Capítulo 50: Chapter 50: Flees
On the other side, Nae decided to take action.
In just a short while, another participant had lost their life to the relentless Bouncing Demon.
One moment, they were desperately fighting against the demon, and the next, they exploded like fireworks, leaving only half their body swaying reluctantly before collapsing to the ground. Perhaps, even in their final moments, they still yearned to see the sun rise the next day.
The Bouncing Demon faced a participant's Nichirin Blade and performed two 360-degree spins to escape the combat zone, starting to search for new prey.
This time, its eyes fell on Emiko. Demons seemed to have a natural fascination with women's blood.
Emiko was completely unaware that she had become the next target. She continued to swing her Nichirin Blade desperately, her filthy clothes stained with blood everywhere. No one would associate her with the confident and pristine girl from the first day in the square.
Aside from Nae and Yuka, Emiko was the only remaining female in the team.
The Bouncing Demon leapt into the air.
At this moment, all the participants were consumed with killing any demon they encountered, attacking furiously without caring about the outcome, who would die next, or when they themselves might perish. Thus, no one paid special attention to the Bouncing Demon's movements.
Emiko swung her blade at the neck of a demon in front of her.
Sensing the danger, the demon screamed and instinctively tilted its head to the side. The blade slashed open the demon's chest, and cold blood splattered onto Emiko's face.
Cursing in anger, Emiko kicked the demon away and casually wiped the blood from her eyes with her sleeve. Her blurred vision cleared, and she turned to find her next target.
Suddenly, a dark shadow descended before her.
A strong stench mixed with an eerie aura emanated from the monster standing before her.
Emiko had never smelled such a nauseating odor and felt dizzy and sick to her stomach.
Strangely, though she had once feared this monster to death, now, with the Bouncing Demon standing right in front of her, she felt no fear at all. Perhaps this was what they called numbness.
Finally, it was her turn, she thought.
Large feet, stained with blood and dirt, with bits of cloth stuck between the toes, stepped on the ground. The calf muscles were firm and tight, their red hue reminiscent of roasted chicken legs.
It was surprising that Emiko could think of chicken legs at this moment, but she was indeed hungry.
Emiko slowly raised her head and met a pair of indifferent, emotionless eyes.
In those eyes, Emiko felt she was already a dead person.
Accepting this, she smiled serenely, ready to face her fate.
A pair of large, red hands, like roasted chicken legs, reached for her slender waist. Her first hug would not be given to her loved one but would be taken away by this ugly monster.
Just as Emiko was about to accept the Bouncing Demon's embrace, a shout interrupted this "beautiful" moment.
"Love Breathing, Second Form: Love Pangs!"
A dazzling white light flashed before Emiko's eyes. She instinctively closed her eyes and heard a "puff" followed by the sound of two objects hitting the ground.
When Emiko opened her eyes again, the Bouncing Demon had disappeared, leaving only two severed arms and a pool of blood. Standing before her was a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar person.
"It's you?" Emiko was surprised to see that her savior was the girl who had seemed unimpressive in the square—Mitsuri Nae.
"Are you alright?" Nae asked with concern.
"I'm fine," Emiko shook her head.
"That's good."
Nae pouted, stood on tiptoe, and craned her neck to look through the crowd at the Bouncing Demon standing outside the circle. She muttered to herself, "Hatsune wants me to kill it, but it won't just stand there and let me chop it down. This is going to be tricky."
Kill it? All by yourself?
Emiko thought the two of them must be out of their minds.
"Take care of yourself. I'm off. I have to kill it; otherwise, Hatsune will really ignore me," Nae said. Emiko watched in amazement as Nae squeezed through the crowd and walked straight towards the Bouncing Demon.
Madness! Pure madness!
Emiko was snapped back to reality by a nearby scream. She turned to see another participant falling into a pool of blood.
Yes, madness affected everyone, not just her.
With a final glance at Nae, who was getting further away, Emiko had already accepted her fate. Looking at the brutal scene before her, her numb heart felt nothing. To all the participants in this trial, death had long since lost its significance.
Emiko raised her blade and charged back into the chaotic fray. At this moment, humans seemed no different from demons.
Hatsune swung his Nichirin Blade wildly while moving forward. The ice gradually spread from the Three-Headed Demon's hands to its arms, freezing its blood and slowing its movements. Even its flexibility and reach were limited.
This was exactly what Hatsune wanted.
He intended to immobilize the Three-Headed Demon's arms, preventing it from shielding its neck as before.
Stopping just two meters away from the demon, Hatsune looked up at its face, twisted with rage, and climbed up the frozen arms.
Sensing Hatsune's intent, the Three-Headed Demon struggled and roared violently, trying to retract its arms to protect its neck, but the frozen limbs were unresponsive.
"Ice Breathing, Second Form: Snow Drift."
The two heads, facing opposite directions, opened their mouths and made strange noises, as if they were two people trying to separate from the frozen wound in the middle and escape.
The Three-Headed Demon's screams alerted everyone. When they saw the two heads soaring into the sky, everyone became excited, some even shouting with joy.
The Three-Headed Demon was a heavy burden on all the participants. If it could be slain, passing the Demon Slayer Corps' trial would become much smoother.
Even with two heads cut off, the Three-Headed Demon did not die. As expected, the face on its chest was its true weak point.
Finally feeling fear, the Three-Headed Demon roared and thrashed about. It wildly swung its frozen arms, the six frozen hands smashing around like ice blocks.
After a while, the Three-Headed Demon dragged its frozen limbs and jumped into the forest, fleeing into the depths of the woods amidst the sound of snapping branches.
Hatsune glanced back at Nae, who was fiercely battling the Bouncing Demon.
The Bouncing Demon's strength lay in its powerful leg muscles. Since Nae could withstand a direct hit without harm, no matter how it attacked, it couldn't pose a lethal threat to her.
Now, Hatsune's only worry was that Nae might hesitate at the last moment and let the Bouncing Demon escape.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder