Nanako suddenly disappeared into thin air...could it be intruders?! I quickly went back inside the bathroom and changed into my clothes that were prepared, I was currently wearing some white shorts and a black yukata, Asaka once told me that these were the traditional clothing here in Azuma, I'm not really sure how to wear this properly but all I did was insert my arms through the sleeves and tied a rope-like thing around my stomach area to fasten it. Heading out of the bathroom once more, the creaking sound of the wooden floorboards as I walked was all I can hear, there was like no soul in sight...what the hell happend to everybody?! I'm going to head first to the shogun's office in case she's there. Going to the third floor, and just straight ahead of the stairs was the shogun's office, filled with banners and paintings, I opened the wooden sliding door and to my surprise, nobody was there...I'm getting uneasy as the seconds pass by...I quickly turned around since I sensed someone watching me from behind...that person dashed away quickly as I turned around.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
No answer...so this situation is basically similar to what happened with Asaka...ok time to focus and clear my mind so that I can locate them...I closed my eyes and sat on the ground with my legs locked together...clearing all my thoughts, I sensed that this person was just to the right of the door, he was crouching stating that he's ready to attack at any moment. Welling up the white flames with my right hand to boost my momentum. I'm planning on boosting myself to the door to catch him off guard, I summoned the Nemax on my left hand and I waited...three...two...one...BOOST! My momentum was so fast that I didn't have time to react, I quickly stood my ground and placed the blade against his neck, he stood there frozen.
"Who sent you?"
No response once more
"Do I really have to kill you for information?"
The person shook his head
"Then atlea-"
I got kicked from behind! Crap! I should've been on guard! Being sent flying and breaking through the paper-thin walls, my crash wasn't that painful but I need to be more careful next time. Standing up from the rubble, there were two figures covered in red masks with a long nose, they both wore the same black clothes that an assassin wears and even their heads are covered.
"What do you want?!"
"Under the Demon god's orders, you are to cooperate and surrender!"
"So he was the one who sent you small fries!"
They both got agitated as they suddenly leaped for me but I easily dodged. They stood back up and brandished their blades, with a loud shing, their shiny steel curved blades looked so sharp that it could cut through anything...but the drawback was that it looked fragile. Responding to them brandishing their swords, I jumped to the wall and used it to propel myself in the air while boosting my momentum with the white flames that I produced at my feet. I slashed the Nemax at them but they were both in unison as they easily blocked it with their paper-thin blades!
"You two are skilled eh? No response? C'mon, you're going to make things awkward between us!"
Out of separation, I sneakily summoned the Epoch in my right hand. Then to break the stalemate, one of them threw some knives in my direction, this is going to be my first time trying this but...hopefully, it works! Making contact with the throwing knives, I used the Epoch to reverse the knife's time so that it would be sent flying back. To my surprise, it worked flawlessly! The knives returned to the one who threw them and that gave me enough time to distracts them so that I could strike. Going into the fifth horn which boosted my overall strength and speed, I quickly used the Nemax's greatsword form and I managed to hit them.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Knocking them down, I quickly search their bodies for some sort of identification, unfortunately, all they had with them were their blades and some throwing knives...their heart wasn't beating...could they be lifeless puppets? Now that I think of it, there was this shiny string flowing from the back of their limbs. I followed the limbs to the fourth floor while being cautious...there he was, crouching on the corner of the railings, his body itself is similar to the body of the demon I recently defeated, thin and light unlike the demon lord who was bulky. His hands and feet were sharp as claws and with nine crimson red horns jutting out of his head, I'm no match for him in my current state...
"So your the one controlling them?"
"Why yes yes! Nice to meet you, I'm the second disciple of the demon god! The name's Zersha! I specialize in threads, I'm known for the demon of life and death!"
"So you know of the demon king then?"
"So you were the one who killed Canti eh? That fat guy, he must've felt so ashamed losing to a young boy like you...BAHAHAHAH! This is hilarious! No wonder the demon god is so frustrated at the loss of Canti! A mere kid killing him! HAAHAHAHHAAH!"
"Well, you shouldn't underestimate me since I was the one who killed your friend!"
"Underestimate? BAHAHAHAH! Your funny kid! As of now your no match for me, you're just barely a sixth horn, and do you expect me to be scared of you? Know that I know you can barely manifest the sixth horn...you must've used something to defeat Canti...guess we'll have to fight in order to find out! Your one interesting kid!"
"Guess I can't talk my way out of this..."
"You bet!"
Zersha formed a smile with his sharp black teeth...I don't like where this is going but it's inevitable!