My Demon Pet System

Chapter 274 - Hangman

The speech Bunjiro gave to Yoichi as his draconic hand pushed on his chest bordered on insanity. That helmet-haired young man was obsessed with the Nightblades tamer to the point of following him beyond the city walls, disobeying his guild's rules, and traveling so many miles driven by his sole spirit of revenge. 

"Why did you touch Princess Sui? Why were you roaming the streets of Goldhaven at that time of night?" Yoichi investigated. To allow the Heralds warrior to answer those questions, he decreased the pressure exerted by his hand on her chest. 

"Oh, come on. Do you want me to believe that I'm the only one hanging out on the streets of the capital looking for some fun? That girl was looking for the same thing" - as he spoke, a drop of blood ran down his chin from the side of his mouth. "She said she had no friends and didn't want to go back home. I just offered her a few glasses of beer and then ... well .... then you know. Hahaha!" 

Despite almost being crushed by the weight of the draconic hand, Bunjiro continued to taunt Yoichi. This time, however, the young tamer did not lose control and closed his eyes for a moment, releasing the jitter. 

Too much anger would give the primal instinct the green light and he would lose control of his actions, risking the life of his partner Takuma as well. 

"Sui just wanted new friends. She just wanted to forget for one night that she was a girl forbidden to be a teenager, and you took advantage of her" - the hand pressure increased again, crushing Bunjiro's chest to the grassy ground. Yoichi's fingers swiped at the enemy warrior's leather armor and his claws slithered against it, tearing it apart.

The flame that involuntarily flowed through his body empowered his claws, which were now capable of cutting through almost anything. They penetrated the topmost layer of Bunjiro's armor as if it were made of melted butter. 

"She was just a girl... she was just a girl who wanted to have some fun..." the helmet-haired warrior stammered through clenched teeth. Now, terror became visible again in his eyes and the fear of Yoichi ending his life became palpable. 

Yoichi straightened his knees and stood up, lifting his arm and holding Bunjiro's body tightly. As if the weight of his enemy was irrelevant, he remained suspended in front of his opponent, who held him in mid-air with one hand.

Yoichi's eyes were dull and dark, pointed downward. Even Takuma could not recognize the playful-looking boy he had met in Grimbrook. The anger he was feeling was too deep to be restrained or flaunted. With his words, Bunjiro had signed his death warrant.

Kenji reached for Taka, the trunk demon. The little dragon began to circle it and with its reptilian tongue, it licked its chops at it as if preparing to bite its prey. The veins of fire that ran down its back made its black scales vibrate and reached the tip of its tail. 

The trunk demon, unable to move anymore, could do nothing but wait with its eyes closed for the moment of the end. 

"I believe that something happens after death," Yoichi spoke, breaking the silence. Bunjiro's bloodshot eyes continued to stare at his face hidden in the shadows. "I firmly believe that when the heart stops beating, there is another that starts for the first time." 

Yoichi's chest gave off a strong glow that lasted only a couple of seconds. The energy accumulated earlier as if it were fuel to burn was silently distributed to his massive draconic arms. At the same moment, as if Bunjiro's sixth sense had felt that aura, his feet began to twitch, followed by his still intact arm.

His hand gripped Yoichi's wrist as if to impose resistance, but the skin of his palm burned on contact with the scorching scales, forcing him to let it go. 

"However, the laws of good and evil that rule over this world are strict, Bunjiro. They know how to restore life, but they also know how to erase it forever," Yoichi continued. In his wise words, he veiled his own life experience, trying to channel his hatred for the young man until their eyes would meet again. 

At that moment, Takuma popped out from the trees on horseback. The Grimbrook warrior had found no trace of other people within the woods, but when he saw the scene, he dared not breathe a word. 

Slowly, Yoichi's gaze lifted upward, framing inch by inch the face of his frightened opponent, whose strength was not even remotely able to counter the draconic power.

After fighting a dragon like Urgerross, despite what had happened in his mind, Yoichi had developed a new way of reasoning and fighting. Hardly a warrior from the Emperor's Heralds could have countered him. 

As one hand held Bunjiro's body steady with his feet raised off the ground, the fingers of his other hand moved closer to his neck. Bunjiro tried to wriggle free, but his sprained and torn arm and the general soreness of his body further diminished his strength.

The Heralds warrior was unable to free himself from that strong draconic hand, and an instant before the clawed, scorching fingers grazed the skin of his neck, he regretted his actions. "Wait... aaarrgh!" - Bunjiro's frightened words were chocked by Yoichi's hand, which squeezed his neck and slowly burned his flesh, giving off thick whitish smoke and a burning stench. 

"Aaargh! Gggh!" the adrenaline coursing through his body gave his muscles a sudden power-up, but once again, his movements were unable to free him from the grip of the hand.

"There is no place for you in this world," Yoichi spoke. His eyes focused on his enemy's swollen eyes. "You will rot at the bottom of the deepest, darkest abyss and never see the light of day again. Your name will be forgotten by everyone and even in the minds of those who gave you birth, the image of your face will be erased like a faded memory. Your life will end today and forever, Bunjiro. And I will be lucky enough to be the hangman."