A Tale of Forgotten Gods

Chapter 84: Demon Slayers

The soft sound of raining slowed down as the outside world began to bloom again. The villagers buried the dead bodies and continued their work.

It was evening now. In the sky a soft vibrant rainbow dropped from one side of the sky to another.

Finally, Kiyori woke up. Rubbing her eye, she sat down slowly and looked at the direction where Mo Fei was sitting with his eyes closed. She leaned against the wall and stretched her hands with a long yawn.

Opening one eye, Mo Fei looked at her. "That wasn’t a good time to sleep."

She turned and saw him watching her with exhaustion in his eyes. There was a difference in his eyes now; there was guilt and a small amount of tiredness. She slowly nodded before pulling out her bow and arrows. "Rain made me lazy."

Mo Fei grabbed his Glaive and fixed the mask on his arm. "I need to find the Tree of Ages, so let’s get going." He glanced back once. "That shard?"

Kiyori: "It was taken away in the chaos."

Mo Fei nodded and came out of the hut; a soft scent of rain filled the air, mixed with bitter scent of mud.

Kiyori stood and pulled out her old clothes, which hadn’t dried yet entirly. "We should thank the villagers first."

"Right." Mo Fei waited as she walked out and moved toward the elder’s house while giving the soaked cloth to Mo Fei. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Just hold it for a while." Kiyori knocked on the door and waited patiently as the door opened and the elder walked out. She bowed slightly. "We are moving now; thank you for the shelter."

The elder blinked once before speaking in an elderly soft tone. "The next village is far from here... the rumors said it is the center of demonic attacks; be careful, night is falling soon."

"Then we must move soon; thank you again."

With that, she turned back and saw Mo Fei waiting; her gaze lay on his empty hand. "Where are they?"

"I don’t want to make the spirit world a wardrobe, but I’m not traveling holding laundry longer."

"Huh?" Kiyori imagined the Serpent being used as a rope to dry her clothes; the thought made her giggle inwardly while keeping a straight face.

They started walking toward the next village. The shard had been taken away; they had no clue about the Tree of Ages or any other shard yet.

***

In the large mansion, a hunt for the demons ended. Multiple slayers were recruited by the prince of the Yumikoto Empire. The slayers had returned from the hunt, but as they entered, suddenly a spider demon jumped in.

The slayers pulled out their weapons as the king came out of the entrance and ordered. "It was the ruler; kill this demon!"

Six broadswords cleared their scabbards with a synchronized ring, steel glittering under the lantern light of the courtyard. The slayers, hardened by days in the wilderness, quickly surged forward in a disciplined V-formation.

​"Target the joints!" the leader shouted from the raised mahogany deck, drawing his own gilded rapier. "Do not let it gain height!"

Its six elongated limbs, skinned in chitin black as charred bone, flexed with sickening speed. Before the leading slayer could complete his strike, a silver thread shot from the creature’s mouth, impaling the soldier’s shoulder. With a fast movement, it yanked the man and slammed him into the courtyard’s marble fountain, shattering it into cobblestone and crimson foam. The slayers quickly moved and slashed down the strong web and chopped its legs one by one.

Then from the roof, a woman jumped in her spear, moving forward and slashing down the demon’s back and kicking it forward.

From the central balcony, the king stood unmoving. His robes, heavy with gold-threaded silk, blew softly in the damp evening wind. His old eyes were unblinking, fixed not on the beast but on the dripping blood painting his courtyard floor. An unsettling grin crossed over his face, and something glowed inside its chest.

​"Strike its core, Tomoe!" a slayer yelled at the woman, leaping from a roof tile.

The spider demon split its jaws—four mandibles peeling back to reveal a silk reaching somewhere.

The air pressure in the courtyard increased instantly. The flames on the torches flickered from the wind, sputtering wildly as cold, suffocating demonic intent flooded the mansion.

​"We need to trap it!" the lead slayer realized, his eyes widening. "Slayers, fall back into the inner sanctum!"

​"No," the king ordered. His voice was unnaturally joyful. "Fight it, kill it in front of me."

