Quixotic - Chapter 7

Takako POV

Sukuna was a predator.

When the fight began, when I found my resolve, when my first attacks landed unchallenged, I felt that maybe - just maybe - the monster I was facing could be bled to death, could be slowly eroded down till none of what made him remained. 

It was my confidence which had been eroded instead. Strike by strike, minute by minute. Sukuna was a beast, but a methodical beast. He treated my innate technique with respect after his first failure to breach it. Poking, prodding, never overcommitting. 

It was nothing new. I’d faced sorcerers who had employed much the same strategy. It wasn’t feasible. Control of the sky meant that I could stay unmarred as I broke my opponents. One couldn’t fight the sky. It wasn’t human, it wasn’t susceptible to being made prey. 

Sukuna laughed at that notion. I landed hits. Many of them, but other than Akira, no one had mastery of the RCT to the same level as Sukuna. Slowly, over the course of the protracted fight, his usage of the technique had lessened. Not because he was flagging, but because he wasn’t getting hit.

He was a physical monster. He moved fast, faster even than Akira with his physical enhancement abilities. With his concentration only on dodging, only on recognising patterns, hitting him had become almost impossible. Even the best of my tricks, applications of my power that had felled legends, were dodged effortlessly.

He had understood the very core of my technique. Now, all he had to do was learn to breach it. 

He tried at first with one of his weapons. The tiny vajra-like weapon was his preferred one. It was a cursed tool she knew of. Kamutoke, the herald of thunder, and it was as mighty as I thought it would be.

The only reason I survived the first attack was luck. I was preparing an attack of my own when he struck, and the bolt of lightning bent around me, passing into the ground, far too close for comfort. 

It would have killed me, and Sukuna knew that. 

It was then that fear had started to overcome my desire to win. Only the thought that, were I to fall here, Akira would have to face Sukuna stopped me from fleeing, even when he gave me the chance to. 

He had, very openly, left the avenue for escape open for me. Why? I couldn’t tell. Yet it was there, and the longer I fought him, the more willing he was to let me go.

Until he shut the door on me. I saw his demeanour change mid-exchange, and the way his next dismantle actually followed the curve of my altered sky, taking off some of my hair, I understood that something had changed.

Kamutoke shot out, and I had less than a fraction of a second to shield myself from above. The lightning bolt struck, but it didn’t slip through my altered sky. Instead, a dismantle launched from below caught it, and against all logic, the thunderbolt split, if only for a second before the incompatible energies combusted in an explosion that threw me down to the ground. While I was able to misdirect some of the force, my landing was not kind.

And neither was Sukuna, who was already within arms reach of me.

He struck with all four of his hands, four different angles, four different trajectories. I couldn’t use thin ice breaker without hurting myself at this distance, and by the look in his eyes, the expression of blissful glee, I knew that he was aware of this. 

So I bent the sky again. Four attacks, each aimed for a different part of my body. This was a game of mitigation. A curl in the sky between us blocked his lower left, another blocked both attacks from the right. Yet, he was fast, fast enough that as I was pulling the sky to drape my upper body, his upper left arm collided with my hand.

And my hand ceased to be.

I scuttled back on the ground, using my technique to create space. I’d glimpsed his technique momentarily. It was similar to his dismantle, but far more rapid. Launched instantaneously on contact, it had chopped my hand off my arm before I could have so much as tried to pull back. 

It was only years of training and a life spent as an active assassin that stayed my scream of pain. I didn’t have time for such a distraction. Sukuna was still advancing on me, and unlike me, he was not on his ass.

This time, though, I didn’t have to defend, as a translucent shield appeared between me and Sukuna. He crashed face-first into it, and was repulsed. Before he could destroy the shield, a glob of what looked like black metal sheared off both his left arms, forcing him to create distance and regenerate.

Meanwhile, I felt a warm, familiar caress on my injured arm, and a burst of warmth followed, returning my hand to its original shape. I looked up, and my eyes were met by Akira’s worried gaze.

“Sorry I took so long.” He spoke, and inside, I felt the heaviness of failure. No, he didn’t need to apologize. He shouldn’t be here. I should have killed Sukuna for him, even if it cost me my life. 

His gaze shifted, locking on to Sukuna. And instead of confusion, instead of anger, all I saw on Sukuna’s face was recognition.

“It is you. The child from the world of the gods.” He spoke, a wondrous smile on his face. “I thought I’d killed you.”

