CHAPTER 9

"Breath of Flower!"

"Fourth Form: Crimson Hanagoromo!!"

Issei heard a soft voice coming from somewhere cut but he was too tired to even move his head in that direction.

He only watched as the figure of that demon stopped in it's track and looked at it's right.

*SWISH!*

A pink arc materialized in the air while Issei couldn't even follow the movement of the attacker. The pink arc curved a little in the air and smoothly passed by the demon's neck.

The head of the demon fell down on the ground as a feminine figure landed on the ground with soft landing some distance away.

That's it!

There was no battle, not even a single sound, and the demon was decapitated just like that.

Issei was stunned by such a spectacle. The opponent he had to struggle with was taken down so easily. Moreover, her attack was just too perfect. It was precise, graceful and on the point. He wasn't a master in sword, but even he could tell that she was not just some random person.

[[How is that even possible?!]]

Ddraig's voice sounded even more surprised than Issei was causing him to think if it was even more amazing than he previously thought.

[Ddraig? Was what she did that amazing?]

Issei asked in his telepathic link with an unsure voice. Sure, he thought it was cool and all, but he also knew Ddraig's power, he shouldn't be surprised by just this amount of strength.

[[ Of course!! Even though her attack power was good, the thing that was even more amazing was that she could materialize her mana with a catalyst.]]

{What he wants to say is that she is using some sort of technique which could draw out her Mana and materialize into a solid form with the use of her Katana.}

[[ I can also sense that she is a human, but her physical capabilities are not like one at all. Interesting…]]

{She is surely using some sort of body strengthning technique.}

[[ I can also see that! But the problem is that she isn't using Mana to strengthen her body!]]

{Hah! What did I even expect from a lizard? To think that he didn't even know about body enforcing techniqes which don't require Mana!}

[[You dare say that!! Hmph, It just means that I don't have to rely on such cheap tricks to make the whole world fear me.]]

{Fear you? I'm pretty sure that everyone were making fun of how stupid you both heavenly dragons are to get stuck in some piece of artifact!}

[[Such audacity!! My name brought fear to every supernatural being while my presence alone caused many to tremble from fear!!]]

[Here they go again!]

Issei thought with a internal sigh, they both have been getting really friendly with each other lately.

The one who killed the demon was already at his side and looking down at him with a smiling face

"Oh my! Are you okay?" her tone sounded a little worried as she kneeled down near his body.

"I.. I'm fine..." Issei said with some difficulty while coughing a little from dry throat.

"Ara, you don't seem to be." She said as she checked his injuries.

"Oww" Issei let out a pained voice as she poked his shoulder.

"Sorry." She said with a apologotic tone as she continued checking up on him "I'm sure that Shinobu will get you all better in an instant."

"Shinobu?"

"She's my little sister! She is very cute, you know. Just like you." She said with a smile on her face.

"I see. Thank you for saving me, that thing would've killed me if not for you." Issei said as he sat up and leaned on the tree with her support.

"oww" Issei let out again as he felt his forehead burning in pain. He realized that she just flicked his forehead.

"That is not a 'Thing', he also has a life." She said in an educating tone.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it." Issei said while rubbing the burning spot.

"It's fine, you are just a child, after all." She said while still smiling.

She also sat down beside him and leaned onto the tree trunk while gazing at the dead body of the demon.

"Are you sure that he is dead?" Issei asked as he remembered the scene of the demon regenerating its head.

"Of course, there is no doubt about that." She assured with a confident tone.

"By the way, My name is Kanae Kocho. how about you?"

She said with a bright voice and an ever present smile on her face.

Just now Issei realized how beautiful she was. She was a girl with slender body and a rather tall stature. She had notably red lips which contrasted with her pale complexion. She had long, straight hair of a very dark grey color which reached just below her waist, with ear length bangs on either side of her face. Her eyes were pale violet which seemed to have a pulling force towards anyone who stare into them. She was wore a green and pink butterfly hairpins on either sides of her head. She looked to be around 17-18 years old but Issei wasn't sure about that.

Issei slowly turned his head back to his front and answered with a clear voice

"Issei…. Hyoudou Issei, with Issei being my given name. You can just call me Ise though."

Kanae nodded with the same gentle smile on her face

"Where are you from? There are not many people who live around here."

Issei thought for a second and decided to say what the first thing that came to his mind

"I was lying here when I woke up."

Kanae looked at him for a few moments and then said with a persuasive tone

"How about coming with us?"

"With you?"

"Yes. Since, you don't remember your home, how about coming with me to my home?"

'I wonder, why he lied about his home?' Kanae thought while still smiling gently. Even though she was quite easy going and cheerful in nature, this didn't mean that she didn't care about anything. For example, she was keenly observant of certain details, she could easily figure out if someone is lying or not from their body language.

Issei seriously ruminated over the question for a moment and came over an quick decision.

