After eating the Dango, Kai and Amber walked around the Oni Village. The villagers were friendly toward them, and they even praised Kai for defeating Ranga.
Apparently, the red Oni he beat was the strongest youth in the village. Some of the villagers gave money to him, something they called a little thanks for making them rich. He immediately understood that they used the fight as a bet, just like gambling.
Obviously, he didn't hate something like that. Heck, he even joined some bet for the world cup and made some bucks out of it. The important thing was he still got some parts from them.
The Phoenix girl pretended not to know anything. She finally confessed that she also made a bet and made some big bucks. Kai asked for some, and she gave it to him while grumbling a little.
Truly, the main thing he remembered about the village was his fight with Ranga, the troublesome Oni's tradition, and the Dango that tasted really sweet. The rest of it was something unimportant, similar to his daily life, except that the people in that village had horns on their foreheads.
After walking around satisfied, Kai decided to return to prepare himself before going to the Foxes Temple to protect the Spirit Foxes. Amber also agreed, and they returned to their ryokan.
"Huff… That was exhausting in more than one way." Kai sprawled over the floor while spreading his limbs. A satisfied smile was plastered on his face even though he sighed tiredly.
Amber walked toward him and lay on his side, putting her head on top of his arm. It surprised him slightly as he gazed to his right.
"Amber… What are you doing?"
"Laying beside you. I am also a bit tired." She replied casually and closed her eyes. "This is how I gained my energy back."
That must be a lie. He knew that Amber could absorb Nature power naturally and didn't need something specific to recover her energy. Maybe she would use the breathing method to recover faster, but she didn't need it right now.
Meaning she laid beside him because she wanted to. In his mind, he could only think she wanted to tease him just like she always did, so he kept his calm.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is."
The atmosphere was calm, unlike the excited and rowdy atmosphere in the village. Kai liked those atmospheres, but something like this wasn't bad either. He also got used to Amber's presence but was still a bit awkward every time he was alone with her.
"This is the perfect chance, Kai. What do you think of the Supernatural World now?"
"What do I think?" Amber's question caught him off guard a little bit.
To be honest, he didn't think the Supernatural World would be that peaceful. Not at all, seeing his first impression of it was about him being attacked.
But after he experienced a day in the Oni Village earlier, his impression changed.
"I think it's rather peaceful but a bit rowdy." He replied honestly.
"Is that really it?" Amber opened her eyes. Golden irises stared at him directly with a serious gaze.
"I think you will change your mind again later. Oni Village is a bit special with its culture and traditions. It makes the village peaceful and without any problems. Also, no one tried to harm them because Onis is a particularly strong race."
Amber paused a little and smiled.
"They are all fighters. You must've felt it when Ranga asked you to fight. They really love fights and are excited just by hearing it. It has become a part of their daily lives."
Kai understood where Amber came from. Indeed, the Onis looked strong. The Slayers in that village also moved with precaution without trying to make any scenes. All Onis had muscular bodies and some scars that came from fighting.
He should keep his mind open. That village was the first of his journey. The troublemakers proved that the Supernatural World wasn't as peaceful as he imagined.
"Should I proceed with caution?" He asked, looking back at Amber.
"I think you should, especially tonight. Maybe the troublemakers also heard what you did in the Oni Village and thought tonight is a good time to attack the Spirit Foxes as the Slayers will obviously try to investigate your identity."
Not unexpected. After all, he had a flashy debut. Showing an ability to control a living fire was something rare in the Supernatural World. He didn't even show his Spirit Power outside his body, the base of all techniques used by Slayers and the other Supernatural races.
He also showed no sign of using a Talisman, the most common tool used by humans to use their techniques.
It was natural if the Slayers and the other parties would be interested in him. An enigma. Someone who could beat Ranga, who was the strongest Oni among the young generation according to Kirimaru's words.
"That's why you should bring all the Talismans and that handgun you got from that troublemaker tonight. Just to be sure."
"Alright." Kai nodded. "I will be careful."
***
In a certain area, behind the bushes and dark shadow of the sunset, two individuals dressed in black coats crouched side by side while pulling their blank masks up.
They looked at the floor, where many Talismans with different kinds of runes lined up. Under these Talismans was a handgun. It looked like a revolver, but something made it different than the normal one.
A fire rune was written on top of the cartridge area to add an explosion effect on the bullet, and a wind rune was written on the barrel to make the bullet travel faster than usual. It was an enhanced revolver and needed Spirit Power to activate these runes.
Normal people couldn't use them. But the two masked figures hidden behind a mask and black coats weren't normal people. They were part of the Supernatural World and naturally knew how to use Spirit Power.
"Have you finished the preparation, Phoenix?" One of the masked figures asked with a hoarse voice.
"It is done, Oni." The other one answered. The voice belonging to the other masked figure was soft and sounded more androgynous.
Phoenix and Oni were just codenames. They weren't their real names. Just like Slayers, it would be bad if their real identity was known to other people. After all, troublemakers had a bounty on their heads.
"Good." The one with a hoarse voice with the codename Oni nodded.
"Tonight, we will get the Spirit Foxes. The new figure of the Supernatural World will surely take the Slayers' attention for a while. Although it is faster than planned, this will be easier thanks to that unknown person who gobbled the Slayer organization's attention."
As expected, these figures targeted the Spirit Foxes.
"We will get a lot of money from this. And with that, we can use it for our goal."
The androgynous figure called Phoenix nodded.
"Yes." Phoenix's voice seemed to be hesitant to voice the opinion. But it contained determination too. "It is for our goal."