The day crawled by—slowly, painfully, torturously slow.
Elle had made him do everything. She even had him open her a water bottle because "her nails hurt"
But finally—finally—night fell.
"Drake…"
Elle's voice came from her room right next to his.
Why does she always summon me like a dog?
Still, he turned and stepped inside.
"What?" he said flatly.
Elle didn't even look at him. She sat casually on her bed scrolling her phone.
"I forgot my charger downstairs. It's on the couch. Bring it."
Drake's jaw tightened.
Of course she did.
He stomped downstairs, grabbed the charger, and returned. He tossed it onto her bed.
"Close the door," she added, still not looking at him. No thank-you. No nothing.
Drake slammed the door a little harder than necessary.
He stood in the hall for a moment, breathing out his frustration. Then he walked to Maya's room across from Elle's and gently knocked.
"Come in," Maya's soft voice replied.
Drake opened the door carefully. She was already in her pajamas, curled under her blanket with her lamp on low.
"What's wrong, Drake?" she asked with a small smile.
"Oh—nothing. I just wanted to say goodnight."
Maya's face warmed. "Thanks, Drake. Goodnight to you too."
He left quietly and returned to his room. He locked the door. It wouldn't raise suspicion—he had always done it. Though... for a different purpose than tonight.
Then he moved quickly, changing into the Demon Slayer robes and grabbing Urokodaki's wooden katana.
"Urokodaki… sorry for being late."
He exhaled.
"System, take me to the Demon Slayer world."
Light wrapped around him, and he vanished.
...
Mount Sagiri — Night
Cold wind struck his face the moment he materialized.
Dark.
Silent.
Freezing.
Drake shivered as he descended the rocky slope toward Urokodaki's house.
He was almost there when—
CRACK.
A branch snapped behind him.
Drake instinctively unsheathed his wooden katana and spun.
CLANG!
He parried something.
Not steel—claws.
Drake's eyes widened.
A demon.
A one-eyed, sharp-clawed lesser demon grinned at him through jagged teeth.
"Kekekekek! A Demon Slayer trainee wandering alone at night?"
Drake felt fear crawl up his spine. His throat tightened.
"Shatter!"
He activated his skill and kicked the demon hard in the back—though only enough to stagger it.
"You're pretty strong for a traine—"
Drake didn't wait.
He ran.
"Coward!" the demon snarled, immediately giving chase.
Drake's heart pounded.
His thoughts spiraled.
If a demon is here… then Urokodaki must not have returned yet—WHY would the system bring me back at night?!
[Not my fault, host.]
The demon was gaining fast.
Oh shit oh shit oh shit—!
No Sun Blade. No Wisteria. Nothing!
"System!" he shouted in his mind. "How long until sunrise?!"
[Approximately two hours, host.]
"Two hours?!" Drake screamed internally.
[Ding! A new quest has been generated!]
"Seriously, NOW?!" Drake barked mentally.
[Objective: Eliminate the one-eyed demon.
Reward: Trait — Sun Descendance (Epic)]
Drake stared at the quest window while still running for his life.
An Epic-tier trait…
For a moment greed burned hot in his chest. Then reality slapped him.
What good is a reward if I'm DEAD?!
[Host.]
The system interrupted him calmly.
[This trait will make you akin to a descendant of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.]
Drake's blood ran cold.
Then hot.
He stopped running instantly.
"What? Did you finally give up—?"
The demon leapt toward him—
—but Drake moved.
With a swift motion, his wooden sword sliced through the air.
SWHIP—
A severed demon hand hit the ground.
The demon stared in shock.
Drake smirked.
You should've led with that, system.
He tightened his grip on the wooden blade.
Now he was motivated.
"Kekek!"
The one-eyed demon chuckled as the severed hand already began to regenerate, muscle and bone knitting together like wet clay reforming.
"You've got some balls, kid," it hissed. "Coming at me like that."
Drake rolled his shoulders, wooden katana in hand, and exhaled.
"Facing you…" he said dryly, stepping forward, "…isn't that bad."
He suddenly dashed, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
"You seem—" Drake swung, eyes narrowing, "—less evil than that bitch of my cousin!"
The demon barked a laugh and lashed out with its claws, wicked and fast.
Drake met the blow head-on, parrying with the wooden blade. The impact vibrated through his arms, but the demon staggered back half a step.
Drake immediately dropped his center of gravity.
"Swat!"
He drove a brutal punch into the demon's knee.
A sickening crack echoed, and the demon lost his balance entirely.
As the monster began to fall, Drake pivoted, spinning behind it with precise footwork.
He slashed one of its legs clean off.
The demon roared, but before it could crash to the ground, it propelled itself backward with its remaining limb, creating distance.
Now it stood wobbling on one freshly regrown arm and one leg, the other limb already bubbling and reforming.
Drake clicked his tongue.
This is going to be rough.
"Kekekek," the demon cackled. "You don't have a Sun Blade… just that pathetic wooden toy. And you think you can kill me?"
"Well…" Drake raised the wooden katana again, sliding into a stance Urokodaki drilled into him.
"I can't outrun you, so what other choice do I have?"
The demon grinned wider.
Drake didn't wait.
The moment the monster's muscles twitched—
He was already attacking.
To be continued...
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