On the way back.
"Hohoh hmph hmph hmph hmph!!!"
A beautiful girl with long purple hair gracefully wielded a katana, like a gardener pruning a lawn.
Unfortunately, this was not a noble's backyard.
Instead, it was a sparsely populated path, and what was being pruned were merely roadside bushes and weeds.
However, fortunately, the girl's appearance was excellent, so even doing such a chuunibyou thing didn't make it unbearable to watch.
Rather…it was a little cute.
"…"
Kikyo gently pursed her cherry lips, her steps becoming much lighter. She originally shouldn't have had the opportunity for someone to accompany her on her way home. Even her younger sister, Kaede, rarely had such an opportunity.
After all, she had always faced numerous demons, and without a certain level of strength, traveling with her was simply too dangerous.
However, Baal's situation was different. Due to Baal's special circumstances, she needed to keep Baal by her side for protection.
Therefore, this led to Baal being able to accompany her home.
"…It seems…there hasn't been much progress."
Baal somewhat dejectedly returned the katana to its sheath, then turned to ask Kikyo, who was walking behind her,
"Kikyo, have you found…the demon's tracks?"
"Yes, there's a demon's aura nearby." Kikyo nodded gently, her gaze directed towards a mountain peak, "If it's for your training, Baal, it should be just right."
"Then…let's go!"
Baal followed Kikyo's gaze, a bright smile appearing on her face, and quickened her steps towards the demon-infested hillside.
It wasn't realistic to train in seclusion until she was invincible; she still needed some practical combat training.
Moreover, she also needed to fight monsters to obtain system rewards.
Now that she had a Big Daddy to carry her, it would be too much of a pity not to seize the opportunity. She had to seize the time to improve her strength.
Otherwise, when her strength was exposed to the Hundred Ghosts, it might be the day of a tragic end for the girl.
At the very least, she needed to master…enough power to protect herself.
On the hillside.
"So refreshing!"
A strong monkey held a pot of wine and drank it in large gulps. The wine flowed down his neck, over his smooth black fur, accumulating on the rock he sat on. The strong smell of alcohol could be detected even from afar.
However, even so, he wasn't worried that someone would come to snatch the wine from his hand, after all, he was a demon with a partial Human-Faced Monkey bloodline.
The demons in this vicinity…didn't dare to steal his wine.
"Miko Kikyo, you've finally come for This Daddy!"
The demon monkey suddenly put down the wine pot in his hand, his gaze coldly fixed on the distance. He saw a beautiful Miko and a purple-haired girl walking side by side, their demeanor clearly indicating ill intent.
"Hmph, ever since This Daddy ate someone ten years ago, This Daddy knew you would come!"
"..."
Kikyo remained silent, pulling back her bowstring and aiming at the demon monkey. Ten years ago, she was less than six years old, so how could she have known that the demon monkey had killed people?
This trip was purely to help Baal find a practice target.
"Don't be nervous, your opponent is actually me."
Baal drew the katana from her waist and slowly approached the demon monkey. If she didn't count the demon god residue's memories, then this was her first true battle in her life.
Moreover, it was a life-or-death struggle.
She felt her sword-holding hand tremble slightly, and a strong emotion surged within her: nervous unease, excited yet apprehensive anticipation.
All of this made her clearly realize what was about to happen.
"Hmph… little girl!" The demon monkey scoffed, taking a hearty swig of wine. "This Daddy reckons you… haven't even killed a chicken, have you?"
He immediately sensed that the purple-haired girl had a clean and transparent aura; she was a gentle person.
And gentle people… are mostly not good at fighting.
"Hmm… actually, I haven't even killed a fish." Baal smiled calmly, answering without a care. "However, if you could, I hope you'll take this a bit more seriously."
"Why do you want to fight?" The demon monkey sat cross-legged, arms folded across his chest. "If it's This Daddy who likes to fight, that's understandable, but you shouldn't be someone who enjoys the pleasure of combat."
"No, even if I don't like fighting." Baal shook her head, answering earnestly, "However, I dislike avoiding things even more. Yokai determine their right to speak through force. Whether it's conflict, interests, or emotions, everything needs to be decided by force."
"Haha, you're not wrong!" The demon monkey laughed heartily, slapping his leg, and took another bold gulp of wine. "I know someone whose aura is very similar to yours. That guy is also a gentle person, who constantly chooses to retreat even when faced with conflicts and disputes."
His smile suddenly turned cold.
"Then, one day he had nowhere left to retreat, and even his corpse couldn't be preserved intact."
"Someone who is too gentle isn't suited to live in this world."
This was not a lie, but merely a statement of fact. In the world of yokai, being too gentle is a mistake.
No, more accurately, weakness is a mistake.
However, gentle yokai generally aren't willing to harm or fight, so they lack the motivation to improve their strength.
And such yokai… will sooner or later be killed by their own gentleness.
"Sorry, I am not a gentle yokai." Baal shook her head, earnestly warning the demon monkey, "If you hold such a mistaken notion, you will be killed by me!"
"Actually, This Daddy is a peace-loving yokai." The demon monkey smiled, pointing at his chest with his thumb. "This Daddy doesn't actually like eating human brains, nor does he like fighting or bullying the weak."
"..."
Baal twitched her mouth. This demon monkey was talking nonsense. Even if she couldn't sense auras, she could feel the murderous intent emanating from him.
This demon monkey… was definitely not a good yokai.
"You… don't believe me?" The demon monkey leisurely stood up, stretching his limbs in place. His terrifying strength caused his feet to sink into the earth. "Just as you don't believe This Daddy, This Daddy doesn't believe you either!"
As he spoke, he suddenly kicked his foot, which was sunk in the earth, directly scattering dirt towards Baal's eyes. Then, he abruptly retreated, picked up a head-sized stone, and threw it with all his might.
In an instant, the air violently exploded.
The stone, like a cannonball, smashed towards Baal. With the girl's current delicate body, if she were hit, she would be like an exploding watermelon.
Blood and bones would splatter.
However.
Bang!
The stone, like a cannonball, made a sound as if it had struck a city wall, without any sensation of hitting flesh.
"That was close. Are yokai battles really that despicable?"
Baal's voice revealed surprise as she looked at the barrier in front of her. It was a protective barrier Kikyo had set up for her before the battle.
To be honest, after their previous conversation, she had thought the demon monkey had a straightforward personality and that his fighting style would be honorable.
She never expected… him to be so despicable.
"You damn… you're not qualified to talk about This Daddy either!" The demon monkey cursed directly, glaring fiercely at the barrier protecting the girl. "Didn't you also have someone set up a barrier beforehand?!"
He bared his fangs in anger.
"If you have the guts, remove the barrier, and let's have a one-on-one fight!!!"