinano, who had squeezed her eyes shut in terror awaiting the inevitable pain of claws tearing into her, slowly reopened them when she felt nothing.
There—right beside her—the boy she had thought was helpless just moments ago was holding up the long sword she'd scoffed at earlier.
He had used it to block the rat demon's strike.
With one swift motion, Ren shoved the claws aside, then brought the blade down in a clean, powerful arc—severing the entire outstretched limb at the root.
"SKREEEEE—!"
A spray of red burst into the air. The rat demon, moments ago eagerly anticipating a tasty human snack, shrieked in agony.
Its scream triggered the rest of the swarm. The rats surged forward as if possessed, crashing against the vehicle in a frenzy.
The scent of blood drove them into a complete bloodlust. They battered the car from every direction.
Ren Kuroda clicked his tongue. "Figures."
"The number of rat demons is beyond what I expected. I won't be able to protect all of you. If you want a chance to survive, get the rope net I threw in the trunk and slap these two talismans onto it."
"As long as we contain the swarm, the firepower of a pistol is enough to kill them. But if you want to stay here and wait for death, be my guest—it was your brilliant idea to trust this route in the first place."
Ren reluctantly spent two hundred reputation points for two blue Demon Aura Talismans, tossing them toward the still-bewildered Hinano.
He quickly told her each would last one minute. They could decide how to use them.
Then, to everyone's shock, Ren casually sliced open the car's mangled side panel—punched full of holes by rat teeth—and drove his sword straight through the skull of a rat demon that leapt at him.
Individual Classification: Rat DemonDemon Rank: LowestDemonic Power: D–E grade(E-grade for most; a few larger ones possessed D-grade.)
As Ren focused on it, the rat demon's information flashed automatically before him.
Just as he suspected—not a particularly powerful type of yokai. But the sheer quantity of them far exceeded his expectations.
"Intimidation Skill—activate."
An unseen pressure burst from Ren's body, expanding outward like a shockwave.
Until now, he had kept his demonic power tightly suppressed—if he released it casually, the weaker rat demons would have been too scared to show themselves at all.
But now? There was no reason to hide anything.
The surge of demonic power hit the swarm like a hammer. The weaker rats trembled violently, some collapsing outright. Ren's oppressive aura washed over them, a predator's dominance radiating into every corner of the alley.
The skill had clearly taken effect. Facing a mid-tier monster two levels above them, many of the rat demons lost their will to fight instantly.
But the effect didn't last long.
From the darkest part of the alley, a piercing, spine-raking "SKREEEEEEEE!" rang out—far louder, deeper, and sharper than the others.
The moment the sound echoed, the rat demons that had been trembling in fear suddenly stiffened.
Their fear vanished—replaced by a burning, blood-red frenzy glowing in their eyes.
As if possessed, they hurled themselves at Ren with renewed ferocity.
"I knew it," Ren muttered, his expression hardening. "I was wondering why so many rat demons would gather here."
"And rat demons are naturally timid. They shouldn't be bold enough to attack humans like this."
"Looks like there's a big one hiding in the back."