'This demon… she's on a whole different level!'
For demons, size didn't mean strength. She looked fragile, but the pressure she gave off dwarfed all the others combined.
She chuckled, glancing at the sky. "If you can last half a stick of incense, I'll have to retreat."
With a flick of her fan, her enchanting face flashed briefly then crimson flames roared from it.
Haru dodged fast, leaping to the ground. He slashed a support beam, collapsing the shaky hut.
She laughed softly, landing lightly as a feather with a tap of her toes.
On solid ground, Haru felt steadier. Up on the roof, he'd had no confidence against her slippery moves. After all, she didn't seem fazed by the terrain.
He pushed magical energy through his circuits, enhancing his limbs to their limit. The Muramasa, five times heavier than a normal tachi, felt perfect in his boosted grip.
"Mmm, mmm… looks like you're about to pull off something big," she said, covering one eye with her fan, looking at him with the other.
"How could you have the heart to do that to a weak woman like me?" Her voice was so soft and sweet, enough to weaken most.
But Haru stayed cold, his dark eyes locked on her every twitch, sinking into a focused state.
Her eyes narrowed. The fan glowed. "But I know a thing or two about striking first!"
Three searing fireballs shot out, small as fists but white-hot at their cores. They were far purer than her earlier flames. These were true demon fire.
Haru kept calm. He surged forward, weaving past the first two by a hair, then met the last head-on.
The Muramasa flashed, splitting the fireball in two. Flames burst outward in a dazzling shower. Haru charged through and closed in on her.
The woman was surprised that he'd countered so cleanly. Her fireballs were fast and tiny; near impossible to hit with a sword. Yet Haru had done it with ease, hinting he hadn't even gone all out.
"Such swordsmanship is rare for a human, but alas…" She smiled. "But unfortunately, humans can't hurt me."
Haru slashed at her neck only to meet air. His gut sank, and he dodged back.
Flaming arrows zipped past where he'd been. A second slower, and he'd be dead.
"I forgot to mention, I'm Yumeko, hehe…." her voice echoed around him, invisible.
"Hehe, my foot!" Haru steadied himself, closed his eyes, and felt the air.
His strength split three ways: mind, his swordsmanship state; body, his enhanced form; technique, eight years of honed skills.
Now with all that, he blended his senses and stepped left. His body bended like a bow, and thrust the Muramasa like an arrow. A fireball crossed its path and split apart, as it had crashed into the blade.
Swish!
Blood sprayed midair.
"Ah!!" Yumeko appeared, a fan blocking the sword with one hand, the other clutching her slashed cheek. She glared. "How'd you know where I was?!"
Haru ignored her, pressing the attack with relentless strikes.
It was simple. The technique was his own rough creation, focusing all his senses. Any attack he could sense, he could counter instantly.
Like a blind man sharpening his ears, he'd stumbled into this skill. A feisty neighbor used to hurl junk at him from her window after losing games. Dodging her random throws had forced him to learn it.
His sword flowed, unleashing combos he couldn't use against the swordsman's shadow.
Although Yumeko had some skills, her main attacks were illusions and flames. Her fan parried clumsily, too rushed to cast spells. Only her demon reflexes kept her intact.
'This won't do! This brat has no manners. If he continues like that, I won't be able to keep up!' She gritted her teeth, swept her fan to knock the Muramasa aside, and flung off her Kimono. Left in undergarments, her bare arms and legs gleamed.
Haru blinked, caught off guard. Then the shed clothing ignited and flew at him.
He pierced it with the Muramasa and flicked it away, unharmed. But when he looked up, Yumeko had fled to a rooftop, staring down.
Half-naked, her face flushed with fury and shame, she took a deep breath and let out a piercing cry.
Haru tensed. He knew she was calling for backup but faced with the situation, he couldn't help a quick whistle….. And then snapped back to the battle stance.
Within moments, the ground shook. A two-story blue-skinned ogre lumbered up, an unconscious shrine maiden dangling from its hand.
Yumeko snapped her fan open and numerous fire serpents coiled around her, hiding her exposed skin.
She eyed the girl in the ogre's grip, her gaze sharpening. "So this is the 'Inugami Shrine Maiden' said to banish calamities…She is only ten? Does she really have that much spiritual power? Blue Ogre, are you sure you got the right one?"
The ogre growled low. "There was only her and a human boy at the shrine… look what she did."
As he said, he stretched his other hand showing his palm; charred black.
