The Bouncing Demon descended from the sky, crashing straight towards Hatsune.
Hatsune didn't even glance up, lightly tapping the ground with his toes to leap backward, effortlessly dodging the attack.
The Bouncing Demon missed its mark and leaped again, this time landing in the forest.
After several exchanges, Hatsune found the Bouncing Demon to be not particularly formidable. Its main ability was jumping high and landing silently. It could bring people into the sky and let them fall to their deaths, or use the force of its legs combined with the impact of landing to attack. As long as one could dodge its attacks before it landed, it posed no real threat.
For others, dodging its silent attacks might be challenging, but for Hatsune, any attack entering his "Cold Tide" domain would be immediately detected, allowing him to react accordingly.
The same strategy applied to the Spider Demon.
The six arms entwining the Three-Headed Demon slowly loosened, making it look like a giant octopus. The ice spikes frozen into its body were causing it great discomfort, leading to continuous roars of rage.
The Spider Demon darted out from beneath the Three-Headed Demon, glanced at Hatsune, and seemed to decide that even combined, the three demons couldn't win. It turned tail and scurried back into the forest.
Hatsune sensed the danger. If he couldn't keep the three demons within his sight, their subsequent actions could introduce many uncontrollable variables, like sneak attacks on the other contestants, which was the biggest concern.
"The two demons have retreated into the forest again. You three, stay alert."
Hatsune tried to block the Spider Demon but was hindered by the extended arms of the Three-Headed Demon, forcing him to warn the others instead.
The battle resumed its initial scene: Hatsune locked in combat with the Three-Headed Demon while the Spider Demon and Bouncing Demon hid in the forest, waiting for a chance to strike.
The six large hands crazily grasped at Hatsune, repeatedly missing, causing the massive creature to grow increasingly agitated. The six slender arms would whip around like whips, and when Hatsune got too close, they would quickly close in, trying to trap him.
Occasionally, the Bouncing Demon would spring out from an unknown direction in the forest, attempting to stomp on him. However, its single-minded attack strategy left nothing but depressions in the ground, failing to harm Hatsune at all.
The Spider Demon seemed to have learned its lesson, staying hidden in the forest and never showing itself again.
This creature's intelligence was evidently higher than the other two. Initially, it likely lured the Three-Headed Demon into chasing it, breaking up Kimura's alliance and turning everyone into prey.
With the other two demons no longer assisting, Hatsune decided to focus on the big meatball in front of him. The priority now was to decapitate the two heads on its neck and see if it could be killed.
Hatsune didn't hold out much hope, suspecting the face on its chest was the key, but he decided to sever the heads first as they were easier to reach.
Vigorously swinging his Nichirin Sword left and right, Hatsune hacked at the incoming hands, quickly closing in on the Three-Headed Demon. The closer he got, the more frenzied its attacks became.
A massive hand descended from above, aiming to crush him. If it hit, he'd be smashed to pieces.
Hatsune stepped back to avoid the hand, then leaped onto one of the demon's arms.
Using the ice that instantly formed where his feet touched the arm, he steadied himself, jumping and slashing with his blade while dodging the grasping hands from all directions, swiftly approaching the heads.
The Three-Headed Demon seemed to sense his intent. The two heads spun around, emitting garbled cries of fear, while the six arms interwove above, hands grasping more frantically.
Closer!
Seizing the moment, Hatsune used the demon's swinging arms to leap forward, gripping his blade with both hands and aiming for the head on the left.
Just as he was about to strike, two arms crossed in front of him like two grayish scarves wrapped around a neck.
Hatsune paused, realizing he had forgotten about the six flexible arms.
Glancing at the head on the right, he saw two more arms tightly entwined. This left him speechless, forcing him to abandon the slash and switch to a downward chop.
"Ice Breathing, Fourth Form: Snowfall."
With a flick of his wrist and a forceful swing, his blade emitted a chilling aura. White mist and ice fragments swirled around the blade, descending like a straight white line between the demon's heads.
Several large hands converged from all directions, trying to block the descending Nichirin Blade, but they underestimated its power.
The "Snowfall" technique, true to its name, fell like a waterfall from the sky, with a force capable of shaking the heavens and earth.
With immense force, the blade struck the intersecting palms, releasing a surge of cold air from the blade.
In the blink of an eye, the hands and arms were frozen and shattered into ice fragments upon impact with the blade, falling onto the demon's body.
The Three-Headed Demon let out a heart-wrenching scream, desperately trying to stop Hatsune's advance. However, its hands were continuously cut off, leaving only the frozen arms, which it couldn't control.
The Nichirin Sword cut between the demon's heads, embedding itself ten centimeters deep into its body, unable to go further.
Even so, it inflicted significant damage on the hulking creature. The cold air penetrated through the blade into its body, freezing the wound. White ice spread from the wound towards its heads.
The Three-Headed Demon thrashed in pain, trying to shake off Hatsune. Its ashen body was covered in white frost, and its agonized screams echoed throughout Fujikasane Mountain.
The screams, like thunder from the heavens, made everyone stop and turn to look at the nearby clearing, including the retreating demons.
Suddenly, the Three-Headed Demon charged into the crowd.
"Everyone, scatter!" Hatsune shouted, pulling out his Nichirin Sword and jumping off the demon's body.
Hearing his shout, and with Kimura and the others calling out, the contestants quickly withdrew from the fight, following Kimura's lead to move away from the demon.
The Three-Headed Demon staggered into the area where the crowd had gathered, frightening the remaining demons with its appearance.
One demon, unable to withstand the pressure, shrieked and tried to run towards the mountain top but was grabbed by the demon's hands and torn in half.
The other demons, seeing this, crouched on the ground, not daring to move.
With a roar, the Three-Headed Demon commanded all the demons to look at Hatsune and then rush towards him.
The Spider Demon and Bouncing Demon emerged from the forest but didn't attack Hatsune, instead charging towards the contestants.