Hanzo's past

Inside a bar a middle-aged man and a young boy were conversing in murmurs. They were Hanzo and Nier.

"Back then I was a young spiritist, always in high spirits hehe." Hanzo spoke, reminiscing the past. "I joined an adventurer guild. Back then those were quite popular. Now there are hardly any such guilds left. But 23 years ago, I had powerful adventurer comrades. We ventured high and low, fought the beasts and heretics, we saved people, we were heroes!" Hanzo's gaze shined as his past flashed in his memory vividly.

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"They have exactly 55 people. 4 women, the rest are all able-bodied men. 7 spiritists for sure but there can be more." Yuma spoke to her teammates as they all discussed secretly behind the tall bushes while gazing at a caravan moving on a track.

"I say we create a scene to make all the spiritists reveal themselves." Kaizen suggested.

"It is not easy to force them all to make a move. We will need to lure a beast group here." Kai reasoned.

"You all think too much. I alone am enough hehe. I'll confront them and make them all shiver!" Hanzo spoke confidently.

"…It will only make them vigilant. Not all of them will reveal their spirit force." Kai said.

"Don't get too confident Hanzo. We are only 4. They are at least 7!" Kaizen almost scolded Hanzo.

"Hmph. What are you so afraid of old man? I'll protect you." Hanzo taunted.

"Who are you calling old man? We are all similar aged here." Kaizen didn't get irritated enough.

"Guys, I don't think we have a choice. Let's go with Hanzo's plan." Yuma said. "Their caravan will soon enter the Haimo county. That's beyond our jurisdiction. We have to make a move quickly."

"Hmph. Then so be it. But hear my plan." Kai spoke.

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"We got quite a sizable amount of good quality slaves this year." A bandit spoke.

"Hmm hmm. We even have rare type of them! We will be freaking rich! All our efforts of raiding their hidden village were not in vain." Another bandit spoke.

Similar conversations were going on throughout the caravan. This was a bandit caravan and they were bringing captives to sell them as slaves. All the pitiful captives were inside iron bar cages on carts getting hauled by mild beasts. If one looked carefully, these captives were mostly fey! Some of them had horns, some had tails and hoofs. There were mostly female fey and plenty children too. Very few males were there and they were all injured.

Booom! Suddenly a fiery explosion occurred in their path and startled everyone. As fire blocked their passage, a suspicious man emerged from the flames and walked towards the caravan. He was wearing a half mask that covered his upper face and had two devil horns on the forehead area. As he smiled, yellow flames came out from the corner of his lips. He was wearing black and yellow clothes and seemed carefree.

"This area now belongs to me, Flame Devil Hanzo!" Hanzo spoke as large amounts of fire burst out from his feet, propelling him up and allowing him to float in air!

"You who trespass this area, are doomed hahaha! Hand over all your possessions and kneel before me!" Hanzo spoke loudly. At once everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows. The eyes of the captives glimmered with hope! To them it was as if a God had descended from heavens to save them!

"Who is that clown? What Flame Devil? He's clearly just a spiritist." The bandit leader scowled. He commanded the others right away.

"Take him down!"

Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! 5 spiritists leapt towards Hanzo.

"Hmph, courting death!" Hanzo scowled and rained down lumps of flames that exploded upon touching anything solid.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosion shook the ground and fire spread wantonly.

"Tsk, he's just one guy. What are you imbeciles doing? Kill him! Don't let the fire build up." The bandit leader spoke.

Immediately 5 spirits took form. They were boar, eagle, lizard, giant rat and vine. The eagle soared up high and fell down speedily like an arrow.

Boom! It made direct contact and was blown to smithereens!

"Fuck! He's got enough strength to claim this area." The leader muttered and then looked at his right-hand man.

"Go." He said.

Swoosh! The right-hand man took out a spear and climbed up on it as it hovered in air.

"A cultivator!?" Kai exclaimed as he watched from behind a tree.

"That makes 8 opponents. How many other experts is this bandit caravan hiding?" Kaizen frowned.

"Please be safe, Hanzo!" Yuma prayed in her heart.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Fwoosh! Hanzo went batshit crazy as he attacked furiously. The spear cultivator could only defend himself as they both flew around. The 4 cultivators on the ground were useless as they spirits could not fly. The eagle spirit was also not that strong.

"Just what is his spirit? He hasn't even revealed it yet." The bandit leader frowned.

A long time passed. Hanzo faked weakness and allowed the cultivator to injure him twice. But he still controlled the battle. The bandits were out of options.

"Everyone, attack! Bring him down!" The leader shouted and joined in.

Immediately 4 more spiritists emerged from the ordinary bandits and joined the fight.

