80 Years ago.

A single swordsman faced off against a monster.

Demon Hunters had been trying to kill him for years, so this kind of confrontation was nothing surprising. Yet the fact that this monster was still alive was an eternal shame to the Order’s honor.

He needed to be slain, that much was clear.

But the swordsman was no ordinary demon hunter.

Monster could smell it. The distinct scent of vengeance, coated in layers upon layers of hatred… swirling in an endless vortex.

This swordsman was here for a personal vendetta.

Swordsman: “Before we begin, may I ask you a question?”

Surprised by the swordsman candid approach, monster replied.

Monster: “Very well, a question for a question”

Swordsman: “Are you the one who killed my parents?”

At that moment, the monster appeared to be in deep thought before sighing in nonchalance, almost as if he could not care less.

Monster: “I have slain countless of your kind… you will have to be more specific”

Monster: ‘These hands have been stained far beyond the point of redemption….’

Swordsman: “I see, so that’s how it is”

The very air around the swordsman ignited with the fiery aura. His murderous intent had reached its zenith.

Swordsman unsheathed his blade. The silver sword shined brightly, like the moon, illuminating the night.

Monster: “Let me ask you one question in turn, what is your name?”

Swordsman: “I am Naito, Naito Shirosaki. The man who will slay you”

Monster chuckled in response.

Monster: “Naito, huh...Then let us begin”

* * *

Yama: “Well, this could have gone much better”

Shoyo: “It could have also been much worse”

Right at the moment, Nagare and Kai were fighting for their lives against trolls.

In appearance, trolls were just as green as goblins, but much bigger and far more dangerous. Like many other monsters, they loved to feast on humans.

As Nagare and Kai found out the hard way, most of troll’s body was as hard as steel and to make the matters worse; any kind of cuts or injuries that they barely managed to inflict would regenerate in an instant.

Troll’s sense of smell was very acute, making it a very effective predator.

Yama: “That’s why I wanted us to dive into a swamp before entering their territory”

Before they had a chance to do that, Nagare and Kai ended up rushing up ahead, only to encounter the trolls.

Shoyo: “Don’t worry, getting into trouble is Nagare-kun’s specialty”

Yama: “That does not sound reassuring. Anyways, I am prepared for just such an occasion”

Yama proceeded to get a jar out of his bag.

Yama: “This should take care of them”

Shoyo: “Oh my”

No matter how many times Nagare slashed at the trolls, their iron-like skin would repel his sword.

Kai was also having a lot of trouble even after using wind-type chi.

One troll grabbed Nagare’s arms and started to pull in opposite directions.

Nagare: “Aaah…let go you ****face!”

Before Nagare could be ripped in half, Yama jumped on troll’s back and sprinkled the content of the jar upon the troll’s face.

The effect was instantaneous.

Troll’s body stopped moving as petrification took effect, turning it into a stone statue.

With the troll turned into stone, Nagare managed to break free, shattering the troll’s arms in the process.

Nagare: “What the hell was that?”

Yama: “Common salt. Trolls may have massive strength and impressive regenerative prowess, but luckily they have this racial weakness”

Nagare: “You could have said so from the start!”

Yama: “You rushed off ahead before I could”

Yama proceeded to blow salt at the trolls, spreading it like dust, petrifying them mid motion.

It was a bizarre sight to behold, with the trolls frozen in their tracks, turning into many ugly looking statues.

The other trolls saw what happened to their kindred and decided to flee. Luckily for them, the Demon Hunters did not chase after them.

Yama: “Most monsters have some kind of a weakness. The trick is knowing what that weakness is”

Yama: “We are lucky it was just trolls, they are nowhere near as frustrating as undead to deal with”

Nagare: “Undead? Aren’t demons classified as undead?”

Yama: “Not at all. Demons are former humans turned into creatures of the night, while the undead are, for the lack of better words, animated corpses”

Nagare: “Is that so….I have encountered demons before, but not undead”

Yama: “Just in case, I kept a few of their teeth”

Nagare: “Teeth?”

Yama: “Just in case”

Nagare: ‘He is weird. But his expertise in handling monsters is the real deal. There is much I can learn from him’

It goes without saying that Nagare’s respect for Guardian of Ice ended up increasing tenfold.

He already thought of Yama as a juggernaut of a fighter but seeing him handle the trolls in such a fashion made Nagare realize just how much he needed to improve to reach his level.

Nagare: “Yama-san, how come you are this good at being a Demon Hunter but Jing Fu, even though he is a Guardian too, not so much?”

Yama: “Jing Fu needs to get his head out of the gutter”

Nagare: “What?”

Yama: “That romantic idiot spends most of his free time chasing after a certain girl, despite how hopeless it is”

Yama: “Though it’s not his fault, women of that village only marry those who can beat them in combat, and so far, he has yet to succeed”