Hardcore Exorcist: Reborn to Grind

My shoulder… I thought I’d used Force Redirection to disperse the damage…

A quick self-diagnosis confirmed it: hairline fractures in his acromion and clavicle. 

Ikaku watched the mercenary captain as he rolled away to create distance.

A Mutation-Type. Category 2, was it? Thighs like oil drums. That must be it… Abnormal Development: Legs.

Having put some space between them, Ikaku dropped to one knee and tossed his Smith & Wesson M500 aside. He whipped his black coat open and reached for the shotgun in the holster at the small of his back.

But the mercenary captain was faster. Unlike Ikaku, who had to roll farther to bleed off the impact with Force Redirection, the captain had no wounded body to coddle.

He screeched to a stop with inhuman precision. He dug all four limbs into the earth, assumed a sprinter’s crouch, and launched himself forward.

The explosive power generated by his monstrous thighs was immense. The Demon, already exceptionally agile, was now combined with abnormal leg strength to close the distance in an instant.

His movements were a blur, as fast as a bullet, defying human reaction time.

The mercenary captain obliterated the distance between them and lunged with a combat knife.

Ikaku aborted his reach for the shotgun, instead stopping the thrust before the blade could reach his torso.

The captain retracted the knife and stabbed from another angle. Blocked.

He tried again. Blocked again.

Their contest of strength was a stalemate.

Ngh, his reflexes and power are insane… He’s matching me even after I’ve dropped my disguise. Putting out this much raw strength in a human body, and this wounded… The man’s a monster.
But that’s to be expected. A freak of nature who can dodge bullets isn’t going to go down easily.

The mercenary captain unilaterally broke the stalemate, suddenly letting go of the knife to grab Ikaku by the collar.

He was a former police officer, a third-dan in judo. He attempted a shoulder throw, acting purely on the muscle memory embedded in his demonic form.

Technique was created so that the weak could triumph over the strong. When a Demon, a being that transcends humanity in both strength and physique, employs such techniques, it should, in theory, become truly invincible.

But that only applied if the opponent was a mere human. Trying to best a seasoned martial artist with technique alone was beyond reckless.

“Ngh?!”

The mercenary captain couldn’t throw him. The anticipated outcome shattered.

For a moment, he felt as if he’d tried to lasso a great mountain and heave it over his shoulder.

His center of gravity… it’s so low! W-what is this?!

Ikaku drew the shotgun from his back and fired at point-blank range, aiming to sever the captain’s spine.

The blast ripped through the air, echoing through the early morning shrine grounds as flesh and blood erupted from the wound.

“Gaaaarrgh!”

A hole had been blown clean through his torso. The Demon with the mighty legs could no longer move his lower body.

He looked up at Ikaku, his eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and resignation.

The muzzle of the shotgun was already pressed against his nose.

“…Shit.”

Another gunshot rang out.

“That makes ten.”

Ikaku retrieved his weapons, stepped over the corpse, and reached the main shrine building.

Inside, he found a hidden passage.

He descended the stairs leading into the darkness below.

At the bottom of the stairs, a man was waiting for him. A young man with white hair and a decadent, almost listless air.

“Hm. Seriously?”

The young man wore a look of utter surprise. He rose from his seat and picked up the handgun on his desk.

Ikaku narrowed his eyes, his face twisting in displeasure. “Hakuya Dōdō.”

“Hmm. So you remember me? I’m flattered. To think all those men couldn’t even take down a single mortal with no magic. But if you made it this far, that means you killed every last one of them.”

“I’ll kill everyone here, too. The traitors included.”

“And what do you plan on doing in that state? Bet you can barely even stand.”

Hakuya’s gaze raked over Ikaku’s battered form, a cynical smile spreading across his face.