Seeing his target finally appear, Azrael immediately perked up. This was what he had come for.
Yoriichi moved to protect Azrael, blade drawn and ready. Honestly, at the Black Iron level, Yoriichi wasn't ideal protection against Bronze-level threats. However, with Zoro forced to remain hidden, this was the best option available.
The battlefield quickly organized itself. Kaneki engaged the Black Iron-level demon minions, and Luffy faced the father-son duo of Kai-Shin and Kai-Myun directly.
When Kaneki's centipede kagune lashed out in its first attack, the Kai family members drew their swords defensively in response to his terrifying appearance. If you ignored the context and just looked at the visual, the scene seemed to depict an evil demon invading the home of righteous knights.
Unfortunately for the demons, the reality was the opposite. From Azrael's perspective as a human, at least, the situation was entirely reversed. Whether the demons were righteous or evil didn't concern him in the slightest.
As the surging centipede kagune rushed toward the Kai family demons, Kai-Myun could no longer hold back.
A flash of silver-white sword light cleanly severed Kaneki's kagune in two.
"Pathetic," Kai-Myun said disdainfully. He'd expected the Lore Cardian to be more formidable, but he seemed laughably weak.
However, Kaneki's RC cells no longer required replenishment through unspeakable consumption; they now drew directly from Azrael's mental power. After long months of dedicated meditation, Azrael's mental strength had grown far beyond what it was when Kaneki was first created.
Within a single breath, Kaneki's severed kagune had completely regenerated.
The Kai family father and son frowned at this development.
"This white-haired demon doesn't seem threatening, but his recovery ability is problematic," Kai-Shin thought privately.
While they were distracted, several fists, each trailing an afterimage, closed in on them.
Luffy wouldn't let such a perfect opportunity slip away.
"Bang!"
Kai Shin and his son raised their swords horizontally, blocking Luffy's attack. However, their feet left long scratches in the ground, and the tremendous force transmitted through their blades nearly knocked their swords from their hands.
"Don't get distracted during battle," Luffy said calmly, holding down his straw hat with his right hand.
Feeling the terrifying pressure radiating from Luffy, Kai-Shin's eyes turned cold. "Nian'er, finish this quickly. Take out this one first."
Though his thoughts raced, only a moment passed in reality.
The next instant, a dazzling, silver-white sword of light suddenly blazed.
"Swoosh!"
The shrill whistle of cutting steel rang out across the battlefield.
But it was useless.
In the stunned gaze of the demons, Luffy spun his legs, launching himself into the air like a UFO and completely avoiding their coordinated attack.
"Gum-Gum Jet Whip!"
In midair, Luffy's entire body flushed red and his right leg extended like a whip, crashing toward Kai-Shin's head with overwhelming power.
"Bang!"
Kai-Shin flew backward like a broken doll, hit the ground, and died instantly.
"Father!" Kai-Myun's eyes turned bloodshot. He hadn't expected his beloved father to lose his life in just one exchange.
"He really was weak," Azrael observed with relief. These Bronze-level demons were pitifully weak, nothing like Maul, who had withstood three of Luffy's Gear Third attacks before succumbing.
Kai-Myun roared with impotent fury, then turned his red-rimmed eyes toward Azrael.
Sure enough, Azrael thought. Demons also understand the principle of capturing the leader first.
Just as Azrael prepared to summon Mark 3 for protection, Luffy read Kai-Myun's intentions.
"Gum-Gum Jet Bullet!"
Luffy instantly flashed in front of Azrael, shielding him. His right fist traced an exaggerated arc as it blasted toward Kai-Myun.
"Boom!"
Scattered smoke obscured Azrael's vision. Only when the smoke gradually cleared could he see Kai-Myun's wretched state.
The demon was barely breathing and spitting blood. He spoke with bitter unwillingness: "Pigs. If Sword Master hadn't died at the hands of the Four Evil Gods, how could we allow you pigs to be kept in captivity like this?"
However, before he could finish, Kai-Myun exploded into a blood mist like fireworks.
Azrael was confused by this sudden development. "What was that demon talking about?"
What Sword Master? What Four Evil Gods?
Azrael had many questions, but he soon realized that Kai-Myun had revealed important information—information that Azrael currently knew nothing about.
Burying his doubts deep in his heart, Azrael was about to check on Kaneki's battle when he suddenly realized something critical:
Kai-Myun had just been destroyed by an unknown force. Obviously, he had lost a material. Azrael didn't know what quality it was, but it had to be at least Bronze-level.
This was pure money!
Azrael's face darkened at the thought. "Destroying someone's wealth is like killing their parents. I don't know who's responsible, but I'll never forgive them!"
Kaneki's battle had also ended quickly. After all, it was called a welfare secret realm for a reason—the demons inside were pitifully weak.
However, in accordance with the association's regulations, Azrael deliberately had Kaneki spare six demons—three male and three female. Just right for sustainable development.
Seeing Kai-Myun explode into a blood mist, the six remaining demons trembled uncontrollably. Finally, their survival instincts overwhelmed their inexplicable urge to attack.
They knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Azrael. "Sir, we truly can't speak of it. If we do, we'll end up like that."
But Azrael had no intention of pressing further. After all, curiosity killed the cat. The more he knew, the faster he'd die, and with his current strength, that would happen quickly.
In his opinion, what Kai-Myun had mentioned was obviously related to the reason for the appearance of the secret realms. He didn't believe that the association had never obtained this kind of information before; it was just too important to announce publicly.
Without responding to the pleading demons, Azrael collected the materials scattered across the scene:
Bronze-level [Sword Seeker] (Purple), Bronze-level [Conscience] (Gold), and Black Iron-level [Sword-bearing Attendant] (Blue) x5.
These were his gains.
Excluding Conscience, which was somewhat useful to Azrael, the remaining materials could be sold for 800,000 to 900,000 Empyrean dollars.
"Pity Kai-Myun couldn't keep his mouth shut. I lost a material for nothing," Azrael thought regretfully about the demon who self-destructed.
"Still, there should be some valuable items in their house."
Azrael turned his attention to the Kai family mansion. He left Kaneki to watch the survivors and took Luffy and Yoriichi into the building to search for additional treasures.
...
Want Advanced Chapters? Look me up on Pat (Ashenmoon) [No S]