The heavy door slowly creaked open, revealing the desolate scene beyond.
Under the gloomy and dim sky, a narrow path wound its way between tombstones and withered trees, with a few undead seated along the sides. In the distance, the domes of some buildings could be seen, and a tower stood quietly at the end of the path. Black crows flew overhead, and the boy, Natsuki Subaru, looked up, watching the black feathers slowly fall.
Drawing his long sword, Natsuki Subaru raised his shield and cautiously moved forward.
Unlike before, when he had been trapped in a small area, endlessly wandering after each death, this was an unfamiliar land.
Although the terrain was different, the pervasive killing intent remained the same.
Undead rushed from unseen corners, thrusting their spears toward him.
So slow.
As he watched the spear come toward him, Natsuki Subaru had a thought.
An arrogant thought—he could catch the spear with his hand if he reached out.
But he didn't do it. In an unfamiliar environment, it wasn't wise to underestimate an enemy that sought his death.
The shield deflected the spear. The undead tried to continue attacking, but Natsuki Subaru swiftly lifted the shield, smashing it into the undead's face, crushing its skull and causing blood and brain matter to spray, splattering across Subaru's body.
Feeling the cold blood splatter on his face, Subaru froze.
It died?
I only wanted to knock it back.
Are the undead here that fragile?
Natsuki Subaru stared at his shield in confusion.
Flames had ignited on it.
He glanced at the long sword in his right hand,
Sparks flying.
I see.
It's not that the enemies have gotten weaker, but that I've become too strong.
This is the power of fire.
A certain emotion, joy, filled his heart.
And arrogance.
He smiled, looking at the undead who had been alerted by the noise.
He casually tossed the shield aside.
The long sword was raised.
Then,
Like a tiger among sheep,
The undead stood no chance,
In one stroke, he cleaved two undead, shields and all, splitting them in half. Subaru spun around, elbowing another undead's skull to pieces, then grabbed it with one hand and threw it, sending it flying into the distance, smashing into an undead archer who had been sneaking around, knocking it off the cliff.
A spear-wielding undead leaped from the stone wall above, slashing down at his head with a long knife. Subaru glanced at it and casually grabbed a fallen spear, pinning the undead to the wall.
Watching the undead struggle in its final moments, Subaru felt a strange sense of reflection.
Not long ago, facing such an assault, he would have had to carefully raise his shield, wait for an opening, and counterattack. Or, he would have had to awkwardly roll on the ground to avoid enemy strikes, looking for a gap to retaliate. He would have had to be at full attention, watching every movement of the surrounding enemies, acting with extreme caution to find a way to survive.
But that was only possible after countless deaths, when he had finally learned the attack patterns and positions of the undead.
But now, everything was different. Since the strange fire had ignited on him, his reflexes, strength, agility, and senses had all grown many times stronger. Even in unfamiliar places, facing more enemies than before, he no longer had any reservations.
His senses were now far sharper than before. Even the dark arrows shot from behind, he could easily sense them and dodge them.
His reaction speed had also greatly increased. No longer did he need to use his shield to block enemy attacks and then look for an opening. The attacks of the undead now seemed unbearably slow to him. Not only could he dodge them, but he could even disarm the enemy mid-strike with the skill known as "empty-handed blade catching."
As for his strength, what once made him dread the shield-wielding undead, their defenses were now as fragile as paper to him, easily shattered with a simple strike.
Unlike before, Natsuki Subaru couldn't even be said to be in a real fight anymore. He was just slaughtering the undead at will.
Yes, slaughter.
Though this experience of beating up the "newbies" didn't offer any true gain,
It felt good!
Laughing maniacally, Natsuki Subaru continued to cut his way down the narrow path, with the undead charging at him, unable to even slow him down. In an instant, they were all dead, their bodies dissolving into souls, merging with Subaru, becoming part of his power.
Ten steps, one kill.
Black blood dripped from the long sword.
Natsuki Subaru stopped.
Ahead, an old man, dressed in tattered clothes, sat cross-legged in the middle of the road, his eyes shut, a sheathed long knife lying across his knees.
An undead?
But it didn't quite look like it.
Looking at the old man's withered, yellowed skin, Subaru was confused.
He looked human.
But, since he was sitting among the undead, he must be an enemy too, right?
If he's an enemy, then he must be dealt with.
Just another undead,
Couldn't be stronger than Guda, right?
Resolute in his decision, Natsuki Subaru didn't hesitate. He took a step forward, raised his sword high, and slashed down with all his might, aiming for a fatal blow.
Strike first.
This was the fastest sword he could unleash now, the long sword tearing through the air with a sharp screech.
The sword wind was vicious.
This slash was meant to kill.
But it was dodged.
The sword missed, striking the ground and creating a crack in the stone tiles.
Natsuki Subaru's heart sank.
He hadn't seen the old man's evasion.
But in a life-or-death fight, there was no time for hesitation. Without a pause in his movements, Subaru immediately stepped forward, swiping his sword upward.
If his opponent had let down his guard after dodging the previous attack, this near-instantaneous follow-up would have cleaved his skull.
But clearly, the old man had not let down his guard.
The attack missed again.
This time, Natsuki Subaru saw it clearly—the old man had simply lowered his body, dodging the attack, with no extraneous movement.
No, that wasn't just a dodge.
Looking at the old man's strange posture, Subaru's pupils widened in shock.
He lowered his sword and sheathed it, right hand on the hilt.
Then,
The sword glinted.
The world around Subaru began to spin.
No,
It was his perspective that was spinning.
His decapitated body flashed briefly in his peripheral vision.
It couldn't be wrong. Even though he wasn't an expert in swordsmanship, Subaru had heard of it before.
That was an art,
The art of killing.
With a "thud," Natsuki Subaru's head fell to the ground.
His consciousness quickly faded.
Only the miraculous glint of the sword remained.
That was—
—Iaijutsu.