Book Eater

Chapter 374: Advent of the Heavenly Demon (4)

Kwaduduk!

The heavenly demon was slammed into the ground so hard that he was buried up to his knees. The trap involuntarily lost half its power, but it was worth it. It would be a big blow if he were hit in this defenseless state.

“Dumb oni...!” The heavenly demon had to cross his arms above his head to block the club, grinding his teeth as he felt an unpleasant sense of danger.

This was a powerful oni, but his strength was strange. Despite analyzing the oni’s body, the strength that the oni was displaying was completely out of the ordinary. Did he have bones with higher tensile strength than mithril?

As he looked down at the grimacing heavenly demon, Shuten-doji jumped back. “You are good at blocking my club, but I’m afraid I’m not alone. You better keep your eyes peeled.”

“What?” The heavenly demon didn’t want to listen to an oni, but nevertheless, he grew an eyeball in the back of his head.

It was the Third Eye technique that had been suppressed five hundred years ago! A third eyeball would complete his field of view and protect against blinding spells. As soon as the eyeball sprouted in his hair, he saw three flashes of light. It was a surprise attack launched by the two sword masters who had appeared all of a sudden.

Clovis Two Swords Style. Special Hidden Meaning Technique. Thunderbolt Fang.

New Life Born. New Cloud Flow. Shooting Star.

Randolph was the one with the Acceleration ability, but Nobutsuna was fast enough to keep up with his speed. There was a tearing sound as three blades of lightning or fire aimed at the heavenly demon’s forehead, heart, and abdomen. In less than half a beat, three holes would be left in the heavenly demon’s body.

“Tsk!” Nevertheless, the heavenly demon didn’t hesitate to throw himself into hell. He threw himself into the air and spun. Once, twice, thrice… he avoided the three rays of light like he was balancing on thin air.

“... C-Cloud Dragon Eight Patterns movement!”

“How could that wicked being steal that technique?”

Just like a dragon in the clouds, it was a footwork technique that allowed the body to move in the air. It had disappeared centuries ago. It was rumored that if it was mastered completely, the user could dance elegantly in a storm. The heavenly demon only spun three times to avoid the sword. However, if he turned eight times, he could touch the realm of a god.

No matter what happens, I must kill him here!

Everyone was united in that realization. If this monster escaped and gained more experience and skills, they would never be able to fight him again. He already had the techniques of a shaman, an apostate, and so on. Once he managed to remember all the techniques that had disappeared or buried in history and fused them with the power of a new generation, the heavenly demon would become ten times stronger. He would be in the perfect position to destroy the world. The alliance of those who were ready to fight sincerely began.

「 пламя нож (Flame Sword)! 」

Veronica’s explosive sword struck the right arm of the heavenly demon without giving him a chance to respond. It burned his skin before bouncing off. If the heavenly demon hadn’t borrowed the power of Karura, it would have cut through his arm. The heavenly demon belatedly realized his own missteps.

Ping! Piiing!

There was an eerie sound, as two holes appeared in his shins.

“Interesting. I never thought I would team up with someone from the pointy-eared clan.”

“... I am an elf. Don’t call me pointy-eared.”

Titania’s and Daitengu’s cooperative attack involving the wind had bored through the heavenly demon’s legs. Of course, a troll-like healing ability activated as soon as the arrows hit, but the swordmasters didn’t miss the gap and dove in to make up for their previous failure.

Kakiing.?

Randolph’s double swords moved one step ahead and gave a short howl.

If he can flip his body in the air, then I will cut the whole area, making it impossible to avoid!

It was an ignorant idea, but it wasn’t impossible if his swords accelerated several times more than it had in the past. The two swords split into afterimages of four, eight, sixteen, and more. Suddenly, there were more than a hundred sword shadows in the air! Even a leaf wouldn’t be able to escape.

On the other hand, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna’s judgment was the opposite.

One blow in an instant. That is the only thing that will reach him.

Nobutsuna needed sharpness rather than tremendous power. He dropped lower into his stance to force even more acceleration out of his body. His technique was still incomplete, but he could brute force it with the power coming from the magic circle.

