Lady Noriko: “You found one of the Demon Blades?”

Yama: “Seems like it, though not a hundred percent certain, so I plan on checking it out myself soon enough”

As soon as Guardian of Ice came back from his latest mission, the leader of the Order, Lady Noriko and the elders requested to meet him immediately.

Lady Noriko: “Can you not wait for the other Guardians to come back and regroup?”

Yama: “They will only slow me down”

Lady Noriko: “This is a Demon Blade we are talking about here!”

Yama: “And you think I can’t handle it on my own? If anything, I am the one who is most likely to survive an encounter with one”

“That arrogant attitude will get you killed someday”

Yama: “Not you too”

It was a man known as the former Lightning Dragon of the Order, Long Ryu.

What was once a handsome face was now partially rotting away and covered with claw marks, with one of his eyes going completely blind. He walked with a limp, leaning heavily upon a stick. The rot was not limited to his face, his entire body smelled of putrid, rotten flesh, and all wrapped in bandages.

His body was slowly dying, making him feel the pain as his health slowly declined.

Long ago, Long Ryu was the best warrior the Order of Demon Hunters had to offer, but then, he ended up crossing paths with Demon Blades.

After that battle, Long Ryu was cursed, with his body beginning to slowly die.

All of his skills and abilities had wasted away, now all he could was act as one of the leaders of the order, a far cry from the man he once was.

Long Ryu: “And if you are unlucky, you will live, but you will wish you had not”

Yama: “With all due respect, Dragon of Lightning, I am not you”

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Lady Noriko: “Yama!”

Yama: “I will be setting off in two days. Don’t bother sending backup. They will only end up going to an early grave”

Elder: “Of all the preposterous, arrogant….”

Elder Masahiro: “If it was anyone else, yes. But this is him we are talking about”

Yama was a man who was exactly aware of his ability and capacity.

He knew that aside from two, other Guardians would not be of much help to him. And when it came to survival, Yama was the best that the Order had to offer.

If he waited for the other Guardians to come back, by that time the Demon Blade might escape. Then there was a matter of wanting to minimize the casualties.

Yama could guarantee he would most likely survive most encounters with monsters, but he could not say the same for the other Guardians.

Once Yama made up his mind, nothing could dissuade him.

By now, Lady Noriko knew all too well just how stubborn of a man he is.

But even if he seemed arrogant, Yama’s pride was well-earned.

If he says he can do something, he could definitely do it.

Out of all the Guardians, Yama was easily one of the top three strongest.

When it came to his track record, he was no slouch.

Even then, Lady Noriko was worried that Yama’s overconfidence could get him killed. He was a man she believed could make it to a rank of Dragon, and losing someone like that would be an especially heavy blow for the Order.

Besides, he was a rather handsome man….

Yama: “I will be going then”

Lady Noriko: “Wait! I am coming with you!”

They ended up walking for quite a while, stopping by the empty classroom.

Yama: “I am guessing Ms. Shisui is not here yet”

Lady Noriko: “No, she is not”

Yama: “But it seems like you have found a substitute to cover for her…hold on a second….”

The handwriting on the board, it somehow seemed very familiar.

It was almost as if it was a handwriting that he grew to know by heart.

Yama: “Who is the substitute teacher?”

Lady Noriko: “It was a young man, one of the new Demon Hunters, I believe”

Yama: “Not an old man with greyish-white hair?”

Lady Noriko: “His hair was white, but he is far from old, in fact he looks younger than you”

Yama: “Is that so…how disappointing”

Lady Noriko: “Even after searching for so long, you still have not found him?”

Yama shook his head.

Yama: “Ever since we parted, I have not seen him once. Hard to believe 12 years have already passed”

Long ago, Koutarou Yama was an orphan, a survivor of a village attacked by demons. Back then, his master had found him.

His master taught and raised him for the next eight years before leaving Yama in a human settlement.

Yama had been desperate to find his master again, but it was almost as if his master disappeared into thin air.

Even years later, his master was nowhere to be found. After losing his family, his master was the closest thing Yama had left to a father, which was yet another reason Yama was so eager to see him again.

Yama: “Sigh”

As his footsteps kept getting further and further away from her, Lady Noriko whispered.

Lady Noriko: “I know you will be fine but….please be safe Koutarou”