Thump!
Thump!
The two Fox Devil Hunters acted simultaneously. Two massive white fox paws materialized in the air, slamming into the first two waves from either side.
BOOM~
The sound was heavy, muffled. The entire world became like black paper splattered with white paint. Snow dust rained down, the blizzard recoiled, and everything turned into a white haze.
Hoshino looked down. The snow falling at his feet was flowing back at an incredible speed. It wouldn't be long before it formed new waves in the distance, an endless cycle.
"Did we hit it?" someone asked.
"The Fox Devil says... no!"
A slender figure flipped several times in the air before landing steadily on the crest of the fourth wave.
"The snow is flowing back! The waves can keep reforming!" Hoshino shouted. "Fighting like this is pointless!"
"What do you suggest we do then?! If those waves hit, we're finished!"
"We won't be finished! Do it again, then let the fifth and sixth waves crash down!"
"Are you serious?! Do you have a plan?"
"Yes!"
"Don't joke about this! Our lives are on the line!"
"We agree!" The two Fox Devil Hunters exchanged a glance and consented without hesitation. Were they kidding? Sticking to the original plan would have gotten them chewed down to the bone by the Fox Devil.
"I-I-I a-ag-agree too!" Kobeni Higashiyama weakly raised her hand.
"I also believe in Hoshino-kun!" Himeno followed closely.
Hirofumi Yoshida raised his hand expressionlessly. "A plan is better than no plan."
In an instant, the vote was six to three.
Thump!
Thump!
The third and fourth waves exploded. The arms of the two Fox Devil Hunters were drenched in blood, the skin completely gone.
The Blizzard Fiend continued hopping back unhurriedly, a mocking expression on its face.
"Follow me, this way!" Hoshino didn't explain, heading about ten meters to the right. He stopped beside a wooden sign that read "Snowfall Square."
Everyone quickly followed.
"It's coming!" Yamamoto reminded them. He didn't want to follow Hoshino's lead, but he had no choice. The Curse Devil's power was suited for single combat; it was useless against this natural disaster-level scene.
Once again, they were engulfed in shadow.
"Hoshino?" someone called.
Hoshino remained motionless.
The shadow grew larger. The wave was now less than thirty meters away.
"Hoshino?!"
"HOSHINO!!"
"Wait!"
"Stop waiting!! We're going to die!" Yamamoto screamed in panic.
At fifteen meters, the massive wave crashed down.
At that moment, everything went pitch black. Their ears filled with a deafening roar. Icy, piercing wind laden with the thick scent of snow flooded their mouths, noses, and throats. Everyone's breath hitched.
"HOSHINO!!!!" everyone yelled in unison.
Only Hoshino shouted:
"NAOTO KOBAYASHI!!!!"
A figure suddenly flashed into the crowd. His hands pushed upward, and an invisible force field descended, carving out a three-meter diameter invincible zone. The falling snow automatically diverted, forming flowing curtains above and around them.
BOOM.
The wave crashed down, deafening.
They were saved!!
Everyone let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
"Stimulating, huh?!" Hoshino's heart was still pounding.
Whoosh~
Himeno swiped a hand at Hoshino's head, but he nimbly dodged.
"Do it earlier next time!!"
"Tell him that, what's the use telling me?" Hoshino hooked his chin thoughtfully. 'Logically, Kobayashi should have returned faster. Could there be a problem with the contract?'
"I was blocked," Kobayashi stated succinctly, his face tilted towards the right front.
Hoshino grunted an "Oh."
Suddenly, numerous pinpricks of green light floated around them, gradually illuminating the "domain."
The Stone Devil Hunter explained, "It's my other contract, the Firefly Devil. During university, I loved cave exploring, so I made a contract with it."
Hoshino grunted another "Oh," then took a mirror from Kobayashi's bag and placed it on the ground.
"Whew… Bro, thank you so much!" Yamamoto panted, walking over to Naoto Kobayashi to thank him.
"Huh? You… you're not…"
"He's been moved by my righteous spirit and is on our side now," Hoshino said offhandedly.
"Then why didn't you earlier…"
"Everyone, stop for a second."
Hirofumi Yoshida warned, "The Fiend is here!"
BANG!
The snow wall exploded.
When the Blizzard Fiend charged into the crowd, it visibly paused, looking even more confused upon seeing Kobayashi.
"Why isn't the contract backfiring?" Hoshino said with a smile, voicing the Fiend's thoughts. After several tests, he had mostly figured out the other's contract. Naoto Kobayashi, of course, couldn't actively use his power to save them; Hoshino had only commanded him to gather at the sign. Faced with such a massive wave, Kobayashi's only way to survive was to use his authority to separate himself from it. The seven-square-meter circle was Kobayashi's usual habit. Of course, there was a major loophole in this. 'But even if the Fiend figures it out, it won't… I need to hurry.'
