I Won't Allow You to Speak Ill of Him

"Cut off its head."

Han Zhiqi stood atop the stone platform. Whenever he heard Nohime call out the name of her Breathing Style, he wanted nothing more than to find somewhere to hide and pretend he did not know this girl. It was simply too embarrassing.

Of all the names she could have chosen, she had to choose that one.

"Got it," Nohime answered.

Although Nohime looked rather voluptuous, her curves were all in the places where a woman ought to be curvy. The rest of her—her legs, arms, and waist—was quite slender.

Nohime lightly leaped down from the stone platform and rushed toward the young man and woman at tremendous speed.

At that moment, the two were clinging tightly to each other. Just when they thought the demon was about to bite through their throats, a pink figure suddenly flashed before their eyes.

The Nichirin Blade seemed to transform into a long, supple whip, instantly severing the demon's arm as it reached for them.

The demon howled miserably in pain and fell from midair to the ground. It staggered back two steps before steadying itself, then hurriedly covered the stump of its right arm with its left hand as blood dripped onto the ground.

The demon glanced at the young man and woman within arm's reach, then shifted its hateful gaze to Nohime and let out a strange growl, as if warning her.

Nohime stopped in an open space not far from the pair and turned to face the demon. Seeing its bleeding wound and the severed arm on the ground, she muttered to herself, "Huh? Why was it the arm? I was clearly aiming for its head." With that, she looked up at Han Zhiqi on the stone platform.

Seeing Han Zhiqi staring at her with a cold expression, Nohime sheepishly stuck out her tongue. "I was clearly aiming for its head. How did I end up cutting off its arm?"

You're asking me? You never intended to aim for its head from the start. Don't think I didn't notice.

Han Zhiqi was furious. Pointing at the two people slumped on the ground, he said coldly, "If you don't cut off its head, more people will be eaten just like them. They were lucky to run into you, but what about everyone else? Will they be just as lucky? Decide for yourself. If you can't bring yourself to do it, then let it go and allow it to eat other people."

Seeing that her little thoughts had been exposed, Nohime lowered her head and hesitated, unsure what to do.

The thought that they had once been human made it impossible for her to strike. Killing them felt like killing people with her own hands. But if she did not kill it, was she really going to let it eat others?

Would that not mean she was the one who caused those people's deaths?

Nohime bit her lip tightly and looked up at Han Zhiqi.

Han Zhiqi's expression remained cold and indifferent, with no sign that he intended to intervene.

The two people slumped on the ground were overjoyed to see that they had been saved. Yet when they realized their rescuers were the pink-clad girl everyone in the square had shunned and the white-clad youth, they were somewhat surprised.

Beyond their surprise at the girl's hidden strength, they were even more astonished by the way she interacted with the youth.

Faced with a demon that had suddenly appeared, not only were the two unafraid, but the youth even seemed to be instructing the girl on how to kill it.

Having been ignored, the demon at the side grew angry. With a bang, a new arm sprouted from the severed limb.

The two on the ground curled into a ball, and the girl cried out to Nohime for help in a trembling voice.

This time, however, the demon did not seem to intend to attack them. Instead, it fixed its gaze on Nohime.

It knew that this person who had suddenly appeared was the reason its hunt had been interrupted. If it did not deal with her first, it would not be able to enjoy its meal in peace. But the Nichirin Blade in Nohime's hand made it wary.

Suddenly, the demon raised its head and let out several mournful howls toward the sky.

Han Zhiqi guessed that it was sending some sort of message to the outside world. Much like wolves, it was likely using its howls to communicate with its companions.

Sure enough, not long after, rustling sounds came from the forest.

In the blink of an eye, three more demons appeared one after another from every direction except the side where Han Zhiqi stood against the rock wall. Some stood on the ground, while others crouched on tree branches. Together with the first demon, the four of them surrounded the three people in the middle.

The young man and woman hurriedly climbed to their feet, drew their Nichirin Blades, and stood back-to-back with Nohime.

Now that she faced the siege of four demons, Nohime's expression finally changed.

She knew Han Zhiqi would not abandon her, but fighting four demons at once—even for him, that would probably...

Nohime regretted not listening to Han Zhiqi earlier. If she had followed his advice and killed that demon sooner, perhaps they would not be in this situation now.

"Hey, stop standing around like an idiot! Hurry up and help!" the young man named Akino shouted at Han Zhiqi twice.

At the young man's call, a faint, peaceful smile suddenly appeared on Han Zhiqi's indifferent face.

It was the first time Nohime had ever seen Han Zhiqi smile.

Yet she could smell nothing but mockery and anger in that smile. She felt that Han Zhiqi was smiling at her, laughing at her for refusing to listen to him and ending up in this predicament.

Han Zhiqi said flatly, "Why should I help? They aren't trying to eat me."

Upon hearing that, the young man froze for a moment. He seemed to mull over the words before understanding their meaning, and then an inexplicable fury surged into his heart. He shouted, "What did you say? Is that something a human being would say? Are you going to stand there and watch your companions die?"

Han Zhiqi shrugged unconcernedly. "She brought this on herself. You should only take on what you're capable of. If you lack the ability but insist on showing off, wouldn't you say he deserves it?"

"You..." The young man trembled with rage. "Are you even a man? Your companion is trapped in danger, yet you stand there making sarcastic remarks. You... you're simply cold-blooded. You're no different from these man-eating beasts."

"Shut your mouth."

A sudden, stern rebuke cut off the young man's angry tirade.

The young man came back to his senses, only to see the pink-clad girl glaring furiously at him with her large, watery eyes. "You can't talk about him like that. What right do you have to say that about him? I won't allow you to speak of him that way."

Those three rapid-fire questions left Akino utterly stunned. He had clearly been speaking up for her, so how had he somehow become the one at fault?

"I... I was doing it for your..." Akino still tried to defend himself.

Yuka, who stood beside him, seemed to have caught on to something. She quickly tugged at Akino, signaling for him not to say any more.

Under Nohime's piercing glare and Yuka's persuasion, Akino could only shut his mouth reluctantly.

Yet his heart was filled with confusion and dissatisfaction. He did not understand what he had done wrong. Even less did he understand why the pink-clad girl was still defending the white-clad youth after he had treated her this way.

Akino raised his head and shot the white-clad youth a fierce glare. To his surprise, the guy was really leaning against the rock wall, watching like a spectator.