"But, King!" the lead guard swallowed.

"Do it." The king whispered.

The lead guard tried to argue but knew he couldn’t if he wanted to live after the battle. "Surround it!"

The mad order echoed through the silence; all of them quickly surrounded the spider demon, and the lead slayer stabbed through its back, running a long arc. Tomoe moved next, her spear blade slashing down one of its eight legs before jumping back.

The spider demon’s focus shifted to Tomoe and let out a sharp hiss, then another guttural roar.

With swift agility, it rushed toward Tomoe, but other slayers caught the wire, attached with a sharp blade, holding both edges. It stumbled, and they stepped back. With an effort, they slashed down four of its legs. The lead slayer stepped forward next; his blade slashed its neck with a brutal swing.

As the body fell, it slowly dissolved into mist; all of them breathed in relief, their bodies trembling.

Tomoe ran a hand through her hair, but suddenly, someone came from behind and stabbed the blade in her back.

Her eyes squinted from the sudden pain as she grumbled while the blade slowly came out. As she turned, her eyes widened; it was their leader. "W-why?" Her legs stumbled as she fell on her knees.

Other slayers came in front of her. One of them yelled. "What are you doing, leader Kageyomi?"

Tomoe glanced over her shoulder, her hands gripping the sand. She noticed a small spider jumping out of his shoulder and a string that reached toward... the king.

Before they could process, Kageyomi rushed toward them and slashed down one of their throats. All of them watched horrified. "He was the demon!! Kill him!"

Kageyomi’s eyes were wide, glassy, and completely void of color. His body lurched forward with predatory grace. His broadsword whistled through the night air, bisecting the nearest slayer before the man could raise his guard.

​Blood sprayed across the rain-drenched ground.

​"Leader! Stop!" another slayer screamed, backing away. "He is the strongest of us. We can’t win."

Above them on the mahogany deck, the king began to laugh to himself, a guttural, chattering hiss that clicked behind his teeth. The gold-threaded silk of his royal robes bulged as something writhed underneath. He raised his pale, liver-spotted hands toward his mouth before hiccuping a small, cracked chuckle.

​"Magnificent," the King whispered, his eyes seemed as if it was an insects, the purple colour slowly filling his whole eye. "So obedient."

​Tomoe pressed her palm over the deep gash in her back. Her breathing came in shallow, panicked hitches. She forced her eyes upward, following the translucent, shimmering thread connected to Kageyomi’s spine.

One of the slayers stabbed Kageyomi, but he didn’t even stop. Tomoe yelled. "Don’t do it!"

Another slayer turned toward her. "The poison has reached him; he can’t be saved."

Tomoe forced herself upward.

Kageyomi lunged at another slayer, slashing his hands instantly before another swing decapitated his head. Three remaining guards, including Tomoe, stepped back slowly. Suddenly, both of them felt the crawling; their hands launched backward and smashed a spider that had bit them. "No..." Both of them screamed. "No!!!"

Tomoe watched in horror as both of her comrades’ eyes turned dark purple, burning with predatory instincts. She turned toward the king furiously. Her eyes blazing with rage as she lunged toward him.

Then, a wet crunch echoed in the chaos. Another blade stabbed through her guts, and then a second blade through her arm. She fell on the ground as a thud resonated through the place; her eyes turned dizzy as she clawed at the ground in desperation. "You... YOU!!"

Her eyes began to close and saw the smug smirk of the king.

Then from the shadows behind the king, a man appeared. The last thing she saw was the man stabbing the king’s head.

Those features of the man looked like the prince’s features. A grey royal haori over the smooth kimono. The long, combed hair floated as he came out of the shadow, and behind him, servants followed and watched him stab his father with a straight face.

Then he plucked out the sword again and stabbed the king’s throat, and a black crystal shard fell with a low clink sound.

Behind him, the servants quickly stepped back, seeing him murder his own father before the prince fell on the ground with a groan.

Tomoe heard a few words before her eyes closed.

"Take her to immediate medical care."

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