Chapter 6 : Can you cry ?

The force of the strike pushed Ibuki violently backwards, rolling him over the frozen lake.

*puke*

He stood up slowly before vomiting, then coughed for a short while while looking at the forest.

"So in addition to moving in the shadows, he can attack without leaving the shadows, which makes him harder to perceive."

"Despite my daily training since childhood, I haven't yet reached the level of physical strength required to use all the techniques to the fullest, I certainly won't win in an endurance battle with such a strange demon and the worst part is that time is of the essence." He thought as he looked up at the dark sky.

"I feel like a demon whose time is limited at daybreak, for once time is in favor of demons."

"If night falls, shadows will be everywhere, Jirocho and the two children won't be safe and I don't think I can win against that demon in the dark of night."

He rushed towards the forest again while holding the wrist of his katana firmly.

"I must pretend to run away and dodge his attacks, like all demons, he must also have a sense of superiority, seeing me running away and avoiding him without problems, he will surely get angry, anger will make him make a mistake and he will reveal himself to me."

Ibuki jumped into the forest and continued running through the trees.

Suddenly an arm came out of the darkness of a tree to his right and struck him, but this time on guard, he dodged the attack and continued to run through the forest.

A second arm came out of a shadow behind him and at the same time a large foot came out of a shadow to his right.

He then leaned to his left, grabbed his katana with his teeth and held the trunk of a tree firmly with both hands, then with the strength of his arms he jumped in the air and threw himself forward, narrowly dodging the two attacks.

His speed decreased slightly but he still kept running, the demon as if irritated by Ibuki began to multiply his attacks.

Ibuki dodged them all without exception while continuing to run.

"Human! I will gut you!"

*bash*

Suddenly one of his attacks hit Ibuki, throwing him against the trunk of a tree, making him spit out a small sip of blood.

Ibuki then remained on the ground motionless as if he had lost consciousness, the demon appeared before him with a perverse smile as his tongue moved towards him.

"Stop playing, little mouse, the cat is hungry hihihi!"

"After I'm done with you, I'll take care of the other two hihi children."

But the next second Ibuki got up in an instant and drew his sword.

The demon seeing Ibuki standing unconsciously wanted to disappear into a shadow, but this time Ibuki was too fast.

The demon wanting to flee into the shadows suddenly had the impression that time was suspended in front of Ibuki who had drawn.

"What's going on? Did this human do this? No, I remember, when I was a human... yes, when I was a human, a human told me that in a fight, in front of an opponent with a powerful will, a will that overwhelms us, our perception of time disappears."

"But who was that human? Why is he smiling at me? Why is he stroking my hair?" Tears slowly began to fall from the demon's scarlet eyes as a powerful murderous intent was crushing him.

"Why am I crying? Will I see this person after I die?" Thought the demon.

"Sutemi : Straight and serious cut!"

*Swoosh*

Ibuki disappeared in a quarter of a second and reappeared behind the demon whose severed head was thrown into the air and whose deformed body fell to the ground.

He slowly put back his Katana in its sheath and put one knee on the ground while coughing a little blood before looking at the body of the demon which was slowly decomposing, gradually turning into ashes, but something shocked him, the demon that he had just decapitated and whose body was disappearing cried.

"Can... can you cry?" Ibuki asked with a face almost in shock.

"I was a human like you in the past, although I don't remember...all demons were human..."

"How did you become demons?" He asked unconsciously.

"It's because of him... the one who created all the demons..." But before the demon finished his sentence, his head was crushed by a big greenish hand that came out of his mouth before disappearing leaving only Ibuki sitting in the snow.

. . . . . . .

"Mom! Dad!"

"My children, you are alive!"

Farther on, a large crowd gathered around two of the children who had recently disappeared.

Their crying parents hugged them in front of the spectators.

Ibuki and Jirocho further away also watched this scene, Ibuki had already gotten dressed with his loose clothes on, it was as if he was lost in his thoughts while Jirocho next to him looked at him strangely.

"Kid, are you sure the monster, I mean the demon, won't come back?"

"I'm sure of it."

Jirocho sighed with relief before looking at the crowd approaching the children.

"Many have also lost their children, according to the children, the demon devoured them, what a sad fate."

Ibuki sighed as well before turning around.

"I say goodbye."

"You're leaving already? You're not going to rest, you're the one who found the two children and got rid of the "beast" that ate the others, you deserve a reward."

"The other residents are also from my..." But before Jirocho finished his sentence, he saw that Ibuki continued walking several hundred meters further.

"Damn kid, next time I see you you're gonna get a spanking!"

Ibuki further on, raised his thumb in the air in response, as if to say "You're not strong enough!!" before gradually disappearing over the horizon.