"This makes 11? They are too many." Kai frowned.

"We're already in it. Let's get it over with." Kaizen decided.

"I'll continue to hide and free the captives to distract the bandits when needed." Yuma declared.

Swoosh-swoosh! Immediately Kai and Kaizen joined the battle.

"So this was a set up! I see that crest! You're adventurers!" The bandit leader shouted at Kaizen. "But you've come to embrace death! Men! Kill these adventurers!"

At once, the battle reached its peak. Kai's golem spirit was strong enough to take on 4 spirits alone. Kaizen had an ice dragon spirit! The moment it was revealed, the bandits realized that this will be a perilous battle with many losses!

Bam! Bam! Swish! boom! Spiritists sprinted and jumped here and there. The spirits revealed all their powers. The golem threw stones, the vine barely slowed down its movements, The boar went dizzy banging its head against the golem. Eagle soared and rained down sharp feathers, fishes swam in air, sword spirit cleaved its way through to the ice dragon, the dragon froze people and spirits alike. It was mayhem!

Bam! The spear cultivator fell down on the ground, forming a crater underneath him. Hanzo flew down and made sure the cultivator was dead.

"You fought well. I'll remember you." Hanzo said and nodded. Then he looked up at the cage in front of him. At once he froze as his eyes met a fey girl's.

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"That was the first time I saw her. She was draped in tattered white clothes. Her beauty unhidden behind the dust on her face. Her white hair, white fox ears and a thick fluffy white tail stumped me then and there." Hanzo said dreamily.

"….." Nier stayed silent, letting Hanzo reminisce as much as he wanted.

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Hanzo stared at the fox girl and paused for a good while.

"Behind you!" Suddenly the girl shouted in alarm. Hanzo turned and faced three giant fish spirits that immediately bit his arms and a leg. Blood oozed out of his wounds before he fried the fishes to ashes when yellow flames burst out from his entire body. Hanzo glared at the enemy spiritist and flew towards him to battle.

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"That day we killed all the bandit spiritists of that caravan. The ordinary bandits surrendered. The captives were all freed." Hanzo said smilingly.

"Was that fox girl Akari's mother?" Nier asked.

"Yes hehe. Sigh. I'd never seen a person so beautiful in my entire life. Countless stars in the sky cannot rival a mere twinkle of her eyes." Hanzo spoke dreamily while smiling. Nier shook his head.

"What happened then?" Nier asked.

"We took them all back to our county. County lord was the one who had hired us for that mission but no one knew that there would be captives in the caravan. It all ended well. The humans mingled in the populous while the fey were guaranteed a safe refuge. That is when I got to talk to the fox girl properly."

"Her name was Misako. In the fey refugee camp for days, we dated and ended up falling in love. She was bright and sweet. She'd always believe me whenever I boasted, hehe. I think she knew I was half-lying but she chose to let me. Sigh. Then a day came when I had to go away on another mission with my team." Hanzo went on.

"But when I returned the fey refugee camp had disappeared. County lord had gone away on some official visit. The guards wouldn't tell me anything in detail. They simply said that the fey had been relocated elsewhere. Like a helpless child I searched for the love of my life high and low. I felt so weak…" Hanzo muttered.

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On a rainy evening, Hanzo was sitting in a dingy wooden cabin as he drank his wine. His eyes sad but restless.

Bam! The cabin door was flung open as Yuma barged in.

"Hanzo! I…I found her." Yuma said.

"!!!" Hanzo jumped up in astonishment.

"Where!? Where is she?" He asked desperately.

"She… she is in the royal palace. She is a gift from our country lord to the old king." Yuma said.

"…"

"How can this be? County lord said he will give refuge to the fey! Is this his idea of refuge?!" Hanzo shouted in fury. "How can they treat my Misako as an object?"

"She is one of the lucky ones." Yuma wept. "You don't know what happened to the other fey."

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"What happened to the other fey?" Nier asked.

At once, Hanzo fell silent. He prepared another drink for a customer and Akari went past the counter, taking away all the drinks Hanzo and Nier had prepared and went to serve to the customers.

"They were butchered and served as meal in the royal palace banquet." Hanzo spoke. "The fey children especially were considered a delicacy by the nobles. The lucky ones among the fey were all pretty girls offered to be used as sex slaves by the king and his princes."

"…" Nier poured a drink and slid it on the counter towards Hanzo. Hanzo glanced at it before picking it up and gulping it down in one breath.

"What did you do then?" Nier asked. He was unfazed by the horrors that disturbed Hanzo even now. Nier had eaten plenty mortals himself. He was a great ancient demon.

"What do you think?" Hanzo side-glanced Nier. His gaze belonged to that of a murderous man.

