Chapter 19: Shinobu Kocho

"Shinobu Kocho has been found…" Lucian stopped what he was doing upon receiving such a message.

Now he would find out if he could get a subordinate skilled in medicine and making poisons and drugs.

With a snap of his fingers he disappeared from the infinity castle, appearing in a forest.

Shinobu had just eliminated a nearby demon when she was spotted by Nakime's eyes.

Using his super senses Lucian soon visualized her vital signs.

In the vast silence of the night and the cold breeze that blew, Shinobu's temperature and heartbeat were like a lantern shining brightly.

'Calm heartbeats and soft breathing, she must have ended the fight with one blow' Analyzed Lucian as he ran to get closer.

This is a characteristic of Shinobu's combat style, she either finishes quickly or loses.

As she uses poison to fight, when she manages to inject the poison and it takes effect, she wins, but if the demon avoid or overcomes the poison, she loses.

Before long he arrived at her, and of course like the gentleman he is, he had to introduce himself correctly.

"Hello Shinobu Kocho, I'm Lucian, the demon king." Lucian said, placing a hand on his chest and bowing slightly.

"Demon?!" Shinobu vigilantly drew her sword, ready to fight at any moment.

"Don't be so hostile, I came to make you an offer." Lucian calmed her, at the same time admiring her beautiful face splashed in the silver light of the light.

The beautiful black hair with purple tips that adorned his face, his seemingly gentle features that hid great malice.

This friendly mask that hides his enormous hatred, constant anger and sadistic nature.

Just like the saying goes, a knife hidden behind a smile.

"Say." Shinobu said coldly, while looking for a way to escape.

As the physically weakest hashira, she knew that she would not stand a chance against the demon king.

"A very simple deal, I will give you the demon that killed your sister and in exchange I want you." Lucian said her proposal, he believes there is a high chance of her accepting this agreement.

Shinobu was a person who lived only for revenge, someone who turned her own body into a huge poison capsule, someone more than willing to die for revenge.

"The demon that killed my sister? And how do you prove it?" she asked, her disbelief evident.

Would the demon king sacrifice one of the strongest demons in exchange for her?

"Here is the proof, Douma, the Upper Moon 2." Lucian responded, snapping his fingers, making a figure appear.

A tall man with silvery blonde hair and rainbow eyes, his face always unchanging, even though he was currently trapped by blood-colored vines that constantly sucked his blood.

Looking at the emotionless face of the bastard who had killed her sister, a wave of euphoria rose from the depths of Shinobu's mind.

Especially seeing the situation he found himself in.

If it had been a year or two earlier, when her sister was still alive, or before she was consumed by the desire for revenge, she wouldn't have accepted this deal.

At that time she still aimed to prevent more people from being killed by demons.

But now it was different, revenge was everything to her, taking Douma's head off being her only ambition and desire.

"Then I will accept." Shinobu smiled, but unlike before, her smile was now more genuine.

Then she started to unbutton her shirt.

"What are you doing?" Lucian quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her

'What is she thinking about?'

"Didn't you say you wanted me?" Shinobu tilted her head, a little confused, and the blush on her cheeks showed that she wasn't as calm as she seemed.

'I was a bit ambiguous…'

"I want to, but not now; not in the forest and not in front of an audience." Lucian said, giving reasons why they shouldn't do it at that moment.

It could be a misunderstanding, but if she was willing to give, he was willing to receive.

In short, it was a pleasant misunderstanding.

'But should I still be careful with my words… or make them even more ambiguous?'

These ambiguous words brought him benefits which made him wonder if he should repeat it, after all that was how the prophets did it.

Something like: "someone will appear who will change your life forever."

It could be a murderer, an IRS agent, a loan shark, a mobster or a doctor with the cancer test.

Either way, it worked. The greater the imprecision of the words, the less chance of making mistakes.

"I understand" said Shinobu, her smile was now a little embarrassed.

"I think we will have a lot of fun together, Douma." Shinobu then turned to Douma, her smile now sinister, her eyes shining with intense malice.

"Without a doubt yes" said Lucian, before continuing:

"Do you want to go to the infinity castle or are you going to take it somewhere else?"

"Considering that I will follow you from now on, I will go to the Infinity Castle," Shinobu replied, looking anxious about what would come in the future.

... Or rather, the ways in which Douma would torture in the future.

"Ah, I have a warning for you, torturing him is useless. He feels no pain, and probably has no emotions."

Realizing her intentions, Lucian warned her so that she wouldn't be disappointed later.

"...That's disappointing, but I'll still make sure to make him die slowly" Shinobu decided.

At least she would be able to vent her anger and get some satisfaction in doing so.

"If you want it that way" Lucian shrugged.

And Douma, who was bound and gagged, could only hear their conversation.

Then he felt, for the first time in hundreds of years, an emotion arise in his chest.

Anger! That was the emotion he felt. An intense anger, a great hatred, for Lucian who simply tied him up and handed him over to someone who was an enemy.

'If I weren't tied up… if I could use kekkijutsu… I would tear her apart!'

Too bad there weren't that many SEs, just that he was doomed to a slow death.

Unfortunately he could only be used in a transaction by the one above him in this cruel hierarchy.

And Lucian, being the kind and benevolent person he is, remained silent for 5 seconds for Douma.

"I hope we have a good relationship in the future." Lucian then shook Shinobu's hand.

And again in a snap of a finger, they disappeared.