Demon Capital Slayer

Chapter 21 The Crimson King
“I remember now, this is a picture book story that my father drew for me when I was a child.”

"The Crimson King, clad in impenetrable armor, rules one-seventh of the world with courage."

Akane Isshiki was stunned, finding it hard to believe that the story had become reality, and her speech became fluent.

Then, she recounted the picture book stories she had read as a child to everyone.

Seven kings ruled a peaceful and beautiful kingdom of colors, but they had a common enemy: a gluttonous and evil black dragon.

If the evil black dragon represents the worst part of human nature, then the seven kings, on the contrary, each represent a virtuous quality.

If children distance themselves from the seven kings and overindulge in sweets, the black dragon will crawl into their teeth in the middle of the night and cause trouble, leaving behind black footprints that are difficult to clean and making their teeth hurt terribly.

Well, even great illustrators aren't necessarily good storytellers. This picture book is simply advising children to eat less sugar to avoid cavities, and incidentally guiding them to learn some good virtues.

Considering that Akane Isshiki still remembers the story, this handmade picture book by her father is not a failure.

However, the story does not mention the White Country, and the Blue Country is also missing from this world. This makes the White Country seem like an unfinished product, which explains why the residents look so careless and casual.

In addition, the red king, who symbolizes courage in the story, seems to be somewhat different from the word 'courage' at this moment.

It's not that it's timid as a mouse.

On the contrary, His Majesty the King was far too brave.

In the midst of the army, the Crimson King, like an ancient warrior, sat quietly atop the chariot pulled by the monster.

The Japanese-style armor gleamed red in the sunlight, its iron plates densely packed like dragon scales. A diagonal scratch ran across the front pocket of the helmet's decoration, and the buckles made of the ropes were incredibly bright red. Even the lining was oozing a dazzling crimson.

That is the color of blood.

"Blood, more blood!" the Red King cried out in a hollow voice.

Immediately afterwards, all the crimson monsters roared in unison, like ants clinging to the surface of a sugar cube, and began a frenzied attack on the White Castle Keep.

Almost as if fast-forwarded, the battle quickly escalated to a fever pitch from the very beginning. The inhabitants of the White Kingdom, who resembled balls of yarn, screamed and used wooden sticks to push their enemies away. They were not good at fighting, but at this moment they had to do everything they could to survive.

The bright red monster with beast-like features was far more ferocious than the former, often pouncing and tearing at the ground without regard for anything else. Large amounts of pungent-smelling paint sprayed from the wounds of both sides, staining the ground with strange colors.

Miken was surprised to find that the blood flowing from the residents of the White Country was transparent, but he quickly stopped thinking about the reason.

A large number of bright red monsters surged in like a tide. Apart from a few madmen who tried to climb the city walls, most of them launched a fierce attack along an uphill slope, which was also the only way to enter and exit the White Castle Keep.

Yu Jian had no choice but to stand guard at the very front of the uphill ramp. He couldn't understand what kind of laws the world operated on, which allowed his otherwise ordinary drawing tools to possess astonishing power comparable to the lightsabers in Star Wars.

No creature in the painting can withstand its sharp edge; almost any slight touch will cut it in two, easier than cutting a piece of paper with sharp scissors.

Combined with his astonishing physical abilities and swordsmanship, he was practically invincible.

But his physical strength has its limits...

As the battle continued, his breathing gradually became rapid, as if two flames were burning in his lungs. He licked his lips, and even his mouth and nose felt unbearably thirsty.

How to do?
The road out of White City is blocked by the enemy, and I won't have a chance to start over like in the Dream of Asura. If we break through, what will happen to the others?

How to do?
In the end how to do?
The idea had barely formed when it was instantly replaced by a more practical thought.

What can I do now?
Swinging the sword...

This thought instantly occupied all of Yu Jian's consciousness, his attention was completely focused, and all other distracting thoughts were completely discarded. The cold metal in his hand seemed to become scorching hot.

So the boy began to wield his sword.

Each swing of the sword was faster than the last.

Every swing of the sword surpasses the performance of the previous second.

Rather than learning, it's like placing an empty bucket in a cold pond; even if you do nothing, the surrounding cold spring water will naturally flow into it.

