Devouring Angels with Demon’s Sword - Chapter 19
“Waaahhh! Waaahhhh!!”
A woman, likely in the middle of preparing dinner, wearing an apron.
A child, maybe two or three years old, clung to their mother, who had collapsed unconscious, crying uncontrollably.
And—spreading across the black stone floor, a pool of bright red blood.
“Tch…!”
I’ve gotten used to maintaining my composure, thanks to the external influence of the demon sword. If it were the old me, before merging with it, I probably wouldn’t have been able to recover so quickly.
I didn’t make it in time. But no—it’s not over yet.
The wound was on her back. It likely hadn’t reached her internal organs.
If I stop the bleeding quickly, she’ll last for a while.
Running through these thoughts rapidly, I focused again on the situation in the room.
There were three angels. All of them were *lower angels* armed with swords.
They were surrounding the mother and child, ready to deliver the final blow.
The distance between them and me was around ten meters.
Even if I sprinted at full speed along the shortest path, I wouldn’t reach them in time.
“Screw it.”
I reversed the grip on my sword and readied it at my hip.
At the same time, I gathered blue flame energy into the blade.
“Right slash, number three.”
One of the three special abilities granted to a demon swordsman is *Extra Body Enhancement*, which gives overwhelming physical strength.
To control that strength without letting it control me, I developed a body technique—a “form”—over the past week.
Eight directions of movement, from route one to route eight.
Nine sword trajectories, from number one to number nine.
It started out as a rough idea, but it worked far better than I’d expected. Though it’s still in its skeletal form as a technique, with plenty of room for improvement, that just means it has great potential for growth.
I felt confident in this method and decided to continue refining it from now on.
With that in mind, I figured it needed a name and spent about five seconds coming up with one.
I called it *Demon Sword Body Technique*.
It’s a bit too straightforward, but simplicity and clarity are key in these things.
Anyway, back to the situation.
“*Flying Slash Spada*.”
I unleashed a horizontal slash from my hip in reverse grip, using the third sword trajectory.
From the tip of the swing, I shot a crescent-shaped wave of blue flame energy.
…This was not only the first time using my *Demon Sword Body Technique* in real combat, but also the first time combining it with a *Demon Sword Art*.
*Flying Slash Spada* is tricky to time. I’m glad it flew in the right direction.
The three *lower angels*, who had clustered together, were all within the attack range of *Flying Slash Spada*.
The burning blue blade severed all six sword arms, which were moments away from striking down, as well as their heads.
That was cutting it close.
It was truly a hair’s breadth away.
Thanks to the fact that they had all gathered together, I managed to take them out in one swoop.
Not that it matters much, but there’s something immensely satisfying about wiping out multiple enemies with an area attack. It reminds me of that rush you get from clearing four rows at once in a certain puzzle game.
Their corpses turned into particles of light, resembling fireflies, which were then absorbed by my demon sword.
With the pulsating blade slung over my shoulder, I headed toward the mother and child I had barely saved.
“Waaahhh, waaahhhh!!”
The child was still bawling uncontrollably in their mother’s arms.
Given the circumstances, it was understandable. But the situation was dire. If I didn’t get them to quiet down quickly, more angels would be drawn to this spot. And that would just be more trouble.
…I’m not particularly good with kids, though.
“Hey, kid.”
I tapped the floor with the tip of my sword, making a light clinking sound to get their attention.
After a moment of them staring at me, I conjured a blue flame at the tip of my index finger.
Then, I lit my middle, ring, and pinky fingers in sequence, one after another.
It was a simple trick—an application of *Flying Slash Spada*. Just some sleight of hand, but it worked perfectly on the child.
Eyes wide, still sniffling, they looked up at me in awe.
“I’m a magician. I’ll help your mom, so don’t cry anymore.”
Recalling the time I’d been stuck babysitting once, I carefully chose my words.
I’m actually a demon swordsman, but as long as they stopped crying, I didn’t care what I called myself.