When the Ghost—the towering silhouette of Ren Kuroda's demonic aura—appeared before the Rat King, the creature's first reaction was pure fear.It hadn't expected that such a powerful demon existed so close by.
For a moment, the Rat King nearly backed down.Timidity was ingrained in the bones of rats, after all. The only reason it had survived so long among humans was because it always, always chose caution over ambition.
But tonight, it chose differently.Tonight, it dared to take a risk it had been dreaming of for years.
From the Ghost's aura alone, the Rat King could immediately tell what kind of being stood before it.
An Oni.
Even among high-ranking demons, the Oni race stood at the top.Born in near-human form, naturally blessed with monstrous strength and overwhelming demonic power, Oni were apex predators among yokai.
The Rat King would normally have fled at the first whiff of an Oni.
But this time…there was one crucial difference.
The Oni outside wasn't pure-blooded.
He was a half-demon.
Half-demons carried demon blood, yes, but they were still fundamentally weaker than pure yokai.Their "rank" as monsters rarely matched that of true demons.
And the Rat King recognized a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Devouring humans may give me a little power.But devouring a half-demon…?
The potential gains were immeasurable.If it could consume this hybrid Oni, it might break past its limits—It might rise to a higher plane of existence.It might become a true high-level demon.
The world was changing.Demonic energy was returning.A new golden age for yokai was awakening from myth.
Only the demons who seized power early would become kings.
And now, the Rat King believed fate itself had delivered this opportunity:a lone half-demon, powerful but fatigued, surrounded by enemies.
Yes, Ren's demonic aura was undeniably strong.Even as a half-Oni, he radiated the power of a mid-tier demon.
But so what?
The Rat King itself was on the brink of evolving into a mid-level demon.The pressure Ren exuded was no longer enough to cow it completely.
Besides—the Rat King had numbers.Endless numbers.
If its minions could force Ren to burn through enough demonic energy…then perhapsperhapsthe Rat King could kill him.
And devour him.
After cutting down an entire sea of lesser rat demons, Ren Kuroda realized something wasn't right.
The "boss" wasn't coming out.
The minions, however, kept rushing him with suicidal determination.
Ren wiped a smear of blood from his cheek, exhaled, and murmured:
"So that's your plan… Use your own to wear me down? Clever. But you picked the wrong person to try that on."
The Rat King's intentions were obvious.Ren wasn't stupid.If its opponent had been another demon of similar strength, the strategy might've worked.
But Ren Kuroda was not "another demon."
And unlike other yokai, Ren had something the Rat King couldn't possibly predict:
a System.
Exhaustion meant nothing.Running out of demonic power meant nothing.
There was always a way to replenish it.
Ren glanced at the countless corpses piled around his feet, then raised one hand and traced several fluid motions in the air—opening the System shop interface.
He exchanged all of his remaining Reputation Points for a handful of Low-Grade Demonic Power Crystals, each one costing ten points.
They were cheap, versatile, and incredibly effective.
Low-Grade Crystals could be directly absorbed to restore demonic power—or even slightly refine it.For lower-rank demons, they were monstrous power-ups.For Ren, they no longer offered much long-term improvement, but they were still perfect for refilling his tank.
He crushed the crystals in his hand.
The demonic energy surged into him instantly—restoring everything he'd spent, and then some.
His aura ignited like a wildfire.
And since wasting excess demonic power seemed like a sin…Ren let it all out.
He swung his blade—just a basic downward slash.
But with his overflowing demonic power and the amplification from his demon sword, Onimusha, the simple slash morphed into something monstrous.
A massive, crescent-shaped wave of blue energy roared forth, several meters tall.
Wherever the arc of demonic force touched, the ground tore open like sliced tofu, and every rat demon in its path was cleaved cleanly in two.
Onimusha's ability was simple but terrifying:It devoured the user's demonic power and converted it into physicalized, attribute-infused slashes—Flying blades of pure demonic energy.
The Rat King watched the devastation unfold and froze in disbelief.
This…This was not the scenario it had envisioned.
Just moments ago, it had been certain—the half-demon's aura had weakened significantly.It had seen it with its own senses.It had bet everything on that weakness.
But now—
Now Ren Kuroda's demonic power had not only returned—it had grown even stronger.
If it were still its old, cautious self, the Rat King would have cut its losses and fled immediately.
But most of its underlings were already dead.And a half-demon like Ren Kuroda?This kind of prey didn't appear twice in a lifetime.
If it missed this opportunity…it would never evolve.
Meanwhile, Ren was clearly enjoying himself.His killing intent grew sharper with every corpse he cut down.The henchmen the Rat King had hoped to use to wear him down had instead become practice dummies—targets for Ren to refine his swordsmanship on.
And under the endless brutality of the battle…
The demon blood inside Ren's body began to boil.Demons were creatures born from madness and bloodlust.And the ocean of blood around him stirred that instinct.
Ren's eyes turned subtly red.The blade in his hands glowed brighter with demonic force.
This was his first time fighting so many demons at once.For once, he didn't have to hold back.He didn't have to worry about exhausting his demonic power.
He unleashed it all—
Slash after slash after slash.
Each one ended dozens of lives.
A half-demon's stamina was monstrous.As long as his demonic power kept up, Ren could fight at full strength all night long.
Seeing Ren Kuroda—drenched in blood, eyes blazing, swinging his sword like a possessed war god—the Rat King finally felt it.
Fear.
Real fear.
Yes—it had chickened out.
It had an army.But that army wasn't surviving this slaughter.
And worst of all—the Rat King discovered the horrible truth:
Its minions hadn't weakened Ren at all.They had made him stronger.Far stronger.
"You may be a half-demon," the Rat King spat bitterly, trembling, "but you are still a creature of the demon race. To stand with humans—what a disgrace to our kind."
Ren didn't answer.
He simply began walking forward, dragging his blood-soaked blade behind him.Each step echoed with killing intent so thick you could almost see it.
Behind him…the Rat King thought it saw—no, felt—the silhouette of a monstrous phantom looming over Ren's shoulders, like a wrathful oni god.
The Rat King regretted everything.
Why had it provoked this walking calamity?With all those underlings, it could have slipped away long ago.
But greed had blinded it.
And now—escape was impossible.