There were no redundant techniques, and the movements couldn't be described as flashy, but they were unimaginably fast.
The sharp blade sliced through the demon's arm in an instant, and the intense pain forced it to retreat abruptly.
But in Kiyokawa Izumi's eyes, this movement seemed to be slowed down infinitely.
Griping the hilt of the nichirin blade tightly, as if having made a certain resolution, Kiyokawa Izumi stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.
"Argh... Damn it! My hand! How is this possible... Damn it!"
The demon hissed as if it had lost its mind, and there was even a faint hint of fear.
Some kind of inexplicable change had appeared in this weak human.
Like a beast driven into a corner with no way back, he could only bare his fangs for a fight to the death.
Kiyokawa Izumi didn't say a word, but the movements of his hands were not slow.
A simple and unadorned slash seemed to mobilize the strength of his entire body.
Sharp and decisive, it cleanly severed the demon's neck. That ugly head traced a desolate arc in the air, the head and torso completely separating at that moment. Its pupils dilated suddenly, filled with lingering resentment and disbelief.
To be killed by a human it viewed as prey—how unwilling, how humiliating.
The moment the head hit the ground, it was like burning paper; in less than a breath's time, it had already turned to ash.
Kiyokawa Izumi staggered and almost fell to the ground. His right hand gripped the nichirin blade, the hilt already soaked with sweat, accompanied by the sound of his heavy gasping.
His emotions at this moment were exceptionally complex—relief, excitement, but absolutely no sympathy for the demon.
Kiyokawa Izumi was not someone whose compassion overflowed.
'Can an ordinary person like me really kill a demon?'
'Just me?'
He thought to himself.
It was no wonder he was so surprised; although he was a transmigrator, in his past life,
In his view, killing a demon with a nichirin blade was already nothing short of a miracle.
His mindset was quietly changing, but it was followed by a sense of frustration.
The demon he had only barely defeated by putting everything on the line was neither an Upper Moon nor a Lower Moon.
On the contrary, it was very weak and frail, probably having eaten very few people.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a bit dejected and amused at the same time.
When the battle ended, the previously ignored pain resurfaced.
Veins suddenly bulged on his relatively handsome face, and his expression became distorted as a result.
Hurts, hurts, hurts!
A burning pain radiated from his shoulder, as if the skin were being torn apart.
His aching arm couldn't even be lifted at this moment.
Kiyokawa Izumi really couldn't be considered a tough guy; in his past life, under these circumstances, he would probably already be on his way to the hospital.
His teeth were chattering, and a sense of hunger came from his stomach.
Every part of his body was sounding an alarm; everything was approaching its limit.
'There probably aren't many transmigrators as pathetic as me, right?'
'System, say something!'
His forehead and eye sockets throbbed with pain. After kneeling on the ground to catch his breath, he finally had the leisure to study his Golden Finger.
There wasn't much to say about the System; it was simply artificial retardation.
During the fight just now, his eyes seemed to have changed—this was probably the Three-Tomoe Sharingan rewarded by the System, right?
To be honest, it was inexplicably abstract.
In a world without Ninjutsu, what the Hell use was giving him a Sharingan?
Insight, copying ability, and Genjutsu are the basic abilities of the Sharingan.
'First, regarding insight: during the fight just now, I didn't see through the demon's meridians, Acupoints, or Chakra flow... which makes sense... it wouldn't be normal for a demon to have Chakra.'
'But its movements were like they were in slow motion. Can it see through high-speed moving objects and predict them?'
'Is its essence the manifestation of dynamic vision and neural reaction speed?'
'Simply put, it's slow motion, but this seems to be just my current limit. In the future, maybe I can predict the next move based on subtle muscle changes?'
Kiyokawa Izumi's brow furrowed slightly as he seriously analyzed in his mind how much power was left in this nerfed version of the Sharingan.
Next, the copying ability—copying Ninjutsu or something is definitely impossible even if he were killed.
But for Breathing Techniques and swordsmanship, there might be some feasibility.
Besides that, perhaps there is an additional deterrent effect.
The demon that met his gaze just now clearly had a moment of distraction; this ability probably won't work against powerful demons.
As for Genjutsu... without Chakra, it's estimated that only a weak hypnotic or suggestive effect remains... it probably won't even work on humans with strong willpower, let alone what use it could have against demons.
In summary, saying it's completely useless is definitely bullshit.
But such a Golden Finger is certainly not as useful as being directly rewarded with Sun Breathing.
"Whew—"
Gently exhaling a breath of turbid air, Kiyokawa Izumi touched his eye sockets and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"Even if it's just a nerfed version, will there really be no side effects?"
"Maybe what it consumes isn't Chakra, but physical strength and energy."
After only a brief moment of combat, he felt a dull ache in his brain and eye sockets.
Continuous use, severe headaches, dizziness, vomiting, or even temporary blindness are likely inevitable.
What he feared most was blindness.
However, whether it would lead to blindness was still unknown for now.
Just then, a slight sound came from the woods.
Kiyokawa Izumi's expression changed slightly. He forced his body to stand up and began to pray silently in his heart.
Don't be a demon!
Don't mess with me!
I hope it's a fellow Swordsman passing by for the Selection.
"Blood... it's the smell of blood!"
A demon with a long tongue emerged from the woods, its thirsty and greedy gaze meeting Kiyokawa Izumi's.
At this moment, Kiyokawa Izumi's heart truly sank to the bottom.
Again!?
Can't he get some time to rest?
There was no time to treat his wounds, and the remaining blood emitted an inviting scent at every moment, attracting nearby demons like hungry wolves.
There were no trustworthy companions, and no reliable 'thighs' to cling to for protection.
Kiyokawa Izumi really wanted to curse out loud—what era is this, still playing this game? Bullshit Demon Slayer Corps, couldn't they change to a gentler Selection method?
"It's blood! It's blood!"
The suddenly appearing demon became excited. Its height was about the same as a normal adult man, but its limbs were exceptionally distorted. It pounced toward Kiyokawa Izumi in a bizarre crawling manner, having lost its reason.
It was another battle with no way out.
There was no room for choice; there were only the two options of fighting or dying.
Kiyokawa Izumi forced himself to stand, constantly squeezing his body which was near its limit. He knew very well that pain and fatigue were no reasons for him to give up.
During physical education class as a student, he could use being tired as a reason to slow down his running speed.
When working as an adult, he could use the excuse of being tired to convince himself to temporarily put down the work at hand.
But when facing man-eating demons, excuses never existed from the very beginning.
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Okay, there are 5 energy stones left for the bonus chapter.