Demon Tamer

Chapter 34: Labyrinth: Nakime

In one moment, Mitsuri was slashing violently and giving Tamayo openings to give the drugs she made, confidently they both were working together. The face of Muzan was enough to entrust that she wouldn't hold back, and she was ready to go all the way. But in the moment she hopped up, after seeing Tamayo hit Muzan with the third drug, a biwa twang rang out, and Mitsuri instead fell to the floor.

She looked around when she recovered, seeing she was on bamboo mats and that she was in an enclosed room instead of the open space she was whipping in. She was also alone, in the eerily silent room. There didn't seem to be any doors nor windows, she frowned as she scanned the area.

What would Ubuyashiki do? She already grieved his loss but she didn't have the time to really think about it. The moment she heard the explosion and rushed overhead from the roof of her home, she made eye contact with Muzan. Every cell in her body begged her to either run away or fight. She could feel the potential shock between synapses and the acid made her muscles tense and jolt at the sight. She looked him in the eyes and knew that as her crow squawked the message that Ubuyashiki was dead, she had to fight. There wasn't time to mourn until the battle was over.

But she stood within the bamboo walls without knowing where she was, she seriously should have thought harder on how on Earth she managed to travel so suddenly.

With a turn of her head, she heard the low groan of demons. But there was no way to get to them. She ran up to the door and pressed her ear against it, knowing that on the other side were demons. She frowned and sighed, "I'm sorry!" She apologised before breaking through the wall. The demon mutation looked at her, and she was ready to attack it, when she saw a familiar face amongst the group. A demon, fanged teeth and a scar disrupting its hair. Mitsuri had met it somewhere.

She reached for it, blindly thinking of it as the demon also froze for a moment. Her hand rested on its scalp and she pulled on it, she watched it slip out and she swung her sword against the flesh. The head and shoulders of the demon remained in her hand as the rest of the thing depleted to nothing. It slowly healed while staring at her passively, she blinked, confused as to why she was sparing the demon in particular.

It grew a body back relatively quickly, resting its feet on the floor as it was slightly taller than her. She blinked in shock as it bowed and looked around, before turning and walking away. Why had she let it go?

"What am I doing!?" Her thoughts screamed at her as she saw it go to the wall. It only sent its arm through, it didn't bother with a blood demon art.

"Thank you." It spoke, looking at Mitsuri, "for remembering me." It stood on the ledge of the crack it made and looked over the edge, "and be careful, this place doesn't have an end, falling is losing." It warned and hopped away. She blinked at the sight and covered her mouth, rushing to try and kill it, but as she looked out of the hole it made, it was gone.

"I-I don't know you!" She screamed and walked away, frustrated with herself for letting that happen. But the demon didn't seem to want to kill her as it was, warning her about the castle. She sighed off her tension and ran down the halls, deciding that she wanted to find a way out or something to do at least. She rushed down the halls and through rooms she would knock before entering, until she gave up even there and just burst into the rooms.

Some had demons, others didn't. She killed those which did without much of a regard, she was still slightly annoyed with herself for letting that demon go. Was it a blood demon art it had? Surely not, that would be way too strong to simply not be an Upper Moon. Which speaking of, with the amount of demons Mitsuri had racked up in the place, she wondered if she would be able to find another Upper Moon.

There was a low rumble and the twang of a biwa once more, it was close by, and Mitsuri looked around for it. She then noticed the door she entered was gone, she hadn't closed it. And when she looked up, there was a new door. The biwa sounded as if it came from above her also. She hopped up and accidentally broke through the door, she apologised quickly as she stood atop the room.