Nier poured himself a drink and sipped it calmly. There was a momentary silence. Since Hanzo didn't seem to be intent on revealing the darkest part of his story, Nier didn't probe either. Admitting of genocide would be immature of Hanzo. Although he seemed to have gotten adrift in emotions and spilled out too many details regarding his past, he didn't hand over any critical information that could be used against him.

"…So I managed to rescue Misako and we ran off to this village far-far away from there and settled down." Hanzo directly jumped to the ending. But in his gaze his memory was still vivid.

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Flames were burning the entire palace to ashes. There were humans screaming and running around as live torches. Misako wept on the side as Hanzo leaned over a badly injured Yuma.

"Why did you take the king's hit for me? Why did you throw away your life Yuma? Even Kai and Kaizen…how…how can I live with this! I've harmed you all!" Kaizen wept like a little boy. Yuma smiled and touched his face.

"I live to love you Hanzo. It is only fair that I die for you so you can live on with the one you love. Cry not. I'm happy." Yuma said before her hand slipped off Hanzo's face and her eyes shut close. She was dead.

"Yuma…" Hanzo wept silently. Misako knelt beside him and hugged him over his shoulders.

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"The people don't look kindly to fey. Half-fey are ostracized too. We had to hide Misako's racial identity. She would always hide her ears and tail. The same goes for Akari. It's for the best." Hanzo spoke again.

"We lived a fine life. I learned so many things from Misako and we taught so many things to our daughter as she grew up. Now…tell me your secret. How the hell did you survive the dangerous forests during your journey here? What exactly is your origin?" Hanzo asked staring at Nier.

"Just because you told me your tale, doesn't mean I should tell too." Nier said calmly.

"You!" Hanzo was shocked. He also felt embarrassed. He had revealed too many things about himself. If Nier didn't do the same, he'd feel cheated!

"You said that Akari's condition is unique. Why is it so? A half-fey shouldn't have that many problems, right?" Nier asked.

"Hmph! I am not telling you anything. Pay up 4 coins for that drink you just took." Hanzo narrowed his eyes.

Nier scoffed. He found Hanzo quite amusing. This person earlier had a slip of a moment when he revealed his spirit force to him in order to threaten him when Nier was probing about Akari. The current meeting would have allowed Hanzo to make up for it by learning Nier's past and secret and also offering him information regarding fey species to help him out and making him his ally of sorts. But he slipped up again by revealing much about his past. Now Nier held his weakness while Hanzo only knew tiny bit about Nier.

At the same time, Nier could tell that Hanzo was a beast in human clothing. He was definitely a mass murderer! Anyone who had spilled blood brazenly was capable of catching Nier's gaze. This Hanzo was powerful, cruel and yet funny as he kept slipping up easily. It was a wonder how he managed to keep his past and his wife and daughter's fey identity a secret all these years.

Then again, Nier did not know that Hanzo was actually a lonely person. His true friends had all died. He had to constantly hide secrets from the villagers and could not make true bonds with anyone. When he saw the half-fey Nier, he was intrigued, alarmed and then easily slipped into telling him about his past. He felt he could find a new friend in Nier. But who could have thought that Nier would troll him?

"Heh, don't be so upset old man." Nier smirked before pouring another drink and offering it to Hanzo behind the counter. As Hanzo took the cup, Nier's hand gave off black wisps of spirit force.

"A spiritist!" Hanzo's eyes widened. "So that's it. That's how you survived the dangerous journey!" He thought.

"Yes. That's all there is to my past and origin." Nier spoke, almost reading Hanzo's thoughts. "I inherited my family's spirit. But then there appeared a beast tide. My father sent me away while he stayed back to fight the beast tide. He obviously failed. I merely survived and reached here with Yan. That's all."

"…" Hanzo nodded as he believed Nier. What secrets could a teenager have? He was merely a young spiritist who was being tested by fate as he lost his family and village. So Hanzo thought.

This teenager in truth could actually devour all the mortal villages and kill everyone and eat their corpses if he wanted to.

"Alright, well, I guess it's my turn." Hanzo said and sipped his drink calmly this time.

"Well, Akari has come of age but she cannot marry a human due to her special half-fey identity. And there had been no male half-fey around. She wants to go adventuring thought heh. She inherited that from me. But for half-fey it's not easy to go on adventures. Plus, she is not that strong. Although she inherited my spirit, she has never been able to practice properly because a fire would easily catch anyone's attention. Thus, I even prohibited her from using her spirit. But now she's all grown-up sigh. How long can I keep her protected in my shadow? I fear someday she will rebel and run off, seeking adventures." Hanzo said.