“You did.” Akira spoke, stepping forward. His expression, in opposition to Sukuna, was far colder. There was a level of hatred there that I’d never seen on his face. There was finality in his tone, a detachment from his usual caring voice. I did not know Akira was capable of showcasing such a cold front, but it excited me. Why? I couldn’t tell. 

“I got better.”

I was helped up. Not by Akira, but by Yorozu of all people. I was about to pull away, when I was taken aback by the mischief on her face. The care she took while helping me to my feet,  It was at complete odds with the confrontationality she had shown earlier.

Just what had transpired between the two of them for Yorozu to show me such care?

“Better. Indeed. It has been decades since our fateful meeting” Sukuna spoke, taking a step forward. I reflexively tried to inch back, only for Yorozu to grab my newly-repaired arm. It was a calming gesture, enough to snap me out of the instinctual fear that proximity to Sukuna was inflicting on me.

“Yet, you haven’t aged a day.” He finished, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“You remember me more than I thought you would.” Akira countered, and I got a distinct feeling that neither of them were interested in much other than each other right then. 

“How could I forget?” Sukuna spoke with a sharp chuckle. “In my years of travel, I have never been provided definitive proof that gods exist, not until I met you and that creature.”

“Don’t worry.” Akira spoke, a spear appearing in his right hand, and what a spear it was. Golden, glowing with light. Its mere presence chased away the cold of the night. “You’ll have time enough to get to know them well once I send you to the afterlife.”

“Just like you did Uraume?” Sukuna stepped forth, brandishing his trishula. Hiten, another cursed tool, one that was even more documented than Kamutoke. Sukuna’s signature weapon, one he hadn’t even bothered to use against me.

It stung my pride, the fact that Sukuna hadn’t seen the need to use it against me. Yet I was also sure I wouldn’t have survived if he’d not been curious about my abilities. It became clear to me why Sukuna was willing to let me get away if I wished.

I wasn’t the one who he wanted to fight. 

“Pissed off that we got rid of your little follower?” Akira asked, lowering his center of gravity, holding his spear with both hands. I tensed, allowing the sky to bend around me. Yorozu was ready too, two insectoid wings appearing on her back.

“Uraume fell because he believed he could face you.” Sukuna spoke, two hands gripping Hiten menacingly while a third raised Kamutoke high. The fourth stayed lax, ready to fire out his innate technique the moment he saw an opening. “His hubris was his death, as I told him it would be, repeatedly.” 

The chuckle that emanated from him gave me pause. His reaction to the death of his follower was a laugh? Before I could vocalize my disbelief, Akira beat me to it.

“You’re laughing at this death?” He asked, genuinely affronted.

Sukuna shook his head. “No, I am very displeased, angry too, but the irony of this moment is worth laughing at.” 

“The last time we met, in this very city, you lost your life in a misguided attempt to try and save me.” He spoke, a crazed grin on his face. “And here you are again, about to lose your life in a misguided attempt to end mine.”

“You cannot possibly believe you can defeat all three of us.” I spoke up. Sure, he was powerful. Sure, his technique was ridiculous, and sure, he had two legendary cursed tools, but me and Yorozu were no slouches. My technique, combined with the might of one of the Emperor’s own elite sorcerers’ would be hard for Sukuna to deal with, even with all his prowess.

That, plus Akira was different. In the short amount of time he’d been away from me, he seemed to have found a new level. The spear in his hands was an indication, because as great as Sukuna’s weapons were, they paled in front of it. No, this was not a fight Sukuna should be able to win, no matter how strong he was.

Then again, she would have said the same for when he faced her squads, or when he faced the Abe clan. Sukuna could not be taken lightly, even if he was outnumbered, he was not outgunned.

“He won’t be fighting all three of you anyways.” 

The ground under me split, and I took to the skies. Beside me, Yorozu did the same. Vines, filled with cursed energy, the thickness of ancient oaks split the earth, rising for miles in a line, creating a nigh-impenetrable barrier between me and Akira, splitting the battlefield in two.

I turned around to face the perpetrator. It was him, the hat-wearing man that Tengen had warned us about. The blasted man had chosen the worst time to show himself.

“Enjoy yourself, Lord Sukuna.” The man spoke, taking off his hat to show a line of stitches going around his forehead. 

“I have business with these ladies.”

LB

Akira POV

The feeling of magic flowing through my veins was euphoric.

