First Encounter with a Demon

After leaving the swordsmith's shop, Makomo held the treasured sword in her hand, filled with satisfaction.

By then, night had fallen. Makomo casually rented a small courtyard in town and eagerly began swinging her sword in the backyard.

Compared to a wooden sword, the feel of a real blade and the sharp whistle raised by every swing captivated her.

Before she knew it, she had entered the same selfless training state she used to reach in the mountains.

However, just as she lost herself in it, a faint, strange smell interrupted her focused training.

Now that her swordsmanship had reached the level of cutting iron, she had attained the ability to sense the breathing of all things. Her five senses were therefore exceptionally keen.

Besides that barely perceptible strange smell, her ears twitched slightly, and she heard chaotic sounds. They seemed to be human screams, and that strange smell... was blood!

Makomo stopped moving and looked toward the full moon in the sky.

"Looks like something serious has happened in this town!"

A trace of coldness flashed through Makomo's eyes, and then her figure vanished from the courtyard.

At that moment, beneath the cover of moonlight, within a shadowy alleyway in town.

A pitch-black figure knelt beside a man, its head bobbing up and down continuously.

A pool of bright red liquid spread beneath the man, and his body twitched from time to time.

Not far away stood a pale-faced young woman in a gorgeous kimono, her face covered in white powder as she clamped a hand tightly over her mouth.

The woman was slumped on the ground. A wet stain kept spreading across the center of her kimono as she fought back her fear and cautiously retreated.

She suppressed her heavy breathing, terrified that even the slightest sound would