The young man did not speak. He was too scared to make a single sound, like a rabbit in front of a wild dog. One of the higher ups of the Oni ordered him to deliver this letter, he had no choice but to sent it personally or else they will have his head, morever, he just realized how big of a mistake to come here after seeing the owner of the house.
At first, he's unaware and clueless, only now did he know what kind of risk he took. He's just a messenger, alright! Just what kind of sin did he commit in his past life to experience this?!
Prime raised her brow and did not bother looking at him anymore as she opened the black envelope. She can only lower her guard like this because the Kitsune gang is watching silently at their hidings, one wrong move from the young man then he would die faster than his heartbeat.
Then, there was a change in the atmosphere when the thing was tore open.
I GOT YOUR SPY. Was the only sentence written in it, yet everyone in the vicinity witness how the gang leader's eyes turned cold, her smile also vanished in an instant. The young man who see this changes up close is in the verge of collapsing, his instinct telling him to run for a storm is brewing.
And his instinct was indeed right. He was suddenly lifted to the ground with a hand grasping his neck, blocking his airflow.
"Ack!... Uack..." The young man struggled but Prime did not let go.
"And I got you." She smirked, "No matter how many times you disguise yourself I can still see through you. Even if you became a dust I can recognize you at a glance, Koan."
Her voice was laced with poison. It was sharp and cold.
The young man finally stopped struggling then he lifted his leg and aim it at Prime's stomach, however, the gang leader was a second faster. She let go of him and jumped back.
Koan smiled. The weak appearance he was showing a while ago is no longer there, instead, there's only a look of mockery and arrogance in him.
He's completely different from the young man a while ago, as if they are two different persons.
"Still sharp as ever, Prime." He uttered, his voice hoarse and unpleasant. It doesn't even feel like it's coming from the young man's body.
The Kitsune gang jumped up from their spots, appearing in front of Prime as soon as they realized who the young man was. Eventhough, the face was different but the voice was too familiar to them. It was exactly as they remember five years ago.
"And you still smell like before, Koan." Prime smiled back at him, showing off her canines like a dog baring its teeth. "So bloody disgusting."
"You did not change at all. It seems that the death of your beloved friend is not enough to waver your arrogance."
Her eyes turned colder. "It's good that you know."
Before everyone's eyes, Prime attacked Koan. She is swift and precise as her fist landed on his chest, then her arm bend, the elbow hitting him hard right at the abdomen. The young man staggered back. He spat a mouthful of blood, but his eyes remained clear and gleaming.
"You think you are strong enough, Prime? You're not even a worthy opponent." He laughed at her. The blood continously gushing out from his mouth.
The sight is disturbing, yet Prime remained rooted to her spot as she watched how his eyes lose its color— black to gray, then gray to white. The face also distorted, making it more horrifying.
"You can't even protect the people around you. You are useless." The voice became hoarser but louder, dragging each words out. "Unworthy. Undeserving."
After some time, the body fell lifelessly to the ground. Prime sighed. She already knows that he's not the real Koan, the body was just a vessel that he used to taunt her, but no matter what forms he took she can still smell him.
Her sense of smell is more sensitive than the others, that's why even from afar she can already sense Koan. He has a unique smell that is both disgusting and ancient— like a rotten flesh inside a tomb.