Roa raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip on the hilt.
If nothing else, this thing gave him a slight sense of threat.
This was the first time Roa had felt such danger in this world.
As he approached, he saw a demon with a lump on its forehead, two horns on its head, and no markings like the other Upper Moons. It looked like a timid old man, always seeming afraid of something and muttering to itself.
Roa's eyebrow twitched. He had hit the jackpot.
He had actually run into an Upper Moon, and it was the most troublesome one—Upper Moon Four.
Upper Moon Four, Hantengu.
At this moment, Roa could finally hear what the demon was saying.
"Don't kill me, don't bully me, please."
The demon clutched its head in pain, its swollen eyes staring straight at Roa.
"Don't kill me, don't bully me, please," it repeated, trembling as it knelt before Roa.
Roa hesitated, wondering if he should retreat.
If this thing could pose a threat to him, then it was definitely a troublesome opponent.
Demons were like that.
If he couldn't kill it in one strike, he'd be facing Upper Moon Four at full strength.
Moreover, its Blood Demon Art was extremely unique.
Even if its head was cut off, it could split into new entities.
And each split entity had its own specialty, making it a combination of melee, ranged, and defensive abilities.
In its normal state, Hantengu could split into four powerful demons after being decapitated: Sekido, Karaku, Urogi, and Aizetsu. Each of these demons was an independent entity with different abilities and thoughts, and their tongues bore different markings. These four demons were not afraid of decapitation and would not die even if their heads were cut off.
Although each one wasn't particularly difficult to deal with individually, the problem was that Roa didn't have a good way to effectively counter them.
Although Roa had mastered Thunder Breathing, he didn't yet have a Nichirin Sword.
Moreover, this demon wasn't afraid of having its head cut off by a Nichirin Sword.
Without a Nichirin Sword, he couldn't deal effective damage.
Unfortunately, while Roa wanted to retreat, the demon had no intention of letting him go.
The small figure that had been groaning on the ground suddenly disappeared.
In an instant, Roa dodged to the side.
A demon with the character for "Anger" on its face, resembling a monk, attacked Roa.
Its attack was to release lightning from its staff, and the power of the lightning was astonishing, instantly reducing the small house to rubble.
The demon with the "Anger" character shouted angrily, "Brat, what are you doing? Are you bullying him? Bullying this poor weakling?"
Roa raised an eyebrow, looking at the demon with disgust. "You just ate someone, didn't you?"
The monk-like demon paused for a moment, then slammed its staff into the ground, releasing another burst of lightning toward Roa.
The lightning wasn't particularly fast, but if it hit, it would be troublesome.
Roa dodged to the right again, feeling increasingly annoyed.
The demon, however, seemed completely unguarded, staring straight at Roa. At this distance, Roa could easily cut off its head.
But even if he did, what then?
The demon could split into two, each with different attributes and Blood Demon Arts.
Roa gripped the hilt of his sword again.
Taking a deep breath, he felt the power flowing through his body.
Even without a Nichirin Sword, it wasn't impossible to deal damage to demons.
It was just very troublesome.
Why was Upper Moon Four here?
At that moment, the demon's cold voice rang out.
"Even if I ate someone, what does it have to do with you?"
"Are you that person's friend? Their relative? Or do you share some blood relation?"
The angry demon roared furiously.
Roa didn't respond. He had made up his mind—he would kill this demon here.
Troublesome or not, if he let this demon walk all over him without fighting back, he wouldn't be Roa.
His sword turned into lightning.
The air crackled with the sound of electricity.
Thunder Breathing, First Form.
Roa's figure disappeared from his original position. In an instant, his slash was already at the demon's neck.
With a fierce swing, the demon's head flew off, cleanly severed by the Sword.
But the demon, which had been wearing an angry expression, suddenly gave Roa a strange smile.
Before it could finish smiling, Roa's lightning-infused sword struck again.
Roa's sword became a blur.
The Sword came down again, Thunder Breathing circulating through his body, his strength surging, his blood boiling. The sword turned into lightning once more, slashing toward the demon's head.
