Anime, Girlfriend Shokuhou Misaki.

Page 125

Nango Hikojiro's words immediately put Kurogane Ikki into deep thought.

Yes, was my sword move really that exquisite?

No, that's not true. The power I just used didn't even surpass the power I had when I used the One-Sword Rakshasa.

Then, why?

Why did I win so easily just now?

"It's simple, because you crave victory."

"You crave victory, and fate will be manipulated and guided to your victory. So your sword unintentionally struck the only weak point of the Black Iron King's magic at that time."

"This is the power of the demon."

After saying this with some pride, Nango Hikojiro continued:

"The existence of the demon is like stardust, possessing an incredibly powerful gravitational pull. This gravitational pull can even forcibly draw in cause and effect. In other words, you just drew in the cause and effect of victory and added it to Black Iron King."

To transcend fate, to be no longer bound by cause and effect.

It can even actively influence cause and effect, opening itself up to the outside world by manipulating cause and effect, giving it an overwhelming advantage over beings below the level of demons.

You can probably guess that by thinking about it.

How could an ordinary swordsman possibly possess the power to defy cause and effect, to defy fate?

Take Shinoguchi Amane as an example. If it weren't for Noel dealing with him, no one in this world except for the demons could have killed him.

"Speaking of which, manipulating cause and effect is originally the power of demons. Those sword-wielders who have awakened the ability to interfere with fate are essentially born with a portion of the power of demons."

"In other words, the stronger the Blade Master's ability to interfere with fate, the closer he is to the species of Demon."

"If these Blade Masters could truly break through to the level of Demons, they would be far more terrifying than other Demons."

The less magic one possesses, the stronger the shackles of fate become, and the more difficult it is to break through them.

The more magic one possesses, the more favored one is by fate, and the easier it is to break free from the shackles of destiny.

"To be honest, I was quite surprised that you were able to break free from those shackles."

"After all, in terms of difficulty, you should be the one who faces the greatest challenge."

At this point, Nango Hikojiro looked at Kurogane Ikki with a hint of wistfulness in his eyes.

F-rank magic power is the lowest level in the world, which means that Ikki Kurogane's shackles are actually the most stringent.

"Demon, so powerful—"

Kurogane Ikki also sighed slightly.

But excitement followed.

No matter how powerful or strong the demon was, he was now a member of the demons and was no longer seen as trash by others.

"However, senior, from what you've said, it seems that breaking through to the Demon Realm will be very difficult."

My mood is probably relaxed, relieved, or even joyful.

Ikki Kurogane didn't know what was wrong with him, but his tone was lighter than ever before.

"Of course, according to incomplete statistics, there are no more than fifty such demons in the whole world."

Nango Hikojiro spat at Kurogane Ikki in an annoyed tone.

"There are many prerequisites for breaking through to the level of a demon."

"First and foremost, you must push your body to its limits, train yourself to the limit, train until you can't go any further."

"In that case, you will be able to see the door to your destiny hidden deep within you."

"So this is ah!"

Kurogane Ikki sighed deeply; this time, he finally understood.

Someone like him, with naturally weak physical attributes and low magical power, can easily train himself to the limit and see the Gate of Destiny.

However, because his magic is weak, the shackles of his fate will be very heavy.

However, someone like Makoto Haramura, with terrifyingly strong magical power, would find it very difficult to train himself to his limit.

However, if Makoto Haramura trains to his limit and sees that door, he can easily push it open.

"Senior God of War".

"If that's what you're saying, then it's unlikely that a swordsman like me with weak magic power could break through to the demon realm."

"It's more than just a few."

Nango Hikojiro even burst out laughing and hurriedly waved his hands.

“In the past, the lowest level of Blade Breaker who could break through to the Demon level was a B-rank Blade Breaker. There is no one like you who is an F-rank Blade Breaker.”

"And how many swordsmen like you, with your weak magic, dare to fight against fate?"

"Even the stronger Blade Master would find it difficult to make a decision in such a situation."

At this point, Nango Hikojiro also felt a little sentimental.

One of his biggest regrets was Shinguji Kurono. She reached her limit much earlier than his disciple, Nishikyo Ningen, but she was too afraid to open the door to fate because of her fear of breaking through the Demon Realm.

She feared that a future beyond fate would befall her family.

"That's why demons are so rare."

“Generally speaking, many effects are not even available to A-rank knights, let alone demons, who are several times rarer than A-rank knights. Neon is already considered to be exceptionally fortunate. Now, with you, me, and Ningyin, we have a total of three demons.”

"The remaining countries that possess multiple demons are just a handful of major powers such as the Ancient Kingdom and the Sister Kingdom."

"Let me put it this way, you should know about Shinryuji Temple, right?"

