I found an inn not far from here. It was also a little cheap which got me a little cautious since I don't trust low-class inns, but since it was all an underworld city could offer, I just decided to deal with it.
Now I could go back up to the surface anytime and travel to Maroon now, but that would be rushing things a little.
First of all, I'm gonna have to gain this girl's trust.
The Dragon Oni girl sat on the bed, not making any movements. At first, I just thought she was a little shy to speak or maybe she was just building up rage, but that wasn't the case.
She had a stoic expression on her face and her eyes seemed to be empty. I glanced at her and made contact, but then I felt a breeze go down my spine.
I recoiled slowly, but she still didn't make a move.
Well… anyway, I'm gonna need her name.
"So, what's yo-?"
"Akane Tsuki."
Hmm, I didn't even finish my question.
Under Akane's cloak, I could see a Katana wrapped in bandages strapped to her waist and a glimpse of what looked like samurai gauntlets and assets made of crimson and black scales.
I used Analysis and checked her stats and skills.
[Level 714; Class: Slayer/Assassin; Level Cap: 853]
{Abilities}
Passive Skills: Slayer Arts, Sage Arts, Sword Arts, Blade Proficiency, Ninjutsu Proficiency, Oni Arts, Dragon Arts, Blood Manipulation, Dragon Skin, Excess, Bloodlust, Quicksilver, Dragon Might, East God Martial Arts, Dragon Fire Manipulation, Dragon Heart, Space Manipulation
Active Skills: Deep Crimson Moon, Crimson Bloodcrest, Bloodmoon Dragon Call, Muramasa Ryuu
Skills: Swift Slash(Lvl.Max), Stealth(Lvl.Max), Flash Step(Lvl.Max), Dragon's Blood(Lvl.Max), Dragon Claw Slash(Lvl.9), Soaring Dragon Fist(Lvl.8), Afterimage(Lvl.Max), Flash Down(Lvl.Max), Crimson Claw Slash(Lvl.8), Blood Armor(Lvl.Max), Deep Concentration(Lvl.Max), Blood Eclipse(Lvl.4), Blood Blade Assail(Lvl.3), Vacuum Slash(Lvl.4), Muramasa Flurry(Lvl.2), Rising Dragon(Lvl.Max)
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Wow... I'm stunned. With all these skills, she could definitely be called... the Crimson Dragonslayer... or something like that.
"So, what is it that you want?" I asked, but no response came out of her mouth.
Hmm, this will be a difficult one, she's not making any sort of movement. It's almost as if she is deeply concentrating on something.
If only she was like Kiyomi, then I might get some answers out of her. Well, I do have one solution, but I'm gonna have to put my guard up.
I walked over to her and she looked up at me. I reached for the collar on her neck and got a hold of it before crushing it in my hands.
Akane watched as the pieces of her collar drop onto the floor.
I placed the shattered collar on the table.
"Willing to talk now?"
I asked her, but the second I turned around she had vanished. That's when I felt a hostile presence from behind.
I swirled around and equipped Osiris, countering the incoming strike.
As we created some distance between us, I gazed at the long Katana in her hand. The blade was vermillion red, the tsukamaki handle's pattern was almost similar to a real Katana, giving it the traditional diamond shape in the negative space. The guard was a miniature dragon head which gave it an intimidating look.
She had taken her cloak off. She was wearing a black turtleneck, black leggings, and a black scarf attached to her red armor piece on her right arm.
Anyway, she's finally moving now. I already know why she is doing this. She's going to be testing me to decide whether or not I am worthy of being her master. This is the nature of some Onis. Some are free, while some can do nothing but serve.
It's... pitiful. To have the privilege of life only to serve another's.
Now then, I just need to pin her down, and I win.
I dashed forward and she quickly swung her sword. I quickly ducked, evading her attack, and went for an uppercut.
Akane was quick to react as she quickly teleported backward. Looks like she has great control with Flash Step.
Releasing mana from my hands, I shot Steel Razor Threads all over the room, creating a web.
I stepped over to the table and blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness.
I had the advantage now since my powers are best suited in this kind of environment.
I watched Akane, seeing what she would do next.
