Chiya had to eliminate a total of six clones of the Worm Devil before finally clearing the first level.
"Just the first level had six devils. This Worm Devil is really troublesome. Thankfully, the vice-captain is here!"
"Yeah, if it were me, I wouldn't dare to engage in close combat so easily. I'd probably have to rely on demonic power to fight."
"If we use devil power against every single one of these demons, our bodies will give out before we clear them all. I definitely don't want my skin to be eaten clean by the Fox Devil."
"..."
Looking at the scattered remains of the Worm Devils—blood, intestines, and all—the five Devil Hunters accompanying Chiya couldn't help but sigh in relief.
While they found dealing with the devil to be quite a headache, Chiya was feeling exhilarated.
Because he had just farmed attribute points to his heart's content. Each Worm Devil clone provided 5 attribute points, and hunting them was incredibly easy for him. In just a short while, he had already accumulated 30 attribute points.
Unlike the others, he was actually hoping the second and third floors would have even more clones for him to farm.
"We'll deal with these corpses later. First, we must find the Worm Devil's true body and eliminate it."
With that, Chiya gripped his katana and ascended to the second level.
The others followed closely behind.
As soon as they reached the corner of the second floor, a massive worm-like head suddenly emerged, its gaping maw wide enough to swallow Chiya whole.
This head was at least two or three times the size of the clones' heads. This must be the Worm Devil's true body!
It had likely been alerted by the commotion downstairs and had preemptively set up an ambush at the corner of the second floor, waiting for them to ascend.
However, Chiya was not someone this kind of demon could easily harm. Even after greatly enhancing his strength with the Gun Devil's flesh fragment, he remained wary.
With extreme speed, he sidestepped and counterattacked with a precise slash to the Worm Devil's neck.
But to his surprise, the attack did not sever its head. It only managed to cut about one-fourth of the way through.
Even though the neck was its biggest weak point, the Worm Devil's head was covered in a thick and sturdy exoskeleton. Directly attacking the head was futile, and it was uncertain whether the true weak point was even its brain.
This was the most resilient demon he had encountered so far. Even though his strength was three times that of an ordinary person, a standard katana simply wasn't sharp enough to break through its defense.
"Aaargh! That hurts!!"
The Worm Devil shrieked in agony, but its wound began to heal almost instantly. It then laughed arrogantly, "It's useless! Hahaha! You can't kill me! The ones who will die are you!"
"Attack!"
At that moment, the five hunters behind Chiya sprang into action.
Three of them immediately activated their demonic powers, summoning massive fox claws that slashed at the Worm Devil.
Three flashes of bloody light swept across the Worm Devil's body, slicing it into several large chunks. Its massive head rolled onto the ground.
Another hunter, a young man with a buzz cut, enlarged both his arm and the axe he was holding, then ruthlessly hacked at the demon's head.
The last person, Ishii Rinka—the same girl whom Chiya had previously defeated to the point of tears—was focused on healing the wounds caused by the contract's toll.
"Damn… The Fox Devil still bites too hard. My left forearm's skin got completely eaten off."
"Is this thing dead? It doesn't seem to be moving anymore."
"I have a bad feeling about this…"
Thinking they had a moment to breathe, the hunters chatted while Ishii Rinka continued treating their injuries.
However, Chiya's eyes remained fixed sharply on the Worm Devil's head.
Despite being chopped into pieces, its head was nearly undamaged. The slight dents on the exoskeleton were merely from the enlarged axe, but they had caused no substantial harm.
It was now lying motionless—likely playing dead, waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
Even its clones could not be killed without destroying the brain, let alone the true body that possessed the Gun Demon's flesh fragment. It was bound to be even harder to kill.
At that moment, Chiya spread his right hand and silently chanted:
Blade of Wrath! - Unleashed!
A mini blood imprint in his palm glowed brightly.
A crimson throne materialized beneath his feet, with a golden-red double-edged greatsword standing upright atop it. He stood upon the throne, placing his right hand on the sword's hilt.
A strange energy spread through the area, not only affecting Chiya as the contractor but also subtly influencing those around him.
"What's happening?!"
The hunters suddenly felt their emotions becoming irritable and aggressive. Though they could suppress it, they were baffled as to why they felt this way.
Turning their heads, they were shocked to see the vice-captain standing atop a throne, holding a golden-red sword emanating a terrifying, eerie aura.
"Vice-captain… are you okay?"
Chiya shook his head slightly before swiftly drawing the Furious Sword.
The blood-red throne vanished, merging into the sword and extending its length by another meter. Crimson mystical runes flickered along the blade.
Sensing the immense danger, the Worm Demon instantly abandoned its act. A brand-new body rapidly grew from its severed neck.
Though it did not recognize the Wrath Devil, it could tell that this devil aura was overwhelmingly powerful. It dared not let its guard down!
Chiya gripped the Blade of Wrath with both hands and slashed upward.
A crimson crescent-shaped sword wave burst forth from the blade, at least four to five meters in diameter. The shockwave split the floor and ceiling, yet its speed remained undiminished!
With an unstoppable force, the sword wave sliced through the Worm Devil's newly formed body, cutting it cleanly in half.
Even its toughest exoskeleton could not withstand the attack—the impact shattered it instantly!
Naturally, its brain was destroyed as well. The entire body, including the head, was cleaved apart in a single instant!
[Ding! Host has successfully slain the "Worm Devil True Body." Attribute Points Gained: 30!]
The Worm Devil was slain in a single strike.
However, just this one attack had taken a massive toll on Chiya.
If not for his Mangekyō Sharingan absorbing all the violent emotions, this strike alone would have driven him into a berserk rage.
Instead, the attack had severely drained his ocular power and life force, comparable to using Kamui directly.
Although using Kamui for offense might have been more effective—since almost no physical defense could withstand it—he needed to test the Wrath Devil's power at least once to understand its full cost. In the end, as long as the demon was slain, that was all that mattered.
The five hunters stood dumbfounded once again.
They had expected the Worm Devil to regenerate its body, but they never expected the vice-captain to obliterate it with a single strike!