Barbas was used to being the strongest. In his mind, only one being could be considered stronger than him: his King... his God.
It was true that Earth's structure and the scarce mana in the air had affected his abilities, but in Barbas' head, no one on this filthy planet should have been able to block that strike.
And yet, here he was, a small human standing still before him, alive despite his hammer blow.
Is that all you've got?
A vein almost popped on the monster's forehead at those words. His face twisted in a mix of rage and indignation. The muscles in his neck tensed, his shoulders pulled together, channeling power into his arms. Every muscle in his back became visible, and the veins along his arms seemed ready to explode from the unleashed force.
With terrifying speed, Barbas' hammer descended, aiming to crush Noah into the ground. The very air screamed from the force behind it.
Noah's eyes followed the movement, but his body, despite its power, couldn't react fast enough.
As the hammer descended, Noah raised his arm to block it. Mana surged through his body, reinforcing his muscles, but the sheer force of the blow still sent him skidding backward, his feet digging into the ground to anchor himself.
Thud!
The impact shook his entire body, but Noah stood firm, his black eyes gleaming with determination.
Barbas roared in frustration and charged forward again. Noah's mind raced. He couldn't let this drag out; even he could feel the overwhelming pressure Barbas was giving off.
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath Noah as he barely dodged, the hammer creating a massive crater where he had stood moments before. Barbas' speed had increased tenfold, and Noah could feel the oppressive mana radiating from the demon.
Barbas roared, his voice echoing through the broken remains of the Library, "I will make you regret standing against me, human!"
Noah barely had time to think before Barbas lunged again, this time moving with even more force. His strikes were relentless—each swing of his hammer seemed to tear apart the very space around them. Noah dodged left, then right, his senses screaming at him to keep moving, to stay ahead of the demon's terrifying blows.
But Barbas wasn't just brute strength anymore. He was a beast unleashed, a predator in his element.
SWOOSH!
Another swing of the hammer came hurtling toward Noah, faster than the one before. He sidestepped just in time, feeling the wind of the blow graze his face. Without hesitation, he countered, driving his mana-charged fist into the demon's side.
Crack!
Barbas grunted in pain, but his movements barely slowed. Instead, he grinned, a sick, twisted smile that sent shivers down John's spine from where he watched in the distance.
"You're going to have to hit harder than that if you want to stop me!"
Barbas growled, his voice dripping with malevolence. He spun around, using the momentum to launch his next strike.
Boom!
The blow that had been stopped by a mere gnat resumed its path, sending the human flying like a baseball hit by a bat.
The sound of impact reverberated through the ruined plaza as Barbas' hammer connected, sending Noah hurtling backward.
His body flew through the air with terrifying force, slamming into the ground with a resounding crash. Dust and debris exploded outward as he tumbled across the ground like a ragdoll thrown carelessly by a violent hand.
Much better.
"Noah!!" John shouted, seeing the boy lying still on the ground.
Noah hit the wall on the far side , stone cracking beneath him as he slid down, leaving a deep indentation in the crumbling structure.
His vision blurred for a moment, the world spinning as he struggled to catch his breath.
The air had been knocked from his lungs, and for a brief second, he couldn't move—his muscles screaming in pain as he tried to push himself up. His ribs throbbed, and he could feel the warm trickle of blood from a gash on his temple.
Noah gritted his teeth, forcing his body to move. His fingers dug into the cracked ground, pulling himself up as blood dripped from his wounds.
"Calm down. Nothing happened."
Noah replied, slowly getting back to his feet.
His gaze locked onto Barbas, like a lion eyeing its prey.
Tack
Tack
Tack
Barbas felt no surge of power or momentum; Noah was simply walking casually toward him. Yet, his figure radiated an unsettling aura of fear.
Tack
Tack
Thud
Noah stopped a few steps from the demon, staring him directly in the eyes.
"Now it's my turn, okay?"
Something was different. In his entire life, no one—except his master—had ever dared to address him without stuttering or lowering their gaze. And now, someone other than his God was staring him down. Not only that, but those eyes revealed a deep calm and apathy. Those abyss-black eyes instilled a powerful sense of alienation in Barbas.
Noah released all his mana outward, then condensed it into his clenched fist.
"Stand still."
The boy commanded coldly.
"...Yes."
Barbas couldn't fully grasp the situation, nor did he know what to do.
The aura of a king... no, of someone sent to kill a king.
At that moment, Noah emitted such an aura. That alone, something Barbas had never felt before, paralyzed the demon on the spot.
