"This was easier than we expected, right master?" One of his men asked, throwing him a quick look. Kasho was walking slowly behind them, looking lost in his thoughts. The man sighed and shut up, not willing to lose his tongue in case of Kasho becoming annoyed.
Kasho knew that his low-ranked demons couldn't have resisted to a succubus and the most powerful fox demon. But, still, he hadn't heard anything from Satoshi or Miss Mei. He was expecting them to come after him. He was prepared for a battle.
But the sun is going to rise soon and they didn't show up...
A funny thought came to his mind but he removed it quickly. Satoshi couldn't go after the girl, because of his poisoning. And the succubus... well, she could've tried rescuing her, but four trained demons weren't that easy to kill. Plus, he instructed the buyer to not stop in the woods. He should've been outside of the woods at that moment.
"Have you heard that, master?" One of his men said, and he stopped instantly, grinning.
Finally! He couldn't wait to fight the succubus! She seemed to be a worthy opponent, especially after she changed her form. He pivoted, heading towards the source of the sound. It came from the lake. Probably Satoshi told her about the lake. He knew his special place.
"M-m-master? Where are you going? Shouldn't we go back to the village? There is no much time until your departure..."
"Annoying humans. How dare you tell me what I should do?" He yelled at them, and they flinched, bowing immediately. Kasho rolled his eyes and gave them a dismissive wave of his hand. "Go. It won't take me much. Prepare the horses."
They raised their heads and nodded. They started running towards the village, without any comments. Kasho sighed, walking towards the lake. The adrenaline rushed into his veins, making him so enthusiastic about the fight that he couldn't think straight anymore.
Finally, this night has become interesting.
In a few minutes, he stopped near the lake, looking around cautiously. The succubus was even slyer than a fox demon. She surely had some dirty tricks up her sleeves. "Show yourself, succubus! I don't have all night for this!"
A soft sound to his right made him grin. She was there, coming to confront him. Her shadow projected onto the grass, but it didn't seem quite right... it wasn't the shadow of a woman...
"Sorry, I'm not who you expected." Satoshi said, coming from the woods.
Kasho inhaled quickly and started laughing. Satoshi's eyes narrowed as he watched Kasho laughing his heart out. "I'm not sure what you find funny, Kasho."
Kasho adjusted his black clothes. They were quite tight, but perfect for a fight. He threw a quick look at Satoshi's dirty, red kimono. At least the color was hiding the blood. "Dear Satoshi-san. Indeed, I wasn't expecting you. I mean, I can't even take you for granted! If I push you a little, you can die in an instant! You can't possibly ask me to fight you?"
Satoshi chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're telling me that you don't want to kill me? How cute. I don't remember you being so merciful."
Kasho frowned. Something from his eyes... his voice... something was changed. "And, anyway, you're just an illusion. We already had this fight, my old friend. And guess what? I won. You died. I admit it, our battle wasn't exactly like this one, but the circumstances were similar. Shall we battle then? You can keep my sword. I have another one with me."
Satoshi pulled out his cross necklace and pressed his finger on it, making it shine in a weird manner. The light was hurting Kasho's eyes, so he put a hand in front of them. After a few seconds, he looked at Satoshi and his demon destroyer was right into his hands. His eyes widened, remembering the safe place, inside a pleasure house, where he put Satoshi's sword. "How is this possible?! I took your sword!"
Satoshi grinned, looking at him with a superior air. "There's no need to think about it, Kasho-kun. You won't understand it anyway. You were too young to learn about the possibility of time-traveling. Now, now, now... shall we begin?"
Satoshi sounded mad. Kasho had no idea what he was talking about... plus, something weird was going on with him...
Kasho-kun? He never said my name like that. Is he even Satoshi...? He is... he's the only one who knows how to use the demon destroyer... but maybe... that sword is just an imitation...
"Nice game, succubus. You almost got me fooled!" He yelled at him, but Satoshi chuckled and shook his head.
"Idiot. Can't you sense my energy? Do I look like a succubus to you? I can't believe I let myself get betrayed by an idiot like you..."
"Well, then there's only one way to discover if you're Satoshi or not. Shall we dance, Satoshi-san?"
Satoshi smiled, remembering the original battle between them. For a second, pain clenched his heart, understanding how he had to kill his beloved friend once again. He's not a friend. He's a traitor. He said to himself, but he couldn't help it. Satoshi removed all of these thoughts from his mind and got a firm grip on his sword.
"C'mon, traitor!" He yelled at him, running towards Kasho, as he pulled out his knives, ready to attack.
***
"Why did you leave him alone?! He's poisoned!"
Jessica sighed and I swear I sensed her rolling her eyes. "Chill. You were in far more danger than he is now. He's tough. He's gonna beat Kasho's ass, I'm sure of that. Don't you even dare to worry about him, got it?"
She sounded very confident, but I knew better. She was worried as well. And this made me even more worried than before. Jessica was always trying to joke around, to wind down the situation. But now I couldn't be comforted by her words. I was too stressed. I was too tired. I only wanted to go home.
"Ivy, do you hear me? Don't pass out. Stay awake. I can't look after you when we arrive there. I need to help the foxy fox, okay?"
"Yea..." I answered, realizing how big of a burden I was for them. If she didn't have to rescue me, she could fight along with Satoshi even from the start. I sighed, placing my head on her shoulder. Maybe it was better that they wanted to leave me after we got out of that illusion of hell. I couldn't help them anyway. I was just playing around their feet, making them annoyed and worried like I was a child.
"Ivy. We arrived." She said, stopping and lowering her body, so I could pull back, placing my feet on the wet grass.
"It's raining." I put my hand in front of my chest, palm upwards. The rain was falling softly on us, making us shut up for a few seconds.
"Maybe it's better if it's raining." She whispered more to herself, turning her head towards the lake. "He can't see you clearly. He will be too focused on Satoshi. Stay here. Don't move! Don't come to us! If something goes wrong, run! Got it?"
I nodded and she drew a deep breath, running away from me. The rain started pouring furiously and I couldn't see Jessica anymore. My heart was clenched by fear, but not for me.
Please tell me Caiden is fine.
I didn't know if Gods were real. Caiden told me once he didn't have any information about heaven, but the angels were real. I had no idea what good and bad meant anymore.
But whoever I was praying to... I really hoped they could hear me.