"Thank you." Issei said with a low voice but still enough that Kanae could hear.

Her smile grew wider due to his response. A sudden voice alerted them both just as when she was about to say something.

"Sister! Sister!"

"Oh my! It must be Shinobu." Kanae said with a an enthusiastic tone.

Issei gazed at the direction Frome here the sound came from, after a few moments the bushes subsided as a figure of another girl came into view.

She was a petite young woman with pale skin and large, compound-looking eyes that do not possess pupils, only a haze of gradient purple, which make her eyes appear similar to those of insects. She has shoulder-length wavy hair that fades from black into dark purple, usually styled at the back of her head into a "yakai-maki" bun, fastened with a white and purple butterfly ornament. She has split ear-length bangs that rise a little away from her head before falling down to frame her face, with two thinner chin-length strands below them. She is rather short in height unlike Kanae.

She had a worried look on her face as she looked around frantically. Her eyes landed on Issei and Kanae who were sitting beside a tree. Upon noticing them, she immediately came to their side

"Sister! What are you doing here? We were supposed to be on a mission!" She reprimanded with a not so serious way.

"Ara Shinobu, don't worry about that. I already killed that demon." Kanae informed while standing up and pointing at the corpse.

"That was still reckless! I thought you were up to something again." Shinobu said while waving her arms around.

"Now now, don't be like that, okay? I just love that smile on your face." Kanae said with a gentle smile and making a cute expression.

💢💢

A tick mark appeared on Shinobu's forehead as she clenched her hand with a pissed off expression on her face.

"And besides, I had to save this child." Kanae said as she looked at Issei who was watching the events transpiring with an amused expression.

"huh?" Shinobu let out as she was so riled up that she didn't even notice someone else's presence in the area.

Usually a demon Slayer like Shinobu wouldn't be so careless as to ignore someone's presence in the area. The only reason this happened was because Issei wasn't a normal human. Issei had already learned how to stop radiating heat waves, how to camouflage his presence and how to completely control his Mana so that there aren't any Mana waves. Moreover, Shinobu isn't a very capable demon Slayer yet.

"And who might you be?" Shinobu asked with a calm tone unlike a few seconds ago making Issei even more amused.

"My name is Hyoudou Issei. Nice to meet you." Issei introduced himself with a short bow.

"What a respectful child you are. My name is Shinobu Kocho." Shinobu said with a smile.

"Isn't he such an cute boy?" Kanae commented while covering her mouth with her hand.

"Hmm hmm" Shinobu nodded in agreement.

"His hair color is also quite unique."

"Hmm hmm"

"Such a poor thing, getting attacked by a demon in this forest."

"hmm hmm"

"Then it wouldn't be a problem to let him stay with us, right?"

"hmm hmm"

"wait what?!" Shinobu suddenly exclaimed as she was just saying everything in auto pilot. Her eyes widened in realization as she immediately grabbed Kanae's shoulders and started shaking her

"Sister! Sister! You didn't promised him anything, right?" Shinobu questioned while knowing the answer full well herself.

"hehe" Kanae laughed nervously while scratching her cheeks with a nonchalant expression which confirmed Shinobu's suspicions.

"Sister! It's dangerous, we can't let just anyone stay in our house!" Shinobu argued with a helpless expression.

"Now now, don't be like that, okay? I just love that smile on your face." Kanae replied without a care of this world.

While on the other hand, Issei was enjoying the whole show with an excited expression

[This is entertainment!!]

[[ It is!!]]

{Entertainment indeed.}

Kanae explained the whole situation to Shinobu, that Issei didn't have anywhere else to go. Being a child was also a plus for him. At the end, Shinobu could just relent in front of Kanae's persuasion.

"Fine! It's not like you will listen anyway." Shinobu released a sigh with a helpless expression on her face.

"yayyy" Kanae cheered with an overflowing enthusiasm.

Shinobu turned to face Issei and leaned forward a little to match his height level

"You can come with us, but I expect you to not forget Sister's favour."

"Of course, I will certainly repay her someday!" Issei said with a strict resolve in his tone.

Shinobu was surprised by his way of speaking, no one would expect a 12 year old to say such things with such a heavy resolve.

There were obviously a few reasons as to why Issei decided to follow them. First, he didn't knew anything about this world, with demons lurking around this everywhere, he wasn't sure if he would be able to survive. Moreover, he was quite interested as to how Kanae so easily killed that demon.

"We should be going now!" Kanae suggested as she gazed at the rising sun in the distance.

"Haah, yeah. Let's just go back." Shinobu agreed while sighing.

"Just follow us, Ise kun!" Kanae shouted as she was already running over in a direction.

"Sister! Don't just run around like that! It's dangerous!" Shinobu shouted back and started chasing her.

"hahaha" Issei laughed a little over their actions and then eventually also started running behind them with a smile on his face.

Life is certainly going to be interesting from now on!!