Chapter 122: Pale Blue
Wren was hurled backward once more, but before his body had even come to a complete stop, he charged at the demon again.
His katana sliced through the air, a pale blue aura trailing behind the blade.
The demon didn’t dodge. Instead, it raised a hand and caught the naked blade with its bare palm.
A grin spread across its face. "With such a weak aura, you dare act arrogant before me?" The demon sneered. "Scram."
The next moment, it bent its knee and drove it brutally into Wren’s stomach.
"Blarghhh!"
Wren coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying again. His body tumbled through the air, but he somehow regained his balance and flipped in the air before landing on the ground smoothly.
The arrogant smile that had adorned his face earlier was long gone. In its place was a dark expression, one that made it abundantly clear just how pissed he was.
"You piece of shit!" Wren roared. "You dare look down on me?" Veins bulged across his forehead as he tightened his grip on the katana. "If I don’t make you beg for mercy today, I’ll exile myself from the Demon Slayer Clan!"
With a furious roar, he gritted his teeth and shot forward again, pushing his body to its absolute limit.
A mocking grin appeared on the demon’s face. Two drops of blood dripped from its palm — the very hand that had caught the katana barehanded. The wound was already healing. Slowly but surely.
Unlike before, however, when every injury had regenerated almost instantly before the naked eye, recovery now was noticeably slower.
Closing the distance once more, Wren slashed his katana. The pale blue aura trailing behind the blade had become slightly denser this time.
But the attack never landed.
The demon reacted instantly. Rolling its shoulder, it threw an uppercut.
Clang!
Flesh met steel.
Then...
Crack!
The upper half of the katana shattered and was sent spinning through the air.
Wren’s eyes widened. His mind went blank. Nothing made sense anymore. ’No. Impossible. I am from the demon slayer clan. I am one of the top disciples. How can my katana break with a punch from a rank three demon?’
Before he could even process what had happened, the demon swung its club. The massive weapon whistled through the air with terrifying force. Just from its speed and size, one thing was obvious.
If that strike landed on his head, there wouldn’t even be a corpse left behind.
Only meat paste.
Wren watched the club approach in slow motion, as if the world itself had slowed down to give him time to accept his death.
He tried to move.
Tried to dodge.
But fear had already seized his body. His limbs refused to obey.
Then, just before the club could connect...
A streak of white flashed across his vision.
BOOM!
The demon was blasted away. A shockwave erupted from the impact, a gust of wind brushing against Wren’s face. His pupils moved and saw who it was. Who just saved him, bringing him back from the death’s door.
Stanley stood there, both of his arms wrapped in brilliant whips of light.
The demon crashed against the ground, its feet carving deep trenches as it was pushed backward. Its smile vanished. In its place appeared an irritated expression.
The next moment, it shot forward. The air screamed around its body.
Reaching striking distance, the demon swung its club once more.
Stanley didn’t move. He simply stood there calmly. Then, just as the weapon was about to strike, he snapped his arm forward.
Thud!
His hand caught the head of the club. The massive weapon stopped dead in midair. It couldn’t move even an inch further. It was as though the roles had suddenly reversed. The demon now stood where Wren had stood moments ago. And Stanley stood where the demon had been.
Stanley’s right fist shot forward.
Bang!
The punch landed squarely on the demon’s chest.
A deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield. A gaping hole instantly appeared in the demon’s torso as blood sprayed everywhere. Yet the flesh immediately began wriggling and regenerating.
The wound was already healing.
But then...
Schlk!
Schlk!
Schlk!
Hazel appeared behind the demon like a ghost. Her katana flashed repeatedly, streaks of pale blue light slicing through the air. The hole in the demon’s chest continued healing.
The sword wounds did not.
Before the demon could react...
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Stanley unleashed a barrage of punches. One hole appeared beneath the shoulder. Another tore through the left side of its chest.
A third blasted open its abdomen.
Blood gushed from every wound.
Hazel moved instantly. Her katana blurred beneath the demon’s waist. The blade flashed again and again. After nearly fifteen slashes, she finally stopped.
The battlefield fell silent. The demon stood motionless.
Frozen.
Then...
Its body slowly slid apart at the calves.
Thud!
The severed portion from above crashed onto the ground, kicking up dust and debris.
Meanwhile, Leon sat in the distance, completely detached from the battle.
Explosions echoed one after another, and shockwaves swept across the battlefield. Yet his mind ignored all of it, focusing solely on the ninth form.
Something was flickering deep within him. Like a candle struggling to remain lit amidst a raging storm. By now, he had practiced the ninth form more than a hundred times.
Again and again, he circulated his Qi through specific meridians.
Again and again, he adjusted his breathing to the required rhythm.
He tried to steady the hatred and determination within his heart toward demons, attempting to channel those emotions at will.
Time slowly passed.
Minutes felt like hours.
Then suddenly...
Something billowed around him.
A pale blue aura.
Almost transparent.
It flickered into existence for a brief moment before vanishing again, as though it had never existed in the first place.
Leon immediately sensed the change. Not only around him, but within him as well.
His focus deepened. Thin veins bulged across his forehead as he pushed himself further.
Then...
The pale blue aura appeared once more.
But, this time...
It didn’t disappear.
