"From a child to a man, from a man to an immortal" Part 2.

Scene 2.

Time started flowing again. Seven months passed in the blink of an eye.

During the last two seasons, Kawakami had mainly focused on demon-slaying missions from village to village. At first, no one took him seriously. After all, he looked too young for such a dangerous job that required a unique kind of experience, like demon hunting. Since he didn't have much money with him, the boy had to survive with whatever he found in nature during the first two months of his adventure. Consequently, he often found himself sleeping outdoors with one eye open in case of a sudden attack, whether by a demon, a beast, or even other humans. Additionally, he had lost some weight, and his appearance seemed neglected most of the time, but the boy never complained about it; after all, that was the life he had chosen to live. However, things changed dramatically when, one day in the third month of his journey, he returned with the head of a monster to claim his reward. No one really expected a teenager to have killed an Ogre, of all things. The village leaders had resigned themselves to spending almost all their funds to hire demon hunters and finally get rid of the fierce creature. No one dared to fight such a deadly and dangerous beast for the price they were offering; it was too much risk for so little reward. Everyone was terrified. They didn't want to end up devoured by the monster, just like those first bold individuals who had tried to confront the beast so boastfully. For five years, they had suffered the threat of the creature. People had even started leaving the village. Merchants rarely passed through during those times, and hope was all but gone. However, out of nowhere, a young man had come to their village with proof that the demon's threat had been definitively dealt with. Many couldn't believe their eyes. The boy didn't even seem injured from his encounter with the Ogre; there were barely any traces of blood on him, and at first glance, they appeared to be mostly from the demon. It was truly unheard of. However, it was also a great source of joy for the villagers. The threat was gone, and with it, a great burden had been lifted off their shoulders. The village leaders praised Kawakami's achievement and paid him even more than the agreed reward for his victory. The story of the boy against the Ogre began circulating in the village and soon spread throughout the surrounding areas like wildfire. From then on, things slowly began to improve for the boy. Firstly, he now had some money to avoid having to sleep and eat outdoors all the time. Gradually, he shed his emaciated appearance and regained some muscle. The demons, with their superhuman strength and abilities, had proven to be the challenge he needed to unleash his generally restrained power. Then there was the way people began treating him—with respect, admiration, and even fear. Kawakami loved people knowing how amazing he was and acting accordingly, particularly from the female population, which he had grown to appreciate on more than one level recently. Jobs were easier to come by now, and the pay was higher as well. Authority and status had that wonderful effect on people. Of course, not everything had gone perfectly. After all, there were always skeptics, challengers, and people who didn't want to pay for the work done. However, certainly, in the end, that was nothing that a bit of cunning or controlled violence couldn't resolve definitively. Following Mordekkai's memory-embedded experiences, Kawakami had come to understand that there was no such thing as compassion in human society. If you didn't crush others, you were destined to be crushed by them because in every interaction, someone would ultimately be harmed in one way or another, and as individuals, no one in their right mind would want to be that harmed party. It was instinctive. The boy had placed himself on the oppressive side of society, whether due to the Sword God's memories or the satisfaction he found in that special place in the world. Kawakami was powerful, and he would use that power for his own benefit without a second thought. He would leave his legacy in history, one way or another. The deaths of those who tried to harm him didn't concern him much anymore, not at this stage of his life.

Year 101 of the Sengoku period, in the evening. On the outskirts of a forest in the south of Japan.

A cacophony of death screams echoed through the vicinity of the currently pitch-black forest, a looming harbinger of the imminent transition between afternoon and night.

"Groooaaah!"

"Arrgh!"

"Uuugh!"

Blood and flesh from hundreds of demons and monsters painted the ground red. The silhouette of a sword was always followed by a death cry, and behind that sword was always the figure of a young man with unruly black hair and sharp, serene dark eyes; Kawakami.

Several hours earlier, while walking along the path adjacent to the dense forest en route to the next village, the boy had suddenly found himself surrounded by a horde of frenzied monsters emerging from the woods. At first, he had considered fleeing. After all, nobody in their right mind, even someone as strong as Kawakami, would willingly risk facing such a multitude of demons unnecessarily. It was annoying and a complete waste of time and energy. However, it was then, when suddenly another even larger horde of creatures emerged from behind him in a stampede, and both swarms of demons, acting in sync, surrounded him, cutting off any escape route. Resigned to the battle and highly suspicious of the oddity behind the entire situation, Kawakami heightened his senses and began to indiscriminately slaughter all the demons without restraint, never neglecting a potential sneak attack from behind, never taking his eyes off his surroundings for a moment. He was convinced that this turn of events couldn't possibly be entirely natural. His spiritual awareness never wavered from the task.

