Chapter 44 "No matter what, I will kill him..."
Giyu Tomioka was very strong, as if he wanted to embed her into his body. Aori even felt a little pain and had to put her hands on his back.
He appeared very tense, as if he had been suppressing his emotions for a long time and was only now finding an opportunity to release them, making one feel his urgency and anxiety during this period...
Aori had rarely seen this side of Tomioka Giyuu. Her body reacted before her mind, her furrowed brows instantly smoothing out. She subconsciously patted the swordsman's back and softly called out the black-haired swordsman's name: "Giyuu?"
She added earnestly, in a tone as if coaxing a child, "I'm fine now."
Giyu Tomioka lost all his relatives when he was young. He witnessed his sister being killed by a demon, and he survived because his sister hid him.
He was once severely reprimanded by Sabito for saying something discouraging like "dying in place of my sister." Since then, he has rallied his spirits and continued to cultivate, determined to become a powerful person and never let the regrets of his childhood repeat themselves.
But what struck him head-on was A-Zhi; she was kidnapped before his very eyes once again, and he was still as powerless as he had been as a child…
But Azhi didn't harbor any resentment towards him; she didn't even have the slightest negative emotion.
A gentle voice can easily soothe the nerves, and when paired with it, the girl's soothing touch on the back, like a feather, completely immerses the listener in the experience.
Giyu Tomioka loosened his arms, the gloom that had been gathering between his brows lessening slightly. He took a deep breath, then regained his usual composure, concealing the nameless unease that had arisen from nowhere.
He found it difficult to discern what his current emotions encompassed, and also to identify the unfamiliar emotions that were sprouting and growing like seeds within him.
Once Azhi was released, all eyes were focused on her, each pair so intently that it was difficult for her to ignore them.
That's why she suddenly realized a problem.
How did they find me? Azhi's mind went blank for a moment before she started to panic.
She found it strange; she hadn't gone to the house with the wisteria pattern, nor had she revealed her whereabouts, yet they had still found her.
It sounds like Azhi is hiding from them.
However, because Aori chose to follow 000's instructions to go to Mount Setsun without informing Giyuu and Sabito in advance that she was out of danger, and now she saw how worried they were about her, it's understandable that she felt guilty.
Although she didn't say it, no one else knew about it.
000 spread her hands dismissively: 【I don't know.】
It wasn't quite sure why the target had found A-Zhi so quickly. Logically, it estimated that it should have found her in a few days at the earliest, but the current progress was quite good.
Sabito, who was a step behind, looked at the scene before him and keenly sensed that there were traces of unusual energy flowing around him. He took a step forward and broke the silence.
"What happened?" Sabito's gaze fell on the particularly glaring gauze on the girl's wrist, his eyes revealing obvious concern, and he began to inquire about the details.
If the bite was serious, simply bandaging it wouldn't be enough. This was the only visible wound. Although they didn't want Azhi to get hurt, their reason told them they should ask more detailed questions.
—After all, it was the number one demon among the Upper Moon demons.
It's obvious that he misunderstood something.
It's a little embarrassing to admit, but apart from the series of frights she's been experiencing lately, her biggest illness has been a fever, and her biggest pain is this injury she sustained from a fall.
"...It's nothing, I just accidentally scratched it."
After giving a brief explanation, to reassure everyone, the girl shook her hand as she spoke, showing that she was fine.
As a result, the biggest problem was exposed, and the doubts lingering in their minds grew thicker and thicker, like dark clouds before a storm.
"That Upper Moon..." Sabito paused, then abruptly changed direction before the words could come out. He smoothed the girl's messy hair and smiled, "How did Aori escape?"
He figured that A-Zhi might not want to recall the memories of the Upper Moon demons. She was so timid; those memories were probably ones she wanted to forget and put aside. So he changed it to something that would make her feel better: how she escaped.
He exclaimed with utmost sincerity, "That's amazing!"
It's true, it's a miracle that a human girl, who is even more frail than the average person, was able to escape from Upper Moon One.
After the flesh-haired swordsman asked the question, everyone present unconsciously held their breath, and the surrounding air suddenly froze for a moment.
"…………"
Ah Zhi... Ah Zhi is truly unworthy of such praise.
A bead of sweat appeared on her nose; she knew she could no longer escape. [What should she do?]
000 continues to slack off: [I can only say that I cannot reveal any information about the system to the characters in the quest world.]
The unspoken reason is something you should make up yourself; don't count on it.
Azhi: [You've become so cold lately.]
In such a short time, she couldn't think of a suitable reason. In addition, Azhi subconsciously didn't want to lie to the two people who cared about her so much, so she decided to tell the truth directly.
But she couldn't tell the whole truth, because the matter was so outrageous. Her clear black and white eyes gradually went blank as she carefully chose her words, finding it difficult to speak because of her embarrassment.
"Kuroshibo, that Upper Moon, seems to have mistaken me for his...wife." Even though it was 000 who gave her the buff.