It was like the embrace of a long-lost friend, like meeting one’s mother after years of separation. It felt like it was always there, always waiting to embrace me. It wasn’t till the Devourer gave me the gift of imagination magic that I’d finally reconnected with such a crucial part of myself.

Yet, it paled in comparison to the weapon in my hands. Agneyastra, it was the weakest form of Omega’s weapon, and yet it was a weapon fit for a king, if not a god. 

It felt like a natural extension of myself as it clashed against Sukuna’s Trishula. I’d been briefed on it by tengen. Hiten, a weapon that embodied the fires of destruction. A weapon that Sukuna had used to Immolate entire cities, entire armies.

In front of Agneyastra, it felt like a cheap toy. 

Kamutoke struck from above, and I moved to avoid the barrage of lightning strikes that fell from the skies. Earth was glassed, but that didn’t stop Sukuna from launching a dismantle straight at my face. 

Mana left my body as a translucent shield intercepted the dismantle, cracking in the process. I could make them stronger, strong enough that Sukuna would have no chance of breaking through, but I could not make them mobile, not yet. 

This was efficient Mana usage. I needed as much as I could get for more offensive utilities. Like keeping Agneyastra anchored in reality, or for the offensive boost provided by Enhancement magic. 

Enhancement magic that, in synergy with my other boosts, was just enough to allow me to outspeed and overpower Sukuna. That, combined with Agneyastra was the only thing keeping me in this fight.

A wave of fire concealed a dismantle, and I was able to jump over both, only to come face to face with a grinning Sukuna. Ready to Skewer me with Hiten. 

That grin pissed me off, so as I turned midair and struck out, with Agneyastra, the fact that it cut straight through Hiten’s haft was a good compromise. 

I landed behind him, turning to watch as he looked confusedly at the two halves of Hiten in his hands. He turned his head, looking at me from the side with his eyes. Instead of the grin being wiped off his face, it grew feral, disturbing even.

“God that grin is fucking ugly.” I commented, getting ready to fight again. 

“You say that as if yours is any prettier.” Sukuna shot back, and for a second, I paused, the realization that I too had been grinning finally hit me.

“Don’t be so confused. It doesn’t take much to see that you are just like me.” Sukuna spoke.

“The fuck do you mean by that?” I shot back. 

“You’re bored.” He spoke like it explained everything. One look at my dumbfounded expression forced a sigh out of him. “You’re bored of your life. You’re bored of what people consider normal. You’ve never fit in, you’ve always been destined to be something greater, yet now that you are, you’re learning that it’s not all that special to be great.”

“The mundane, the trappings of this world. They do not interest you one bit, nor do you have any interest in changing it.” He continued. “You’re just seeking a thrill.”

“I’m not willing to sacrifice others for the sake of thrills, Sukuna.” I countered, only for him to openly laugh at that. A full bellied laugh, like I’d just told him an incredible joke.

“Yet here you are, meddling with affairs that you have no business in. You had every chance to leave.” He spoke, “Neither of those two girls want to be here. I even gave the assassin every chance to escape, but she didn’t. Do you know why?”

I was silent. I didn’t claim to know how Takako’s mind worked, but Sukuna seemed to, and there was something unnerving about that. 

“She knew that if she fell, you’d face me.” He spoke, “she knew that her words would not convince you otherwise. She knew better than you, the hate you hold in your heart for me.”

“Now you’re just bluffing.” I spat.

“Child, I’ve known hate my entire life. That hateful glare you gave me when you saw me at the festival? It felt amazing. You truly hate me to the point where my existence itself is something you cannot tolerate. Of course she saw that, as terrified of me as she was.” He spoke. 

“Her courage was why I was willing to let her go. It is admirable, to go up against certain death for someone else’s sake.” he sneered.

“Funny how you’d let her go for that when you killed me for trying to save you.” I growled.

“I killed you because you touched me.” Sukuna admonished, like something so trivial, made all the difference in the world. “For your misguided attempt at trying to save my life, I gave you my name.”

“What an honor.” I commented sarcastically.

“It is.” Sukuna stated matter-of-factly. “And today, I will allow you to tell me yours. Coming back from death itself for your revenge? That too is worthy of great honor.”

“My name.” I spoke, enhancing myself to my very limits, every source of energy in my body running at max output.

“Is Akira Shun.” I spoke, moving at enough speed to completely bypass his perception. Before he could even react, I’d plunged Agneyastra into his stomach-face, and I wasn’t done there.

