Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 267

Chapter 267 - Finding the Murder Hobo

I didn't expect to find someone like the Demonic Exorcist in a place like this.

It was a dingy pub, situated in the middle of nowhere, in some small nameless town. The bar reeked of cheap wine, prostitutes, and sweat. It wasn't just the smell that was unpleasant; the appearance of the place was equally bad. The tables wobbled, the walls bore cracks, and it seemed like one good kick could bring the whole establishment crashing down.

This looked like the kind of place someone would meet sketchy people, and I was here to find the sketchiest of them all.

A man with long, dark hair, resembling a K-pop idol, leaned on one of the tables, engrossed in a conversation with another man who had a few missing front teeth. Spittle flew in all directions as the latter spoke, causing the Demonic Exorcist to grimace as if he'd just consumed a sour lemon. "Ew, I just saw some of your spit land in my drink."

"Sorry about that," the man apologized, and the Demonic Exorcist gave him a threatening look. In the end, he sighed and shoved the drunk towards his companion.

"Well, since we're friends, this drink is on me."

"Are we friends? We only met like ten minutes ago."

"Of course, we are," the Demonic Exorcist said with a dangerous narrowing of his eyes, prompting the drunk man to nod.

"Y-Yeah, definitely," the man quickly agreed.

"Anyway, tell me that story again, the one that made us friends. The one about your rival neighbor who died," the Demonic Exorcist yawned and reclined in his chair, gazing at the ceiling.

"Are you talking about the guy who tried to steal my chickens, and then I bashed his head in with a shovel?" the drunkard asked.

The Demonic Exorcist nodded. "Yes, that guy. How did you feel after the death of such a good friend?"

"I mean, I was the one who killed him by bashing his head in, and he had been stealing my chickens for quite a while. So, I mostly felt happy," the drunkard shrugged. "Also, we weren't really friends; he was kind of an asshole."

The Demonic Exorcist narrowed his eyes again, his gaze becoming intense, causing the drunkard to pale. "I-I mean, yeah, we were the best of friends."

This made the eccentric fellow nod and even dare to smile. "My best friend and rival died recently too. I was heartbroken. I feel like we have a lot in common."

Even though I had only known the drunkard for less than a minute, I could tell that he and the Demonic Exorcist were nothing alike. Yet, the latter was the same guy who somehow considered me a friend when we had once tried our best to kill each other.

Should I really be working with someone as batshit crazy as him?

Unfortunately, he was my only genuine option, and there was no definite timeline for when the barrier would break. So the sooner we get this done, the better.

Also, what was up with him not noticing my presence even when I was so close? He must have really let his guard down... Well, not that he ever bothered keeping it up anyway. Even the monsters on Avalon Island had more common sense than this guy.

Furthermore, he had been way too easy to find. If I didn't know any better, I would assume he wanted to die. But that was very unlikely; the crazy bastard just enjoyed danger too much.

"Barman, get me another drink," the Demonic Exorcist called. A waitress with dirty blonde hair came over with another cup of ale for him. When she set down his drink, she 'accidentally' touched his arm and batted her eyelashes at him.

Sadly for her, the Demonic Exorcist didn't even glance at her, no matter how hard she tried to make her intentions clear. In the end, she was called over by the guy working behind the counter. "Isabella, you have a job to do."

She sighed in disappointment and walked away, still sending glances at the handsome Demonic Exorcist. Who never even looked at her.

The poor girl didn't know how lucky she was that the Demonic Exorcist showed no interest in her.

"Can I get a drink too?" I called out, and soon enough, there was liquor at my table. Good, now I had some liquids to work with in case of a sneak attack. Usually, that wasn't the Demonic Exorcist's style, but one never knew for sure.

The Demonic Exorcist took a sip from his drink, and his gaze wandered around until it landed on me. His eyes widened like saucers, and he spit out the liquor in his mouth, dousing his 'friend,' and started coughing.

"I knew my rival wouldn't just die in the middle of nowhere!" He exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the pub. It was the middle of the day, and there were only a handful of customers here, not counting myself and the crazy bastard.

