Hardcore Exorcist: Reborn to Grind

“Oh, God, no… No… This can’t be happening…!”

Leaving a trail of blood, Hakuya tried to crawl away.

Reloading his Five-seveN and shotgun, Ikaku followed the fleeing caterpillar at a walking pace.

Why…? I can accept that he understands Mana Control. It’s not crazy for him to have that knowledge.
But he’s too damn fast! The speed at which he switched targets to exploit my weakness… Hesitate a little, damn it! Take a second to think!
Why? How can he move as if he knew what he was going to do all along…?

His face stained with tears and blood, Hakuya looked up at the monster behind him, the one who was keeping him alive for some reason.

Ikaku jerked the muzzle of Alek’s Shotgun.

An unspoken gesture: Move.

Hakuya sniveled and started crawling again.

He’s not fast. Not physically. If it were just a matter of movement speed, I wouldn’t be losing at all.
The problem is his decision-making speed! There’s no hesitation in his movements. It’s like he’s instantly playing a card from a ten-card hand without even looking at it!
It’s too smooth. There’s zero lag in any of his decisions…! That’s his strength…!

On the verge of death, Hakuya finally began to understand what kind of being Ikaku was.

Only now, covered in blood and completely at his mercy, did he grasp the truth.

He’s a completely different kind of person than I am.
This isn’t a game or a sport. Just how much training would it take to achieve this kind of decision-making speed in a life-or-death battle?
You’d have to repeat it so many times that your brain snaps and rewires itself…

The crawling Hakuya guided Ikaku, shouting, “Help me! Ikaku Akamuro is here!”

He led him toward the middle level of the hideout, and then to its deepest sanctum. 

Along the way, many others lay in wait in the hallways or jumped out from rooms to attack Ikaku.

One blade reached him. One bullet, too.

He was also struck by a single fire-based spell Code.

But Ikaku’s steps never faltered.

He has to be taking damage. His movements are losing their edge.
But… what is this unsettling feeling about him? Is he really… just human?

Hakuya was now nothing more than a bystander to a brutal one-man war.

“That makes twenty. You had a lot of people hiding in here,” Ikaku said with a sigh, now covered in a fresh set of wounds.

He took out some painkillers, popped them in his mouth, and washed them down with water.

As if pulling himself together, he yanked the Axe of Price from a corpse, flicked the blood from its blade, and returned it to its holster.

Hakuya stared, his eyes wide, looking up at the exorcist who fought with the strength of a Demon.

“Why have you stopped? Go,” Ikaku asked.

“Y-yes. This way.”

He’s a monster… What the hell is he…?

Hakuya’s spirit was completely broken.

Did Hayate Akayanagi know? That this is who Ikaku Akamuro really is?
But… but Grandma… she should be able to do something about him!

At last, Ikaku and Hakuya reached the deepest part of the hideout.