Greenish-black flames covered my right hand as I struck at his face. To his credit, he didn’t let the pain of being impaled by Agneyastra stop him from reacting to the incoming Black Flash. The hand that held Kamutoke came up, and as I prayed to get the timing right, my hand collided with the cursed tool.

The black sparks decided to bless me, and Kamutoke shattered, taking a few fingers along with it.

At the same time, another of Sukuna’s fists collided with my sternum, and searing pain forced me to pull back, he’d landed a cleave, and my RTC had to work overtime to heal it. He was in a similar boat, as we created distance, it became a competition of who could heal faster.

It was him who recovered first. His wounds were smaller, and he had limbs to spare. The smile on his face refused to leave, as he spoke a single word.

“Open”

An arrow of flame formed in his hands, misshapen, but loaded with incredible power. I raised Agneyastra, pumping it full of every bit of mana left in my system.

The arrow flew, and so did Agneyastra, and when they collided, a miniature sun was born. Unluckily for Sukuna, Agneyastra kept flying, lodging itself in his throat. 

He pulled it out as fast as he could. The burning spear had cauterized his throat, making his RCT painstakingly slow. Yet that infernal grin was ever-present. Agneyastra faded in his hands, I’d run out of mana to keep it summoned.

“To push me this far… Truly, killing you was the greatest stroke of luck for me.” He spoke, his voice raspy, lacking air. Having a giant hole in your throat would do that. “If only I could keep fighting you for all eternity. Killing you and having you return, strengthened.”

“Once I’m done with you, there will be no coming back.” I spoke, my senses enhanced by the Black Flash. Even with my mana gone, I was feeling sharper than ever. The blessing of the black sparks was intoxicating beyond belief.

“Alas, all good things must come to an end.” He spoke, his hands rising, clasped in prayer. Yet, there was no chant, just a suffocating outburst of cursed energy, followed by one single line.

“Domain Expansion: Shrine.” He spoke, and a wave of cursed energy washed over the world, painting it in sanguine hues, blotting out the night sky.

I cursed internally as I saw it. True to its name, it was a shrine. A buddhist shrine desecrated beyond compare, decorated with innumerable skulls, and surrounded by a lake of blood.

Sukuna sat at the shrine, in a throne lacquered red. I stood knee-deep in blood. This was Sukuna’s domain, a reflection of his very soul. 

And within his soul, within his world, I had no power.

“Welcome, Akira Shun.” He spoke, throwing his arms wide. “Welcome to my very soul. The final resting place of very, very few warriors.”

“You should be honored.” He spoke, bringing down a hand. 

I saw the dismantle. I reacted to the dismantle, yet still it sheared through my clothes, leaving a deep gash in my shoulder. I winced in pain, falling to my knees. RCT healed it fast, but it couldn’t keep up as three more cuts appeared on my torso. 

“There is nowhere to run here. No one can survive this.” He spoke, his mirth gone. “I had hoped you would be the first to challenge me here. To push me here, but it seems you are not yet ready.”

“Maybe another death will do it.”

A cleave shredded my torso, faster than my RCT could keep up. I was losing blood, and my Touki was useless. In this domain, there was nothing that could block his attacks, nothing that could dodge his deadly sword. 

Yet, my mind was ablaze. The very manifestation of his soul was this shrine, a grisly summation of what Sukuna was. His innate ability derived from it, and it enshrined his totality without a doubt. 

Connections formed, understanding developed, the very genesis of innate techniques was finally cleared to me. The gap between the soul and the skill had one final link, and stuck in the manifestation of Sukuna’s soul, I saw it clear.

A spear, a weapon, Agneyastra. The feeling of it being a part of me. I was born to be a weapon, a hollow receptacle for two being greater than any. I was the tip of the spearhead that they hoisted, and I was not built to bow before obstacles. 

My destiny was to pierce right through.

My hands rose of their own accord, not in prayer, but in opposition. And one word was all I could utter, as I saw a barrage of Dismantles descend on me.

“Genesis Point.”

It cut through his dismantles. It didn’t care, it burned a hole through them, and as it reached Sukuna, I could have sworn that the last thing I saw on his face before the domain collapsed was fear.

It quite suited him.

LB

Kenjaku POV

The collapse of Sukuna’s domain came earlier than expected. 

