Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 268

Chapter 268 - Bloody Murder Hobo

For a brief moment, I wondered if going all out might result in the Demonic Exorcist's death. But as quickly as the thought entered my mind, it vanished. He would regenerate from anything I threw; there was no need to worry.

With that in mind, I decided to rip his head off. However, just as I prepared to strike, a purple centipede burst out of the ground, coiling itself around the Demonic Exorcist. I didn't halt my punch, and the demon met its demise as its body exploded in a shower of gore.

The creature's purple-ish blood splattered onto my arm, causing an intense, burning sensation as my flesh melted.

Shit! It has acidic blood!

I attempted to retreat, but I was too late. More acidic blood landed on my shoulder, rendering my arm useless as it turned into fleshy putty.

"Holy shit, I thought I was a goner," the Demonic Exorcist breathed a sigh of relief as the centipede demon collapsed.

His body was covered in crystallized blood armor, some parts melted but not enough to reach his flesh.

"How the hell did you get so strong? Did you find a way to change affinities and become a Warrior or something?" He asked, his usual recklessness replaced by caution.

It was strange seeing someone who was usually so reckless suddenly acting so carefully. It seemed like the Demonic Exorcist knew he couldn't afford to be careless anymore.

"If I had a warrior affinity, I could have used Ord as armor to stop the acid from touching my skin," I replied with a smile. While my body was naturally fast and robust, I couldn't compare to a true Warrior.

"Heh, I can't remember the last time someone forced me to be careful in a fight," the Demonic Exorcist admitted, his third eye scanning our surroundings.

As we talked, the flesh around my arm bubbled up and regenerated. The Demonic Exorcist narrowed his eyes. "Damn, can you regenerate wounds caused by acid?"

I had the physique of a dragon, which granted me exceptional resistance to various elements. However, I wasn't about to explain that to him.

"This time, it looks like I'm the one who will have to step up to the challenge," the Demonic Exorcist chuckled, pointing a finger gun at me and firing a blood bullet from the tip.

To mess with him a bit, I mimicked his pose and controlled the water within my blood, using it to shoot a similar blood bullet.

Our attacks made contact, and his blood bullet easily pierced through mine.

His attack was more refined. However, I could control the water in my blood even after it had left my body. So, I wrapped my bullet around the Demonic Exorcist's projectile and crushed it.

All of this happened in a split second, and I wasn't sure if the Demonic Exorcist had seen it. But he had a crazy smile on his face.

"You think you can be better than me at my specialty?!" he exclaimed.

He charged at me, and I reciprocated. But we both stopped at the same time. Blood poured out of him, forming dozens of crimson swords around him, all attached to thin blood strings.

I copied his moves but didn't need the blood strings to connect them to my body. We clashed, sword against sword. While the Demonic Exorcist had the advantage in skill and experience, I had imbued more Ord into my blood, resulting in a stalemate.

"Just how much Ord do you even have?" the Demonic Exorcist complained.

"Enough to last this battle," I joked as I formed an armor of blood around me. This time he was the one who copied my moves, and then we entered a close combat clash.

But he seemed to have forgotten that this wasn't exactly to his advantage. I punched him in the stomach, breaking his armor and making him fall to his knees.

He had an edge over me when it came to skill and experience. But in terms of raw power, the difference between us was immeasurable.

As he stood up, it looked like he was going for another attack. But instead, he smiled and hugged me, the coppery smell of blood lingering on him. "I'm glad that you're alive."

He caught me by surprise that I couldn't even react.

Was this a strategy so he could initiate his special ability more easily at such close contact?!

He didn't even activate his special ability, proving my suspicion wrong.

Still, him hugging me was hella uncomfortable and weird, so I pushed him away. "I don't think we are close enough for you to hug me."

He didn't seem to care about what I said and just nodded with a friendly smile. "Despite the fight, I don't sense even a dent in your Ord. What the hell is up with that? It feels like you have an endless pool of energy."

Did he think I was going to explain that to him? Because I wasn't. Unlike him, I didn't like my enemies knowing every damn thing about me.

"It's a long story," I shrugged.

