Ikaku had two reasons for scattering a mist of holy water across the ground.

The first was to create an opening to reload Alek’s Shotgun and take a precision shot.

The distance to the Horse-Headed Demon’s face was a mere six meters. More than just baiting an attack, six meters was a distance born of grim resolve—the minimum needed to guarantee a hit.

If anything’s going to work, it’ll be a direct shot to the head.

A slug round flew forth, streaking past the descending khakkhara.

The solid mass of mercury found its mark, dead center in the Demon’s brow. Its grotesque head snapped back, the momentum pulling its torso along with it.

As a result, the burning staff swinging down at Ikaku lost some of its force.

Ikaku was on a time limit. He had to rescue Issei Akai as fast as possible.

His stamina was also an issue. His body was a wreck of injuries and accumulated fatigue; he couldn’t keep up with the Horse-Headed Demon’s physical prowess.

For every bit of understanding he gained as time passed, the list of things he could no longer do grew longer.

That was why he needed a calculated exchange of damage. To shoot, knowing full well he’d be hit in return.

“Rrk!”

The burning khakkhara crashed down on Ikaku’s shoulder. The Demon swung it around effortlessly, but it was, in fact, a metal rod weighing nearly 330 pounds.

When slammed down with murderous intent by a Demon, a weapon that had only lost some of its momentum was still more than enough to pulverize the body of a mere mortal.

Fortunately, Ikaku was tougher than the average. He got away with just fractures in the bones around his shoulder.

He dropped to one knee, dousing the flames that had spread from the staff to his clothes with water.

“Vah…ahhh…”

The giant fell backward. It took a moment before stirring and slowly getting back up. A slug round was buried deep in its brow, stopped by its thick skull.

Ikaku frowned, his brow furrowed.

His first hope had been dashed.

So even the head isn’t enough.

“For a second… just a second… that sent a chill down my spine, you conniving little Exorcist.”

The burning khakkhara whipped back up and swung at Ikaku from the side.

He timed it perfectly, launching into an aerial cartwheel. He rolled over the staff with his back, landing on his feet and immediately charging the Demon.

The Demon smelled victory.

Slow, too slow. He’s only getting slower. He must be thoroughly exhausted.

The khakkhara, swung sideways with inhuman strength, whipped back toward Ikaku, poised to cleave him in two.

But just before it struck, the Demon’s vision lurched. A heavy blade had sunk deep into the side of its neck.

The Axe of Price, hacking to widen the wound, had launched a fearless assault on the terrifying Demon.

Sliiice~! Slicey Dicey~!

“Vugyaaaah?! Still?!”

Impossible. From where? When did he throw it?

A storm of questions flooded the Demon’s mind.

More pressing than finding an answer, however, was knocking away the axe trying to inflict a mortal wound.

This was the second reason Ikaku had hidden himself in the holy water. His backup plan should the first strike fail.

After disappearing from the Demon’s sight, Ikaku had used the cavern’s wide-open space to hurl the axe in a large, circling trajectory.

The clever Axe of Price had taken its sweet time, executing a grand orbit around the central island and, at the perfect moment, sinking its teeth into the Horse-Headed Demon’s neck from outside its field of awareness.

“Guaaaargh! You damned… axeeeeee!”

The Demon’s returning swing sailed over Ikaku’s head, striking empty air. It let go of the khakkhara and fell back onto its rear, clutching its neck.

Forget Ikaku Akamuro for now! He can’t hurt me anyway! That magic gun is no threat, either!This axe, and this axe alone, is the only thing that poses a threat to my life! The mana cloaking this thing is off the charts…! Having my head severed would be disastrous!

The hit on a completely unguarded area gave the Axe of Price time to dig in, and so the heavy blade was embedded deep. What would happen now? If it tried to wrench the axe out, it risked widening the wound.

The axe, designed for a human-sized creature to wield with one hand, was far too small for the twenty-foot-tall monstrosity the Horse-Headed Demon had become. It had to be plucked out carefully, pinched between its fingertips, and pulled straight back along the angle of entry.

The Horse-Headed Demon extracted the Axe of Price, which was nearing its cervical vertebrae, with the utmost care.

Its furious gaze fell on the cursed axe that had wounded it twice, and it suddenly noticed the shadow of a young girl inside the weapon.

The girl was smiling sweetly.

Were you that scared of me?

“!”

Thanks for the fear… but that was a mistake. You should have been more afraid of Ikaku.

Ikaku had, for a moment, completely vanished from the Demon’s awareness. He was mid-windup, about to stomp down with full force.

The impact shook the ground.

His foot drove ankle-deep into the earth below. A Seismic Stomp crashed through the surface of the water.

The full momentum of his body—every ounce of strength and muscle—was focused into the sole of his foot, drawing the earth’s recoil in return.

