It was laborious to confront all these twisted demons. If these low-level plebeians are this formidable, I'm concerned about how powerful the previous girls are.
As I prepared to leave through the exit door, I was caught off guard when a red-headed girl jumped from behind me, grazing my neck. It was only a small scratch, but even so, blood splattered from the cut, dripping gradually onto the hospital floor. "Just the scent of your blood is very lovely." She dipped her claws through the blood and brought it close to her mouth, licking her lips with pleasure.
"Akira! Leave some for us!" A strange voice that I had not heard before echoed through the hall. Her aura felt different, more powerful, and more dangerous. Akira turned her head around to observe what had just called her name.
Now was my chance; she was distracted. There is no way I could get close to her without her noticing unless I used my wings. Using my last ounce of energy, I lunged forward towards the girl named Akira, slashing her entire head off with the corner of my wing. It rolled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood.
Its dead eyes were fixated on me. Something was wrong; her aura had not dissipated. And just as I expected, she was still alive, reattaching the severed head that was still leaking blood.
"How mean!" She looked at me while pouting. I didn't expect such a basic reaction considering the fact that I just cut off her head. "Y'know, I am not like the rest; I don't go down that easily." She turned away from me, licking her fingers in delight.
Her expression shifted as she drank the blood on her hand. "Truly magnificent!" Her aura was turning from a bright red to a darkish scarlet. It looked like she was getting stronger.
"In return for your blood,let me teach you something cool." She gazed at me after finishing the last drop of blood. "If you rip out that glowing eye of yours and crush it into a demonic formation triangle (DFT), you can use the demonic retribution ability."
"It may sound confusing at first, but trust me, the aura you're currently giving off will probably give a really powerful output." She raised her hand to her face, digging deep into her eye socket. I watched carefully as she raised the single eye high into the air, crushing it into a triangle-shaped formation.
"DEMONIC RETRIBUTION!" She exclaimed, as a bright red light shone brightly from the eye. The blood that came out took the form of a black and red scythe that extended high into the air, releasing hot steam. Judging by her refined stance, she looked experienced at fighting.
"Tell me about yourself. There is no point fighting someone I don't even know." She gave a genuine expression that looked as if she actually wanted to know. There's no harm in giving her basic information, as long as I don't tell her that I'm from another world.
"My name is Takashi Azuma, and, um…. I have no idea how I got here. I used to have a stepsister called Yaeko, whom I murdered, and my stepmother, Konomi, whom I also murdered. I, uh…. like muscular… women?" I have no idea what the hell I'm saying. I once saw a gym poster of a strong woman while I was buying groceries for Konomi. It was the first thing that came to mind.
"I see… I didn't know that men actually liked that type of stuff." She turned around to hide her embarrassed face. Even from the back, I could see her flustered cheeks, which seemed to be blushing (I'm talking about her face, obviously).
ಠ‿↼
She entirely ignored the fact that I claimed to have murdered both my stepsister and my own stepmother. Maybe she didn't believe me. I am thankful that I will never have to be touched by that monster of a sister again. There will be no more abuse from that alcoholic mother, either.
She seemed to have recovered from before, and now she was glaring at me with a serious expression. She promptly raised her scythe above her head and tilted it in such a way that the sharp point was directly at her shoulder.
"Let's start. I just taught you how to use your abilities, and I am quite curious what yours could be. Don't feel ashamed if you get some puny dagger or something lame. Not everyone starts strong." She waited patiently, taking a step back into the shadows.
It was my turn now. I hesitantly raised my trembling hand to my face. It felt very unpleasant and painful to rip out the eye that had just been regenerated. Akira turned her head away, as if she were uncomfortable. I did what she said, lifted my eye high in the air, and shouted the words. "DEMONIC RETRIBUTION!"
It seemed to be working as a bright light similar to Akiras shone fiercely out of the pupil, lighting up my surroundings. I saw a strange blue symbol that looked illegible from my angle.
For the next step, I crushed the eye and imagined a triangular shape. The blood took form, giving the silhouette of some sort of red and orange spear. It dropped carefully onto my stained
hand, and as I got a firm grip around the pole, I felt a strong sensation that caused my wings to abruptly spread out.
Akira stood perplexed, lowering her vast scythe to the ground. Her mouth was wide open, and her legs appeared to be shaking. "You are a truly remarkable individual. As a child, all I knew about Yaotzin's Devalic Trident was from books. I never thought a demon could use it as a demonic retribution weapon." She noticed the red currents of energy emitted by the weapon and moved out of its way.
It seems that I have been blessed with a powerful weapon in this world. I could feel a powerful force flowing through my body, rendering me more focused and precise. An overwhelming craving for blood was one way to explain how I was currently feeling. I attempted a simple slash with the trident to test its stability in battle, but as I did so, a large projectile protruded from the weapon's end. Its size grew swiftly as it approached Akira, demolishing everything in its path.
"HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!! IT'S A DUEL, NOT A FIGHT TO THE DEATH!!!" Akira stepped cautiously out of harm's way, narrowly escaping. Her garments disintegrated with the explosion, leaving certain portions exposed. She panted extensively, hiding her exposed chest with her palm. Instantly, the clothes regenerated and formed back into her usual shirt and blazer.
"Sorry, I didn't realize it would be so powerful." I apologized, hoping she'd forgive me, but instead she just stared at me with a blank expression. Half of her face seemed to have been hidden in the darkness, and her scythe was carefully propped behind her.
"Takashi Azuma, was it? My name is Akira Damballa Ando. It's a pleasure to meet you! As I showed you before, my demonic retribution ability is the scythe of Damballa. Its abilities are something I can't share with you in your current state.
For some odd reason, the great devil of the Yaotzin heritage has blessed you with its traditional weapon, Yaotzins Bane. As you just demonstrated, it has incredible magic power that could destroy even the highest level of angels."
She gave a friendly smirk. Her entire personality had changed in seconds.
"But be cautious not to use too much power. Using a devalic ability as a demon puts immense strain on your body and could even potentially kill you. I don't want my cute little Takashi to be in danger, so allow me to be your personal trainer! Trust me, I'm very qualified."
Her weapon vanished as particles were released from the previous position. She then grabbed one of the spare eyes from her wings and put it into the missing slot.
"Much better." She whispered in pleasure.
I couldn't argue against her. I knew nothing about this world, and it seemed she would be the only one willing to teach me.
"But remember, this training will come at a fine cost." I knew there was a catch to this, and I could see through what she was about to say. "I want you to supply all the girls at the demonatorium with your fresh blood. If you dare miss a day, then we'll come and get it directly from the source. You know what that means.
You will also be required to move into the female demonatorium." She began to lick her lips and reveal her razor-sharp teeth.
"Well, I guess I will look forward to working with you." I knew the consequences, so I might as well start with a positive attitude. But I wasn't actually pleased with the idea of living with a bunch of bloodthirsty women, but I just had to go along with it.
I put my demonic retribution weapon to rest and began to follow Akira to my new home.
As we were walking, I noticed something very strange. It seemed that there were barely any men around. In this world, women were the dominant gender and managed to adapt to reproduce without men.
The remaining of them were sent to war as soldiers and died alone, not even knowing their purpose. Just the thought of it alone made me feel grateful for such hospitality.
Shortly after, Akira and I reached the female demonatorium. It was quite a beautiful form of architecture. Every aspect of the vicinity had its own sort of stylized theme. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.