"Protect Kobayashi!" Hoshino roared.
The Fiend reacted fastest. It lightly tapped the hilt of its sword, and the condensed snow blade instantly dispersed into particles that shot towards Naoto Kobayashi.
"Tako!" Hirofumi Yoshida said, launching a kick at the Fiend's head, which was easily blocked by a raised arm.
Two octopus tentacles materialized in front of Kobayashi to block, but they were instantly pierced through. The particles shot straight for Kobayashi's temple.
"Dodge!!" Yamamoto bellowed, raising his sword and charging at the Fiend.
Kobayashi didn't react, allowing the snow particles to strike at him.
"Petrify!" The Stone Devil Hunter blew gently towards the particles.
Shasha shasha~
The snow dust turned into sand and fell at Kobayashi's feet.
In that instant, cold sweat drenched the backs of all the Devil Hunters. It was so close! If Kobayashi died, everyone would be scattered by the massive wave and then harvested by the Fiend at close range. It wouldn't mean no survivors, but most wouldn't escape.
'Why didn't he dodge?'
There was no time to think. The Fiend blocked the curse blade with its broken sword, plunged its hand into the snow, and formed another snow blade.
First, it fired a burst, forcing Himeno to retract the ghost hands around her neck.
Then it slashed at Yamamoto's neck.
Simultaneously, the broken sword transformed into a snow shield, blocking the petrification. A stone shield fell to the ground with a thud.
Yamamoto raised his sword to block the snow blade.
Hirofumi Yoshida's pupils suddenly dilated. "Don't block it! Dodge!!"
"Huh?" Yamamoto didn't understand, but reality soon provided the answer.
The snow blade suddenly dispersed, flowed around the curse blade, and instantly re-solidified.
Swish~
His vision tumbled. Half of Yamamoto's head fell to the ground, blood gushing wildly from the severed section, splattering onto everyone.
"...Eh?"
Behind the others, Kobeni stood dumbfounded, her arm dropping limply. The dagger in her hand clattered to the ground, the small pink thermos hanging around her neck swinging violently.
The others weren't much better. Yamamoto, their team's trump card, was the first to die. Fear began to spread in the small, confined space.
But the Fiend had no intention of stopping. It lightly tapped the hilt, and the blade particles shot towards one of the Fox Devil Hunters. The latter dodged sideways, barely avoiding it. The Fiend blew gently, and the particles curved, piercing the Fox Devil Hunter's heart into a sieve.
"Tako!"
Wary of the snow blade's ability, Hirofumi Yoshida didn't dare engage in close combat, only using his Devil's power to harass.
"Is that the only move you know?" The Fiend smiled and shook its head.
The blade particles suddenly spun wildly around their axis, the snow blade becoming a snow drill. With a casual swing, the octopus tentacles were churned into fine meat paste, splattering everywhere.
Whoosh~
The Stone Devil activated.
The Fiend swung its blade to block. A stone-grey color spread across the blade's surface.
Crack.
The petrified snow blade fell to the ground and shattered.
The Fiend reached outside again, but Hirofumi Yoshida reacted quickly and kicked its arm away.
"Don't let it get another blade!" Hirofumi Yoshida closed in, throwing a horizontal punch at the Fiend's temple.
The Fiend raised an arm to block, bent at the waist, and swung a fist at Yoshida's abdomen, simultaneously dodging the other Fox Devil Hunter's katana.
Yoshida raised his leg high, blocking with his shin, then pivoted into a snapping kick, the taut instep of his foot slamming hard into the Fiend's chin.
With the katana on the left and the Scapegoat Devil Hunter swinging his blade from the right to pin it down, the Fiend could only retreat. It pushed off the ground, leaning its upper body back, but at the critical moment, an invisible force shoved it forward.
Thud!
A direct hit on the chin. A dull impact sound accompanied by the crack of dislocating bone.
The Fiend flipped and landed, blood trickling from its dislocated jaw.
Smack, crack crack.
It slapped its jaw back into place, its eyes turning somewhat gloomy.
At the same time, the Fox Devil Hunter's katana came slashing down again. The Fiend didn't have time to retreat and raised its arm to block. The katana easily sliced into the Fiend's right arm.
Hope surged in the group. 'Cut it diagonally!!'
The Fox Devil Hunter mustered all his strength and swung down hard.
The blade entered diagonally from the Fiend's right arm and exited at the same angle from its left waist, slicing clean through its entire body. Yet, bizarrely, it didn't bring out what should have been there. No blood, no organ fragments. The blade held only scattered snowflakes.
"Are you done? Then it's my turn."
The Fiend's right arm transformed into a snow blade, tracing a white arc that bisected the Fox Devil Hunter standing before it.
"...…"
Silence fell.
"I-immortal body?" Himeno muttered in disbelief.