She began breathing while positioning herself in a samurai stance. She continued breathing and eventually I saw her blade glow. She continued to breathe until she stopped. Then she spun around and swung her sword horizontally.
Though her sword collided with my threads, they didn't snap until she sheathed her blade.
Clink!
Snap!
I heard every single one of my threads snap right after she sheathed her blade. Not only that but I felt myself getting pulled forward.
Akane then turned towards me with her eyes glowing and quickly unsheathed her sword. I bent backward, dodging her swift attack and countering with a quick jab to the side of her abdomen. She managed to withstand the blow and turned to deliver a kick to the side of my head. Luckily, my mask had managed to equip in time to suppress the impact.
I performed Fallen Descent but noticed Akane was in a position to do an upper slash. I quickly used Shadow Shift and managed to escape her attack.
I quickly got back on my feet and released my aura. My aura quickly dispersed and shaped itself into countless blades.
Akane responded by pressing her blade against her palm and slashed it, blood dripping onto the floor. That's when I saw it float and shape itself into blades similar to mine.
I see... the ability to manipulate blood. This girl has skills.
I launched my blades at her while she did the same. Our blades clashed and created sparks.
While she was distracted by that, I used Shadow Shift and appeared behind her. I quickly swept her feet, but then she vanished. I then noticed she was behind me.
Damn, she's quick!
She jumped, about to perform a downward slash. I went for an uppercut, but then she vanished again, this time appearing on the ground.
...right... Flash Down, a move like Flash Step but instead of appearing anywhere else it makes the user shift to the ground and cancels any other movement they were performing.
She would go for another upper slash but using Osiris' tail I blocked. Landing on the ground, I grabbed her knee and threw her at the wall.
This was my chance. I ran towards her and grabbed her by the neck before slamming her to the ground. I then charged up a Fallen Descent and I was just about to hit her face but I stopped myself before that happened.
She stared at me in surprise as I pulled my fist away and deactivated Osiris.
"Done now?" I asked.
I grabbed her arm and got her on her feet. She stared at me for a while before sheathing her Katana into her black sheath.
Then she kneeled and bowed her head.
"I have recognized your power and will respect you as my master."
I smiled as I walked over to the table and relit the candle. I would then walk over to the door.
I turned to Akane who was still kneeling.
"What are you doing?"
She lifted her head and turned to me.
"Let's go. We aren't going to be staying in this room all day, you know?"
She hesitated before nodding and got up on her feet. I exited the room with her trailing behind me.
As we walked downstairs, I realized that she was about the same height as me. Crap, I should have chosen to be at least 180 cm... or 190 cm! I only chose to be 175 cm because I don't like to be too tall or too short, and 175 cm was the best height for that.
Anyway, as we got to the first floor, there was a guy slamming a girl into the table, causing a mess everywhere.
"Useless bitch! I wanted more beer! Beer!" The large guy said as he lifted the girl's face up.
"S-s-sorry! I'll make it up!" She said as she wept.
Watching this kind of pissed me off. Getting upset over some simple mistake, not to forget that she's so young. I think this guy deserves to die.
I walked up to confront him but Akane stopped me. She then walked up to the man herself.
"Stop it," She said sternly.
The man lifted his head and turned to Akane.
"Or what? You gonna hurt me with that sword of yours, Oni?"
He dropped the girl who collapsed on the ground and then picked up what looked like a large hammer. I walked over and performed Quick Regeneration on her.
"I'll do more than hurt you," Akane said and the man clenched his fist.
"You...!"
Everyone around seemed to back up and ready to flee. I sighed as I walked up to them and suggested we take this outside.
So we did.
It was like a western standoff, except one has a sword and the other has a hammer.
The man was a Tank class, a class similar to berserker but specializes in mostly defense and uses a hammer alongside a shield. However, this guy didn't seem to have one. His skills weren't much and he was only a level 395. I would've felt bad for him if he knew who he was dealing with.
"I'll smash you to pieces." He hollered a threat to Akane but that didn't seem to phase her. Instead, she just kept up that same stoic expression.
"Then I'll beat you with only my fist." She said, getting into a fighting stance.
The Tank held his hammer with both hands and glared at Akane before dashing towards her.
.
.
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