New Life Born. New Cloud Flow. Secret Technique. One Blade Single Water Moon.

Like the moon on the surface of the water, the sword melted into thin air and appeared at the heavenly demon’s neck without warning. It was indeed impossible to escape!

The heavenly demon frantically tried to dodge, but he couldn’t use the Cloud Dragon Eight Patterns footwork properly due to the injury to his legs. Additionally, the magic circle amplified the swordmaster’s power three times over, allowing the swordmaster to easily penetrate through the heavenly demon’s overwhelming defense power.

Chwaaaaak!

Blood splattered as the heavenly demon fell to the ground on rubbery legs. The attack hadn’t reached his jugular, but it was still a serious injury. To think that he had been injured by a lowlife he hadn’t taken seriously... The heavenly demon laughed once in fury. His eyes darkened as he raised his power in earnest.

“Lowlifes, you dare...! You interrupted me without knowing your place!”

His body teemed with the power of sacred creatures and demonic creatures that had rocked the East Continent with their notoriety. The heavenly demon intended to use all of his power to kill these bugs. He used dozens of terrible techniques all at once, from the evil eye, absorbing soul techniques, extinct poisons, to curse techniques. His eyes blurred as the ground under the heavenly demon turned black, giving an idea of the wickedness of the techniques.

It was at this moment that…

“Eight Mirrors.” Theo, who had been maintaining the Dao Yuan Nine Palace Troops, immediately pulled out a mirror. No one knew whether it was a stone or metal mirror, but this was the last of the three artifacts that hadn’t been used until now.

“Open your eyes! Banish evil!” The eyes of Yata no Kagami, which hadn’t been seen since Seimei’s death, finally revealed themselves.

Paaaat!

A sphere of light expanded from Theo, and the curses raining down on them were cleanly washed away. It was the divine power of the Eight Mirrors, or the Mirror of Eight, which could even return the power of a god. Of course, it couldn’t be done without using a lot of power. The heavenly demon stiffened at having his curses shot back at him.

The masters immediately took advantage of the opportunity.

“Control Heaven and Earth!”

“Various Heavenly Assistance!”

The two monks cast their own spells, causing righteous power to stab the heavenly demon like a stigma. The spells were designed to rescue evil spirits and suppress evil. Once the strength of the Dao Yuan Nine Palace Troops was added to the skills, even the heavenly demon couldn’t endure them. Now the heavenly demon could no longer use the techniques he had just attempted. Even so, this was a strategy to tie his hands and fight together, rather than actually attacking him.

“■■■■■■■■――!”

At last, the heavenly demon leaped high into the sky in a frenzied manner. His instincts had informed him in no uncertain terms that fighting on this magic circle was disadvantageous. However, he couldn’t escape even in the empty sky.

[Kuhuhu! Stupid!]

[Seed of evil, don’t blame me.]

Brasmati and Erucus, the two dragons who had come across the sea to help Theo, stared at the heavenly demon with cold eyes. High in the sky in their dragon forms, they opened their jaws. The heavenly demon paled as he guessed what was coming.

“Not only are there lowlifes, now the damn lizards...!”

The Breaths were fired before he could finish cursing.

―――――――――――――――!!!

Two breaths intersected in midair, cutting the black night sky into four pieces. The superheated breath left a mark in the sky, while the poisonous breath left a green mist trail that disappeared into the distant horizon. It was a linked attack that could kill a sacred creature and the eight feudal lord variants instantly!

“Kuaaaaak!” The burned, poisoned heavenly demon fell helplessly back to the ground.

No matter how strong he was, the heavenly demon couldn’t overcome twin dragon Breaths with a body that was less than an hour old. It was strange that he even managed to survive. Even so, he was in critical condition. His body almost seemed like a corpse.

It would’ve been nice if it finished here, but that isn’t possible.

However, Theo didn’t push it as he sent a message up to the dragons.

Thank you. Please back off here.

