"None of that matters to me." The astonished look got wiped off her face. "At the end, when everything turned dark and even my family turned their back on me, you were the one who helped me. It is only natural that you would be reluctant to do something that would threaten your own safety- that too for a stranger. Most people would stop there. But you didn't- and for that, I can't thank you enough." She said confidently.
Anino had a backbone when it mattered.
But I think that I accidentally built an idealised image of myself in her eyes. In fact, I could tell that by the glimmer in her eyes. After her little sombre outburst, the both of us went silent, until I decided to lighten the mood.
"Thanks, I suppose... Just don't go expecting too much of m-!!"
A strong wind, absolute silence, the scent of perfume, bloodlust thicker than I had ever felt.
"Fuck! GET BACK!" I spread my hand in front of Anino as I turned around erroneously. Out of nowhere, there was a presence right behind us. A strong one at that. Way stronger than that moose.
"That was quite touching of a speech." For fuck's sake... It hadn't even been 3 minutes since Vivi left.
My eyes read her and were thrown off. Purple lustrous hair, thick curly horns, scantily dressed body and glistening green eyes. She was looking down on both of us. Her condescending stare and cracked smirk.
'This can't be good.'
I was getting overwhelmed by her bloodlust. HOW DID I NOT FEEL HER UNTIL NOW?!
"Who the fuck are you?" I placed my hand on Anino's belly to throw her back in case of an emergency.
My other hand in front of me was blocking the horned girl. But she was still ways off.
"It was quite a pain waiting for that monster to leave you two alone. Like how did you even manage to find someone that strong?!" Judging by how she felt Vivi's presence she had to be either an adventurer or a monster.
Or both.
"I asked you a question first. Who are you?"
A part of me wanted to believe that in a fight, I could snap her small body like a twig. But every inch of my body was telling me to run away.
"I'm just someone who got hired to take this little girl back."
SHIT!
No wonder it was peaceful! There was no opportunity to show up so far! But why couldn't my senses pick her up?!
I messed up. We messed up big time.
OF COURSE THERE WERE GOING TO BE PURSUERS!
I had to stall for time.
"Since when did humans start hiring monsters?" I met her eyes, to show her that I wasn't afraid.
"I'm quite offended that you called me a monster. Someone of my beauty getting tainted by such a cheap word. I prefer the word demoness." She put her finger on her red lips with a smile on her face.
Sure to a normal man, she might have looked alluring, but there was no charm in poison. You could practically see her history of killing men after seducing them.
"Screw off, wench." I spoke as if I was standing backed against an edge but my claims held true. I had to keep her engaged.
"Ehn~ Isn't your mouth just as filthy as it comes? I won't mind killing you passionately. No no no, Rumie, stop. I don't have the time to savour killing you. I need to hurry before the redhead shows up." She talked to herself.
Looks like I couldn't stall for time.
Looks like there's no other way.
'Damn it, we only had to wait until Vivi came back. That shouldn't have been too hard, ri-' !! WHAT?! Within the span of a blink, the monster bitch was already in front of me.
SHIT!
I hardened my hands to block her attacks and then back kicked Anino into the forest. The demon attacker's clawed hands collided with mine.
"Ughhh... You, bitch." I stepped back after a full impact.
"You are just a foul person altogether." Her smirk turned into a full smile.
My hardening didn't help. The enamel and bones got shattered in one go. Like a statue that got attacked by a canon. Her strength was insane.
Regeneration kicked in and my hands got rebuilt quickly. The assailant stood back with slight surprise.
"What do you know? A human could survive that punch. What a ludicrous skill, boy!" She started giggling. "What's your name? I usually try to disconnect from all my victims, but you- I want to know. It's rare to find such a good package."
"Gahhh... As if I'll tell you." I started panting. That one hit took a lot out of me. I needed to pad for time by playing defensive. "Isn't it common courtesy to introduce yourself before asking for a name?"
"Is it? I haven't lived with humans so I wouldn't know. Oh well, I don't mind revealing my name even though I think I said it a coupla seconds ago- You can call me Rumie before you die. And as for my species- you know what? It doesn't matter." The next second she was all up on my face again.
After the hit, my hands went numb. But then suddenly I felt light-headed from the euphoria spreading in my body.
"You can't help yourself against me. It's impossible to resist. So stop trying to buy time, and just die quietly." She looked down at me condescendingly.
It was painfully obvious what she was-
"A succubus."