It was midday. The day after last. Hiroshi stood outside the village, watching the tree line. The wind blew dirt off the ground, brushing past the man's ankles. His eyes had not left that spot since the previous day. No time to rest. He had to analyze every single possible outcome.
He was determined that he wouldn't get defeated.
A twig in the forest cracked. Hiroshi's eyes bulged open wide. They were slightly bloodshot around the edges, but he didn't care. The lack of sleep was getting to him. There was no way he was sleeping in Wisteria's house.
It was time.
He drew his blade, and ran it along his palm. Dark aura as black as coal shot out, enveloping the blade in its powerful mist. Hiroshi gave it a swing across his body. The darkness stuck to the blade, and some of the mist followed closely behind showing where the blade had previously been.
Hiroshi's eyes darted back to the tree line. He crouched down below one of the new wooden barriers, recently build by Lightley's builder force. Hiroshi peaked over the top of the barrier, and assessed his foes.
Four beasts stepped out of the tree line. They looked like a very stereotypical depiction of what a demon would look like. They had deep, crimson red skin, and dark brown horns. The four demons seemed to be male, and all stood at least six foot tall, just taller than Hiroshi himself. Their eyes were a simple bead of black, with a clear lack of iris. The figures were topless, and had very unique, wavy patterns on their chests.
Their trousers resembled a cloth, wore similar to a skirt in Hiroshi's old world, and were a green and murky brown color, as if it camouflage between the trees. The all brandished an axe, that possessed sharp steel so deadly, it could cut a person in half.
Hiroshi thought they were such fascinating creatures.
They began walking towards the village, their eyes narrowing. After that, another four came out of the trees. Then six more. Then eight more. Twenty-two demons in total.
Easy.
Hiroshi stayed behind the barrier, crunching himself into a ball. He couldn't attack. Not yet. He had to see if they were friend or foe. The demons trudged closer to the wooden barriers. Closer. Closer.
Now!
Hiroshi darted out from the barrier as fast as he could. He aimed to sprint towards the hill, where he was counting on Wisteria being.
Wait...what if she wasn't there?
"Humans have a tendency to let people down, especially in high pressure situations. It is entirely possible that Wisteria is not on top of that hill," Hiroshi thought to himself, his face turning sour.
One of the demons yelled loudly, pointing at Hiroshi. They knew something was up. Usually, the villagers would be complying. Give up the rest of their possessions that the army hadn't bothered to take with no resistance. Not only that, they never had the courage to run away.
The twenty-two demons ran after Hiroshi. The young man positioned himself with his back to the dirt hill face. Now all he had to do was wait.
Sure enough, the demons began to surround him, snarling their fangs. Closing in. Hard to breath. It was beginning to get claustrophobic.
Well, it would to a normal person.
"Hey, young blood, give us that sword you have, unless you wanna get hurt?" one of the demons asked Hiroshi. It was more like a request than a question. Hiroshi simply smiled. A smile turned into a malicious grin.
Then a laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
"What's so funny?!" The demon shouted, advancing towards Hiroshi, murderous intent in his eyes, a fire burning.
"This! Fire, Wisteria!" Hiroshi yelled, lifting his hand over his head, and slamming it down towards the ground, signaling the attack. He waited a few seconds.
Nothing.
Now it was the demon's turn to laugh. One after another, they burst into a fit of laughter. Hiroshi gritted his teeth in anger. Dammit. Humanity, always letting him down during a time of need. How disgusting.
"Come on, just give us the sword," the demon told Hiroshi, his voice darkening. His buff, red arm reached out, attempting to take the blade from Hiroshi.
The young man was having none of it.
He bent down low, his knees almost touching the ground. The demon grabbed his axe with both hands and swung down with the force of a truck.
"Too slow," Hiroshi stated simply, doing a side backflip underneath the demon's arm. He lifted his blade up, slicing through the arm like a knife through butter. The demon howled in pain, getting on his knees and holding his shoulder, on the same side of where his arm used to be.
Hiroshi landed back on his feet, scanning the other demons. Looking for weak spots. Vulnerabilities. One demon seemed more in distress than the others. A friend perhaps?
No, all he was to Hiroshi was his next target.
Just as Hiroshi went to attack the next demon, a volley of arrows came from the hill, piercing the chests of at least half of the demons. He turned his neck upwards to find the origin of the arrows.
Wisteria. Her parents. Along with a few other villagers.
The demons turned and fled. They knew they were outmatched. Within seconds, they were already way past the tree line, and disappeared into the forest.
Wisteria jumped down off the hill, and landed beside Hiroshi.
"How was that?" she asked, a big smile on her face.
"Terrible! I told you to fire when I asked!" Hiroshi shouted, slightly annoyed at Wisteria's lack of instruction taking. Wisteria's smile died instantly, and she explained herself.
"I'm sorry. I just thought the demons would be more prepared after you asked us to fire. So, I waited until they let their guard down, and they were focused on you."
Hiroshi's eyes became a lot less mean, and he took a deep breath. It was something he really hadn't thought about before, but it made sense to him.
"Fine," he told Wisteria. "It was a good tactic. Just make sure to let me know next time, alright?"
"Thanks, Sir!" Wisteria gained her smile back.
"It's just Hiroshi."
Hiroshi walked over to were the last alive demon was, the one whose right arm was disconnected from his body. Hiroshi grabbed him by the neck and stared right into his soul.
"Talk."