Hairo was certain of his victory. Certain of his success in tonight's hunt and with that confidence firmly in his mind, he pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
There it was, the sound he loved. The opening note of his victory trumpet. Usually, it was followed by a scream. A beautiful scream.
A cry of terror that marked the moment his hunt succeeded.
After that came enjoyment.
After that came indulgence.
But tonight was different.
On this quiet night, shrouded in thick, creeping mist, the sound Hairo was waiting for never arrived.
Instead-
*Clang!*
A foreign sound.
For the first time in his countless hunts as a demon, he heard it. The sound that followed his gunshot was not a scream.
Not a desperate cry for help.
It was the sound of metal striking metal.
A familiar sound, yet one that felt distant, almost forgotten.
Hairo frowned.
"…A swordsman?"
His hands paused, just for a moment. Not long enough to hesitate.
Another gunshot rang out.
His Shadow Wolf lunged into action.
And yet-
*Clang!*
Again.
Then-
*Clang!*
Again.
Hairo kept firing.
And each time he did, that sound followed.
Unyielding.
Unbroken.
But then, a shift... Hairo felt it. And then, after that, came the silence.
He sensed movement, yet felt no presence. He was a demon, sharpened by countless hunts, yet what stood before him was something else entirely.
A ghost.
There, but unseen.
Alive, yet breathless.
He was Kagerou.
And Hairo, for the first time in a long while, felt restlessness creep into his core as his prey vanished.
With a single thought, he commanded his Shadow Wolf to scout the spot where Kagerou had stood.
Meanwhile, Hairo remained atop the roof, eyes narrowed, senses stretched thin.
"This one is troublesome-"
"You are the troublesome one"
The voice came from behind him. In that instant, every hair on Hairo's body stood on end.
It felt as though the God of Death himself had spoken, while a cold scythe rested against his throat.
One movement.
One mistake.
And he would be reduced to ash.
"!!!"
---
As Kagerou vanished into the mist, his body became one with his surroundings.
He moved fast, yet soundless, each step so light it was as if he walked upon feathers.
He moved. He felt... And he found.
A disturbance rippled through the mist.
And in that moment, the prey became the hunter.
Within seconds, Kagerou reached the rooftop.
There stood a lone demon, a long rifle held loosely in its hands, its gaze fixed on the spot where Kagerou had been moments before.
Still, Kagerou did not strike.
Something was wrong.
There was something different about this demon, something unseen, yet undeniably present, as if an invisible guardian lingered around him.
Kagerou remained silent within the mist, observing, searching for the source of that unease.
But the answer did not come.
So he moved.
One step forward.
Ninjato in hand.
Slow. Steady. Undetected.
"This one is troublesome-" the demon muttered.
Kagerou was already within a single meter.
"You are the troublesome one," Kagerou replied, finally revealing his presence.
He did not hesitate.
His ninjato was already raised, and with one precise motion, it would end the demon's existence. He would not gamble. He would not grant the demon even a heartbeat to react.
*Slash!*
The blade descended.
Time seemed to slow.
And then, Kagerou saw it.
The demon's shadow moved.
Eyes, countless eyes opened within it as the shadow lunged forward, its maw splitting wide, snapping open just as Kagerou's blade neared the demon's neck.
Kagerou reacted instantly.
He loosened his grip, shifting his hold mid-motion, turning a swing into a thrust.
He pulled the ninjato back.
The shadow's maw closed, missing the blade by a hair.
And in the same breath, Kagerou struck.
*Stab!*
The thrust pierced the shadow, yet there was no resistance.
No flesh.
No bone.
Nothing.
Kagerou withdrew his blade at once and leapt backward, creating distance. His eyes locked onto the writhing shadow, and then he saw it clearly.
A wolf.
Its body was formed entirely of shadow, its silhouette twisted and unnatural. Dozens of eyes opened across its frame, all of them staring straight at Kagerou.
"…A wolf?" Kagerou muttered, but he had no time to dwell on it because he felt another disturbance ripple through the mist.
Fast and it's closing in.
"This is more troublesome than I thought," he said calmly, but there was no panic on his face.
Instead, Kagerou sheathed his ninjato and reached for his kiseru.
With practiced ease, he lit it and brought it to his lips. He inhaled once, then exhaled slowly. A thin stream of smoke flowed out, blending seamlessly with the surrounding mist, becoming indistinguishable from it.
At the same time, Hairo finally recovered from his shock and took a proper look at Kagerou.
"You…" Hairo snarled. "I will kill you!"
At his command, the shadow wolf beside him lunged forward.
And then.
Three more wolves emerged from the mist. They appeared mid-leap, fangs bared, claws outstretched, converging on Kagerou from all directions.
"…Sigh~" Kagerou exhaled softly, then took a deep breath. And exhaled again. "First Form: Soul Mist"
The smoke around him thickened instantly, swallowing his figure whole. His body blurred, becoming indistinct, like a reflection seen through rain-soaked glass.
Then the attack came.
One wolf went for his left arm.
One for his leg.
Another for his right hand.
The last lunged straight for his head, aiming to end his life in a single strike.
Kagerou did not move.
Seeing this, Hairo grinned, certain of his victory.
"What? Too afraid to move-" Hairo said but then froze. His eyes widened in shock.
The shadow wolves had struck.
Yet... Nothing.
No blood.
No screams.
No resistance.
Kagerou was still there, but the wolves' attacks passed through him as if he were nothing more than fog.
Where claws and fangs should have torn flesh, his body simply melted into smoke, dispersing for a brief instant before flowing back together, whole and unharmed.
"W-What kind of witchcraft is that?!" Hairo shouted, horror plainly etched across his face as he stared at the ever-calm Kagerou.
But Kagerou did not answer.
He took a single step forward.
His body passed straight through the shadow wolves, as though they were nothing more than silhouettes painted onto the mist.
They lunged again, claws raking through his form... And again, they struck nothing.
"…Second Form: Smoke Step," Kagerou said quietly.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished, and then he was standing directly in front of Hairo.
Too close.
Kagerou met the demon's gaze, searching his eyes for something, anything. But after a brief moment, his expression dulled, interest fading completely.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue, exhaling softly. "Not one of the Twelve Moons…"
He turned his head slightly, already bored.
"What a waste of time"
For a split second, Hairo froze.
Kagerou was too close.
No warning. No sound. No transition.
One moment the swordsman had been swallowed by mist, and the next, he stood right in front of him, eyes dull with disinterest, as if Hairo were already dead.
Panic surged.
Hairo's breath hitched, fangs bared as instinct screamed at him to move.
Kill him.
Hairo jerked the rifle up and pulled the trigger.
*BANG!*