Returning to the present, the previously intimidating mass of monsters had now dwindled to just a dozen terrified creatures that were fleeing chaotically back into the forest.

Meanwhile, Kawakami breathed heavily as he made a commendable effort to stay on his feet after what seemed to be a fiercely intense battle. A scene of bloody and visceral destruction surrounded him, forming small mounds made entirely of the bodies of his assailants.

"Truly impressive. The rumors were accurate, I must say."

Out of nowhere, a male voice filled with praise echoed from the depths of the forest. The boy, without any apparent signs of alarm on his face, turned his gaze slowly, and there, on a high tree with lush foliage in the distance, he met the figure of a man hidden among the shadows of the branches. Subsequently, Kawakami narrowed his eyes dangerously in silent stillness. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword as a sign of warning and readiness. It was only curiosity about the identity of the person on the tree that prevented him from immediately attacking. By now, he was convinced that this person was responsible for his recent troubles.

Later, the man in question leaped from the top of the tree and then elegantly landed on the forest floor with a dull thud. After his agile landing, the man began to walk slowly towards the boy, step by step, seemingly unafraid for his life, entirely unafraid of what Kawakami might do in retaliation for the previous ambush. Gradually, the figure of a tall and robust man with black hair, whose features were mostly covered by an old mandrill skin, emerged from the silent darkness of the forest. Finally, the man stopped his approach less than twenty meters from Kawakami. He then locked his red eyes onto the black eyes of the boy. Kawakami, in turn, continued to watch the man in front of him calmly, analyzing him in detail and still showing no signs of wanting to act for the moment. Silence enveloped the scene accordingly. The moon illuminated the now nocturnal sky. The breeze stirred the treetops in a discordant dance. The smell of death hung in the surroundings, tentatively attracting some demons and beasts from the area to feast on the fallen. Beings that quickly fled the scene as soon as they sensed the palpable danger in the atmosphere. A danger emanating from the only two people present. At least, that was the case until one of them decided to resume the previous interaction; Kawakami.

"From the looks of it, you know who I am, but I don't know anything about you, I'm convinced of that."

These were the questioning words of the boy. His expression now bore a malicious smile. Seeing this gesture from Kawakami, the man also smiled and then, without saying a word, disappeared from his spot at a breakneck speed. His goal was to attack the boy.

"Mere tricks."

Drawing his sword in the blink of an eye, Kawakami intercepted a blade that was aimed directly at his heart. The man had failed in his attack, and now he was once again within view of the boy.

"It's too late for this. You should have attacked me by surprise when you had the chance."

A faint expression of surprise mixed with awe at Kawakami's swordsmanship momentarily appeared on the man's face, but it quickly vanished and was replaced by another smile.

"Do you think so?"

Suddenly, gigantic claw-like roots emerged from under the man; they formed the lower half of his body, a demonic body that was now levitating a few centimeters off the ground, effectively rising above Kawakami. His goal seemed to be immobilizing the boy. Simultaneously, the man retreated several meters. His intentions were finally revealed: he would use his advantage of ranged attack to finish off Kawakami.

"Is this all you can do?"

On his part, the boy squinted his eyes with visible boredom. His eyes looked disdainfully at the demon man. Contrary to Kawakami's expectations, the man didn't react to his provocations and continued skillfully manipulating his roots to attack him. Then, Kawakami made a series of seemingly random cuts around him. The root that had previously started to envelop him was completely destroyed into hundreds of pieces. However, that wasn't the end of it. Suddenly, shock manifested on the man's face. Apparently, he had lost partial control of his body, evading his perception.

"When?!"

Abruptly, the man began to fall to the ground without understanding why he was in this situation. His hands and roots detached from his body, his body split in half vertically simultaneously.

"I see."

Understanding briefly flickered in the man's face. He had been dismembered by the boy right in front of him, and he hadn't even seen it coming. It was the result of Kawakami's third form of the primordial sword: "Harmony." The sound of the demon's broken body hitting the ground followed the man's defeat. However, for some strange reason, the man didn't bleed from his wounds.

"Hmm. A puppet?"

Subsequently, Kawakami cautiously approached the puppet-like man; the demonic artifact trembled, as if it might dissipate into the ether at any moment. Its limbs were scattered irregularly all over the ground, yet the puppet still seemed to be operational. The man's following words confirmed this.

"Hmm, this didn't go exactly as planned. You're more skilled than the initial rumors suggested. Interesting. We will meet again, young Kawakami."

