KNY Fanfic: Priceless Smile

Chapter 122: Monster

     Ringo and the children rushed towards Aiko and Kazumi. The children went and hugged their mother as Ringo stood behind Kazumi to cover them. Despite her right arm being cut from her previous fight, she held her sword.

"Move. Don't interfere outsider." Hibiki growled.

"Make me." Ringo replied.

Hibiki then moved his whip as Ringo deflected it.

"Flame Breathing, first form: Unknowing Fire!"

Ringo charged towards him at high speed as she sent multiple slashes towards him. He managed to jump away but his left arm got cut and his chest also has a huge slash.

"Mother.... please don't.... don't leave us!" Ai cried as she hugged her mother.

"Kazumi.... promise me.... Take care of the children.... raise.... them well *coughs*.... and also.... watch them.... I know.... you're strong.... at just a young age you're already like a Pillar." Aiko muttered out as she kept on coughing out blood.

"Please stop. These children needed you not me. Please hold on." Kazumi replied as she held both Aiko's hands tightly.

"Not only the children.... *coughs*.... Kazumi-chan, please take care of them too.... you know...."

"Yes."

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll understand."

"....."

"You're.... really kind.... I'm really thankful.... *coughs*.... I met such a.... kind child like you." Aiko said as she caress Kazumi's right cheek.

'Can they really?.... Will your friends really gonna ba able to understand?.... If you die, what about the children?.... They needed a mother and.... I'm not.... suitable for that.'

"Children, don't blame Kazumi-chan 'kay?" Aiko said as she smile at her children and hug them.

"We won't! Don't worry, we'll listen to her! Mother! Please.... stay with us!" Togashi cried gripping his mother's left arm.

"Mother.... don't.... die." Hideshi said in between his cries.

"Flame Breathing, fourth form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"

Ringo moved her sword in a circular motion as it deflected all of Hibiki's attacks towards Kazumi and the children.

"I WON'T LET YOU TOUCH ANY OF THEM!!! YOU BASTARD!!!" Ringo shouted in anger.

"She... seriously can use it." Kyojuro muttered out after watching Ringo use the Breath of Flames.

"I'm.... happy.... I.... have such wonderful.... children." Aiko muttered out as she slowly close her eyes.

The children all cried hugging their mother as Kazumi sensed more incoming enemies. She then gently let go of Aiko's hands and put it down. She stood up taking off her bag and took out her mask as she put it on. She then picked up her sword.

"Ringo." Kazumi called.

Ringo tensed up a little as she relaxed a bit and sheathed her sword as she step aside and watch Kazumi walk and stand in front of her.

"Cover the children.... I'll give those incoming ones a blood bathe." Kazumi said.

If someone could only see her face behind the mask. Her eyes are now colder and darker, the eyes of someone who is to be feared. The eyes that doesn't belong to a child anymore, but to someone ready to kill. The eyes of a cold-hearted murderer.

Hibiki felt an instant cold run down his spine. He then ran away as the assassins came and some demons.

"I've.... never seen her like this." Shinobu muttered out.

"Although her face is covered by the mask, I could still feel a bit cold. Seriously." Sanemi mumbled.

She then held the hilt of her sword. In just a blink of an eye, she's nowhere to be seen. And so the battle started. The assassins started shooting and throwing daggers at different directions as they all end up being stabbed or slashed from random directions. Even the Pillars couldn't see her move. She even grabbed one of the assassins by the neck and tore his throat open as the blood sprayed out.

The rain kept on pouring as Kazumi kept on killing. She then pulled out her gun as she fed it inside one of the assassins' mouth and shot him. His head then exploded along with his brain. As she move, her hood was taken down as one of the demons managed to break her hairpin making her hair loose. That demon then received a cut on the mouth from her. She's moving fast and so are her attacks.

The slayers only stood there in amusement and at the same time, horror. They watched at how Kazumi kill them and let their blood spray on the ground. As she kept on killing, her enemies kept on coming too. Ringo hugged the children tighter to prevent them from watching the scene right before them.

'Damn it.... damn it.... DAMN IT!!! Why?!.... Just why?!.... Curse myself for being weak and all! I killed Asano.... then Fu.... even Hikaru-san has to die.... and now I even killed Aiko-san!'

Kazumi then stabbed a demon's neck multiple times before slashing it making its head fall down the ground. She then went for another as she stab it while shooting the other one in the head. The ground's already red in color as the rain water got mixed with blood. Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Mitsuri, and Shinobu even have to cover their mouths as if to prevent theirselves from puking. Watching the bloody scene right before their eyes makes them want to throw up.

"Ah.... ah.... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" She shouted as she held her head and bent up looking up the sky, a yell full of anger and misery.

Kazumi then spun around as she held her blade and pass by a group of demons. Her attack slashed them all poisoning them to death. It's as if her whole body's a blade itself. After some time, everyone disintegrated. The ground is now a pool of blood as Kazumi stood there holding her blade and gun.

'Why was I the one.... left alive?'

Togashi then peeked his head out only to see a ground with a pool of blood and Kazumi standing there with her head down. He also saw some corpses disintegrating. Another one then charged at her from where the slayers are standing as she dashed towards it and stabbed his mouth feeding the tip of her blade at him.

The slayers shakily turned their heads to see her right beside them. They could all feel the deadly aura she's giving off. They all started shivering as they gulped down.

"Please.... have mercy..." the demon pleaded.

"Since when did a monster gave mercy." Kazumi stated as she slashed his mouth open.

The poison killed him as his body disintegrated. As she is about to walk away and leave, Togashi got out from Ringo's hug and ran towards her hugging her from behind.

"Please stop! Don't go! If you go too.... who would take care of us?!" Togashi cried as he tighten his hug.

'Can't they see?.... I'm a monster.... A monster who killed her own brothers and their mother in front of her children.... a monster who.... just now.... killed almost a hundred people.'

Kazumi stood there stunned as she drop her gun. She then felt another hug as she saw Ai hugging her left side. Hideshi then ran towards her too and hugged her from the front. Ringo watched as Kazumi sheathed her sword and hugged the three.

Now the slayers knew one thing for sure. Once she snap, she's neither a human nor a demon, but a monster they've never seen before. And a monster they should be afraid of. A monster who could be even scarier than Kibutsuji Muzan, the progenirator of demons himself.

But can they truly think of her as one? When they themselves already turned their backs from her? From the person who did nothing but to protect them behind the shadows.