《Immortal Stranger》Volume 1: Chapter 2: Nagare Shirosaki
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In this world, many kinds of monsters run rampant, feasting upon countless human beings.
And among these monsters, the apex predators are known as demons, creatures that can only be harmed by silver, Holy Magic, and sunlight that would reduce them to dust.
Most monsters saw human beings as food, causing deaths to countless innocents.
In order to combat these monsters and demons, the Order of Protectors was founded centuries ago.
Many bases exist in different locations, each controlling their own branch of Protectors. The protectors are divided up into five ranks, based on ability.
The highest ranked ones among the Order of Protectors are known as the Guardians.
Guardians are known far and wide as the supreme swordsmen in the land. There are not many alive who can match their skill.
In the Southern Plains, the declining branch of Protectors, headed by a former member of the Guardians, Elder Hiromasa Dashi, was experiencing a rather sharp decline to the point that the elder planned on shutting it down.
Hiromasa always wore a white mask with red stripes, with only his sharp, eagle-like eyes visible.
Their branch was called the Blue Sparrow Branch.
Once this branch had many members in it, but with the increase in monster attacks, the casualties skyrocketed. Maimed, fearful for their lives, and seeing their comrades perish one after another, many chose to quit. By now, aside from the elder, there was only one active member left.
That young man’s name was Nagare Shirosaki (16), and the elder considered him akin to a grandson.
Hiromasa (74) never had any children and had no living relatives. So Nagare was pretty much the closest thing to a family Hiromasa had.
After Nagare’s family was slaughtered and eaten at the hands of demons, Hiromasa practically adopted the boy and taught him the skills needed to take his revenge upon those monsters.
At the time, the decline of the Blue Sparrow Branch had already begun, and there were only about ten or so members left, and as years went by, the more graves there were.
Now, only Nagare remained.
‘I am too old to continue this. I will write a letter of recommendation for Nagare to transfer to another branch; he will find more opportunity to hunt demons there rather than rot in this place’
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The truth was that Nagare had a lot of room for growth as a swordsman, and Hiromasa hoped that he would gain better training and more practical experience with the swordsmen in the other active branches of Order of Protectors.
Hiromasa wanted Nagare to transfer to a branch known as the Golden Dragon, known for their skilled swordsmen. There, Nagare would meet the current Guardians, and with their guidance, he might reach their level one day.
‘Still, the lad is as stubborn as a mule. How am I going to convince him to go there and leave this branch to die out completely? I wonder…’
Then, Hiromasa heard a noise as Nagare entered the building, but this time he was not alone.
He was dragging a person who was tied up with a rope.
“Ouch! My butt! My butt hurts! Slow down buddy!” the man in tattered kimono screamed to no avail.
“Nagare, who is this?”
“Gramps, I caught this monster, but I can’t kill it. Just look!”
Nagare proceeded to behead the tied up man with his sword in a single slice.
Nagare clearly just killed him,
But then, something strange started to happen.
Within less than a minute, the entire head grew back on the man’s body.
“I tried to kill him every way I could think of, but silver and sunlight have no effect on him, gramps, how do I kill this demon?”
“The question is, Nagare, whether this creature is a demon or not. Strongest demons can be somewhat resistant to sunlight but not immune, as for immunity to silver, I have never heard of that”
Most monsters were weak to silver due to its purifying properties. In a sense, silver was a natural poison to them.
“But there is a way to be completely certain. Holy Magic.”
Taking out a small bottle he kept on his belt, Hiromasa splashed the contents upon the tied up man’s face.
Instead of burning him, there was absolutely no reaction.
“I don’t know what he is, but this guy is not a demon or a monster for that matter”
“Told you” the prisoner muttered in annoyance.
“But then, how can he regenerate his injuries if he is not a demon?” Nagare asked.
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“Dunno, I have just always been this way”
“Shut up! I did not ask you!”
Nagare stuffed a cotton ball into the man’s mouth, making him stop talking.
“Nagare, there is a possibility that he is merely a human who had awakened a talent, which happens to be regeneration”
“Could that really be the case?”
“No demon or monster can survive Holy Water, so that rules out that possibility. So a human being who possesses a talent is the best explanation I can think of”
“I don’t understand” Nagare shook his head.
“Then…How about we ask him?”
Hiromasa now removed the cotton ball from the man’s mouth.
“Young man, what is your name?”
“Shoyo, Shoyo Ryoma” he muttered.
“Shoyo, huh? I see…Then how about this, we will think of what we are going to do with you tomorrow, until then you will be here”
“That sounds fine by me” Nagare nodded.
“Ok, but why am I still tied up?”
“Can you truly blame us? While it is probable that you are simply a human, we cannot be completely sure, so until we know what to do with you, you will be kept restrained, for our safety”
“Well, that sucks, oh well, I don’t mind” Shoyo closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
“Gramps, have you really never seen someone like him?”
“Well, as far as regeneration goes, it is a common power for monsters to have, but it is my first time seeing a human being who possesses it.”
“Provided that he is a human”
“If nothing happens by tomorrow, then he can be let free”
“But what if he tries to kill us?”
“Then we will have to seal him away. That is the only way I can think of to deal with an immortal”
* * *
“Good Morning! Do you wanna have some tea, perhaps?”
“Yeah, thanks…Wait what!”
Nagare realized that Shoyo was no longer tied up and was serving him tea.
“How did you escape?”
“Well, you guys were generous enough to leave my mouth open, so after a couple of hours of chewing on the ropes, I managed to break free. Very cool, right?”
“Not cool! Not cool at all!”
Then, Nagare looked down and found that he was only wearing his underwear.
