Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 18 The Blade of Obliteration
It has a slightly spicy taste, but it's not pungent.

This is the smell of fresh turpentine.

Over time, turpentine becomes increasingly pungent and its color gradually turns yellow or even amber.

Painters use turpentine to dilute pigments for underpainting or for applying thin coats. It is often mixed with linseed oil and sometimes resin is added to create varnishes or glaze mediums.

Furthermore, this substance is a common cleaning agent used in art studios. It's perfectly normal for this smell to be present in an art studio, but Yujian isn't currently in an art studio; instead, he's... inside a painting?
The monster that launched the sneak attack is now completely silent.

This thing is bright red all over but has no facial features. Its face is just a murky mixture of various colors. It looks like a human but also has animal features. It looks like a human and an animal were put into a blender, crushed and then reassembled.

The red liquid flowing from it was not blood, but a pool of bright red pigment that was gradually congealing and emitting a strong turpentine smell.

Strange, the Asura's Dream didn't activate. What could be the reason?
Is the opponent too weak? Or are they lacking some key elements?
Yu Jian couldn't help but look at the oil-mixing knife in his hand.

This is a common tool in oil painting. It is shaped like a spatula, with a flat blade and a rounded or pointed tip, and is mostly made of metal.

It is mainly used to quickly mix different pigments, avoiding the waste of pigment or muddy colors caused by repeated mixing with a brush. Occasionally, it is also used directly for painting, such as using a mixing knife to scrape thick pigments directly onto the canvas, thereby creating more three-dimensional brushstrokes and enhancing the texture of the painting.

Besides, the main function of the paint scraper is to act as a scraper, removing excess paint and mistakes for correction.

Yujian is no stranger to it, after all, he often needs to use such tools when copying Van Gogh's works, and using it to apply the thick painting technique will produce strong and powerful brushstrokes.

But no matter what model of oil-mixing knife it is, it can't compare to the sharpness of a sword. How could it easily cut the monster in the painting in two?

Recalling the feeling of cutting through butter, it was like using a red-hot knife to cut butter; there was absolutely no resistance, and it was no more difficult than splitting a piece of wet mud.

Could it be that……

Yu Jian seemed to understand something, his lips twitched a few times, and then he looked up and scanned his surroundings.

Suddenly, dozens of crimson monsters appeared out of the painting, like a pack of wolves hunting, surrounding Mitsurugi and the unconscious Isshiki Akane.

However, quantity is not the key to victory; sometimes, it is the minority that surrounds the majority.

"Come here." With a stern face, Yujian shielded Isshiki Akane behind him.

Even disregarding morality, one would most likely need the painter's help to leave the world depicted in the painting.

Besides, he heard his own heart saying: Brother, you're not the kind of scoundrel who would just stand by and watch someone die, so do what you want to do.

Yu Jian raised the oil-mixing knife high, the metal blade reflecting a dazzling silver light, as if it were not a mere painting tool but a legendary holy sword.

The action was honestly a bit funny, but if he wasn't mistaken, the thing in his hand might be more powerful than the real holy sword in the world of the painting, just like the delete key is to a computer program.

Also, where did the lily fragrance go?
Since monsters exist in this world, and the class monitor doesn't seem to be the type who's good at fighting, I have to hurry up and find her.

Thinking about it this way, a sense of anxiety immediately arose in my heart.

Tsk, anyway, they're just worthless nobodies, may they quickly die under my invincible oil-mixing knife!
Roar--

Various bright red monsters roared and launched their attacks, accompanied by the strange sound of their hair rubbing against the paper. They moved like the wind, their claws and teeth like swords, and as they ran, they intertwined with each other into different colored blocks, quickly turning into a messy and murky mass of colors.

Holding the oil-mixing knife in one hand, he shifted his weight between his legs while controlling the sword, making small leaps, and his whole body moved back and forth like an elusive phantom.

The Manifestation Flow Step - Dragonfly Feet - manifests itself in such a strange and unpredictable way.

Immediately afterwards, a silvery-white aura appeared around the phantom, and the painting tools that swirled up and down reflected beams of light. Despite their limited length, they sliced ​​all the monsters within their reach into pieces.