"Come on! Let's kill each other a bit!" He yelled out while charging at me. Blood burst from his arm and formed into a large scythe.

Without hesitation, he leaped and slashed at me. I leaned back to dodge his attack. In response, the crazy bastard's smile seemed to widen, almost splitting his face. It looked creepy as hell.

He took another step forward and swung at me again. This time, I leaned back to avoid his arm mid-swing, and the crystallized blood around his arm bubbled up and shot out like bullets.

I raised my arms to shield my head and eyes from any damage. Despite my strengthened skin, the blood pierced through and tried to possess me.

The Demonic Exorcist's special ability was like a virus; once his blood touched someone, they would be affected by a mind-controlling virus. His ability didn't take into account the strength of its victims, theoretically even a dragon could be affected by something like this.

{Perfect Me}

My body detected the foreign blood moving through my veins and attempting to take control. Perfect Me developed an antibody to the virus almost instantly and destroyed all foreign substances trying to take control of me.

But the Demonic Exorcist wasn't too perturbed by this, as he also knew that my special ability was a flawless counter to his.

The people around the bar got up and hurriedly walked out. Before the owner could leave, I took out a sack of coins and threw it at him. "This is for your troubles and any repairs the tavern might need after this."

Seeing this, the Demonic Exorcist smiled and threw a sack of coins at the man and the waitress. "Yeah, sorry for all of this."

He was also paying for the damages? Since when did the murder hobo become so generous?

After everyone was out, the Demonic Exorcist's third eye opened, and he declared, "By the way, you miscalculated that. As of now, I have fulfilled the conditions of my demon ability. I can now see five seconds into your future! Even the perfect move means nothing in front of this eye!"

"You always liked the second-rate villain speeches," I said.

He charged and threw a punch at me, one which I ducked, only to be met with a knee to the face. Sending me flying. My back smashed against the tavern ceiling and broke through, sending me into the air before finally slamming down on the ground.

My nose was broken due to the impact, but by the time I stood up, it had already healed.

His special ability, related to the demon side, allowed him to see five seconds into the future of those whose special abilities he had analyzed. The weakness of this power was that he could only glimpse the future of one person, and facing multiple enemies would be troublesome.

However, this limitation didn't affect the Demonic Exorcist as much, thanks to his tamed demons; he excelled in group battles, which mitigated this weakness of his demonic ability.

"This is a joyous day!" The Demonic Exorcist declared, standing in the grassy field. He had kicked me quite far away from the tavern and the rest of the village. "Let's commemorate this occasion by trying to beat the fuck out of each other!"

He appeared quite confident, thanks to his ability to see into my future. But he was mistaken about one thing—I had encountered someone on Avalon Island with an even more potent Clairvoyance ability.

The Demonic Exorcist opened his mouth, locking his intense gaze onto me, as if about to speak. However, he abruptly halted, and the vertical eye on his forehead widened.

However, it was already too late—the future he had foreseen.

"You're correct; even the perfect move can be countered if it's predicted," I smiled in response to his thoughts. "But consider this my equivalent of flipping the chessboard and slamming a chair over your head."

I launched myself from the ground, and before he could react, I was within arm's reach. His eyes remained fixed where I had been a moment ago. Despite his prowess, the Demonic Exorcist was not a Warrior; he was a Master.

My fist shattered his ribs and lungs, piercing straight through his chest, and gore spewed from the other side. He desperately grasped at my arm, locking eyes with me, and his grin remained. His body convulsed, and he shot blood projectiles in all directions.

For a fleeting moment, I considered blocking them, but I decided otherwise. Instead, I raised my knee and shattered his elbow. His elbow bones protruded, and he grunted in agony. Simultaneously, the blood bullets pierced my body, with one grazing my eye, causing me to lose vision in that eye.

{Perfect Me}

Once again, my antibodies obliterated any mind-controlling virus and I regained my full eyesight.

"Damn it," the Demonic Exorcist cursed, realizing what was about to happen next.