"Ah... ahhh... ah..."
Ikenouchi Maki was so scared that she couldn't speak properly. Cold sweat poured down her, and her entire body instantly stiffened. She wanted to scream, but her voice was stuck in her throat.
Her whole face turned purple. Ikenouchi Maki could only raise her stiff hand and slowly point towards the top of the tree, at that terrifying demon...
"Ababababa... Abba..."
"What are you saying, big sister?"
The children's innocent and confused voices awakened Ikenouchi Maki's dwindling rationality, but at this moment, she only had one thought.
Run.
"It's a demon! Run!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Ikenouchi Maki took the lead and ran incredibly fast, turning around and fleeing. She knew better than anyone here how terrifying demons were, but this was just a small demon, one that couldn't even compare to a single finger of Enmu.
"Hehehehe... It's even better if you run faster..."
Just as Akita and the children were startled, thinking it was just a prank by Ikenouchi Maki, a strange, terrifying, cold, and uncomfortable voice came from above their heads—that place only had trees.
Panic made them look up, but they could only see a somewhat deformed figure, staring at them with blood-red eyes.
"...Demon!!!"
A brief silence followed, some were utterly terrified, but seeing Ikenouchi Maki fleeing in the distance, their bodies also burst forth with unprecedented strength, quickly moving away from that demon.
The demon didn't care about their departure, throwing its head back and laughing wildly. This distance, he could close in a short moment, so it was better to play around!
However, the panicked shouts of the few people woke up the sleeping elders. Out of curiosity and fear, they pushed open their doors to look, but could only see the children frantically fleeing in the distance and the unknown figure on the distant tree.
"Akita! What happened!"
"Koji! Come back!!"
"Muru! Who told you to run out in the middle of the night!"
Some brave elders, either seeing the chaos outside or seeing their own children crying and running for their lives, anxiously stepped out of their homes, wanting to see what was going on...
"Don't come out!!"
Ikenouchi Maki, who had a much faster start and speed than everyone else, reacted immediately, shouting at the elders who were coming out, but could only see a figure flash by, and a headless corpse, bleeding, falling down...
"Hehehehe... Run! Keep running!! Prey that runs is much more interesting!!"
Watching a vibrant life die in front of her eyes, Ikenouchi Maki's mind went blank. She remembered this elder; he had given her many things since she entered this village... She also remembered that this elder seemed to be the grandfather of one of the children behind her, who had given her a lot of delicious food...
Just like that, he died in front of her eyes...
"...Demon! It's a demon!"
"Oh my god, old man Yamashita is... Aoi, go back!! Go hide in the warehouse!!"
"What the ancestor said is true..."
A group of elders, seeing the demon mentioned in the words left by their ancestors, felt a chill in their minds...
But soon, the old men pulled out weapons like pitchforks and axes from their storerooms, while the old women, each carrying the children still sleeping at home, climbed out from behind their houses, preparing to escape...
Children are the future. Since they had already been abandoned by their own sons and daughters, they would sacrifice their old lives to protect their grandchildren!
"Run!!"
The old men, armed with weapons, stepped forward, protecting the fleeing old women and children behind them, looking at the demon standing still in front of them.
They saw a demon for the first time. Its grayish-black skin, its terrifying red vertical pupils, its hands that were clearly much longer than a normal person's, almost reaching its knees, were now staring at them with a malevolent expression...
How terrifying...
Although they didn't know why this demon had stopped moving, wasn't this a good thing? Let the children run further... They, with their old bodies, would stall for as long as they could.
"Evil demon!!!!"
A relatively younger old man, looking at the children gradually running further away and then at the evil demon in front of him that was becoming increasingly ferocious, picked up the pitchfork in his hand and let out a roar—to cover his fear, he charged towards the demon.
"Hehehehe... Good... Excellent! Prey that resists! Simply wonderful!!"
The evil demon's face was filled with ferocious pleasure. Looking at the old man charging, he reached out and grabbed the tip of the pitchfork, bending it with his bare hands. Then, facing the astonished and fearful gazes of the temporary alliance of old men in front of him, he punched through the chest of the first person who dared to charge...
The old man coughed up blood, and as the demon pulled out its fist, he fell to the ground, his blood gradually covering this silent land...
Silence, stillness, and fear spread, but mixed within was a hint of unwillingness and anger...
"Fight to the death!!!!"
"Evil demon!!!!!"
The old men, startled by the scene before them, were silent for a moment, then let out earth-shattering roars. Even if their voices trembled, even if their bodies shivered... they could not retreat.
"Hehehehe! This is interesting!!! Slaughtering the weak is so exhilarating!!!"
The evil demon looked at the charging elders, letting out a terrifying and ferocious laugh, and charged into the crowd. In an instant, blood splattered everywhere... A horrifying massacre was brewing...
...
Ikenouchi Maki in the distance had already slowed down. She had somewhat regained her senses, gradually reducing her speed, running with the crying, terrified children...
Countless screams and pleas from the village were incessant, and blood splattered across the sky, as if the moon itself was stained red...
"Akita... Akita, run!"
Seeing the elders starting to lose their strength and gradually slowing down, Ikenouchi Maki was extremely anxious. She couldn't let those old men who stepped forward and bravely faced death sacrifice themselves in vain!
"Child... you are a good child... Akita can't go on, we... we will stay and stall for a while longer..."
Akita, who had run the longest, the one who had been out for a walk with Ikenouchi Maki initially, was now slumped on the ground, gasping for breath, her breaths mixed with sobs, and tears streaming down her face.
"Those old men, they did it so the children could escape. Since the old men are gone, now it's our turn, us old women, to step up..."
Another old woman, panting, walked from behind Ikenouchi Maki, patted Ikenouchi Maki's shoulder, and sat down on the ground with Akita.
"Go... child, hurry and go... Take Hana and the others and live..."
"Grandma... boo hoo... Grandma..."
"Hurry and go!!"
A large group of elders, already physically frail, had run for so long that they couldn't continue...
Ikenouchi Maki, whose tears could no longer be held back, tried to reach out and pull the elders, but her hand was slapped away... They understood themselves that no one wanted them anymore, and they didn't know what they were living for.
Was it to... create value? Or... to see beautiful scenery... No...
They took one last look at the sobbing children who disappeared into the forest, still reluctantly looking back, calling out and crying, and tears fell from their eyes.
It was for the children, for the future.
Their old lives... if they had to be sacrificed, then so be it...
The evil demon in front of them had already arrived. Looking at the old women sitting on the ground with generous expressions, a trace of boredom appeared on his face.
Another prey that won't struggle... So boring, but... killing them is so much fun!!!!
The blood in the distance had not yet dried and coagulated, and here, blood once again soaked the earth...
Ikenouchi Maki was frantically running with the children... Along the way, children kept struggling, wanting to go back, but she held them tightly, dragging them even if she had to...
She absolutely could not let the entire village of elders sacrifice themselves in vain! At the very least, she had to protect the children!!
At this moment, how much she hated herself for not having power...
Master... where in the world are you!!!
......
At this moment, Fang Wuwei was still on his way, riding a horse...