The foundation of monsters is indeed a variety of colors, and the paint knife, a painting tool used to erase colors, is to them like a silver sword to a vampire—it crumbles at the slightest touch!
The effect of an indestructible sword paired with a highly skilled swordsman is far greater than the sum of its parts. It's like throwing high-purity sodium into the depths of a lake, resulting in an extremely violent instantaneous explosion!

The monster in the painting couldn't even get close to Mitsurugi, let alone touch the unconscious Isshiki Akane behind him.

Yujian, on the other hand, was like a child who had received a new toy, his emotions running high. He was like a young, newly grown beast constantly testing the sharpness of his claws with his prey, and was extremely combative.

After a few breaths, the last crimson monster abruptly froze in place. A thin beam of light pierced down from its head, easily splitting it into two halves.

With a whoosh, Yujian swung his sword, the remaining red paint drawing a striking arc on the ground beside him, blending seamlessly with the other colors that slowly flowed in from around him. It was so satisfying to slash at enemies with a suitable weapon! Although this thing was most likely limited to the world of the painting, Yujian still felt a surge of exhilaration. If only such a convenient weapon existed in the dream of Shura or in reality…

His lips couldn't help but curl upwards.

Ideally, it would be a sword, a spear would be good too, and even firearms would be acceptable; he's skilled in swordsmanship but not picky. Incidentally, among firearms, his favorite is the revolver, although he's never actually touched one—a mere lip service to his love of firearms.

No, now is not the time to think about such things!
"Isshiki-senpai, wake up." Miken shook Isshiki Akane vigorously.

He needs to determine exactly where he is and find the missing Lily as soon as possible.

"Hmm." Akane Isshiki woke up rubbing her eyes and was immediately stunned by the scenery around her.

She stared wide-eyed, not wanting to miss a single detail.

"so beautiful!"

"This intense art style...it's Father!" Akane Isshiki gripped Mitsurugi's hand tightly, looking extremely excited.

"Isshiki-senpai, where is this?" Mikasa asked immediately.

“That painting, in the shadow of the sky,” Akane Isshiki gave the expected answer.

"Where is the lily fragrance?" Yu Jian pressed.

"Hmm." Akane looked around for a moment, then suddenly pointed to a certain spot.

"Over there, there's a similar color, a purple-white."

With a raised eyebrow, Yujian noticed that, just as a skilled painter and an ordinary person have different sensitivities to color, he could only vaguely perceive the anomaly, while Isshiki Akane could pinpoint the exact location using a similar method of color identification.

But why is it a seashell purple?
Personal characteristics?

Purple was extremely rare in ancient times, both in the East and the West.

Beryl is a rare and renowned dye from the ancient Mediterranean region. This dye comes from five species of slugs, and its production is extremely limited, requiring approximately three to ten thousand slugs to extract even a small amount, making its price incredibly high.

It is said that the purple of the shell is different from ordinary purple. It is mixed with bright red and influenced by blue, like a charming rose blooming in spring. It is red but not red, and has a strong mysterious color.

This certainly fits the style of Yuriko.

But purple is clearly more suitable for mature women; it looks too old-fashioned on a young girl. I really don't understand how Akane Isshiki came to this conclusion…

"We need to hurry."

Mitsurugi frowned as he looked at Isshiki Akane. The girl was very slender, even thin, and it was obvious that she was not good at sports.

"excuse me."

As he spoke, he hoisted the senior onto his shoulder, like carrying a bag of potatoes, so that he could free up one hand to deal with any unexpected situations.

Akane was very compliant and didn't struggle. Instead, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Mitsurugi's neck while curiously looking around at the scenery. She had never seen the world from this height before, and she actually seemed a little happy.

Much lighter than a potato...

Yu Jian thought to himself, then stepped forward and crashed into the nearest wall.

Just before he was about to crash, he suddenly lifted his leg and used the wall to propel himself up in the opposite direction. Then he used the opposite wall again to propel himself up. With his exaggerated physical abilities and excellent balance comparable to that of a feline, he repeated this method to continuously increase his height.

The world depicted in the painting features a complex network of roads, while the rooftops of the buildings are pristine white. Only the exterior walls are painted with a chaotic array of colors, making it resemble a dazzling maze of colors.

To increase movement speed and avoid getting lost, the best choice for sword-wielding is—

Go straight up to the roof!
(End of this chapter)