The immense reactive force damaged Ikaku’s own body.

Executing Force Release required an extremely high level of physical control. The technique only displayed its true power when the body was in perfect balance, channeled through the beautiful, interconnected chain of alignment.

His alignment was already a complete mess from the accumulated damage. A strike thrown in this state couldn’t possibly carry its full power.

Throughout this night, with every blow Ikaku delivered, he had weakened himself, broken his own body, and diminished the power of his strikes.

This next one’ll probably have an alignment below thirty percent. Chaotic Rhythm.It’s a damn disgrace, considering the Dragon’s Roar I should be perfectly capable of… but what can I do? Gotta fight with what I’ve got.

The Demon couldn’t begin to comprehend what was coming. It had no way of knowing that Ikaku was about to unleash his strongest blow.

It knew nothing of the fist that had sent countless Demons to their graves.

But it could feel it. Its skin… its very instincts sensed the danger in the air.

Due to its long arms, the Horse-Headed Demon struggled to retaliate against enemies who got too deep inside its guard.

So it bit down—hard. Sank its teeth into the shoulder of the man who’d left himself wide open to strike.

“Gnyargh!”

Profane fangs sank into traps that looked like they were carrying a refrigerator and pecs as bulked-up as watermelons. The crystallized results of relentless training were now being brutally torn apart.

Hahahaha! Trying to pull something, were you? Too slow! Too slow, too slow! You’re putting me to sleep! You’ve been too slow this entire time!

A torrent of blood erupted. The axe screamed.

The Demon clamped down its jaw, trying to tear Ikaku to pieces.

The water’s surface was stained crimson—but he would not be stopped.

With his left arm, Ikaku grabbed the nape of the Demon biting him, pulling it close and holding it fast. He wouldn’t let it escape.

And then, he took one more step forward. Another massive motion.

His foot slammed down between the legs of the seated Demon, piercing the ground as if a spear had fallen from the heavens.

He preferred the proximity.

Saved me the trouble. Now I won’t miss.

It was a divine feat: accumulating the reactive force from two Seismic Stomps, circulating it via Flowing Power, and releasing it all in a single Force Release.

It was the secret technique of the Ikaku Style, born from an unending pursuit of the power to kill Demons.

The technique required two massive stomps, leaving him wide open—even more so than the already vulnerable Cannon Strike. It demanded an even more precise opening to execute.

The Horse-Headed Demon was distracted by the Axe of Price. That gave him time for the first step.

The Demon bit down to counterattack. That gave him time for the second. Ikaku had used his own body as bait.

Everything was going according to his plan.

A Category 5 Demon. A Chaotic Rhythm Cannon Strike won’t be enough to break through. That’s why I’ll use two steps.I never thought for a second I could easily defeat a monster like you with a mortal body. I’ll gladly give you a piece of myself.

“Hffff—HAAAH!”

Ikaku Style Eightfold Soulfist Secret Technique: Twin Seismic Cannon Strike.

The fist found its centerline. It seized the three-dimensional space of the Horse-Headed Demon’s solar plexus.

The momentum driven by the explosion of Force permeated its hard, Level 5 Mana Armor, ignoring its defenses entirely.

The force rippled out from the point of impact, writhing like insects pouring from a hollow, and utterly annihilated its internal organs.

“Gah…ah…ahhh?!”

The force of the impact was far beyond anything it could have imagined. A manner of being broken it had never once experienced in its life.

It desperately tried to move its spasming limbs.

It was no use. It had possessed such a strong body, such absolute freedom just moments ago, and now there was nothing.

It could do nothing.

Its bloodshot, melting eyes met the axe stuck in the water. The girl reflected in the blade was laughing.

The Demon’s wavering pupils turned to the one who still stood. The Exorcist, holding his finishing pose with crackling focus.

Stained by what must be a fatal amount of blood loss, he took a deep, steadying breath and slowly straightened his posture.

Even to one who had fallen to become a Demon, his form held a brilliance that made it narrow its eyes.

One could sense it, even without any knowledge of martial arts. The dense, painstaking training. The overwhelming amount of time spent.

It was a divine art, pushed to the very brink of what the human body could achieve.

“By a mortal…with no mana…gahhh…”

And there, the Demon understood. This was how they had all died.

The refusal to even consider defeat. The quiet condescension buried somewhere within the heart.

The Demon only recognized the truth at the brink of death.

The greatest threat to me wasn’t some magical tool. It was Ikaku Akamuro… he himself possessed the most fearsome destructive power…How could he wield such strength without a shred of mana? What kind of human is he…? A mere man, yet what a man he is.Being defeated by such an adversary is… perhaps a fitting end…

The Horse-Headed Demon fell still.

The leader of the Hidden Flame was dead. Vengeance had been served.

The long night was finally beginning to break.

Ikaku Akamuro had done it.

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