With those assertions, the puppet exploded, releasing a cloud of toxic vapors in the vicinity. Consequently, Kawakami jumped back, effectively moving away from the poisonous area. His sleeve covered his mouth and nose to mitigate the damage caused by the poison. His eyes bore witness to how everything around the puppet withered under the exposure to such vile poison. A grimace of disdain couldn't help but paint his features during the process, effectively breaking his usual mask of serenity.

"Coward!"

Once he was out of the reach of the toxic amalgam, a mysterious smile graced the boy's lips. Between his hands lay a talisman for detecting demonic signatures. The talisman shot out of Kawakami's hand and then adhered to what seemed like a mysterious ethereal thread near where the puppet had exploded before; the demonic threads that the true perpetrator had used to control the demonic artifact. Following the approximate direction the talisman indicated, the boy finally arrived at his target.

"You won't live long enough for that."

Subsequently, Kawakami shifted his gaze to the peak of the mountain to his left. At its summit, a small figure whose features were mostly covered by a thick mandrill skin grinned viciously towards Kawakami; it was the man.

"Observe."

A strange chant escaped the boy's lips upon sighting the man. Beads of sweat began to trickle down his forehead simultaneously. Exhaling, he raised his sword above his head. Then, tension weighed heavily on his shoulders, as if a mountain had been placed upon him. What he was about to do was something he had never done before. "My soul and my blade are one. With my thrust, I will topple mountains. With my strike, I will divide oceans. Hear the plea of my heart and condemn my enemies to hell. Descend to the mortal realm, Primordial Sword - Eighth form. Twilight!" After concluding his chant, the boy lowered his sword. The sword plunged into the ground. Sparks of electricity surrounded it consequently. Soon after, a gleam appeared high in the sky above the mountain. The sword turned to dust, carried away by the wind.

"Thank you, Father."

Then, an indistinct pressure descended upon the entire area like a devastating tsunami. The demons and beasts in the vicinity, especially those closest to the summit, suddenly felt panic welling up in their hearts. Their instincts screamed at them to escape the mountain as fast as possible. However, it was that very same instinct that momentarily held them paralyzed in their tracks.

"Uh? What—what is this?"

The man, on the mountain's peak, felt as if a calamity was about to unfold. His face turned an expression of extreme pallor, his instincts went haywire in response. Something was happening; something terrible and terrifying. Guided by his fears, the man shifted his gaze from Kawakami and then, tremblingly, found something incredible in the heights.

"What is that?!"

The silhouette of a gigantic sword began to materialize in the night sky at that very moment. It was a long, wide-bladed, double-edged sword with a long, rhomboidal hilt slightly separated from the blade, a bright ethereal sword of pale blue color. A sword almost as large as the mountain itself.

A unnaturally widened smile stretched across Kawakami's face. Both his physical state and mental state were in chaos. The use of his most demanding technique, coupled with the hours and hours of battle he had already faced, had him on the brink of exhaustion. At some point, he had even been forced to set aside part of his pride as a swordsman and use his scabbard as a makeshift staff to avoid collapsing to the ground in a pathetic display of weakness. He wanted to see with his own eyes how strong he had become in comparison to the Sword God in his memories, in comparison to Mordekkai himself. He wanted to make the demon who had dared to try and kill him pay, ignorant of his true power. The results had proven better than he had expected. Kawakami's fist clenched. The pressure on his shoulders lifted immediately after.

"Die."

After the boy's words, the sword began to descend rapidly from its position. The wind split apart, generating a terrifying gale as a direct result of the transition of the weapon between the sky and the earth. Its monstrous falling form caused the creatures on the mountain to start running in a futile attempt to escape a fate that, at first glance, seemed inevitable. Only a few fortunate ones might live to see another day this time. It was those same fortunate ones who were now running in terror alongside Kawakami, also in other parts of the mountain's periphery, and a few more would join them in the next moments, but not many.

In their haste to flee, some of these demons were literally trying to trample over Kawakami as if he didn't exist.

"Move, human!"

"Graaah!"

"Run!"

A silent complaint escaped Kawakami's lips at seeing such a turn of events; it was not one he had calculated.

"Tsk."

Using the scabbard of his sword as an improvised weapon, the boy deflected the countless monsters trying to harm him. His expression turned completely grim as a result. If he didn't get out of the way quickly, he would soon be seriously injured by one of these demons, and in such a remote place from society, that would only mean his death.

"Aaaargh!"

Thinking quickly and having gathered the little strength he had left beneath his feet, Kawakami took a great leap and then, agilely, landed on one of the many intermediate branches of a nearby large tree.

It was at that precise moment that the eighth form impacted against the mountain. A thunderous tremor followed.

"Uaaah! Aaaah!"