It had helped immensely. Rare as it was, the two girls had pushed me to the limits of this body. Loath as I was to admit weakness, this body was simply not up to par with their combined prowess. 

Sukuna’s domain expansion changed that. The moment it went up, both the girls threw caution to the wind, trying to get to it. Two domain expansions from the outside would have no doubt destroyed Sukuna’s ultimate technique, but in their haste to save their friend, they forgot one crucial thing.

Me.

This body’s innate technique was the manipulation of nature. Vines, trees, foliage, all very usable in a fight, or even outside of it. More useful were the poisons that nature created.

Poisons that now coursed through the bodies of the two girls. 

Of course, they weren’t completely natural poisons. One always needed to be wary of RCT users. No, this was a poison of magnitudes. It corrupted the body exponentially. One could fight back with the RCT, sure, but when the poison sped up its action every second, it wasn’t feasible to counter.

Shame, I’d been saving my supply to be eventually used on Sukuna. He’d see it now, used on these girls. The chance to use it on him would be gone with the element of surprise.

Yet, as the domain fell and I finally saw Sukuna, I realized that my poison would be wasted on him, considering most of him was missing to begin with.

Two thirds of his torso was gone. And so was his entire right side. A perfect circle had been cut into his body with his heart as the center, and it was wide enough to make sure every other organ keeping Sukuna alive was gone with it.

Yet, he stood. The light in his eyes had gone out, but he stood, all the way to the bitter end. I supposed I could respect that.

I could also fear the man who had done it. The same man who was now kneeling beside Takako, his RCT active, foolishly trying to heal her even as the poison was turning her body a mottled shade of purple.

His eyes rose to see me standing over Yorozu, midway through the act of cutting off a finger. It was all I needed from both of them. Their lives were inconsequential. 

Not to him, I supposed. As he raised his free hand, no doubt readying whatever attack he’d used to remove most of Sukuna’s matter from his body, I quickly hoisted up Yorozu’s insensate body as a meat shield.

“Now now. I wouldn’t recommend that.” I chided, trying to hide my fear. I did not know if he cared about Yorozu to the same extent that she seemed to care for him. For all I knew, the only thing separating myself from oblivion was slight hesitation, hesitation he could overcome at a whim.

“Let me go, and you will see her again.” I spoke. He didn’t need to know when. My plan was long, and I had all the time in the world, as long as I could survive this encounter. 

I could see irritation on his face as his RCT was not working as intended. He was gazing furiously to the side as well, where two red squares seemed to hang ominously in the sky next to him.

I couldn’t tell what he was more irritated by, but the way he was shifting his attention rapidly between me and the screens made it feel like he was in a hurry.

“I will come back for her.” He spoke, the sheer oppressive hate I felt from him made the hair on the back of my neck stand. “Till then, make your peace with any gods you worship.”

Then, he tapped on one of those screens, and in a flash of red light, both him and Takako Uro were gone. 

I let out a deep breath that I hadn’t even realized I was holding. Truly, the boy’s presence was terrifying. Against all odds, he’d killed Sukuna, done me a favor at that. I’d already preserved an item from Uraume, the brat’s dead body was still cooling in the city, unguarded. I’d get one from Yorozu as well. 

And from Sukuna, I’d make ten. I’d originally planned to make twice the number, but he was very prominently missing half his limbs.

Ten wasn’t a bad number, all things considered.

LB

??? POV

The sun was coming up, but I would not get to see it.

Left alone to fight, frostbitten, lacerated, it was a pitious state. To have trained my entire life with a singular goal, only to come up short when I needed to step up the most, it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

The bitter taste could also be blood, I was too tired, too injured to care. 

He was still following me. Obsessed. I had never known one of their kind to be so obsessed with women, to be so particular about their food. 

I would not be eaten. I had given him the slip, and morning would come soon, but that was the thing about obsession. He would chase me till the last moment he could. I knew because I could still smell him.

I kept moving. Maybe in his obsession, he would realize too late that his time was up. 

I almost fell when I bumped into someone. My hand went to my scabbard, forgetting that my blade had been lost in the battle. I knew it wasn’t him, but any member of his unwitting cult would catch and restrain me for him. 

They truly believed he would provide the salvation they craved. Foolish sheep.

I finally got a good look at the person I’d run into, and paused.

It was a young man. Younger than me, possibly. He was also the most beautiful man I had ever seen, even compared to the demon that currently chased me. His beauty had an ethereal quality to it, and it instantly set me on edge. His clothes were torn, but his skin was unblemished, like a newborn babe. 