Yumeko nodded. "Look like you got the right one… good. I'll put in a word for your reward later."
Haru tightened his hold on the Muramasa, unease creeping in.
Yumeko alone had stretched him thin. Now a blue ogre too? Its size was daunting. With just a sword and no other magic, he doubted he could do much damage.
'Should I run?'
He wavered. To be honest he felt bad for the villagers and the girl, but he wasn't selfless enough to die for strangers.
'But just leave them to die?'
Watching humans butchered by demons gnawed at him.
As he wrestled with it, Yumeko turned, her voice sharp. "Boy, I will make sure you die without a burial place.!"
As she said, the ogre's massive fist, big as a water barrel, swung at Haru.
He leaped aside. The punch cratered the ground half a man deep, making Haru suck in a breath.
This ogre wasn't just a show. One solid hit, and he'd be finished.
Luckily, with one hand holding the girl, it could only swing one fist. Haru's agility kept him out of reach.
Swish, swish!
Just as he landed, two crimson fire spears streaked toward him. He calmly, he swung twice, knocking them off course.
"Wow~ Pretty nimble, huh? How about this?" Yumeko smirked, fanning out a firebird the size of an eagle. It dove at Haru like prey.
Unsure of its tricks, Haru didn't block. He jumped onto the ogre's arm, dodging the bird's first rush. The ogre, annoyed, slapped at him like swatting a fly.
But before its hand closed, a dark red flash cut upward. The ogre roared, yanking its hand back.
Heat surged behind Haru. He twisted aside as the firebird swooped silently past, nearly catching him.
It missed and flew off, circling for another shot. Haru's eyes glinted. He wouldn't let it.
The Muramasa slashed, overtaking the bird and slicing off half its wing. With a wail, it burst into flames and faded back into the fan.
Haru stood still, staring coldly at the demons with blood dripping from his sword.
Although it seemed he had an upper hand, it was a tightrope walk; one slip, and he'd be gone.
Like a game, he was a high-damage, high-speed assassin against a mage-tank duo. Killing him was tough, but one hit could end him. Human limits didn't match demon toughness.
Yumeko folded her fan then glanced at the ogre. Its hand had five bone-revealing cuts.
She studied the Muramasa thoughtfully. "That's a demon sword too, isn't it?"
Haru frowned. "Too?"
Suddenly, the ground quaked. Birds erupted from Mount Enzou like a dark cloud against the night sky.
"Oh my, the non-nocturnal birds are spooked… it's waking up," Yumeko said, smiling.
"Little man, I won't play anymore… next time, I'll burn you to ash!" Her tone turned icy with murderous intent.
"Retreating now?" Haru blinked, surprised.
Suddenly his ahoge jolted, pointing to Mount Enzou. A stinging dread warned of something terrifying approaching.
As the tremors grew, demons scattered across the village panicked. Dozens of odd creatures banding together to fly.
Yumeko shot Haru a look with reluctance and frustration mixing; then gave up, readying her demonic energy to join the ogre.
Then, a bold, youthful voice cut through. "You filthy demons, let Shion go!"
Haru and the demons turned, startled.
A handsome boy, maybe eleven or twelve in tattered samurai clothes dashed out. He glared at the ogre with hate, then softened with worry at the girl in its hand.
He clutched an old Japanese sword, so worn it seemed it might snap if drawn.
'Uh… this is too obvious,' Haru thought, almost smirking. 'Classic setup: childhood friends, boy and girl, sudden foes, girl snatched… usually, the boy awakens some power, or the sword's a relic.'
'After that, even if he can't save her, he'd kill one demon, and the rest flee with her. Then it's a quest to grow stronger with new allies… but that's so old-school.'
What came next killed his amusement. The boy drew his blade, a rusty, jagged mess.
He charged the ogre, steps wild, clearly untrained.
'Wait, that sword's no relic… maybe this isn't a tired trope after all.'
Haru's brow creased. He gripped the Muramasa, ready to step in.
The ogre ignored the boy, not bothering to dodge or block, still talking to Yumeko.
"He was with the shrine maiden. I thought I'd knocked him out, but human kids are tougher than they look…"
The boy hacked at the ogre's knee, sparks flying. Despair hit him, his full swing didn't even scratch it.
"Aaaaah!"
He swung madly without any skill, his rage driving him.
After a dozen blows, he'd only scraped off dirt, barely exposing the ogre's true skin.
The gap in strength was crushing.
....
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