[I understand. Don’t be defeated, human. Remember the reason why our king crowned you.]

[It will only be a burden if we remain. I will follow your will.]

The dragons responded quickly before disappearing. A few Breaths were the most they could contribute with their injuries. There was a risk that if they stayed too close, it would destroy the plan Theo had for the heavenly demon.

“... It is starting now.” Theo grew tense as he looked at the heavenly demon lying on the ground. The name of ‘the heavenly demon’ would be a waste if he fell from this much. The monster had yet to use more than thirty percent of his power.

“―I see.” The heavenly demon rose to his feet. The burns on his body disappeared as his crimson eyes examined them in a new light. “Bugs might be bugs, but they’re not helpless. After all, there are poisonous bugs. I thought you were broken moths, but you were actually wasps.”

The heavenly demon laughed coldly while acknowledging the strength of his enemies. “I have to admit it. It is worth it to kill you directly.”

The demon that reigned under heaven invoked his power.

Kukukukukung…

The earth shook, the sky shivered, and wildlife fled in panic. A door to the void had been unlocked in the material world. The power to eat the spirituality in all beings, regardless of what they were, was the power that raised a monster, which should merely be a mixture of genetic factors, into a demon king.

“Absorption Star Method, activate.”

The heavenly demon’s blood vessels appeared as blue and red lines across his body. No, it wasn’t blood vessels. It was a circulation system that replaced all the aura and magic power eaten with basic mana. According to Gluttony, it was a deteriorated version of the absorption ability that all of the Seven Sins possessed.

Kwajik.

However, unlike the Seven Sins who couldn’t perform all their functions due to the seals, the heavenly demon’s absorption ability was at full functionality.

The Dao Yuan Nine Palace Troops is breaking!

Theo was standing on it, but all the power was being sucked into the heavenly demon. He hurried to stop maintaining the Dao Yuan Nine Palace Troops before it took away his magic power. The heavenly demon grinned when he sensed that the power of the Dao Yuan Nine Palace Troops had disappeared.

Jeeeong!

The heavenly demon disappeared, and the two swordmasters were thrown back, their swords shattered. They had blocked it, but both of them were seriously injured.

To think that the sword masters were overwhelmed by the swordsmanship of a monster that had just been born? Randolph and Nobutsuna were dumbfounded. However, they had no answer to the heavenly demon’s overwhelming strength and speed, as well as the memories and experiences left behind by masters of the Central Empire.

“Uhuh! You dare to take your eyes off this old man!” Shuten-doji brought his club down again. However, he couldn’t achieve his goal this time. The monster was too strong to be attacked without the assistance of the Dao Yuan Nine Palace Troops.

Puhak!

Rather, the heavenly demon’s hand caught the swung club and a hand almost lazily reached out. Blood spattered as Shuten-doji was beaten several times with his own club. As Shuten-doji received a critical wound, the heavenly demon moved again.

“Kuaaack!”

Veronica barely escaped it, while Daitengu couldn’t avoid it. No one even saw how it happened, but Daitengu’s right wing was torn off his body. The yokai barely avoided instant death, but he would die soon. The heavenly demon looked at Veronica, who had dodged his attack, and threw his fist into the air.

Shaolin 72 Arts. 100 Stages Soul Boxing. Shoot.

A shockwave traveled hundreds of meters and pierced her.

Kaaang!

“Kkuk!”

Luckily, it wasn’t a fatal wound. However, Veronica took a few steps back from the momentum and turned to run. Theo had already given her an order to leave the battlefield if the situation deteriorated to this point. Rather than chasing after the escaping Veronica, the heavenly demon turned toward Theo. His thoughts were clear in his eyes.

The positions have reversed.

The Dao Yuan Nine Palace Troops had collapsed, and the magic circle was destroyed. The two swordmasters and Shuten-doji were still alive, but they wouldn’t be able to last for ten seconds in front of the heavenly demon. The same was true for the two monks in the rear. Their lives were at risk once the front line was destroyed.

However, Theo laughed lightly. “... You would think so. Isn’t that right?”