CHAPTER 31 – IT SEEMS TO BE THE CONCLUSION

“Gi… i…” (Demon)

Without screaming, as expected I should say, huh?

Was the sharpness of the blade too excessive? The loped off arm danced through the air and dropped to the ground with a *botori* at last. Blood gushed out from the cut off section.

The demon, pinning down the cut off upper arm section, glares at Renya with a gaze filled with hatred, but Renya doesn’t care about such things.

Even without this, he can’t help but be anxious about how the separated rearguard party is faring.

If he flinched even a little bit from receiving hits, there wouldn’t be any chance to talk about taking an advantage here.

The demon released an attack aiming at his neck. Just barely dodging it by bending the body backwards, Renya furthermore slashed his katana diagonally from his shoulder grazing the chest of the demon only shallowly as he misjudged the distance between them.

The demon roared in front of Renya, who tried to plunge into further pursuit.

The voice hasn’t been merely loud. It gave birth to pressure by containing mana. Waning in his pursuit, Renya passed his destination and stumbled a step or two forward.

Using this small opportunity, the demon increased the distance between them greatly and retreated up to close to the wall.

Are you planning to run away using some kind of technique? Renya feels a tiny speck of hope.

He is aware that he will be defeated in an exchange of magical blows.

Although Renya didn’t comprehend the method and reason as to why he was able to deliver a blow and why the katana was able to negate the wind spell, the fact that it was able to negate it surprised the demon and caused it to show a slight gap in its defence.

So to speak, without even aiming to deliver a blow, it has been a lucky hit due to piling up good fortune.

Connecting to that lucky hit, he completely followed up immediately, but it ended after the demon dodged two pursuing attacks.

In other words, of the aimed attacks not even a single one has hit yet.

With the state being as it is, Renya is sensing that this shows the high physical ability of his opponent, the demon.

Of course, because it’s not like he wasn’t surprised and hesitant to a slight degree at that time himself either, it was somehow hard to admit that he only used 10% of his entire strength in that attack. But Renya didn’t want to continue the battle any longer with the demon, who displayed high abilities despite losing one arm.

If this drags on, it will become more and more disadvantageous for me in proportion to the time it keeps going.

He has such hunch.

I cut off and sent the demon’s arm flying as I ended up delivering a good attack by coincidence and good luck. That’s all there is.

Although he didn’t know which hand was the demon’s dominant one, rather than something like that, it is a major feat that blood continues to flow in a steady stream from the large, open wound.

If the demon keeps losing blood as it is, it will result in a loss of strength and impede his ability to concentrate.

“Ba… Bastard…” (Demon)

While gasping in pain, the demon squeezed out those words. Renya wondered whether the demon would utter a single complaint, but his imagination was quickly betrayed.

“Oh, you are possessing something interesting. …Where did you obtain it?” (Demon)

What are you trying to point out? Renya didn’t understand what he was talking about currently, but before long he realized that the demon was pointing at his katana, which displayed the ability to negate spells.

“Rather than worrying about your own body, this takes priority, huh?” (Renya)

The demon laughed in a low tone resounding from within his throat as Renya revealed such astonishment.

It was a relief for Renya that his laughter didn’t possess much strength.

Undoubtedly the arm injury is shaving off the demon’s physical strength.

“Something like having an arm cut off is trivial. Rather than such a thing, I am interested in that weapon you are holding. The spell was destroyed, no? Usually such a thing is impossible.” (Demon)

“I don’t know about something like that. I also obtained this fellow by trading it from a travelling merchant. If you want to know about its origin, you will have to look for that person.” (Renya)

While thinking that it will be impossible to search for a peddler being a demon on the human’s continent, Renya takes out a paper from the pocket of his trousers and wipes the katana’s blade.

He was worried about the grease that was slightly clinging to the blade after cutting the grotesque human types.

A fast and accurate swung sword almost didn’t allow for blood or grease to stick to its blade, but even so, a little bit of those will still cling to it.

While vigilantly making sure to not divert his view from the demon, Renya slowly wiped the blade. He tossed the used paper casually on the ground after finishing.

“Now then, I thought it was a considerably serious injury, but you are still eager to continue, huh?” (Renya)

Although it will be alright if you withdraw, Renya implied in his words, but he didn’t have any expectations towards the demon’s answer.

“That’s of course. An injury of such degree doesn’t even count.” (Demon)

Although Renya was doubtful whether it was a bluff, he immediately retracted those thoughts.

I really don’t have a good degree of knowledge concerning demons, but I fear that it’s likely that they surpass humans in intelligence as well as physical strength by far.

Actually, though he should have lost quite the amount of blood there was no indication of the demon feeling unwell.

Even if he is grimacing in pain, his eyes are filled with a fiery glare at Renya’s katana.

“What a troublesome fellow…” (Renya)

In front of the grumbling Renya, the demon decided to pick up his dropped arm.

Before extending his hand towards the arm, Renya started to cast the void spell <Small Fire Bullet> once more. He releases 20 parallel activated bullets aiming at the arm laying on the ground.

Ahead of the demon picking it up, it became burned charcoal due to the scorching of the fire spell despite the spell’s impact on the arm was weak.

“You have done a cruel thing. Isn’t that my arm?!” (Demon)

Even though his own arm was burned in front of his eyes, the demon didn’t look overly worried.

