He is....

The demon felt a fear, an earthly fear that whipped through his soul like a furious storm, overwhelming him completely.

Taking advantage of the fact that the killer had been covered by his centipedes, one of the arms on his back rose and grabbed his head, reattaching it to its original position. Without wasting time, he quickly distanced himself from the aforementioned place and sighed, almost frightened.

"I thought I would have died there," he said with relief, then looked at where his arm had been previously with confusion. 'When did this happen? How did I not see it? Did he become stronger?' A multitude of questions assaulted his mind ferociously, filling his thoughts with doubts and uncertainties that had no logical answers.

'He just hit the man as hard as he could, destroyed him, and now out of nowhere, this guy has risen from the dead?'

Before attempting to process what had happened, he felt a great tremor and then calm, trying to find the source of this abrupt movement.

He searched and searched, sweeping the territory with his gaze and senses, only to end up focusing on the place where the killer was now enclosed.

'Hm-' And as if by chance, the heaps and heaps of centipedes that had formed a dome around Toji were cut into thousands and thousands of pieces.

Due to the rapidity with which they were cut, all that could be seen were pieces of centipedes being sent flying.

The vision the demon had was... Well, in his own words, it would be like seeing someone straight out of hell. All the blood in that man's body, his powerful and toned muscles, the scar on his eye, and that smile, a smile loaded with hatred and a thirst for blood, made him look more demon than human.

Seeing this made his own blood run cold.

He knew it; he had to flee before he died.

The roles had reversed; the prey became the hunter, and the hunter became the prey.

Without wasting time, he unleashed his cursed energy and generated another horde of centipedes that lunged at Toji, surrounding him. This time, Toji reacted, effortlessly cutting and slashing, creating a slaughter.

The demon, seeing that Toji took this relatively calmly, more like a "child's play," decided to add a little more difficulty.

From the depths of the Territory emerged two large beasts resembling his previous enemies, which immediately lunged at Toji with clear intentions of destroying and erasing his existence from the world.

'This should be enough to destroy him, definitely-' As he exclaimed in his mind with excitement, a maniacal and euphoric laughter erupted from Toji, abruptly pulling him out of his reverie. He raised his Inverted Celestial Halberd in one hand and his Split Soul Katana in the other, the same smile as before but broader adorning his face.

"THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE!!!" The shout echoed throughout the area and even seemed to have struck at the soul of his enemy, already attacked by the pressure and fear exerted by Toji's mere voice and appearance.

Only to then disappear from his place as if he had never existed, and he threw himself against the two centipedes and all those attacking him.

His vision became blurry for only a few seconds, but he was sure it was fear... right?

'I must flee.' Panic overwhelmed the demon, and without hesitation, he used a technique he had created that would allow him to escape and have a chance to live another day.

Clasping his palms together--

"Where do you think you're going?" Reappearing in front of him and whispering with a cold voice dripping with pure murderous intent, Toji showed no mercy and unleashed a cut so swift that the demon only realized when half of his body was already in the air.

'What!?!?!?!' There was no way, for him, there was absolutely no way this could happen, simply none. His gaze focused on where his summonings had previously been, only to see... nothing.

What he saw were mere pieces of flesh cut into bits and scattered around; only then did apprehension strike him.

"This guy is too strong, but...," he murmured, practically shattered at the sight of the sword he had previously tried to steal, now the very same weapon that would end his existence.

'I swear by my Demon name, once I revive, I will come for you, you damned human. I will end your existence; I will make you suffer.' Venom and hatred seeped through his mental voice as he gazed with his now only eye at the man he would destroy in the future; he would be his next victim, his next target, and he would make sure he paid dearly.

"I swear by my Demon na--!!!" His voice was cut off when the sword moved in all directions at a nearly reaping speed and ended his life in an instant.

Now, the victor is him.

Toji Zenin.

Remaining static in the same spot, he let out a long sigh as he watched the Territory disappear, leaving his former host sprawled on the ground.

Feeling free for the first time in his life, he sensed his body and took a deep breath. Though his body ached, he felt that it was changing, and his physical strength was increasing; he felt tougher, more powerful. This sensation overwhelmed him immensely.

But quickly, this sensation was extinguished when his body felt a significant chill after sensing an indescribable pressure.

A woman with almost reddish hair in a ponytail, soft skin, and yellow eyes with concentric rings decorating them, dressed in office attire and a business coat that didn't hide her two pairs of ample assets, looked at Toji with the corners of her lips slightly raised. Her bangs, reaching almost to her eyes, cast a light shadow that accentuated her eyes, making them more unsettling.

Contrary to what should have happened, she maintained her typical friendly face. She knew well that she shouldn't show any emotion in front of her pawns, after all...

The way she looked at the man in front of her and the mini army of at least 15 men and some women behind her with katanas seemed to make her only more fearsome. Just the thought of encountering the only connection she had made without having to use fear to influence this man excited her.

"Long time no see." Just as she started to speak with a pleasant and feminine voice that could make any man fall at her feet, Toji appeared in front of her and launched an attack with his Inverted Celestial Halberd, aiming directly at her neck.

Makima opened her eyes and tried to step back, but it was already too late, and the halberd was inches away from piercing her neck.

Still, her expression remained as cold as ever, and her eyes seemed slightly disappointed; she definitely didn't expect that from him.

"Repulsion." A masculine and arrogant voice resonated throughout the area, and Toji's body stopped moving and was suddenly sent backward with indescribable force. So much so that Toji was sent flying through at least 10 houses in the process, crashing into an old relatively large building and causing it to collapse right where he would have landed, creating a loud crash and a massive dust cloud.

Makima, already having her second mini-surprise of the day, simply turned her head upward with a serious look and a stoic face, fixing her gaze on the figure of the man she knew well.

"You..." Her voice was empty and as cold as ever, devoid of emotions, as she observed the floating figure of the blond-haired man with his tongue slightly sticking out, on which the word "Repulsion" was written.