The Fiend's right hand successfully plunged into the snow, its left hand following.
The Scapegoat Devil Hunter kicked the Fiend's left hand away and brought his sword down on the Fiend.
The Fiend swiftly retracted its right hand, reversed its grip on the snow blade to parry the katana, and then, with even greater speed, stabbed towards the Scapegoat Devil Hunter's chest.
Whoosh~
From the other side, the Stone Devil activated.
The Fiend's left hand dispersed, forming a snow wall that blocked the petrification.
The stone wall fell with a thud. Simultaneously, the snow blade pierced through the Scapegoat Devil Hunter's chest.
It pulled out. Blood gushed.
"Share!" the Scapegoat Devil Hunter said.
Schtick!
A gash spontaneously appeared on the Fiend's chest, from which bright red blood spurted.
The bloody hole on the Scapegoat Devil Hunter's back vanished, but the hole in his chest continued to bleed. The man and the Fiend each bore half the injury.
"Tako!" Hirofumi Yoshida moved to rescue.
"The snow transformation isn't passive! He can't dodge unexpected attacks!!" the Scapegoat Devil Hunter roared with his dying breath.
A flash of white light—the Fiend's attack came again.
Himeno reached out to block but was a step too late.
The Scapegoat Devil Hunter's head and the octopus tentacle blocking in front were both split open.
In just a few exchanges, half the Devil Hunters were dead.
"The Fiend's body can't partially turn to snow!"
Hirofumi Yoshida added, "When he attacks, he must be in a flesh-and-blood body."
The Fiend's recovery was extremely strong; the bleeding from its chest had already stopped.
"Let the Stone Devil take the lead!" Hirofumi Yoshida said.
The remaining few advanced together, preventing the Fiend from using the snow to restore its left hand.
Whoosh~
The Stone Devil activated again.
The Fiend tried the same trick, raising its blade to block, but its hand stalled as if held back by invisible hands.
Himeno gritted her teeth, both hands outstretched, her entire body leaning back in a pulling motion.
The Fiend lifted its foot, its trouser leg ruffled by the wind, and then grey rapidly spread up its calf.
"Don't let it cut its own leg! Tako!" Several smaller octopus tentacles bound the Fiend's arms. Several thicker ones wrapped around the snow blade, preventing its "release."
The Fiend strained to lift its arms but couldn't move them an inch. Panic finally appeared on its face.
"Hold on! He's done for!" the Stone Devil Contractor shouted excitedly at Himeno.
"No need to tell me!!!" Himeno yelled back.
Pfft~ The Fiend suddenly laughed. "Naoto Kobayashi, retract the domain."
Rumble~
The domain shook violently, some snow dust shaking loose.
The shaking soon stopped.
The snow dust, moving faster than anyone anticipated, sliced through the Fiend's petrified leg. The cut showed no blood, only the despair-inducing white of snow. Quickly, the snow dust replaced the shattered stone on the ground, forming a new leg.
"...…"
"Why?!" the Stone Devil Hunter stared at Kobayashi beside him, demanding angrily. They were so close! The Fiend was almost dead!
"Heh, don't blame a dead man. When he didn't dodge the first time, I knew he couldn't resist me anymore." The Fiend blew gently. Naoto Kobayashi dissipated like snow, part of it transforming into the Fiend's left hand, part falling to the ground.
"I didn't attack him because that would actually work to my advantage." The Fiend's pale face bore a brilliant smile.
"...…"
Despair was written on the faces of the last few Devil Hunters.
"You've been so thoughtful, crowding into such a small circle. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
The Fiend cleaved the despairing Stone Devil Hunter in two with a single vertical slash.
The firefly light vanished. Everything plunged into darkness.
"Is he ready yet?!"
In the darkness, Hirofumi Yoshida suddenly roared.
"How should I know!" Himeno retorted.
"I should have just gone on the school trip!"
Hirofumi Yoshida grabbed the collar of the catatonic Kobeni Higashiyama with one hand, grabbed Himeno with the other, and charged directly at the snow wall.
The Fiend's smile widened. It didn't bother to stop them. Outside was wave after wave of snow; the Devil Hunters would be swallowed immediately. It just needed to follow and harvest.
BANG!
The snow wall tore like paper.
The Fiend's smile froze on its face.
Not a single roar of the cataclysm came from the large gaping hole.
Outside the domain, the three of them ran, bewildered, scanning their surroundings.
The blizzard, the colossal waves… they had all vanished.
The night sky was pristine, clear of any impurity. A waxing gibbous moon hung silently overhead.
The Fiend's expression changed drastically. Ignoring the three disoriented survivors, it shot towards the rear at incredible speed.
--
Vortices swirled in Hoshino's eyes.
"Say it," he commanded, his voice echoing with power. "Form a contract with me."