Chapter 35: Why do you have the rights?

"Chop off its head."

Hatsune stood on the stone platform, cringing every time Nae called out the name of her breathing technique. He wanted to find a place to hide and pretend he didn't know this girl. It was just too embarrassing.

Of all the names to choose, why did she have to pick that one?

"Got it," Nae responded.

Despite her voluptuous figure, Nae's fullness was in all the right places for a woman. Her legs, arms, and abdomen remained quite slender.

Nae lightly jumped down from the stone platform, rushing towards the man and woman with incredible speed.

At this moment, the two were tightly embracing, thinking they were about to have their throats bitten by a demon. Suddenly, a pink figure flashed before their eyes.

The Nichirin sword, like a thin, soft whip, instantly severed the demon's arm reaching for them.

The demon howled in pain, fell to the ground, staggered back a few steps, and steadied itself. It quickly covered its bleeding arm stump with its left hand, dripping blood onto the ground.

The demon glanced at the couple nearby and then turned its hateful gaze towards Nae, emitting a strange, low growl, as if in warning.

Nae stopped a short distance from the couple, turned to face the demon, and upon seeing the bleeding wound and the severed arm on the ground, she muttered to herself, "Huh, why is it the arm? I was aiming for the head." She then looked up at Hatsune on the stone platform.

Seeing Hatsune glaring at her coldly, Nae awkwardly stuck out her tongue, "I was aiming for the head, how did it end up being the arm?"

You're asking me? You never intended to aim for the head in the first place; don't think I didn't notice.

Hatsune was livid, pointing at the two on the ground, he said coldly, "If you don't chop off its head, more people will end up like them, being eaten. They were lucky to meet you, but what about others? Will they be so fortunate? You decide. If you can't bring yourself to do it, let it go and let it eat others."

Realizing her little ploy had been exposed, Nae lowered her head, hesitating, unsure of what to do.

The thought that these demons were once humans made it hard for her to kill them. It felt like murdering a person. But if she didn't kill it, should she really let it go to eat others?

Wouldn't that mean she was responsible for their deaths?

Nae bit her lip, looking up at Hatsune.

Hatsune's expression remained cold, showing no intention of intervening.

The two on the ground, seeing they were saved, were overjoyed. But upon realizing their saviors were the pink-clad girl and the white-clad boy from the plaza, they were surprised.

They were not only astonished by the girl's hidden abilities but also by the way she and the boy interacted.

Faced with the sudden appearance of the demon, neither was afraid. The boy seemed to be instructing the girl on how to kill the demon.

Feeling ignored, the demon was angry. With a "puff," a new arm grew out from the stump.

The couple huddled together in fear, and the girl called out to Nae for help in a trembling voice.

However, this time, the demon didn't seem intent on attacking them but instead focused on Nae.

It knew that the sudden appearance of this person had disrupted its hunt. If it didn't deal with her first, it couldn't enjoy its meal in peace. But the Nichirin sword in Nae's hand gave it pause.

Suddenly, the demon lifted its head and howled towards the sky.

Hatsune guessed it was sending a message to the outside, likely communicating with its companions, much like wolves do.

Sure enough, soon after, there was a rustling sound from the forest.

In the blink of an eye, three more demons appeared from the other three directions, besides the one where Hatsune stood by the rock wall. Some stood on the ground, others crouched on tree branches. Together with the first demon, they surrounded the three of them.

The man and woman quickly got up, drew their Nichirin swords, and stood back to back with Nae.

Now, facing the four demons, Nae's expression finally changed.

She knew Hatsune wouldn't abandon her, but facing four demons at once, even for him, would be challenging.

Nae regretted not listening to Hatsune earlier. If she had, perhaps this situation wouldn't have arisen.

"Hey, don't just stand there, come help!" the boy named Akino shouted at Hatsune.

Hearing Akino's call, Hatsune's indifferent face suddenly showed a peaceful smile.

It was the first time Nae saw Hatsune smile.

But from this smile, she sensed mockery and anger. She felt Hatsune was laughing at her for not listening to him, leading to their current predicament.

Hatsune said blandly, "Why should I help? They won't eat me."

At this, the boy was stunned, seemingly taking a moment to understand, and then anger surged through him. He shouted, "What did you say? How can you be so heartless? Do you want to watch your companions die here?"

Hatsune shrugged indifferently, "That's her own fault. She should only take on what she can handle. If she can't do it, then let it go and let it eat others."

"You...!" The boy trembled with rage. "Are you even a man? Your companions are in danger, and you stand by and do nothing. You're no better than these man-eating beasts."

"Shut up."

A stern reprimand interrupted the boy's angry rant.

He turned to see the pink-clad girl glaring at him with watery eyes, "That's not how you talk about him. Why do you have the rights? I'll stop you from talking about him in that way..."

The boy, Akino, was stunned by her fierce retort. He had been defending her, yet now she was turning against him.

"I... I was just trying to help..." Akino wanted to argue.

But the girl, Yuka, seemed to sense something, quickly pulling Akino, signaling him to stop talking.

Under Nae's sharp gaze and Yuka's persuasion, Akino reluctantly closed his mouth, filled with confusion and discontent. He couldn't understand what he did wrong. He was even more baffled that the pink-clad girl defended the white-clad boy despite his harsh treatment of her.

Akino glared at the white-clad boy leaning against the rock wall, only to see that he had indeed become a spectator.