Noah planted his foot firmly on the ground, his chest swelled, and his fist came crashing down on his enemy.
BOOM!!
In a fraction of a second, Barbas felt everything happening to his body: the sensation of knuckles crushing his ribs, his torso bending under the pressure of the blow, his hooves leaving the ground, and the feeling of being launched away.
John's eyes followed the beast's body as it flew, the arc only interrupted when it smashed into the wall of the Library, a hundred meters away.
"Now we're even."
Noah said, stretching out his hand.
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"Wow..."
The only sound that escaped John's lips was a simple exclamation, almost stuck in his throat.
How strong is Noah, really?!
During the assault on the school, John had seen his classmate fight, but this was the first time he realized the true extent of the boy's abilities. Speed beyond the realm of what could still be considered human, and power to match. If before, in John's mind, Noah had seemed like a human standing atop a massive mountain, now he understood that Noah was more like the sky itself, indifferent to everything beneath him.
"Stay alert. It's not over yet."
Noah said, without even glancing at him.
John's gaze, which had been fixed on the boy until that moment, shifted in the direction of the impact.
Among the rubble, something was still moving.
______________
How is this possible?!
Barbas stood still for a moment, incredulous at what had just happened. The sensation of the human's punch was still vivid in his mind, and the pain on his body was palpable.
I guess I have no choice but to use my true form...
The true form of a demon.
A power that only those beings possessed but came at a great cost. Through this transformation, demons could use their full strength on Earth, but at the expense of their own life force.
The concept of immortality that humans associated with angels and demons was fundamentally flawed: it wasn't that these beings lived longer, but that time flowed more slowly for them.
To mitigate this, these entities limited the use of their powers, prolonging their existence.
No one escapes death... not even God.
The monster's back pulled away from the almost entirely crumbled wall. Cement dust covered the beast's shoulders, and fine particles began to settle.
"John... get ready to give me a hand."
Noah said, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
The demon rose, placing a hand on the wall to propel himself forward.
All over his body, bluish bubbles began to form within his veins, moving from one point to another and slowly disappearing beneath his skin.
A purulent bulge formed on his forehead, soon giving way to a third horn, longer than the other two. His muscles and bones tightened, growing in volume and density.
Despite his massive size, the monster moved with incredible speed.
Swoosh
In the next moment, Barbas' hammer, which had risen into the air the same instant his hooves kicked the ground, came crashing down on Noah, intending to crush him.
A malicious smile formed on the demon's face.
Noah's eyes followed the movement of the beast and its weapon, but his body couldn't respond fast enough.
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Emphasis.
Every movement in this world had a specific emphasis. Dozens of focal points came into being even before a movement was made. Just as one can discern when a soccer player is about to kick a ball before their leg even lifts, it was possible to grasp the characteristics of an action before it occurred.
Over his lifetime, Noah had come to understand this principle, and he had learned that altering even a single focal point would destroy the movement.
There was neither reason nor time to dodge. For Noah, who had lived through thousands if not tens of thousands of battles, identifying Barbas' points of emphasis was easier than breathing.
Tuk
Just a hair faster than his opponent. Noah's foot, stretched forward, moved with perfect timing, grazing the beast's thigh muscle with the force of a child's punch.
However, the result was dramatically different.
"...Urgh!"
Barbas' body, thrown off balance, bent to the side.
Without Noah making any further movement, the monster's hammer passed by him.
Barbas felt his knee hit the ground, leaving him bewildered.
"What the—?!"
"Now, John!"
At his companion's signal, John focused all his mana into a single point at his fingertip.
"Magic Missile!!"
A tiny, glowing sphere took form, then shot toward the monster.
Reacting to the sudden attack, Barbas prepared to defend himself.
Almost instantly, a black sphere, formed from the demon's condensed energy, appeared in front of the being's central horn.
The two magics collided for an instant.
Noah's eyes, missing nothing, caught every frame of what happened next: the beam of light piercing through the sphere, the shot drilling through the monster's skull, burning the skin and melting everything in its path, and finally, the explosion that blew apart the back of Barbas' head.
Splat!
For a moment, everything remained still, without a sound, until the familiar signal rang in the ears of the two humans.
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CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE THE FIRST TWO HUMANS TO SLAY A SUPERIOR ENTITY!
YOU HAVE EARNED THE TITLE "DEMON SLAYER!"
EXPERIENCE POINTS AND COINS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO YOUR ROLE IN THE BATTLE!