"Help!"
The woman ran frantically through the dense forest, occasionally tripping over the tangled roots of the trees. Fortunately, the man seemed drunk, his running somewhat stumbling, unable to catch up to her yet.
The woman continued to run quickly, shouting for help in the hope that someone would appear to save her, but the only response was her own echo and the heavy breathing of the man behind her.
"Don't run! It's better to let me eat you than to live in pain," the man followed closely behind her. Her blood had an intoxicating quality; just the small amount leaking out made him a bit delirious. Instead of giving up, he grew even more excited, which meant this woman's blood was a rare blood among rare bloods!
The demon wiped away the drool flowing freely; if the intoxicating effect weren't so strong, he would have wanted to skin her and eat her flesh right now, devouring her completely!
The woman fled blindly, suffering several abrasions on her body. Between the physical pain and the mental terror, she was almost at her limit.
What should I do? Someone save me! Grandma! Grandma is still waiting for me to come home! She only has me; if I don't go back, she'll be so worried. She'll definitely come looking for me, and then Grandma will be in danger too.
God! Please save me!
I will surely repay you well!
But no gods answer her plead.
Soon, the woman ran to a dilapidated temple and tripped over a stone again. She sat on the ground in despair, her body shaking uncontrollably. Looking at the approaching man with fear, she picked up a stone nearby and threw it hard in his direction.
"Don't come any closer!"
The stone hit him without causing any pain, and the demon was not annoyed. In his eyes, this woman was already his meal.
He approached slowly, watching her scramble backward using both hands and feet.
As he closed in, the intoxicating scent grew thicker, nearly making the demon lose control and collapse. Forcing himself to stay upright, he crouched before the woman, who had nowhere left to run.
His hideous face was inches away, and the overwhelming stench nearly made her faint.
It had a bad habit: deciding where to start biting and where to eat last. It raised a finger, pointing at the woman's head, and spoke with malicious playfulness.
"Should I eat here first? This place is good too, the meat is tender here... this part works as well. It's truly a dilemma~" He pointed in turn to her head, neck, abdomen, and thighs.
The woman trembled violently, no longer obsessed with escaping. The monster before her was beyond her understanding. Although her life condition was poor, it was peaceful and relatively smooth. This was the first she really think she gonna die...
"The neck it is! And I'll eat your head last!"
The demon's hand was about to touch the woman's neck. She closed her eyes in despair, welcoming the impending death.
Grandma! I'm sorry!
The expected pain did not come. Instead, there was a muffled groan, a splash of moisture on her face, and the smell of blood. She heard the monster howling in pain and cautiously opened her eyes.
The monster was on the ground, clutching its left hand—which had been severed at the root—with its right, rolling around in agony.
"Are... you okay?" A cold and distant voice came from beside her.
She slowly looked up to see a youth man looking at her quietly.
His water-blue kimono rustled in the evening breeze. His blond hair was especially really catching the eye in these night forest that only has moonlight.
She gazed blankly at him, thinking it was just a hallucination of death.
"Kami... Sama..."
Although he didn't quite understand what the woman meant by it, Yōsen fixed his gaze on the wailing demon on the ground.
Fortunately, he took a nichirin blade with him, otherwise it would have taken more effort to deal with it.
But there's a normal human here; if he had to beat the demon until it lacked the strength to recover or resist and then hang it on a tree like before, it would probably leave an indelible trauma on her.
He couldn't use a Blood Demon Art for the time being. If the scent of her blood hadn't lured him awake, she would be just another victim of demon.
—A few moments ago—
He was sleeping straight in a dark corner of the dilapidated temple. From time to time, there were "creak-creak" sounds from the wood, which had grown old and decayed over the years.
His originally damp hair had been dried by the wind during his rapid movement, leaving his golden bangs a bit messy.
To avoid dirtying the new clothes Shinobu had given him, he had managed to gather some dry straw before sleeping to isolate himself from the dirt on the floor.
Suddenly, his relaxed brow furrowed deeply, and thin sweat began to bead on his forehead. His steady breathing became erratic, and his palms clenched into fists.
"No!"
"Don't...!"
...
"I'm sorry... I couldn't..."
"Couldn't..."
Yōsen talked in his sleep. He suddenly jolted awake, a scent bringing him back to consciousness. It was the smell of blood!
This smell...
Yōsen salivated uncontrollably, and that impulse appeared once again. Yōsen really disliked this feeling.
And then there was that dream he couldn't quite remember. He seemed to have had a strange dream where he was apologizing.
Why would he apologize? What couldn't he do? He was curious, but there were more important matters at hand.
Someone was injured and approaching this place. As they got closer, the tempting scent became richer.
He steadied his mind and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
He picked up the nichirin blade lying to the side. He had forgot to return it, but it shouldn't be a big problem. He saved them, so taking a sword as payment wasn't too much to ask.
Stepping out of the ruined temple, he looked at the woman sitting on the ground and the demon's outstretched hand approaching her.
Leaping high into the air, he delivered a swift downward slash, severing the demon's arm.
—Back to the present—
Yōsen looked down at the demon, his blade tip pointed straight at it. The moonlight caused the nichirin blade to emit glints of cold light.
Then, with a nonchalant swing of his sword, he cut off the demon's head. Before the demon could even react, it turned into ash and vanished.
And she watched shock, as that that monster turn to ashes just because a casual strike...
Flicking the demon blood off his sword and sheathing it, Yōsen frowned upon seeing the woman on the ground staring blankly. Was she still frightened?
Suddenly, the woman knelt before Yōsen and kowtowed deeply.
"Thank you, Kami-sama, for saving me!"
"This humble woman has no way to repay you, so I can only offer myself to you in marriage."
"..."
What is wrong with her?
She really has been scared out of her wits, hasn't she?