3

Kenzo found himself speechless, unable to comprehend the situation unfolding before him. 

Strangely, his body refused to move as he made eye contact with the woman.

It wasn't fear that held him captive; Kenzo harbored no fear, knowing that anything capable of being killed was beneath the emotion. 

Despite this, he understood the necessity of completing his mission. Summoning sheer willpower, he broke free from the inexplicable restraint that had gripped him.

The woman, though surprised by his sudden movement, displayed no fear despite a killer approaching with a knife, and the gunshot narrowly missing Kenzo wasn't from her but from the man she had fought with the night before.

The only reason the bullet missed him was because he managed to move or he would be a corpse.

"You aren't attracted to me?" the lady blurted out, but Kenzo, focused on more pressing matters, failed to grasp her point.

His attention shifted to the bald man, and a single glance revealed the trained killer before him. 

The man continued firing bullets, prompting Kenzo to roll on the ground, seeking refuge behind the couch.

"You're quite nimble," the man praised the Oni mask assassin but he had ran out of bullets.

Kenzo seized the moment, determined not to let the man reload, and emerged like a mole in a game of whack-a-mole.

Swiftly, he hurled his butcher knife, and it found its mark in the bald man's chest, causing him to collapse to the ground. 

The lady observed, clearly impressed by Kenzo's skill.

"You're as good as they say you are..." the woman praised Kenzo, who, while uncertain about the unfolding events, realized he had walked into an ambush.

Approaching the fallen man, Kenzo kept a watchful eye on the woman as he retrieved his butcher's knife from the man's chest. There was no doubt that the man was dead.

Blood trickled down Kenzo's knife as he approached her, and the look on the woman's face suggested she found the scene intriguing. 

Anticipation flashed in her eyes as she bit her lower lip, seemingly eager for what was to come. 

However, just before Kenzo could close the distance, he sensed a presence behind him.

Ducking just in time, Kenzo heard a gunshot once again, and he wondered if another person had entered the scene. 

To his surprise, it was the man he had just killed.

"Damn, you have made me waste a life, you dimwit!" the man exclaimed, expressing his frustration yet Kenzo realized his target was in the line of fire.

Looking straight ahead, Kenzo saw the woman he was supposed to kill with a bullet wound right in her forehead.

That was mission complete

"You better watch where you aim that toy of yours," the woman said, despite having a bullet in her head, defying biology by remaining alive.

"What the...!" Kenzo exclaimed, starting to grasp why the bounty on her was so high. 

"What are you people?" Kenzo asked and the woman crouched down to his level.

"You don the mask of an Oni, but we, we don that of a human," the woman remarked. Kenzo glimpsed her panties, yet that was the least of his concerns.

"We are demons, boy," the man provided a more straightforward response.

"Demons?" Kenzo inquired, and the woman admired his lack of fear; all he expressed was surprise.

Kenzo rose to his feet, sighed, and noted the demon's mention of a heart being destroyed. Now wasn't the time to delve into that.

"You're the client," Kenzo muttered upon reaching a conclusion, though the demon behind him wasn't satisfied and planned to take revenge on Kenzo for taking a life but it wasn't going to be that easy.

Closing the gap, Kenzo swiftly severed the hand holding the gun before beheading the demon in a single move.

The woman found Kenzo intriguing; most would have fled, but he chose to test the limits of their immortality.

"Why instruct me to kill you when you can't die?" Kenzo questioned, eyes fixed on the decapitated demon.

"What happens when a renowned killer, who eliminates all targets, fails to kill one?" the woman asked, revealing their motive.

"Is that why you hired me, to tarnish my perfect record?" Kenzo queried.

"No... We sought to determine if you'd be a suitable candidate," the woman clarified, coldly.

"A candidate?" Kenzo inquired, pivoting to find the woman transformed – horns protruding from her head, red eyes fixed on him.

"A human devoid of lust for a Succubus," the woman revealed. Kenzo sought to grasp the meaning behind her words; desire was her weapon, yet he had robbed her of that single power, this was why he was able to break free from her hold. 

"I'm Beelithina, and I've chosen you," she declared before Kenzo could reply.

The lady manifested a tail, impaling the demon Kenzo had just 'killed,' absorbing him. Kenzo, laden with questions, found her in front of him before he could blink, softly planting her lips on his. Her speed left him unable to react, simultaneously forcing something down his throat. 

Breaking away, Kenzo jumped back.

"What was that for?" He queried 

"I didn't hire you to kill me; I hired you to protect me," Beelithina revealed. As a demon, what could she fear?

"Protect you from what? That's beyond my mission scope," Kenzo stated.

"From my kind," Beelithina responded warmly.

"Your kind? Demons? I take lives, not protect them," Kenzo asserted.

"In return, I'll tell you how to kill me," Beelithina offered, leveraging his reputation as a bargaining chip.

She knew that there was no way he would turn her down if it came at the risk of his reputation.

"What happened to your friend?" Kenzo not only changed the conversation but he was blunt with his question.

"My friend? The lowest form of demon; I kept it until I found a replacement, until I found you" Beelithina replied before the conversation could proceed further.

Kenzo felt his lungs close up and blood began to drip down his tear gland, he couldn't breathe and every fiber of his body was aching with pain so overwhelming, that it sent his body into stock. 

"Be reborn, my Incubus," Beelithina declared as the world's greatest assassin laid dead on the floor.