Nae kept her right hand gripping the sword hilt, maintaining her muscle density at six times the limit as Hatsune had instructed, ready to draw her sword at any moment.
Witnessing the water demon lunging at Hatsune, she instinctively wanted to help, but the next second, she saw the demon's head and body separate.
Hatsune's swift and precise sword technique was as mesmerizing as ever.
As Nae's anxiety eased, she felt relieved that she hadn't rushed in. If she had and managed to kill the water demon, it would have been fine, but if she failed and let it escape, she might have ended up dying in its place.
As she was feeling grateful, Nae suddenly smelled a strange fragrance in the air. She remembered Hatsune mentioning that demons had two abilities: invisibility and emitting a paralyzing fragrance.
She wanted to cover her nose and mouth, but her body felt weak. She realized she had been affected; her Nichirin Sword fell to the ground with a clang, and she collapsed.
Looking at Hatsune in the distance, Nae felt deep regret and despair. Hatsune had warned her to stay alert, but she still fell victim to the scent.
Her despair wasn't from the fear of being eaten by a demon but from disappointing Hatsune and dragging him down.
Would he come to save her? He said he wouldn't!
Hatsune noticed Nae's condition and, knowing the strength of the two demons, was cautious about approaching them as they had already started to move.
One of the demons jumped down from a window, heading straight for Nae.
Hatsune quickly glanced at the other demon by the window, realizing the scent likely came from her.
Regardless of their intent, he needed to quickly take down one of them, either to reduce their combat power or use as a bargaining chip, to ensure he and Nae had a chance of surviving.
Making a deal with demons seemed absurd, but with no other option, Hatsune decided to try. He also hoped to extract some information from them.
Yushiro, holding a blood collection syringe, walked towards the water demon's body, unaware he was being targeted, thinking the boy had been paralyzed by Tamayo's Blood Bewitchment technique.
"Yushiro, watch out behind you," Tamayo warned, but it was too late.
A ghostly figure appeared behind Yushiro in an instant.
As Yushiro bent down to collect blood, he felt an icy chill behind him and saw a pair of pale eyes looking down at him.
Before he could react, a cold hand grasped his neck with immense strength, enough to break it with a little more force.
In a blink, Hatsune had captured Yushiro and returned to his original spot, pressing Yushiro's head to the floor with his left hand, knees on his back to immobilize him, and his Nichirin Sword at Yushiro's neck.
Yushiro struggled and cursed, unable to comprehend how the boy could still move after being affected by Tamayo's Blood Bewitchment.
Nae had thought Hatsune was coming to save her, but then she saw him holding something and returning to his spot.
A man's voice suddenly echoed around them.
Nae saw a man with light blue hair and a baby face appear beneath Hatsune, struggling desperately.
So they do have invisibility.
Was this the demon that hid here last night?
Was this the one who bathed with me all night? Nae shuddered.
"Blood Demon Art: Eye Concealment – Invisible Return."
Yushiro pulled out a talisman with an eye drawn on it and stuck it to himself, becoming invisible again.
"Blood Demon Art: Eye Concealment – Spiritual Manipulation."
He took out another similar talisman, attempting to place it on Hatsune's forehead, but was pinned down too tightly to move.
"Enough, Yushiro. Stop resisting. This boy has blocked his sense of smell, sight, and hearing. Neither my Blood Bewitchment nor your Eye Concealment will work on him."
Nae wondered why the demon reappeared only to disappear again, then heard a woman's voice and saw embroidered shoes appear beside her.
Another demon was beside me all along?
Nae's mind went blank with fear, her body cold with sweat.
"Are you alright, little girl?" Tamayo knelt down beside her.
Nae looked up, stunned by the gentle face before her. Is this really a demon?
Tamayo helped Nae up and said kindly, "We didn't mean to disturb you. The fragrance isn't harmful; you'll be fine soon."
Nae stared blankly at the woman, not understanding a word.
Tamayo picked up the blood collection syringe, drew blood from the water demon's body, and waved it towards Hatsune as if to explain.
Hatsune hesitated, dispelled the ice, and restored his senses. Considering Nae's situation, he didn't release Yushiro immediately.
"Who are you? Are you really demons? Why are you different from the others?"
"Let me go, you rude bastard."
Yushiro struggled fiercely, vowing to kill the boy who embarrassed him in front of Tamayo.
Tamayo smiled, "You've only encountered lower-level demons. Release Yushiro; you should know we won't harm you. If we intended to, we had plenty of opportunities last night and this morning."
Seeing Hatsune unmoved, she continued, "I'm a demon and a doctor. We're here to collect blood samples from demons."
Hatsune, seeing no deceit in her expression, realized they indeed had ample chances to harm them but hadn't.
He slowly released Yushiro.
Freed, Yushiro attacked Hatsune in anger but was stopped by Tamayo.
"Enough, Yushiro. We need to talk."