The demon's claws elongated instantly, swiping through the air like a hot wire through butter. The heavy branch in Yoizumi's hands was sheared in half before he could even blink. He frowned, his boots skidding across the dirt as he scrambled backward.
"Hehe... scared now, brat?" The demon sneered, its eyes wide and bloodshot. "You look weak. You haven't even tasted human flesh yet, have you?"
Yoizumi remained unmoved. His mind was a cold engine of calculation. How do I pin him down? The moon was still high; dawn was hours away. He thought of Shinobu's needle-like blade—if only he had something that could actually deliver a killing blow.
Without a better option, he would have to use every ounce of his borrowed strength to keep this monster here until the sun rose. Yoizumi lunged. He closed the gap with startling speed, using the jagged, splintered end of his broken stick to drive into the demon's side. He left a cluster of shallow gashes before the wood shattered completely, forcing him to leap away again.
"Are you trying to tickle me?" The demon laughed, the sound a grating rattle. It stopped its frantic assault, finding a sick amusement in Yoizumi's struggle. The desperate resistance of an "insect" was making its foul mood turn into twisted delight.
It's not enough. The damage is too low.
Yoizumi cast aside the useless wood. He watched the demon's razored nails. If he can do it, can I? He tried to force his own nails to grow, but they remained stubbornly human.
No? Then what if I focus everything into my strike? He concentrated, feeling the latent power in his blood surge toward his right arm. The muscles beneath his skin coiled and tensed, pulsing with a sudden, violent energy.
That's it.
Yoizumi's leg snapped out, propelling him across the clearing in a blur. Before the demon could process the change in speed, Yoizumi's fist had already punched a hole clean through its chest. The demon let out a strangled gargle. In a frantic, panicked reflex, it swung its claws, severing Yoizumi's right arm at the elbow.
The limb spun away into the grass. Yoizumi didn't even flinch; he twisted his body and delivered a heavy roundhouse kick that sent the demon tumbling back into the brush.
He gripped his bloody stump. Within seconds, the flesh began to knit, bone snapping back into place and skin sealing over the wound. Even Yoizumi felt a flicker of shock. Such a wound... and it's already gone.
"Damn it! Damn it all! It hurts!"
The demon stared at the gaping hole in its own torso, cold sweat dripping down its pale face. An injury like that would take it thirty minutes to heal. But when it saw Yoizumi's arm already fully restored, it let out a terrified shriek.
"How?! How can your arm grow back that fast? That kind of regeneration... only the Twelve Kizuki possess that! What the hell are you?!"
Twelve Kizuki? The name meant nothing to Yoizumi. But he understood one thing: his speed of recovery was not normal. If I heal this fast, he thought, can I just ignore the damage? Can I fight without caring if I'm torn apart?
Just as the thought formed, that soft, phantom voice returned.
"Cherish your body, Yoizumi. If you get hurt, I'll be very sad."
He found he couldn't bear the thought of making her sad. He abandoned the idea of reckless self-destruction instantly. Who is she?
A sudden, blinding agony lanced through his skull. Every time he tried to pull at the thread of that memory, the pain struck like a physical blow. Something was barring the door to his past. Yoizumi fell to his knees, clutching his head, his heart stuttering with sharp, needle-like pricks of pain. He hadn't blinked when his arm was severed, yet this mental torment was breaking him.
Why? Why does the thought of her cause such pain?
While Yoizumi was incapacitated by the agony, the demon seized its chance. It began to crawl stealthily toward the unconscious woman, muttering curses under its breath while trying not to alert the golden-haired boy.
"Stupid brat... I haven't lost. Once I eat that Rare Blood, I'll win! Just you wait, I'll make you beg for death!"
The distance closed. Five meters. Three. The demon couldn't wait any longer; it lunged through the air toward the girl.
"CAW! DIRECTLY AHEAD! THE DEMON IS DIRECTLY AHEAD!"
Step, step, step—
Shinobu Kocho burst from the treeline. Her eyes locked onto the demon mid-flight. Her hand blurred toward her hilt.
"Insect Breathing, Butterfly Dance: Caprice!"
No, it's too late! Shinobu realized. She had the speed, but the distance was too great. The demon's claws were inches from the woman's throat.
Then, a golden shadow intervened.
Yoizumi threw himself in front of the woman, taking the full brunt of the demon's desperation. Its claws tore through his chest, leaving deep, ragged furrows that exposed bone. Ignoring the spray of his own blood, Yoizumi swung his right fist with crushing force, detonating the demon's head in a single, brutal impact.
The headless body was flung back, its hands clawing at the air as it tried to orient itself.
Almost! I was almost there! Why do you keep getting in my way?! the demon's consciousness screamed from within the stump of its neck.
Yoizumi walked toward the flailing creature. Without its head, the demon was swinging blindly. Yoizumi reached down, grabbed its arm, and with a sickening crunch, tore it from the socket. He didn't stop until both of the demon's arms were ripped away, leaving it a useless, writhing heap on the forest floor.
"Mr. Yoizumi?"
Shinobu had landed behind him. At the sound of her voice, Yoizumi's frame stiffened. It took him a long moment to turn around and face her.
"I..."
"To think you survived my poison and are still standing," Shinobu said, her smile fixed but her eyes sharp as flint. "And what exactly are you doing now?"
She knew. She had seen him shield a Rare Blood woman while suffering from extreme hunger and heavy wounds. It was a feat of willpower that defied everything she knew about demons.
"..."
"I just... did what... I wanted to do," Yoizumi rasped. He looked at the mangled demon on the ground. "Use your... sword. Kill it."
He fell silent. Speaking was still a heavy labor.
Shinobu didn't hesitate. She stepped forward and delivered a precise strike, injecting the wisteria toxin. Within seconds, the demon dissolved into ash. Yoizumi watched it fade, thinking of how close he had come to the same end.
Nearby, Shinobu quickly applied bandages to the woman's wounds, waiting for the Kakushi—the cleanup crew—to arrive. Finally, she turned her full attention back to Yoizumi. Her purple eyes were deep with a new, clinical fascination.
"You aren't one of the Twelve Kizuki, yet you overcame my poison. How?"
Yoizumi stared into her eyes for a long time. Finally, he spoke three words.
"I don't know."
Shinobu's smile twitched, but she regained her composure instantly.
"Mr. Yoizumi."
"?"
"Do you have somewhere to go?"
"No."
"Then... will you come home with me?"
The air between them seemed to freeze. Only the distant call of a night bird broke the silence. Yoizumi tilted his head, his sapphire eyes looking down at the small woman.
"Why?"
Looking into those eyes—eyes that seemed to hold the very stars he had been searching for—Shinobu's voice softened, losing some of its artificial edge.
"Because... I'm curious about you."