Amare Flos (Demon Slayer)

Chapter 10: Impossible

Ali looked dead into the eyes of the demon. With an unimaginable feeling of anger flowing through his body. The demon kept on talking.

"No sword?! No way for your friends to save you?! What are you going to do without any weapons?!" It laughed and dashed forward, teleporting behind Ali. Asumi closed her eyes again as a terrible sound echoed through the town, a terrible slap sound. Ali plummeted forward as he got kicked in the back.

Eira flinched seeing Ali get blown in her direction. The demon teleported in front of Ali as he stumbled. A fist flew right at Ali's face. Ali managed to reground before the demon's next attack. Eira sighed and squatted down, covering her eyes. She didn't want Asumi to see her cry. Neither did Asumi, who was completely facing away from the battle. All they could do was wait til Ali had... died, only then would the demon turn its attention to them. A long painful wait. Asumi's heart hurt the most, she couldn't help but burst into tears. All around Eira was a sea of deep blue, all around her was sorrow. Pain. Hurt. She peeked at Asumi, she couldn't help but notice the flower in her hair fluctuating in a glow, like a heartbeat, it got slower and slower. Eira took a deep breath. She kept hearing the grunts of Ali desperately trying to evade the constant attacks.

Ali was desperately trying to guard himself against the hits, there was no way he could predict where the demon would teleport next, to his left, to his right, above or below. Hit after hit, each in a new direction. The demon laughed manically, this was the most fun it had in its life. The demon jumped, staring right at Ali. Ali clenched his fists, and he sprinted forward and swung at the demon, just as he got close, the demon landed and disappeared. Ali fell to the floor as he felt the heel of the wicked demon spear down from above.

Eira watched, silently, her eyes lost of emotions, they lay low, watching her new friend being beaten to the verge of death. She felt helpless, she couldn't do anything about it. Eira couldn't imagine how Asumi felt. Asumi hadn't spoken a word or turned to look at the fight since it tilted in the demon's favour. All thoughts held still. The fight continued. Ali got up desperately to fight back. His anger was immeasurable, the loss of his sword left a hole in his heart. Ali was quite sentimental, treating the sword as if it was his baby. Apart from the fact he whacked it on whatever beast came in his way. He clenched his fists, he felt chills over his body. The demon bounced up and down with a sick grin. Toying with Ali at this point.

"Come on. What are you going to do?" The demon laughed with joy. The battle had fallen in its favour tenfold. Ali got up and sighed deeply. His entire body aching, begging for rest.

Ali stayed silent, he put his hands up and took a deep breath in, and out. Breathing techniques, what all demon slayers used to power their attacks almost, the backbone to the Demon Slayer Corps, their breathing techniques that were so important to practise. Ali took another deep breath in, and another out. The demon bounced once more, then when he landed on the floor. The demon reappeared and a kick flew straight from Ali's right, Ali swerved backwards, regaining his grip on the ground, he shoulder-charged into the demon who was still mid-air.

Eira's eyes went wide, and she gripped her sword tightly. A fire of hope sparked once again. Eira stood up frantically as both the demon and Ali fell to the ground. Ali stood quickly, holding the demon.

"Got him," Ali whispered under his breath. Ali held the demon by the neck. The demon struggled to escape from the grasp. Ali's hand gripped the neck tightly like he was holding onto a cliffside for dear life. Holding the demon above the ground, its feet about 5 centimetres above the ground. His arm strained, but he put all his force into holding the demon above ground.

"A... Asumi..." Eira's voice shook. The demon's long nails sunk into Ali's arm, and blood flowed out of the marks like a river. Ali grinned. The demon kicked and squirmed. But then fell still and motionless. "Oh right... You can't even kill me! You don't have a blade!" It laughed, its voice sounded hoarse and forced as Ali's hand squeezed the demon's throat. The realisation made everyone's stomach turn. Except for Ali.