“I simply didn’t want you to pick it up and re-attach it.” (Renya)

Although the words spoken about re-attaching and so on were supposed to be a joke from Renya, the demon’s reply didn’t let these words pass as a joke.

“Hou, you are quite good to have guessed it. It can’t be helped now that it has been burned. Let’s grow it back, huh?” (Demon)

For a moment Renya was wondering what this fellow was talking about.

By only putting a little strength into the severed upper arm section the demon stopped the blood flowing out from it.

Before long one part of the upper arm section swelled. Immediately after that it grew in a blink of an eye from within the section. It turned into the shape of the arm before it was loped off.

After checking the condition of the regrown arm by lightly swinging it, the demon laughed.

“With this it’s fine again.” (Demon)

The regrown arm’s difference is the paler skin colour than before, but otherwise there isn’t any kind of difference in the shape to the now scorched arm.

I fear it’s likely that there is truly no spot where its performance is inferior, I guess.

“Are you a lizard or a planarian… ?” (Renya)

With a feeling of not wanting to accept the spectacle that took place in front of his eyes, Renya spit out this question.

The strength to regrow something that had been cut off within a short time, if seen from the standpoint of a swordsman, it would be labelled as nightmare or bad joke.

I guess his physical strength and such has diminished due to the lost blood, but it’s still a completely different fighting level having only one arm or two.

This has become a story where it won’t be enough to shave off his fighting strength by cutting off the limbs and such. It won’t end unless I cause a lethal wound with a single strike.

While thinking about the next attack, he stores the katana in its scabbard.

I won’t be able to bring him down with a half-hearted attack.

“No, comparing myself to a lizard, it’s a discourtesy towards lizards.” (Demon)

I guess he heard my provocation, huh? Renya thought.

Attacking from now on, if my opponent isn’t composed to a certain degree, it will increase the success rate.

In reverse, if he loses his cool now, it will increase the probability of making a mistake, but for this it’s preferable if blood rushes to his head and his field of vision narrows down.

Renya removes the scabbard from his waist by strongly flipping the snap fastener of the sword belt.

Facing the demon with the right half of his body, he drops his waist slightly.

Holding the scabbard in his left hand, he places his right hand on the hilt. He twists his body to the left for the sake of getting ready.

“Since I will cut you down in order to not have any troubles in the near future… don’t move from there.” (Renya)

At the same time his words end, he kicks off the ground with his left foot.

In a state of being in a stance close to drawing the blade, the demon can’t even flee from the charging Renya. (T/N: If I say here Battousai stance, I guess some of you may realize how he charges, just imagine Ruruona Kenshin here. ^^)

With the previous attack and defence, the demon might have judged that it’s possible to evade Renya’s slash.

Renya agreed with this view as well.

Even an ordinary slash will end up being avoided with a leeway at the current speed.

If that’s the case, there is no other choice but to release an abnormal slashing attack.

Stepping onto the right foot, he pulls up the left foot.

Shortening the distance to the demon’s location by kicking the ground with the left foot without the original restraint, Renya pulled up the left foot without changing the speed and delivered a kick.

Of course, he isn’t yet at a distance where his foot would reach.

Unable to figure out the significance of the left foot, swinging in the air, the demon’s field of vision was obscured by the piece of paper, Renya had thrown on the ground after wiping the katana’s blade.

“Are you planning to obstruct my view?! How insolent!” (Demon)

The demon roars as he mows down the paper fluttering about with a single strike of his right hand.

Even if his visibility were to be stolen for a moment, with the previous level of attack of Renya, the demon shouldn’t even have any particular kind of difficulty to dodge it.

But, that is only if Renya is going to challenge the demon with an ordinary attack on the other side of the paper.

The demon looked on the other side of the removed piece of paper and saw the figure of Renya being in a state of having his back completely turned towards himself.

Not able to comprehend the meaning of that defenceless state, the demon’s reaction was once again late.

Renya, who had kicked the piece of paper with his left foot causing it to flutter upwards, rotates 180° by using the toes of his right foot as fulcrum, despite turning his back on the demon, before putting down his left foot.

At the same time of this being something unexpected for the demon, it has become the groundwork for the next attack.

Kicking the ground with his right foot this time, Renya shortened the distance to the demon without changing his turned back. Without even turning around, he stabbed the end of the held scabbard into the abdomen of the demon.

The demon is a living creature as well. If his abdomen is stabbed with force without even any kind of preparation, the demon’s breathing will stop.

Naturally, if his breathing is stopped, his movements will cease as well. This will become a gap in itself.

Reaffirming the reliable feeling of the scabbard grasped in his hand, Renya turns around alongside drawing the blade.

From the right shoulder of the demon, whose movements had stopped, to the opposite shoulder, he cut the body of the demon.

The time of the drawn blade slipping out of the scabbard and the time of turning around with a half rotation matched causing the released slash to be increased by two times the centrifugal force. Absorbed into the collar of the demon, the katana’s blade cut through the demon’s clothes, meat and bones all together and chopped off the head, the left arm and only one part of the upper half of his body onto the ground.

Without turning his eyes to the remaining body that collapses while spewing forth blood, Renya approaches the head, which is in a state of being attached to the trunk, and immediately severs the head.

After reliably ensuring the demon’s death by piercing his katana once through the middle forehead with its somehow puzzled facial expression, Renya perceives that the remaining body isn’t showing any signs of movement either. Going to that extent, Renya at last deeply exhaled the air accumulated in his lungs.