Word count: 1348
<—>
The moon shone brightly in the sky, marking the arrival of the night. It wasn't long before the streets became deserted as people hurried home. Shops and stalls closed their doors for the evening.
Soon enough, Fujino found himself alone wandering the empty streets. Not a single person in sight. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought he was wandering through a ghost town.
The silence of the night was eerie, with only the sound of his footsteps breaking the stillness. It felt as if the quiet was a bad omen.
Nevertheless, he had a job to do.
Before long, he stood in front of the house. The signs of rot and decay spoke volumes about its age. The roof and walls were in shambles, looking as if it could collapse at any moment.
With a shrug, he approached the porch and then the front door. The shoji door was marked with time, cuts and tears allowed the moonlight to pass within, yet it stubbornly refused to budge for him.
Being the smart guy with a solid 10 points in INT, figured that brute force was the answer. In classic Fujino style, this turned out to be a huge mistake as he underestimated his own strength. He kicked the door, and it flew off its frame, making a loud crash that made him wince.
He thought for a second the house was going to collapse.
'Guess the stealth approach is a no-go' Once inside, he noticed the place was a total mess. Furniture was tossed around, bits of the roof lay scattered on the floor, and dust was everywhere—housewives would have a heart attack at the sight.
Fortunately or unfortunately for him, he wouldn't have to search the house as strong scent hit him. It was metallic and rusty.
'Blood!' The smell caught him off guard, making him cough a bit. It also flipped a switch in him, putting him on "battle-mode". With a heavy heart, he followed the scent down a corridor, spotting small puddles on the floor.
The odor intensified, leading him to a room where blood stained the shoji door's paper. There were several spear-like rocks protruding from the wall and door, but he was so focused on the feeling on dread he didn't pay them any attention.
A sinking feeling settled in his stomach about what he might find, and he wasn't eager to discover it. 'Calm down, Fujino you can do it. You've been preparing yourself for this moment.'
he opened the door...
There, on the ground, lay a body face down. Rocks were embedded in it, a pool of blood underneath it and its left arm was severed at the shoulder, tightly gripping a blue katana. The word "Destroy" was etched on the back.
He had to look away, not out of pity or sadness, but out of sheer disgust. Don't get him wrong; he felt for that poor soul—nobody deserved to go out like that. But right now, all he could feel was revulsion at the sight.
If it wasn't obvious, he had never encountered a dead body before. Most of the demons he took down were either in the wild or just drenched in blood.
Honestly, he wasn't sure why he could hack away at demons, even setting them ablaze or poison them, which was way more graphic, but a human corpse was enough to make him want to vomit.
Demon or human, they were all pink and disgusting inside.
"Pull your shit together, now's not the time for cold feet," he muttered, shaking his head to calm his racing heart. He crouched down to take a closer look at the body.
The first thing He noticed was bold "destroy" etched on the back and raised an eyebrow. 'I don't think having "destroy" on the back is a fashion trend,'
His brown eyes focused on the blue katana. What caught his eye was the phrase "Destroy all demons" inscribed on the blade.
'Observe'
[Nichirin Katana (Blue)
Rarity: Legendary - durability: 171/200 - Power: 150
A unique sword crafted from a special material known as "Scarlet Ore." It has the unique ability to absorb sunlight, giving it a color-changing feature. This weapon specializes in slaying demons.]
Fujino's eyes went wide as he read the description. He had no idea something like this was out there. This new info made him look at the corpse in a totally different way.
'So this dude had a magical sword or something that can take out demons. And that uniform? It definitely looks like it belongs to some kind of group.'
His suspicion was spot on; there was indeed a group out there fighting against demons. But it raised more questions: how long have they been around? How many of them are there? And how effective are they?
Fujino shook his head, deciding to think about that later. He grabbed the sword, cringing a bit as he shook off the hand and took the sheath too.
Honestly, he had never considered using a sword before, but he was open to the idea of—
He jumped back in shock as the wall in front of him crumbled. He quickly stepped back, waving away the dust that filled the air. It was definitely time to get out of here before—
[-20HP]
[-20HP]
"Ugh!" Fujino yelped, feeling pain and surprise hit him at once. He looked down to see two rock spikes sticking out of his shoulders and midsection. They weren't deep enough to be fatal, but they hurt like hell.
"Abhorrent! disgusting! revolting! Obnoxious! Annoying!" the demon responsible for the chaos shouted, throwing a fit on the ground.
At this point, Fujino was completely lost about what was happening, but he knew he had to take advantage of the situation. Gritting his teeth, he yanked the rock shards out of his body, blood spilling out as he did.
"Annoying, so annoying! I live here! Why do you have to come here?! why? whywhwywhywhywhywhy?!" the demon kept ranting, leaving Fujino confused about the whole situation. But he wasn't going to interrupt; his regeneration was already kicking in to heal the damage.
'Great, a sentient demon and a fucking nut job at that,' This is the second talking demon he's run into, and he's already tired from it.
Since the dust had settled He got a good look at it, though. Its skin was a sickly green, with a dry, rocky texture on its skinny arms and torso, and it was only wearing pants. The top of the head looked to be made out of rocks and Its face matched its body—just plain hideous .
Fujino wasn't about to stick around. The room felt cramped, the demon made him want to vomit and he had a pretty good idea where those rocks came from. Without wasting a second, he bolted for the door.
The demon, not thrilled about the intruder making a run for it, slammed its hands on the floor. Instantly, spikes shot up from the ground, chasing after him.
Seeing this, he leaped aside as soon as he exited the corridor and sprinted toward the front door. The spikes kept coming, bursting out of the ground and stabbing everywhere, even reaching high enough to break through the ceiling and bring the roof crashing down.
Fujino watched in on as the house collapsed, his heart racing and his injuries closing a bit.
"Just what the actual fuck just happened?" He couldn't wrap his head around the chaos that just unfolded.
Just when he thought he was safe, chunks of debris flew as the demon broke free from the wreckage. It was clear this lunatic was furious.
'Observe'
[ —> The Hideous Demon
Name: Kyoujin
Level: 28
Health: ?
Stamina: ?]
"for the love of kami, why can't I catch a break?" he sneered, already on the move as the demon let out a terrifying shriek and pointed both hands at him...
<—>
Taisho-era secrets!
The old house once belonged to a sweet elderly couple who were well-loved in the community. But one day, they vanished without a trace, and soon enough, whispers started flying around that the place was haunted.
<—>
Guess who's back?
That's right, it's your favorite author-sama!
I deeply apologize for the two-week hiatus, but man, traveling is a pain in the ass. Not to mention the IRL stuff that I had to take care off. But hey, it's over now and I'm free to write. The next and final chapter of the arc is coming tomorrow.