Suddenly, Kanae felt her body bound, her limbs held down by someone from behind. A presence emerged, and a female demon appeared behind her. It was Moon Shadow, emerging from her invisibility ability.
'What?!' Kanae reacted, but she couldn't break free from the demon's grasp. 'I didn't sense her presence at all. Is her Blood Demon Art related to invisibility?'
Cyros, Ignis, Raiden, and Moon Shadow had all turned into demons. After becoming a demon, Cyros has taken the position of Upper Moon Three with ease, with his strength.
Following that, he turned the other three into demons as well. If Muzan hadn't been busy tracking down the Ubuyashiki family and Nezuko, their plan wouldn't be so smooth, after all, the Demon King was no fool.
But they had planned it all, knowing Muzan would be occupied after finding Nezuko's ability to walk in the sun.
As planned, they had just used a 'cleansing potion' to break free from Muzan's curse and control. By now, Muzan likely sensed their betrayal, but it no longer mattered. Once they deal with Ryou, he's their next target.
"Alright, tie her up. Ignis, use your Blood Demon Art and attach the Explosive Blood Seeds to her. Moon Shadow, go invisible again," Cyros instructed, his tone sharp and cold.
"Just after Kanae met Doma, the Kasugai crow had already sent the message. By now, Ryou should be on his way here if he really loves her.
Let's get ready to greet him."
Hearing their words, Kanae's widened. 'Who are these people? They don't seem like regular demons... and why are they targetting Ryou?"
Just as Cyros finished his words, a sharp crack resounded from above. With a violent crash, Ryou's figure burst through the ceiling, fragments of the castle's floor scattering as he landed.
The ground trembled, and the wooden floor shattered under Ryou's landing. His presence radiated an overwhelming aura that even Cyros, who had seen his share of power in other worlds, felt his body tense.
Ignis and Raiden, on the other hand, were left breathless, cold sweat dripping down their foreheads as they struggled under the suffocating weight of his aura.
Ryou's cold gaze fixed on Moon Shadow, who was still restraining Kanae.
In that instant, Moon Shadow's instincts screamed. Without hesitation, She activated her Blood Demon Art instinctively, her body vanishing as Ryou's Nichirin sword sliced through the air where her neck had been just moments before.
She reappeared next to Cyros, her heart pounding and her face pale with terror even as a demon. For a moment, she had felt the aura of death. If not for her Blood Demon Art: Shadow Teleportation, she would have been dead for sure.
"Moon Shadow..." Cyros called, his tone stern. Without Kanae in their grasp, their previous plan was no use. Now, they had no choice but to face Ryou head-on.
"I'm sorry. If I had been even a second later, my head would be rolling on the floor by now. He's terrifying… even scarier than Muzan. We don't stand a chance against him," Moon Shadow confessed, her voice trembling.
"How did he get here so quickly, bypassing Nakime's ability?" Cyros's eyes narrowed as he looked at Ryou. Even he couldn't deny Ryou was unlike any foe he had faced before.
"Are you alright, Kanae?" Ryou asked, his voice filled with concern as he glanced at her condition.
Kanae nodded weakly. "Yes... but they're not ordinary demons, and their target seems to be you."
"I know," Ryou said and scanned her body using Transparent World. He noticed Doma's Blood Demon Art still lingering within her. Some of her cells had been frozen, and although the damage wasn't life-threatening, it would affect her ability to perform Total Concentration Breathing at full strength.
"Your lungs have been affected by Doma's ice," Ryou said. "You'll need treatment. If you strain yourself too much, the damage might become permanent. Take rest and leave everything to me."
Kanae's eyes blazed with determination as she clenched her fists. "I can still fight!" She wants to stand beside Ryou and fight.
"No need." Ryou stood tall, his gaze shifting back to Cyros, Ignis, Raiden, and Moon Shadow. "They have come for me. It's my fight!"
The atmosphere grew tense, feeling Ryou's gaze they felt as if a mountain was pressing down on them. Even as demons, they were suppressed by his strong presence.
"I will give you guys one last chance. Leave. I am giving this opportunity because we come from the same place. Otherwise, I would have already killed you for touching my Kanae." Ryou warned, despite being angry. He gave them a final opportunity to withdraw.
Cyros laughed, but his eyes blazed with murderous intent. "What high-sounding words. Don't forget, you're our target because you betrayed humanity. You're the traitor.
If we don't do something, countless will die. Even if we have to sacrifice ourselves, we'll kill you here."
Ryou shook his head and said calmly. "I'm not what you say I am. That's all I can say."
Hearing the conversation, Kanae felt confused. 'Betraying humanity? Traitor?' She couldn't piece together their words. 'Ryou isn't anything like they say...' Nothing about their accusations made sense to her.
Silence ensued. Only for a moment before the four of them sprang into action, ignoring Ryou's final warning. Of course, they wouldn't. They hadn't come to this world to withdraw. Their sole purpose is to kill Ryou.
Cyros was the first to move, stretching out his hand as a metallic device appeared in his grip. With a thought, it emitted a red beam of light, forming a lightsaber that hummed in the air.
With explosive force to his feet, he leaped high, swinging the saber down toward Ryou in a downward strike.
'The Power of the Force!' Ryou recognized Cyros's ability with a glance, instantly parrying it with his Nichirin sword.
'ZZZ!' The clash of metal and energy released a slight shockwave through the air. The searing heat of Cyros' lightsaber began to burn against Ryou's Nichirin blade, showing signs of cutting through.
Before Ryou could push him away, countless tiny lights, like glowing fireflies, swarmed in from all directions. Explosive Fire Seeds! Ignis whispered as he rushed toward Ryou, activating his blood demon art.
Ryou quickly distanced himself away from Cyros and waved his sword with precise movements, slicing through the glowing fireflies. One of the fireflies that escaped his blade, detonated with a loud bang, releasing a wave of scorching flames.
The mini-explosion wasn't even strong enough to graze Ryou's clothes. The flames, however, didn't vanish after the explosion but they twisted and pursued him, controlled by Ignis' firebending ability.
"Firebending!" Ryou instantly recognized Ignis' ability from the way he moved and controlled the flames.
With a powerful swing of his sword, he unleashed gusts of wind blades, which sliced through the fire, splitting them into fragments.
As Ryou dealt with the flames, Raiden figure appeared before him, his entire body transformed into stone, cracks running across his impenetrable skin. His right fist crackled with violent arcs of lightning as he aimed a brutal punch at Ryou's chest.
Ryou dodged the blow with ease by shifting his body, and before Raiden could react, he kicked his stomach lightning fast. The force sent Raiden crashing into the wall with a thunderous impact, shaking the entire chamber.
At that moment, Ryou noticed that the woman named Moonshadow had vanished from his sight. Her presence had completely disappeared, even with his Nature Perception, he couldn't sense her. 'An ability to turn invisible...' he thought.
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