Jing Fu: “Sorry about this unsightly look, Nagare-kun”

Nagare: “You are my superior, so, think nothing of it”

Jing Fu: “You are a stiff around the edges type, huh?”

Nagare: “Why does everyone say that?”

They were not alone. Surrounding them were men, women, and children, all looking very scared.

Nagare: “I presume they are…”

Jing Fu: “The ones that orcs took. Yep”

It was natural that they would be scared, being kidnapped and almost eaten and all.

Nagare: “Is it all of them?”

Jing Fu: “Sadly no. By the time I managed to reach them, many were eaten already. These are the only ones I managed to save in time”

Nagare: “Orcs must have been tough to be able to injure a Guardian”

Jing Fu: “It was not Orcs, but the musician”

Nagare: “Musician?”

Jing Fu: “Allow me to explain….”

Apparently, because the demons could not enter through the barrier, they had lesser monsters do the job for them.

All monsters have different sets of strengths and weaknesses. Orcs may be far weaker than demons and did not possess any regenerative ability, but they made up for it with their lack of inherent weaknesses. Holy Magic was of absolutely no use against them, to them it was like a bee sting, painful, but not lethal.

Holy Element, for some reason, was extremely effective on demons. On other races, it varied.

Still, the sheer fact that demons were controlling orcs was alarming.

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What if all demons started doing this?

All their efforts with warding until now would end up meaningless!

Jing Fu: “The one we are up against is not a demon but a human using music as a deadly weapon”

Jing Fu: “We were all taken down, one after another. I managed to dodge, but not in time…as you see”

He gestured at his bandaged leg.

Jing Fu: “The second blast practically gutted me. I had to sew myself shut just to not end up bleeding out”

He opened his shirt to reveal his body, adorned with crude stich marks.

Jing Fu: “Luckily, I fell into a cave and the musician most likely thought I was a goner, giving me some time to recuperate.”

Jing Fu: “After I recovered somewhat, I have been trying to save the kidnapped villagers ….unfortunately, not all of them made it”

The former captives had a look in their eyes as though they came back from hell. Witnessing monsters eating their people before their eyes and knowing they were next…it was a terror unlike any other.

Jing Fu: “Worst part is that I am suspecting that the Musician is allied with demons and had been gathering the captives to organize an all you can eat banquet for demons”

Jing Fu: “No matter what, we need to find and stop her….or at the very least, kill all the orcs. In my current condition, I cannot do either task. I am sorry to ask this, but…Will you please aid me, Nagare-kun?”

Nagare: “Of course, that is why I am here”

* * *

Shoyo: ‘I will apologize to Nagare later’

Shoyo: “But now, I need to make sure my partner is safe”

The threat was not something Nagare could handle, not at his current level.

If swordsmen were divided into levels, then Nagare would be at level 1, someone who is able to use basic chi. It was nowhere near enough for this situation.

Shoyo: ‘He needs to grow much stronger if he has any hope of putting me down. To that end, I can’t have him die young’

He may smile, goof, and joke around, but in the end, it was all a lie.

If anything, he was a man who has lost his way and wanted an honorable end.

Living for centuries while everyone else died or was killed, it has truly taken its toll on him.

His kind was said to be able to live at least ten times longer than humans, but the problem was, he was the last one.

Others like him were all killed off. After searching for so long, he knew that for a fact.

Without his own kin, he was left all alone in this world.

At least humans have each other, but who did he have?

That is why, he wanted Nagare to become skilled enough to best him and finally put an end to his miserable existence, once and for all.

Shoyo: “But until then, I will protect him”

Then, he heard the footsteps coming his way…very light footsteps.

He could tell the one before him was a woman. Her hands were holding what sounded like a pipa.

“Are you the only one who made it this far, Demon Hunter?”

Shoyo: “I am no Demon Hunter. But I am here to hunt you”

“*Adjusts the strings of pipa* We will see about that”