It really wasn't, but I didn't want to give the crazy murder hobo any ideas on how to get stronger. He was already annoying enough to deal with.

"I understand... You don't trust me that much anymore," he shook his head, looking almost sad.

Anymore? I never trusted you to begin with! Also, he was a psycho who had tried to fight me to the death on multiple occasions. So, obviously, I was never going to trust him!

"After all, I tainted this last battle by bringing out a demon to defend myself. I'm sorry about that," he bowed his head.

Did he think that was why I didn't trust him?! No! It was his killing, murdering, and lying that made him untrustworthy. Not because of some unspoken thing he misinterpreted between us.

We were Masters; of course, we were going to use demons in our fights!

No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't catch the angle he was seeing things from. It was completely illogical.

"Now c'mon, give me another hug," he smiled and spread his arms wide open, like an old friend or a kind and loving older brother.

When I made no signs of approaching, he took a step toward me. But before he could even touch me, I punched him in the chest, and he fell to his knees, coughing blood.

"Okay, seriously, stop acting creepy. You're dreaming if you think I will drop my guard and let you get close," I said, and that only got me a smile in return. One that showed his bloody teeth.

"There was zero hesitation on that attack. You have grown ruthless, old friend," he said while getting up. "It seems like you have finally become that version of yourself that I saw on the day we met."

Did he just call me an old friend? What the hell is wrong with this guy?

I held back all the questions I wanted to ask him and took a deep breath, getting my mind back on track. I wasn't here to play ball with him, discuss philosophy, or make friends, least of all.

"I need you to do something for me," I said.

"Okay," he easily agreed. "Though you don't think I will just cater to your whims without wanting something in return, right?"

"I think sparing your life would be something you might be interested in."

"We both know I don't give a shit about that," he chuckled.

Yeah, I can tell.

"Okay, I will owe you a favor-"

"I wanna cash in that favor right now!" He smiled, excitedly.

I sent him a dull glare, the kind an older brother would send to a younger sibling who had disappointed him. "Okay, what do you want?"

If it was anything too big, like asking me to destroy a kingdom or kill someone for him, I wasn't going to do it.

"How did you change so much?" He asked, out of nowhere.

He was using his favor to learn more about me? Talk about being a weirdo. Well, it wasn't like it was a secret or anything.

"Long story short, a friend sacrificed their life to save mine, again." I gave him the bare minimum, and if he asked more, I wasn't going into detail for him.

As I had learned by now the hard way, was that he was a genuine genius who learned ten things from hearing just one. That fast growth was what made him so dangerous.

Surprisingly, he looked satisfied with that and nodded. "Okay, what do you need help with?"

It was still a bit weird how quickly he agreed. I could be asking him to do something dangerous and life-threatening.

Who am I kidding? That's what he would want.

"You have traces of Tamae No Mae's blood, right? Can you locate her using that?"

"Oh, that's what you want?" He smirked. "We don't even need to find her. That woman has been hunting me down for quite a while, and as soon as I release some seals in my body, she will be able to sense my presence."

"That will do, though we should move away from here," I glanced at the small town in the distance.

He followed me as I created a water platform. "Climb in."

Instead of mimicking my actions, he inspected my water platform and then fashioned a platform of blood, stepping onto it. Through some mysterious means, he levitated as long as he maintained contact with the blood platform.

Damn, he'd figured out how to fly now. Well, no use crying over spilled milk.

We flew into the distance, with the Demonic Exorcist flying alongside me. He struggled a bit to balance himself on the platform, but that was something he would have to get used to.

"By the way, what are you going to do about your second friend's death?" He asked as we began descending into an empty field of dry grass.

Should I tell him? You know what, screw it. He had been a lot more cooperative than I had thought he would be.

"I will create a happy ending for all of us."

He gave me an odd look. "So what? You sound like you're going to sacrifice your life or something?"

"No, I'm not just going to die."

As soon as I said that, a light ignited behind those wild eyes of his. "Oh! OH! I see now! You're even crazier than me!"

Saw what? Don't tell me he found something out?! Nothing I gave him should have hinted at my future plans!