“You…”
“The name is Shoyo”
“Shoyo, why am I almost buck naked? And…Why are you wearing my clothes?!” On one side, Nagare was now sure that Shoyo was just a human, as the elder stated; he was still alive, so that ruled out the possibility that Shoyo was a man eating demon.
But on the other hand…Shoyo was not exactly a normal person. Nagare felt a little violated after Shoyo stole the clothing he was wearing while sleeping.
“Well, yesterday you cut up all the clothing I had, so I thought it would be fair for me to take some of yours. Oh, by the way, before you say anything, I am not into guys”
“I have spare clothing, you know? Did you have to take the ones I was wearing?”
“Now that I think about, that may have been a better idea, oh well; I was always a bit of a klepto…”
Irritated beyond compare, Nagare put on his spare kimono and proceeded to head out.
“Where are you going?”
“To patrol, I need to make sure that the villagers remain safe from monsters”
“It is not like the monster attacks are frequent, right?”
“They happen nearly every day, often several times”
“Oh, ok, I am coming with!”
“No way! You are staying here!”
“Naga-kun, it is not like you can do anything to stop me, right? Cut me up all you want, I will just keep walking without problem. Also, it will take time, the precious time you could be focusing on protecting the villagers…”
“Fine, do whatever you want, just don’t get in my way”
“Splendid”
Just like that, the duo of a Demon Hunter and an immortal teamed up for the very first time.
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Deeper Darker
Set in the far future when humanity has reached the stars and finds it is not the first to do so. Alien technology has been left behind by a long dead race. Ancient cities, abandoned starships, temples and fortified bunkers all contain artefacts and devices far in advance of what humans have been able to produce. Technology that feels more akin to magic, so powerful it can allow a single person to dominate a star system. But these relics of another time have been left well-defended and behind bewildering and impenetrable security measures.There are those who are compatible with the alien technology, who can augment themselves to face the evermore extreme protocols in the depths of the alien ruins, and by doing so attain greater power. And there are those who just want to sell what they find to the highest bidder.The rewards are high, but you have to be prepared to go further and risk more to discover the greatest secrets of a civilisation that vanished long before the first human walked upright. Secrets that could irrevocably change humanity’s future, or end it.
8 456The Legendary Ghost Hunter
Thousands of years ago, the First Expungement came. The world changed, and humanity was nearly wiped out. Thankfully, with the paracausal power of Angelicas, humans was able to push back the Ghost tide and rebuild their civilization.Now, however, it was time for the Second.Finn Thresher was just a normal university student at first. He, like the rest of the public world, had no idea what was coming for them — but sometimes, just because you don’t know, doesn’t mean you can’t be harmed.His family… his sight… his purpose. All lost to the paranormal.It was time to abandon his beliefs. To throw away his morals.After all… if these creatures weren’t human anyway, there was no point in showing them humanity.In the first battle of this war, the Ghosts won, nearly driving the human race to extinction. In the second, the humans fought back with the power of Angelicas and managed to secure a victory.Now, the third and final round was approaching — and this time, it’s personal.
8 813The Illuminating Heroes
In the near future continual political disasters have left people unhappy and angry, no one thinks the world works and no one thinks anyone else knows how to fix it. Politicians run back and forth promising the moon and delivering a scandal instead, businesses struggle and the enviorment declines. Kevin Sterling has had enough. The owner of a giant technology conglomerate, Kevin Sterling has wealth and power that most people can only dream of. And he has friends too, the movers and shakers of society, industry leaders in entertainment, biotechnology, transportation, and more or less every other market known to man. They have all come together to guide the world towards a better future, to pull the hidden strings to move humanity towards prosperity and fill their pockets at the same time. They are the Illuminati, and they are the only heroes our world will ever see.
8 149The Guest
A quiet mountain town, an impenetrable forest, a terrible curse. Darkness falls on the village of Provints, and a horde of twisted fiends will descend upon the countryside if the dark magic that lurks in the forest cannot be stopped. Merchant's daughter Krosa may be the only chance for the villagers to survive, if mysterious newcomers Gost and Dyrik can train her to use her natural gifts before the curse can claim her. There is a beast in the woods. And time is running out.
8 154If It Was Caleb--Divergent alternative ending
David shoots Caleb and Tris is devastated. She lost her whole family and blames herself. What will she do?
8 151The Female Partner Gets Rich in The Chronology
Note: This novel is not mine. For reading purposes only.https://www.69shu.com/txt/37814.htmAuthor: Dream of one meter and sevenCategory: Romance Novels652773 words | serialUpdate: 2021-11-16Ye Xiuqing, who died of overwork, woke up again and found that she had worn a female partner with the same name and surname in a chronological essay, and became a control group for the female protagonist in the essay.The heroine's father is the second son of the family, hardworking and capable, simple and honest.The female partner's father is the youngest son of the family.Although the heroine mother has some cowardly and patriarchal, she is also very kind to her daughters and has a gentle personality.The female partner's mother also likes to be lazy and caress about everything.The original heroine is born again and uses the prophet to kill the Quartet.The female partner always grabs things with the heroine, and in the end, she commits herself to death and affects the relatives who are good to her.Knowing his situation, Ye Xiuqing suddenly became calm.Why does the hostess love to go? It has nothing to do with her. What she has to do now is to live her own life well.So...Ye Xiuqing was studying when the heroine used the prophet to have an ambiguous relationship with potential stocks.When the heroine had a good relationship with the villagers and accumulated fame, Ye Xiuqing had already attended the best university and accumulated the first start-up capital.Ye Xiuqing has already promoted her business abroad when the heroine's business has improved.After the heroine has gone through many hardships, she finally got together with the hero of the original book. She suddenly discovered that the cousin Ye Xiuqing who she didn't look down on had already become something she couldn't afford.
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