On the verge of falling, Kawakami clung to the tree with all his might. The shaking tossed the boy's tree like a twig in the midst of a hurricane.

After a few moments, the situation finally concluded. The earthquake stopped, and only the sounds of rocks rolling down the hill were audible in the distance.

"Jooo."

Releasing a long sigh of relief, Kawakami sat down seiza-style on his tree branch. Sweat covered his face, stained with the blood of hundreds of demons. His expression displayed visible conflict. Below the tree, some demons were still continuing their desperate escape. Many of them were gravely wounded, either because they had barely escaped the disaster or because they had been crushed by their companions in their flight. At first glance, the vast majority would not survive this night.

"Yes, definitely a last resort. Such destruction is undoubtedly unnecessary."

After a slight shiver, Kawakami looked again towards the mountain. The remnants of the eighth form were now clearly visible. A monstrous fissure had split the mountain in two. A huge gorge had formed at its peak, revealing the starry sky on either side through its battered geography.

Then, slowly, Kawakami shifted his gaze from the mountain to the night sky; a crescent moon was shining brightly tonight. His expression momentarily turned reflective.

"I have surpassed you, venerable one. The peak stage of the nascent soul. I am just one step away from the immortality you desired so much. All that's left for me now is to forge my soul sword, and it will be done. Jooo. But where am I supposed to find a blacksmith capable enough to grasp the intent of the true sword without their head exploding? Oh, right, there was that demon blacksmith; the one who forged the Heaven and Earth Naginata. What was his name again? Yes. Now I remember, Kaijinbo."

Thus, Kawakami began to meditate in his place. Then, his expression turned visibly serene.

"The natural energy in this world is simply incredible. I can't stop reminding myself. Especially in places like these. So much death. Exquisite."

Subsequently, a bright bluish-white aura surrounded him. His eyes narrowed subsequently.

Meanwhile, inside a distant castle.

A half-destroyed talisman slipped through one of the many windows of the castle. Seeing its unnatural movement, it seemed as if the talisman was stuck to something, following something, searching for something. After crossing that window and venturing a little further into the room, the talisman was suddenly caught by a pale, delicately large hand.

"Hmm, what do we have here?"

The intrigued voice of a man identified the owner of that hand. It was the voice of the demon controlling the puppet. There was no doubt about it. He was still alive. The talisman was Kawakami's.

"Hahaha!"

Immediately after, an eerie laughter escaped the man's mouth. His hand clenched around the talisman, irreparably crumpling it. A look of understanding painted his face at that precise moment, a young and attractive face defined by two chilling red eyes.

"So, it was that human boy, huh? That's how he found me. Hmm. So much power. How can someone have such power? Even more so being a mere mortal and so young? He was extremely skillful with the sword. Beyond anything I've seen in my entire life. Who was he?"

The man's features became visibly conflicted. His gaze turned towards the distant mountain through his window. The outcome of Kawakami's technique reached him immediately. A slight shiver ran through his body unconsciously. He had lost two puppets today. If he had decided to act directly as he had planned earlier, he probably wouldn't be present here right now.

"Hmm. Did I make a mistake in discarding humans so quickly? Do they have such hidden capabilities within them? Or is all of this because you are someone special, huh? Hmm. Maybe I should try to bring him to my side? Haha, no, no. Someone like you would never bow to anyone. Hmm, what a predicament. Young Kawakami, what am I going to do with you?"

Smirking sinisterly, the man withdrew back into his room. Subsequently, he pulled out a hive of hell wasps from within his sleeves. A dozen infernal wasps emerged at his command soon after.

"Go to the forest path on the other side of the mountain and then find a scruffy-looking mortal youth. Follow him from a distance and do not get in his way for now."

These were the emphatic orders of the man-shaped demon. His expression denoted a deep state of contemplation. His mind was primarily occupied by his most recent discovery; Kawakami, and so it would remain for the time being.

"It's time I paid a little visit to the Grand Listener."

Back with the aforementioned boy. On the way to the next village.

Currently unaware of his new and still unknown enemy's survival, Kawakami was eating some dried meat he had brought from the previous village. He needed to regain strength with what he had at hand as soon as possible. He felt tired and had a terrible urge to lean against a tree trunk and take a long nap. Unfortunately for the boy, the demons in the area were extremely agitated right now; violent, due to his reckless use of the eighth form a few hours ago.

The boy didn't pass a second without encountering one of these belligerent creatures and then being forced to exterminate it accordingly. Quite an uncomfortable situation to handle with only a sword scabbard as a weapon, such was the degree of collective hysteria among the monsters. It was definite, Kawakami would have to reveal himself tonight.