Kurogane Ikki's expression suddenly hardened, and his look became very serious.

"Of course, the venue for the world-renowned God of War Cup is a gathering place for top players every time the competition is held, a veritable den of dragons and tigers."

"Your title of God of War was obtained from here."

Speaking of which, just how strong is the Chinese Fighting God Cup? It's so strong that, despite being a world-class event, very few foreigners have ever won a match here.

Nango Hikojiro was one of these few people.

When Nango Hikojiro received this title, it caused a sensation throughout Japan, so much so that many Japanese swordsmen later traveled overseas to participate in the God of War Cup.

The result was invariably defeat; many sword-wielders lost their lives on the battlefield of the God of War Cup.

However, it is precisely because of this that everyone knows how difficult it was for Nango Hikojiro to bring back the title of God of War.

"There are at least five demons in Shenlong Temple."

Nango Hikojiro's words startled Kurogane Ikki so much that he almost jumped out of the treatment chamber, but then he thought about it again and felt relieved.

If even Japan can produce three demons, it's normal for that ancient country with its vast territory and abundant resources to produce even more demons.

"The Four Immortals of Shenlong Temple can only be held by demons, and above the Four Immortals is a Grand Elder."

That's why Nango Hikojiro said there would be at least five or more demons.

After all, Shenlong Temple was just one of the forces in that ancient kingdom.

"Never mind, we've gone off-topic. I was originally going to explain to you how rare demons are."

"On the other hand, the existence of demons must never be known to the world."

Nango Hikojiro's words suddenly became more serious than ever before, and Kurogane Ikki had no choice but to straighten his posture.

"why?"

In response to Kurogane Ikki's question, Nango Hikojiro merely glanced at him and said:

"Do you think the power of a demon is terrifying now that you've become one?"

Kurogane Ikki wasn't stupid; sometimes, he only needed a little prompting to understand what was meant.

“Countries will begin experiments with demons because the achievements of demons are unrelated to the aptitude of swordsmen.”

This is a common problem among humans.

Especially someone like the Neon Moon Shadow Fang, if he knew about the existence of demons, he would start human experiments like crazy to create demons.

After all, even thousands upon thousands of Blade Slayers cannot compare to a single demon.

If he has enough demons, he can make Japan a completely independent country.

Other countries that were forced to join the world's three major powers would have the same idea.

No one in power is indifferent to the independence of their own country.

In the end, only the sword-wielders will suffer.

So this is a secret that needs to be kept inside and cannot be known to outsiders.

"Of course, there is another reason besides that."

Nango Hikojiro spoke again.

"Once the world knows about the existence of demons, all swordsmen will have the same thought: 'Instead of working themselves to death to train their own abilities, it's much faster to become a demon and increase their strength.'"

No one will bother to cultivate anymore; everyone will instead pursue the realm of the demon.

However, the moment the idea of 'pursuing the realm of demons' was conceived, that swordsman was already destined never to reach that realm in his lifetime.

"To step into the realm of the Demon, one needs a pure will to fight against fate, without any impurities. Once one begins to deliberately pursue the realm of the Demon, the meaning of that will itself has already changed."

Want to become a demon.

This idea was flawed from the start.

"By the way, take that Kaieda for example."

In order to make Kurogane Ikki understand, Nango Hikojiro even started using real-life examples.

“He is from the same generation as us, and he had the same potential as me and Ryoma when he was young.”

"But after Ryoma and I both crossed the Demon Realm and our strength increased greatly, Kaieda Yamazu couldn't hold back any longer and began to actively investigate the matter of the Demons."

"Once he found out, fate had completely imprisoned him."

"Unless the planet is destroyed, he will never be able to break through to the level of a demon in his lifetime."

Well, he was clearly a promising swordsman, but his eagerness ruined his future.

"It's really difficult; the conditions for becoming a demon are too demanding."

After listening to Nango Hikojiro's explanation, Kurogane Ikki felt even more fortunate that he was able to become a demon, a result of a confluence of various fortuitous events.

If the same situation were to occur again, he could hardly say that he would be able to succeed.

"Senior, is there anything I can help you with?"

This senior colleague had something to ask him, and he understood this from the moment he entered.

Because this senior no longer hid anything from him.

To this, Nango Hikojiro simply grinned.

"Since you've figured it out, then I'll be frank: go all out and fight that kid to the death."

"Your demonic power won't affect that kid."

"When you fight that kid, you don't need to worry about the power of fate."

"..."

"Senior, how did you know I was going to withdraw from the competition?"

Kurogane Ikki was shocked, so shocked that his mouth almost couldn't close.

Nango Hikojiro's words seemed to directly express what he was thinking.