Kanzaki Kumo froze at being shouted at out of nowhere. Just as he was thinking that this hotheaded guy certainly lived up to his reputation, the demon dangling in midair spoke up too.
"Hehe, another one here to die. Just you wait, kid. Once I break free of these damn ropes, I'll eat you both! But if you let me down now, I might consider sparing you."
"Really?"
Kanzaki Kumo's voice came from above, making the white-haired boy standing below stare in surprise. He had not even seen how Kanzaki Kumo got up into the tree.
"Of course. You..." The demon thought Kanzaki Kumo had fallen for its trick, but before it could continue, it heard the one who had strung it up shouting something.
"Wait! Don't!"
Thud.
Kanzaki Kumo severed the rope suspending the demon with a single slash, and the utterly unprepared demon kissed the ground hard.
Just as the boy on the ground, furious, was about to restrain the demon again while its legs were still bound, Kanzaki Kumo dropped from above. Holding a branch he had cut off while severing the rope, he drove it hard through the demon's vocal cords.
Then he quickly cut a few more branches and pinned the demon's body and legs firmly to the ground.
The demon struggled in pain, even trying to lift its head out of the mud, but Kanzaki Kumo planted a foot on it.
"There. Quiet now, isn't it?"
"You..." Watching Kanzaki Kumo pin the demon firmly to the ground in practically the blink of an eye, the white-haired boy swallowed involuntarily.
"My name is Kanzaki Kumo. What's yours?"
"Sanemi Shinazugawa." After a brief hesitation, Sanemi Shinazugawa gave his name.
"Shinazugawa, how about a trade?"
"What kind of trade?"
Sanemi was a little puzzled. Demons had already