The body, strengthened by the Dream of Asura, allowed Yujian's swordsmanship talent to be fully utilized. Just as powerful hardware is needed to run the most advanced graphics engine, some changes occurred as naturally as water flowing down from a height, or as naturally as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

As physical exertion gradually decreased and breathing slowed down, it wasn't that the intensity of the battle was decreasing, but rather that efficiency was being maximized.

With a casual swing of his sword, more than three monsters were simultaneously cut in half at the waist. The bright red paint splashed out, and he only took half a step back with his sword, ensuring that his clothes were as clean as if they had just been taken off the clothesline, without a speck of dirt.

Then, his vision suddenly cleared, and he found himself at the entrance to the ramp. Countless crimson monster corpses were piled up around him, most of them bearing only a single, yet fatal, wound. This is really useful…

This was Yu Jian's first thought; it wasn't just marveling at the sharpness of the 'weapon' in his hand, but also feeling genuine joy at his rapidly improving swordsmanship.

The feeling was like a fighting game novice who, after long-term training, could finally unleash a series of attacks to kill a powerful enemy in one go—it was incredibly satisfying.

This is pure, unadulterated joy.

"Yujian-kun!"

The sound of lily fragrance came from above, and Yujian raised his eyebrows as he looked up.

The two girls simultaneously held paintbrushes, sketching a large round stone out of thin air. As they filled in the colors, the stone became more and more realistic, even beginning to possess a faint sense of weight, causing beads of sweat to appear on their foreheads.

Miken immediately understood what his companions wanted to do. He swung his sword again to force back the surrounding crimson monsters, and then immediately retreated back to the castle tower along the uphill slope with the residents of White Castle.

The bright red monsters, seemingly devoid of thought, relentlessly pursued them, only to be met with a spherical boulder falling from above.

Ga——!
The monsters screamed, but it was no use. The rolling stone rolled smoothly down the slope, crushing all the monsters in its path into flat puddles of paint.

"...So ruthless." Yu Jian's eyelids twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but sigh at how ruthless women could be, even if they were just girls.

The sudden change forced the war into a halftime break.

Miken seized the time to recover his strength. Out of a sense of responsibility, he did not lie down immediately, but dragged his tired body up the stairs to the top floor of the castle tower before slowly sitting down.

The view from here is good enough to give him a clear view of the situation below, so if the crimson monster launches another attack, he can detect it immediately and make a judgment.

"You've worked hard." Aizen Yurika handed over a handkerchief, but she used her left hand.

"Thank you."

Exhausted, Yu Jian didn't notice anything amiss with his companion. If he could, he would really like a large glass of iced cola, or even just water.

But when he saw that Akane Isshiki and Yurika both had chapped lips, he immediately realized that there was another threat hidden in the world of the painting.

There is no food or water here...

"Thank you for earlier," Yu Jian said again.
"That's right, but it's a pity we can't use it many times. Creating an item out of thin air is much more difficult than modifying an existing one. Even if two people combined their stamina, they can only draw that one stone."

Lily sighed and sat down next to Yujian, hugging her knees.

Behind her, Akane-senpai had collapsed forward, looking like a burnt-out office worker who couldn't even claim a work injury if she died suddenly at that moment.

If all else fails, we'll have to find a way to break out...

Yu Jian thought to himself silently.

Although Yurika judged that the residents of White City were not real beings, she did not want to give up on these beings who could cry and laugh unless absolutely necessary.

Perhaps this is what youth is all about—a silly, foolish, and naive youth.

Ten years from now, I will definitely make a more rational decision, just like my past self.

But at this moment...

As Yu Jian pondered this, a new question arose in his mind.

Why are these creatures in the picture attacking each other? Aren't they companions in the picture book? There must be a reason, right?
"I think I know," Lily suddenly said in a low voice.

Following her gaze, Yu Jian saw a horrifying scene unfolding on the battlefield below.

The colossal Crimson King lay sprawled on the ground like a wild beast, countless corpses piled up like mountains before him. He drank deeply of the pigment flowing from the bodies, as if savoring fine wine, indiscriminately drinking from friend to foe.

With each sip, the color of the bright red armor deepened, and its size increased accordingly.

Gradually, the once majestic ancient warriors became more and more like beasts than humans.

"So, they were hunting," Yujian murmured to himself.

(End of this chapter)