"Come to think of it, you're a fine handsome lad. A half-fey and even a spiritist!" Hanzo looked at Nier with heated gaze. Nier felt worms crawling up his skin. Something annoying was about to be spoken. He knew it.

"Don't…say it." Nier said stiffly.

"Hahaha! Come on. Contrary to my first outburst, now that I think about it, you're the best match for my daughter. You two be a perfect couple!" Hanzo cackled. The liquor had gotten to him.

"Father! What nonsense are you spouting now? Are you drunk?!" Akari came over in a fury. The last of the customers had left. The bar was now empty. Only Nier, Hanzo and Akari were left.

"Oh, come-come Akari hahaha! I'm not drunk yet." Hanzo grabbed Akari and lifted her up like a doll and pulled her over the counter so that she could be close to him.

"You! Don't pull me around like that. I'm not a little girl anymore!" Akari stomped Hanzo's foot.

"Ow-ow! Come on, you'll always be daddy's little girl." Hanzo spoke & patted her.

"Hmph! What nonsense were you speaking just now? I've been noticing, you're really bullying this young customer!" Akari shouted.

"Eh? No way. He's my new friend haha!" Hanzo chuckled.

"…" Nier put down his empty cup and began to move away silently.

"Oi, where are you going. Let me state my offer." Hanzo stopped Nier.

"Why don't you marry my daughter? She is beautiful and sexy, isn't she? You're both half-fey too! You must get married. I don't mind if you have that little missy already. Polygamy is popular nowdays." Hanzo spoke.

"Father you!" Akari was shocked. Hanzo had never revealed her half-fey identity to anyone. How was he able to trust this young boy so much whom he had met merely hours ago? She was at a loss. Also, he was literally giving her up to him!

"Look, she even has a cute tail!" Hanzo spoke and lifted Akari's skirt up and pulled out a fluffy white tail wrapped around her hips.

At once, Nier's eyes glinted.

"Ahh! Perverted father what are you doing!" Akari shouted and punched and kicked Hanzo, quickly beating him to dust. As Akari shook the bar with her fury, Nier closed in and suddenly grabbed her tail.

"Hyaannh!!" Akari let out a loud squeal as she jumped up. Her face became red as she turned and looked at Nier with fury.

"You! Let go!" Akari shouted but Nier clenched her tail tightly with left hand and ran his right hand up and down on it. Akari's hairs stood on their ends as her face flushed. She was blushing hard and her legs began quivering.

"S-soft." Nier mumbled.

"Oh! You liked her tail? It's soft alright. Hehe. Her mother also had a sensitive tail. If you rub and yank it, she'll become submissive in no time!" Hanzo divulged a secret.

"You rotten father!" Akari screamed and raised her fist towards him. Nier suddenly yanked her fluffy tail and squeezed it hard.

"Hyannhhh!" Akari moaned aloud before her knees buckled and she knelt on the floor, shivering in pleasure.

"Be quiet. Honestly, you two shout so much." Nier frowned and let go of Akari's tail. He apparently had a thing for soft things but had never revealed it before. But Akari's soft fluffy tail was too attractive. Yet he let her go. How could an ancient demon slip up like that? Unacceptable! Nier steeled his expression and stepped away.

"So, how is it? You like my daughter?" Hanzo was enthusiastic.

"What sort of a rotten father is he?" Nier's face flinched as he thought. "Depravity is evil. This person is truly capable of becoming my minion." Thinking so, he nodded to himself but Hanzo took it otherwise.

"Alright great! Since you like her, spend some time with her hehe. Your skill in making drinks and handling the bar is also very good. You can inherit this inn from me what do you say?" Hanzo said.

"…This and that are two different things old man. I'm not marrying your daughter. Also, didn't you warn me earlier to not get any ideas about her? Why are you so hasty now?" Nier asked.

"Ah, it was a small mistake haha. I'm a protective father." Hanzo said.

"Yeah right." Nier almost rolled his eyes. Hanzo had literally told him how to make Akari submissive. It was in no way him being protective of her!

"I have a journey to complete. I'll be setting off by tomorrow evening. Tell me now, things about fey. I've read few book about us but you must know better than the books since you've spent more than two decades with a fey." Nier said.

"…Hmm. Alright, I'll tell you, but you have to take Akari with you in your journey. You can drop her back again in a few decades." Hanzo said.

"You wretched human!" Akari suddenly jumped on Hanzo. She had had enough of his bullshit.

Bam! Bam! Akari punched and Hanzo wrestled with her on the floor. A vein swelled up on Nier's forehead as he observed this disrespectful banter of the two mortals. Then he left towards him room, knowing that he will not get his answers tonight and might have to spend an extra day in the inn.