Roa's idea was simple: before the demon cou regenerate, he would cut it into pieces and see if it could still split.
But as it turned out, Roa's idea was good, but too naive.
If Blood Demon Arts could be so easily countered, it wouldn't be Upper Moon Four.
This time, the demon split into even more entities.
The head, split in two, gave Roa a sinister smile.
One half turned into a demon with the character for "Joy" on its tongue, wielding a fan that could release strong winds.
The other half became a demon with the character for "Pleasure" on its tongue, with wings and claws like an eagle's.
The regeneration abilities of these three demons were extremely exaggerated, almost instantly restoring them to full form.
The three demons surrounded Roa.
Their names were Sekido, Karaku, Urogi, and the fourth one, Aizetsu, had yet to appear.
The demon named Urogi bared its teeth at Roa. "Brat, you're unlucky."
The demon named Sekido shouted angrily at the other two, "Hurry up and attack. This guy is fast."
The demon named Karaku laughed. "No rush, let's have some fun. It's not often we get to come out."
Roa raised an eyebrow, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword. He said slowly, "You think you've got me cornered?"
Roa's eyes had now turned a fiery gold. He was about to get serious.
Urogi and Karaku exchanged a glance, both revealing a sinister smile.
"Isn't the answer obvious? Human, I can smell the sweetness on you. You're not leaving here alive," Urogi sneered.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sekido slammed his staff into the ground, summoning a bolt of lightning that shot toward Roa.
But in the next moment, a flash of lightning struck first. The Sword, infused with thunder, slashed through the air.
The head of the demon named Sekido was severed once again, rolling to the ground. His body began to transform visibly, splitting into another entity.
This was the fourth demon—Aizetsu.
Aizetsu, with the character for "Sorrow" on his tongue, held a long, slender spear in his hands. He stood still, clasping his hands together in a mockingly mournful gesture. "How pitiful, human," he sighed.
Meanwhile, Sekido's headless body grew a new head.
Now, all four demons were present.
Roa remained calm. After severing Sekido's head, he gripped the hilt of his sword again, took a deep breath, and disappeared in an instant.
Draw Sword Style: Thunder.
The ferocious sword energy condensed to its peak. Another flash of lightning streaked across the battlefield. The immense power surged through Roa's entire body, not just from Thunder Breathing but also from the dragon blood in his veins.
Even though he hadn't fully awakened and his strength hadn't fully recovered, Roa's power had reached a terrifying level.
The veins on Roa's right arm bulged as his sword transformed into a bolt of lightning. In an instant, Aizetsu reacted, flipping his spear to block the incoming strike. The clash of metal rang out as the sword met the spear. Aizetsu's face showed a hint of pity, as if he wanted to say something.
But then he realized his vision was tilting upward.
Another head hit the ground.
He was shocked. Looking back at his headless body, he saw that his spear had been cleanly severed.
How could this human's speed and strength be so overwhelming that he could cut through both his head and his spear in one strike?
The spear was made from Aizetsu's own bone, making it nearly indestructible. Yet, it had been effortlessly sliced apart.
Everything happened too quickly, almost in the blink of an eye.
Sekido was killed, splitting into Aizetsu. And almost as soon as Aizetsu appeared, he too was beheaded.
This level of power could only be described as terrifying.
But even so, unless Roa could simultaneously decapitate all four demons and destroy their heads, they would remain immortal.
For any Hashira, this would be an unsolvable problem. Even the Stone Hashira wouldn't be able to completely kill Upper Moon Four.
Roa hadn't expected to encounter Upper Moon Four so soon, especially since he had only been in this world for a few days and his strength hadn't fully recovered.
Without effective means of attack and with his strength severely limited, dealing with this demon was too troublesome.
Honestly, Roa wanted to run.
This was no longer something he could handle. If he had a Hashira like the Flame Hashira or someone else by his side, he might have tried to decapitate all four demons at once. But now, he was alone.
If he couldn't fight, he had to run.