“Takuma! Are you all right, man?” Yoichi asked, staring at his enemy and waiting for an answer from his seemingly injured comrade.

Takuma touched his neck and brushed his fingers over the deep mark caused by Taisuke’s bowstring. “Yeah, I’m fine. He attacked me from behind and I was about to lose consciousness,” he replied. From the resentment in his voice, he wanted Yoichi to believe that he had the situation under control before that accident.

“Be careful, Yoichi. This guy can disappear thanks to his ghost-type demon skill!” he added, giving him helpful hints.

“I see you’ve woken up, sleepyhead,” Taisuke chuckled, taking a step towards Yoichi. With one hand, he cleaned his armor of dirt and ash. “I didn’t think you’d…”

“Who the fuck gave you permission to speak?” Yoichi interrupted, growling like a ferocious beast. His eyebrows were curved over his blue eyes. They expressed pure rage.

He looked like one of the Demon Hunters we’d seen earlier along the way. Why had he turned on Takuma? What had happened? He thought. 

Although Yoichi had an innate tendency to trust those who were kind to him, for a moment he hesitated to look his friend in the eye.

How could he be sure that that wasn’t a trap to rob him? If Takuma and that mysterious man had agreed from the beginning?

After all, only Takuma could have guessed that the cargo Ichiro was carrying inside the saddlebags contained valuables.

“Who are you and what do you want with my friend?” the young tamer continued, not even giving Taisuke time to respond to his previous provocation. 

“Hmm…” Taisuke murmured. His eyes were fixed on Kenji. “That’s no ordinary Nekage. Those black horns are abnormal and the tail is longer than average. I’ve tamed dozens of Nekages in the Mukade region and none of them looked like that…. thing,” the Demon Hunter added. 

As Takuma tried to recover from his daze, Yoichi preferred not to respond to that tricky sentence. 

“I’m not interested in your useless words. I can spot a Demon Hunter when I see one,” the blond-haired tamer spoke. “Even though you disturbed my sleep, I feel good. Go down the hill and get back the way you came without ever looking back. I won’t do you any harm.”

Yoichi’s arms were entirely covered in black scales, and his flaming veins burned beneath them. Their light joined that of the moon that watched over the Valley of the Northern Waters from above. 

“Heheh. Who would have thought? Two such nice kids in the middle of nowhere,” after answering, Taisuke took a step towards Yoichi. “If you hadn’t gotten in my way while I was about to kill your friend, I might have even decided to rob you and let you live. Now I can’t. You’re aware of my identity and you could turn me in to the Imperial guards, giving me a lot of grief. You’ll die for this, blondie.”

Taisuke’s words were as raw and forceful as a death sentence. Kenji began to growl, sensing that the evil-looking man had no intention of backing down. 

Yoichi continued to watch his opponent from head to toe, studying his movements. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Takuma, noticing that on the ground near his hands were two wooden sticks. 

They were very similar to Karasu’s arms, and the demon scarecrow was damaged at the very ends of its upper limbs. 

A purplish line seemed to dig into the Grimbrook warrior’s neck and his expression conveyed to Yoichi the pain he had felt. The shame Takuma felt for failing to protect his comrade was so strong that he did not return Yoichi’s gaze. 

Being two very empathetic people, the two tamers understood each other without needing to speak. The suspicion Yoichi felt towards Takuma disappeared as soon as Takuma looked at their common enemy.

Takuma’s goal from the beginning was to kill Taisuke without waking Yoichi, and this was made evident by his bitter and hateful gaze. 

“Regain your strength and protect the horse,” Yoichi ordered Takuma, turning back to his enemy and clenching his fists, trying to increase the magical power of the primordial flame. 

“I will be nearby, my friend. This man cannot get back to his camp alive,” Takuma replied, thinking of the consequences. He had already had a small demonstration of Yoichi’s power, but he considered Taisuke a more dangerous opponent than Bunjiro.

Yoichi didn’t have time to respond to that statement. By the time the word ‘camp’ came out of Takuma’s mouth, Taisuke had already disappeared into thin air. 

So it’s true, Yoichi suddenly realized. He can turn invisible! 

*tk*tk* – The sound of Karasu’s legs, which had been crucial in the fight against Taisuke, distracted Yoichi. 

Not understanding what had happened and already being intimidated by Karasu because of its creepy appearance, Yoichi instinctively turned in the direction of the noise. 

“No, Yoichi! Don’t turn around, he can take advantage of it to…” 

Suddenly, Taisuke’s arm appeared behind Yoichi’s right shoulder. The shadow enveloping his body only opened at a specific spot, creating what looked like a magical shadow gash. Right from there, the enemy’s hand slipped out, forcefully holding one half of his weird-looking bow. 

Yoichi looked into Takuma’s eyes, and right there the reflection of the enemy appeared. Although he had just woken up in the middle of the night, his instincts as the Dragon King’s heir burned in his chest. 

Taisuke’s attack was swift and precise. The Demon Hunter knew perfectly the spot on his neck where the blade would sever his target’s head with a single blow. 

When Yoichi saw it through his partner’s eyes, he turned in a hurry and raised his sharp elbow. The movement was so fast that it anticipated Taisuke’s attack. He, because of Yoichi’s long hair, took longer than usual to aim the spot on his neck. 

Surprisingly, Yoichi’s arm struck the enemy’s covered face hard, releasing a thin trail of fire. 

Taisuke was thrown off balance by the blow and his head, which until a moment before was still invisible, was mechanically thrown backward.