Hardcore Exorcist: Reborn to Grind

After a glance at Retsu Shido dropping his disguise, Ikaku Akamuro knew he was in mortal danger if he didn't thin the herd—and fast.

He laid Ashbrand on the asphalt and, from behind a light armored vehicle, counted the hostiles taking aim at him.

Three to the south. Three to the east. Six total. All using vehicles for cover, and they've got me pinned.

Heh, Sword Granny is sound asleep. Hilarious.

“Get behind them.”

Leave it to me. My turn.

Ikaku gripped his handaxe and, still concealed by the light armored vehicle, threw it.

The Axe of Price carved a wide arc through the night sky, spinning like a boomerang as it flew toward the enemy to the east. It dove in from an unbelievable angle, using the darkness as its cover.

Hiyah! Slicey dicey!

“Aargh?!”

The axe found its mark in one of the soldiers. The feral-looking girl reflected on its blade grinned, driving the heavy steel deeper.

The wound gaped. Maximum damage.

The Demon breathed its last.

“Eek?! What the hell is that thing?!”

The Demon soldier next to the victim stared in horror and opened fire on the bizarre axe.

Ow! Ikaku, he’s bullying me!

Ikaku extended a hand, recalling the Axe of Price. It zipped back to him under the vehicle, and he immediately sent it flying east in another wide arc.

This time, the soldier dodged it with a smug look. Ikaku recalled the axe again, commanding it to attack the Demon from behind.

Nope, nice try! Sliiice♪ And again♪

“Wh-what is this axe?!”

The axe shredded the Demon’s back before returning to Ikaku’s hand. He threw it one more time toward the east.

It flew true, homing in on the last soldier, but the Demon yanked it out before it could lodge deep and hurled it far into the eastern sky.

The handaxe vanished into the night.

So they're learning. It’ll be a while before she gets back. But...

“Ngh! Damn it! That cursed magic tool!”

The Demon to the east was heavily wounded.

That’s two dead and one critically wounded on the eastern side. Shido’s almost done dropping his disguise. Now for the three to the south. I need to take out more of them.

Ikaku popped his head out and traded fire with the southern soldiers, his SCAR-H barking.

Three hostiles south, using a car for cover. Distance: forty meters.

The enemy returned fire. Ikaku ducked back behind cover just as a bullet screamed past his head, sending a shower of sparks across the asphalt.

The moment the gunfire paused, he leaned out again, riddling the chassis of the car the Demons were using for cover.

No penetration. That jeep must be lightly armored. The doors are reinforced. Even a 7.62mm round won’t get through. They’re well-equipped.

Ikaku yanked his head back, letting another volley of return fire zip past.

And they’re good shots, too. We’re even on gear. They’re using rifles with optical sights. At this range, hitting me will be easy for them.

They’re stronger. They have the numbers. Which means...

Engaging Demon soldiers in a firefight was incredibly risky; their immense vitality meant they could shrug off hits that would kill a man. An advantage in firepower would be nice, but he didn't have that, either.

First, I need to flush them out.

Ikaku grabbed a grenade from his belt—a holy water dispersal grenade. He lobbed it in a high arc, easily clearing the forty meters. A testament to his powerful arm.

But his enemies had the exact same idea. They pulled the pins on their own grenades, hurled them in an arc... and three of them landed right at Ikaku’s feet.

Ah.

Ikaku scrambled away from the vehicle. An instant later, all three grenades detonated.

Shrapnel flew, and countless metal fragments tore into Ikaku’s massive frame.

“Gah!”

Ikaku was flushed from his cover. At the same time, his own holy water grenade forced the Demon soldiers out from behind their armored vehicle.

“Dammit! It’s holy water!”

“Agh! It burns my skin!”

“Son of a bitch, using a weapon like that...!”

Bizarrely, they had all ended up in the exact same predicament.

For a moment, it felt like time had stopped.

The four of them raced through their options.

No cover left!
This is it! I’ll kill him right here!
It’s fine. We’re Demons. We won’t die unless he gets a lucky shot!

They’re using 5.56mm rounds. High muzzle velocity. My body's already taken a beating... can I dodge them? No chance. Which means...

The three Demons and Ikaku raised their rifles.

They stared down their optical sights.

There was nothing left to hide behind.

It was a simple matter of who landed a shot first.

“Vraaa!”

“Ooooraaah!”

“Garaaagh!”

The three soldiers dropped to one knee and began firing single shots.

Ikaku did the same, but with a crucial difference—he angled his body, taking an extra split second to cut his silhouette in half and shrink his target profile.

CRACK! BAM, BA-BAM!

None of the four were calm. How could they be? Even a firefight from behind cover forced you to battle the terror of being shot every time you peeked out to take aim. 

This was infinitely tougher. No cover. A duel.

The ultimate hardcore showdown.

Even Ikaku couldn’t stay calm. His heart hammered against his ribs. The fear of death was suffocating. One hit, and it was over.

But if he didn’t fight, he couldn’t win.

The Demon soldiers finally landed a hit with their ninth shot. The bullet tore into Ikaku’s shoulder.

“Guahh!”

For a split second, Ikaku nearly panicked—but the shock did the opposite, sharpening his focus.

Not... as bad as I thought!

Distance: forty-two meters. Time elapsed: 4.8 seconds.

The one who won this raw, exposed shootout was—Ikaku Akamuro.

With twelve rounds, Ikaku killed all three Demon soldiers. They had fired over thirty rounds combined, but in the end, only a single bullet had found its mark in Ikaku’s shoulder.

It didn’t matter that they were Demons with superior physical resilience. The fear of being shot still inflicted tremendous stress, and extreme stress causes you to lose fine motor control. It makes your aim waver.

Ikaku Akamuro, on the other hand, knew how to overcome that fear. In every battle he had fought to this day, he had stared down the brute strength of Demons and weathered storms of bullets.

He had always taken his fear, crushed it, and forced himself to advance.

How many times had he faced the terror of death head-on? That accumulated experience was what made the difference.

What decided the victor... was the disparity in their resolve.

“Damn, that stings.”

Ikaku pinched the bullet buried deep in his melon-sized shoulder and yanked it out. Fresh blood gushed from the wound like water from a spring.

“Good. The rest of them are neutralized, for now...”

“VROOOOAR—!”

Just then, a tremendous roar echoed across the parking lot.

The form of Retsu Shido of the Ember Creed had completely transformed. His body was now a hulking black mass, with a massively developed torso and grotesquely swollen, unbalanced arms.

He was far beyond the scale of a man.

“Grrrrhhh...”

“All right. Let’s settle this one-on-one.”

Ikaku let out a short, sharp breath.

He tossed his SCAR-H aside and reached for Alek’s shotgun.