He was crouched over a woman, a woman who was barely breathing.

So deep was his concentration that he barely noticed me. He gave me one quick glance, his eyes trailing over my wounds. I saw something click in his head, and he made a hissing noise.

“Fucking hell, I’m still not thinking right.” He spoke, and his hand started to glow green. A wave of warmth accompanied the green light, and I saw my injuries disappear. On the ground, the woman’s breathing became steady. 

This man was not a demon, no. My sense of smell had never lied to me. He was human, yet he used a demon art in front of me. 

“Oh, it’s an AOE heal. Great.” He spoke, letting out a sigh of relief. Those words meant nothing to me. Yet, as he turned to face me, looking down into my eyes, I couldn’t help but blush. 

Oddly enough, he was blushing too.

“Oh there you are, Darling!” 

He stepped forward from the shadows, and with him came that miasma of cold. Yet, it never reached me. The aura seemed to fizzle out and die around the beautiful man, yet the demon did not notice this. Doma had no eyes for men.

Yet, he did take note of the woman on the ground. She was beautiful too, and Doma loved beautiful women.

“Oh you found me another playmate! You spoil me, dear.” Doma spoke as he started to walk towards the other woman for a closer look.

Only to be stopped by the beautiful man.

“She is not your ‘playmate’ he spoke, his eyes boring holes into the demon. His eyes then moved to me “And by the looks of it, she’s not your ‘dear’.”

Doma finally noticed the man. He gave him a curious look, like he was looking at an anomaly. Then, he sighed.

“All that beauty is wasted on you.” he spoke, and before I could even react, Doma’s fan shot out, and the icy miasma came with it. I prepared for the frost. My body may have been healed, but my fatigue and lack of weapon left me in danger.

Yet, as I heard a splattering sound, I could scarcely believe my eyes.

There were multiple holes littering Doma’s body, each a perfect circle, each carving its way through his torso and out the back. All the beautiful man had done was raise a hand.

Doma let out a choking sound, and the beautiful man leaned in to take a closer look.

“Huh, that wasn’t enough to kill you. Surprising.” He spoke, an offhanded comment, said with such disinterest that you would scarcely believe he was facing the hole-ridden body of the second upper moon.

“Sadly for you, I’ve had my fill of ice-chucking twinks for life.” He spoke, and brought his hands together. Before I could so much as blink, Doma simply… ceased to be. 

I was broken out of my reverie as multiple trees crashed to the ground behind where Doma had stood seconds ago. Their trunks all bored through with a circle about as large as Doma was tall.

“Huh, so this is what the system meant by ‘threat level: Miniscule’” The man intoned. He looked over at me, and was about to ask a question, when the sounds of multiple footsteps appeared in the distance.

Out of the treeline, Shinobu burst out, followed by three Hashira. 

They moved fast, drawing their Nichirin blades and striking at the beautiful man as one. Shinobu’s blade stood out against the others, but they were all stopped nonetheless, by the man’s skin no less.

Kyojuro Rengoku stared at his blade in awe, as it refused to move even an inch into what should have been pliant skin, despite all his might, despite all his mastery over his breathing, it refused to draw blood.

Uzui’s blades were stopped by the man’s neck, the blades chipped, as the man looked dispassionately at the third Hashira present.

Gyomei Himejima, the only man taller than him in the opening. The man held the Stone Hashira’s axe between two fingers. I’d seen that axe-flail destroy rocks with impunity. Yet, here he was, unable to even break skin.

It was at that moment that sunlight finally poked through the destroyed treeline, illuminating the man, and as all the present slayers realized that the man who they attacked was standing comfortably in the sunlight, an uncomfortable realization dawned.

Either they had attacked a human, or he was a demon who could operate in sunlight. Both possibilities were terrifying, especially considering the sheer boredom he was now exhibiting.

“Rude.” Was all he said, as he picked up the woman on the ground and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He was about to leave when he suddenly stopped, turning to look at me, completely ignoring the Hashira in the clearing, who were staring at their chipped Nichirin blades with nothing but dread on their faces.

“Uh, think you guys could point me to the Slayer headquarters?” He asked, an uninterested look on his face. “While you’re at it, could you explain what a ‘slayer’ is?”

“Oh, and sorry about that guy, let’s just say he hit a nerve.”