Haruki lay in the dark corner of the dilapidated temple. The old structure occasionally made creaking sounds from wood that had become decayed from years of rot and neglect.
His originally damp hair had already been dried by the wind during his rapid movement through the forest, leaving his golden hair somewhat disheveled.
To avoid dirtying the new clothes Shinobu had given him, he'd made an effort to gather some dry grass to lay down before sleeping, to separate himself from the dirt on the ground. But because he was too exhausted, the grass wasn't spread evenly, and some poked uncomfortably through the thin fabric.
Haruki's breathing was steady and long. Then suddenly, his previously relaxed brows furrowed tightly, and a thin layer of sweat began to appear on his forehead. His steady breathing became erratic, catching in his throat. He seemed to be having a nightmare, and his relaxed palms clenched into tight fists.
"No!"
"No...!"
"I'm sorry... I couldn't..."
"Couldn't..."
Haruki talked in his sleep, his voice strained with distress. Then he suddenly woke with a start, his eyes snapping open. A scent had startled him awake—the smell of blood!
This scent... and it was a Marechi blood type. Haruki's mouth watered uncontrollably, and that terrible impulse appeared once again, clawing at his self-control. He really disliked this feeling. It made him feel less like himself and more like the demons he'd been killing.
And that dream he couldn't quite remember now. He'd seemed to be apologizing in it. Why was he apologizing? What couldn't he do? It made him curious, but there was something more important at hand.
Someone was injured, approaching the temple. As they got closer, the alluring scent grew stronger, making his throat burn with thirst. He composed himself, letting out a deep breath and forcing the hunger down.
He picked up the nichirin blade that was placed beside him. He'd forgotten to return it to the unconscious slayer, but since Shinobu hadn't mentioned it, it probably wasn't a problem. He'd saved them, so taking a sword as compensation wasn't excessive, right?
Walking out of the dilapidated temple, he looked at the scene before him—a girl sitting on the ground, and a demon's clawed hand reaching toward her throat.
Haruki drew his nichirin blade.
He leaped with incredible speed, with a swift slash that cut off the demon's arm before it could touch her.
---
Minutes Earlier
"Help! Someone help me!"
The girl ran frantically through the dense forest, sometimes tripping over gnarled tree roots. She'd catch herself, push up, and keep running. But the demon behind her seemed to be enjoying the chase, deliberately keeping pace rather than catching her immediately.
The girl continued running, shouting for help, desperately hoping someone—anyone—would appear to save her. But the only reply she got was her own echo bouncing off the trees and the heavy, excited panting of the demon behind her.
"Don't run! You're only making it worse!" The demon called out mockingly, following close behind. "It's better to let me eat you quickly than to exhaust yourself first!"
Her blood had an intoxicating effect on him. Just the scent from her small wound made him feel dizzy with hunger. He didn't give up the chase; instead, he became even more excited. This meant the girl's blood was a rare type—a Marechi!
The demon wiped away the drool that freely flowed down his chin. If the intoxicating effect of her blood scent wasn't making him so unsteady, he would have caught and devoured her already!
The girl, running without direction, had accumulated multiple scrapes and bruises on her body from branches and falls. The physical pain combined with her mental terror made her legs feel like lead. She could barely keep going.
What should I do? Who will save me?
Grandma! Grandma is still waiting for me to come home! She only has me left. If I don't go back, Grandma will be so worried. She'll come out looking for me in the dark, and then she'll be in danger too.
Please, someone, anyone!
But no one answered her prayers.
Soon, the girl's desperate flight brought her to a dilapidated temple. She tripped once more over a stone partially hidden in the undergrowth and fell hard to the ground. She sat there in despair, her body trembling uncontrollably as she watched the approaching demon. In a last desperate act, she picked up a stone nearby and threw it hard in the demon's direction.
"Don't come any closer! Stay away from me!"
The stone bounced harmlessly off the demon's shoulder. He wasn't annoyed. In his eyes, this girl was already his meal—a particularly delicious one at that. He approached slowly, savoring her fear, watching as she tried to retreat backward using her hands and feet.
He pressed closer and closer. The scent of her blood was almost overwhelming now, nearly making the demon lose control. He forced himself to stay focused, half-crouching in front of the girl who had nowhere left to go. His face, twisted with hunger, came close to hers. That almost made the girl faint.
He had a rather nasty habit before eating: deciding where to start and what to save for last. He raised a clawed finger, pointing at different parts of her body with deliberate cruelty.
"Should I eat here first? Or maybe here?" He pointed from her head to her neck. "This place looks tender. Oh, but this part too... It's such a dilemma! So many good options~" His finger moved from her neck to her abdomen, then to her arms.
The girl trembled violently, no longer even trying to escape. The monster in front of her was beyond anything she'd ever imagined. Her life, though poor, had been peaceful and predictable until now. This sudden violence was incomprehensible.
I can't escape. I won't survive this.
"I've decided! Your neck first!" The demon's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "I'll save your head for last—the brain is always the best part!"
The demon's hand moved toward the girl's throat. She desperately closed her eyes, bracing for death.
Grandma! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!
The expected pain didn't come. Instead, there was a sudden rush of air, a wet spray across her face, and then a howl of agony. She heard the demon scream in pain.
Cautiously, she cracked one eye open, then both.
The demon was on the ground several feet away, clutching the stump where its left hand used to be, writhing and cursing.
"What—what happened?!"
"Are you alright?" A clear voice came from beside her.
She slowly turned her head and saw a boy with golden hair and blue eyes standing there, a bloodied blade in his hand. His light blue kimono rustled slightly in the evening breeze.
The girl stared at him, unable to process what had just happened. Had someone actually come? Had she been saved?
"I... I..." She couldn't form words.
Haruki's couldn't help but turn his attention to the more pressing issue. He studied the demon on the ground.
It was a good thing he'd grabbed a nichirin blade on his way out. Otherwise, dealing with this demon would have taken more effort, and the girl might have been hurt in the process.
And since she was an ordinary human. If he beat the demon until it couldn't recover or resist, then left it to disintegrate in the sun, it would probably leave trauma on her. Better to make this quick.
He couldn't use his Blood Demon Art right now anyway. Haruki hadn't fully recovered his strength from the last time. If this girl hadn't been a rare blood type, and if the scent of her blood hadn't woken him, he might have slept through her screams entirely. That thought was unsettling.
Haruki looked down at the demon, the tip of his blade pointing directly at its throat. The moonlight caused the nichirin blade to glint with cold light. His blue eyes held just focused intent that made the demon tremble with fear, not daring to move rashly.
Then, with a swift, clean motion, he separated the demon's head from its body with a light flick of his sword. The demon didn't even have time for a basic reaction before it began disintegrating into ash, carried away on the wind.
The girl watched this scene in shock, her mouth hanging open. The monster that had been chasing her, that had been about to kill and eat her, had just vanished like that. This boy had killed it with what looked like a casual strike.
Haruki flicked the demon's blood from his blade and returned the sword to its sheath. Seeing the girl still sitting on the ground staring at him in a daze, Haruki frowned slightly.
Was she still scared? That made sense. She'd almost died.
Suddenly, the girl moved. She knelt before Haruki and bowed deeply, her forehead touching the ground with a resounding thud that made Haruki wince slightly.
"Thank you for saving me!"
"This humble girl has no way to repay you, other than to offer herself to you."
"..."
Haruki blinked, processing her words. Offer herself? What did that mean?
She must have been scared senseless, right?