This answer must have sounded quite outrageous to them, and Azhi felt extremely ashamed when she said it, but she couldn't think of a better one.
Afraid of meeting their suspicious gazes, she swallowed hard, lowered her eyes to look at the ground, and unconsciously gripped the corner of her sleeve.
Giyu Tomioka and Sabito naturally trust Ori unconditionally.
The girl was unbelievably beautiful. The silk sash around her waist accentuated her slender figure, and the deep purple kimono she wore perfectly highlighted her good proportions while also adding a touch of mysterious distance, making most people hesitant to approach her.
This is a style she's never tried before, but it won't diminish her charm; in fact, most people who see her at first glance will probably praise her…
This was what Giyu Tomioka and Sabito had been thinking. After the girl finished saying the word "wife," the intense purple color became particularly striking.
The clothes she is wearing now are not the ones she wore when she was taken away. She changed her clothes while she was imprisoned by the Upper Moon, and the clothes she took off were reduced to a small, pitiful fragment in the fire.
Giyu Tomioka's body trembled as if he had been electrocuted, and then he suddenly grabbed a piece of cloth at his chest with great force, causing the veins on the back of his hand to bulge and his palm to become creased.
Behind the piece of cloth that had been grasped lay a fragment lying amidst the ruins, emitting a burnt smell. Before leaving, Giyu Tomioka picked it up in the mountain cabin and put it in his pocket.
Because I wanted to give myself a warning.
Today, this warning has become all the more profound.
Giyu Tomioka felt that the soft fabric with cherry blossom patterns suddenly transformed into a hard weapon with countless steel needles standing upright the moment the girl finished speaking.
It pierced my heart so deeply.
—Wife, what a sacred word.
But when a ghost says it, it becomes unbearable, or rather, utterly repulsive.
Ah Zhi is naturally extremely beautiful. Every feature of her small, delicate face is exquisitely sculpted. She is slender and beautiful, and is at the most beautiful age. No amount of preferential treatment is too much for someone like her.
On the other hand, the Upper Moon demon was so much taller than the girl. The girl, restrained by his strong arms, couldn't break free at all. She couldn't even run away. The Upper Moon demon could do whatever he wanted to Aya...
In that deep, dark mountain forest, no matter how loudly she cried or how desperately she broke down, it would probably be drowned out by the howling wind, and no one would know or come to save her.
And this man-eating demon even dared to dream of establishing a "husband and wife" relationship with Azhi!
From a certain moment on, Giyu Tomioka and Sabito's thoughts began to veer off in an uncontrollable direction. It's no wonder they thought that way; Aori's words were already tinged with a hint of ambiguity.
The flesh-haired swordsman's lips were pressed into a straight line, and a sudden surge of anger rose from the depths of his heart, spreading rapidly and even tinging into his eyes as he looked over.
The moment that gaze fell upon Azhi, she felt as if she were being set ablaze, the flames spreading rapidly throughout her entire body.
As a result, Aori witnessed firsthand how Sabito's expression suddenly turned gloomy, and saw him stiffly avert his gaze, looking somewhat embarrassed.
The flesh-haired swordsman gritted his teeth: "Did he...?"
He only said half of what he meant, clearly wanting to ask something. Azhi didn't have the ability to read minds, and upon hearing this, she looked over blankly, her big black eyes wide open, "...What?"
"...Did I do anything...bad to you..." The words were forced out through clenched teeth, each syllable like a sharp blade piercing his own flesh, yet Sabito continued to ask as if he felt no pain, "Did I..."
Sabito was unaware of the chilling murderous intent that flashed in his eyes, nor of the terrifying tone of his voice, which seemed to conceal a horrible nightmare.
For a fleeting moment, Azhi was even drawn into a state of terror by the sudden surge of power in those words.
It was impossible for her not to notice that something was wrong with them, but what she couldn't understand was why the two swordsmen were so angry.
Their eyes were filled with a thick, malevolent aura, making their faces look fierce and causing A-Zhi to sense a sense of unfamiliarity.
She looked up, and although she didn't feel afraid, a slight tremor ran through her body, making her voice weak. "...No."
She still answered the rabbit's question seriously.
Nothing bad has happened, so don't be so angry.
She looked just like a timid kitten, her eyelashes wet, her clear black eyes filled with a bewildered confusion.
As if waking from a dream, Sabito realized that their behavior had frightened the girl. He restrained himself and closed his eyes, slightly weakening the sharpness that had overflowed. His usual kindness and gentleness returned to his face.
But in the end, he was still unable to perfectly hide his emotions.
As if making a vow to A-Zhi that he would surely fulfill, the flesh-haired swordsman looked down at her, his eyes gleaming with a cold light, "No matter what, I will kill him!"
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Author's Note: I'm writing something really strange, so please bear with it _(:з」∠)_
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-05-24 21:15:20 and 2023-05-26 22:47:32!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 3 bottles of Iced Tea; 1 bottle each of Granvit and 66994108;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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