Chapter 38

Chapter 38 An Adventure with Kagura-san - Past Arc

This is a story from more than a decade ago.

A small hut inside a forest in the middle of nowhere. There, inside a dim underground, a small child in chain looks to have fallen unconscious.

A man is standing before the chain. A big bruise on his cheek stands out as he points a knife toward the child while smirking and laughing vulgarly at a huge woman who's facing off against him. Two horns of about 20cm long are decorating the woman's forehead.

"Kukuku, never thought that I would catch such a big game using this little oni as a bait. Throw away that weapon and do as I say. That's if you don't want this little oni killed."

"Kuh, you coward."

"Say what you want. The last one laughing is the just one. Worry not, I'll spare your daughter's life if you obediently become my slave. Oops, don't do anything funny. Even without this knife, taking a life is simple with my Curse."

Clank, the woman threw away her iron club, and reproachfully glared at the slave trader.

"Do whatever you want. But I will have you keep your promise."

While still smirking, the man approaches the huge female oni and carves out a slave mark on her. Lastly, he put a slave collar, a cursed tool, on her and complete the contract. If anything happens to the slave's master and the master so desire, this collar will gradually tighten until it takes the slave's life.

Onifolks have high resistance against curses, so they can't be easily bound even with slave contracts, normally speaking that is. It's a different story if the oni themselves accepts the contract. The female oni has willingly accepted the curse to save the kid.

"Kukuku, now you're mine. Now then, next..."

The man turned around to show his back and draw near the kid.

"You bastard! You said you wouldn't put your hand on the kid, my daughter!!"

"Hahn? I said that I won't take her life. Yeah, you heard right, only her life."

While laughing nastily, the man took a black Soul Stone emitting dull light from his chest pocket and pushed against the kid.

The kid glared at the man while breathing painfully. Black mist seeped out of the soul stone, coiled around the kid and eventually went inside the kid.

"By stopping her growth, this kid won't ever forget what just happened. It's easier to use people later on if you bind 'em with fear."

"You bastaaaaaaaard!!"

The enraged mother oni attempted to catch the man. However, the moment she touched the man, the collar tightened, and acute pain assaulted her whole body.

"Fool. That's what happened when a slave disobeyed their master. Like there's anyone who would miss their chance with a mountain of gold in front of 'em."

The man turned his back against the mother oni once again, and right when he was about to put slave contract on the kid, the man's chest was dyed red from the mother oni's hand that pierced it. Clank, the knife fell off the man's hand.

"Wh...at. If you kill me, you too will..."

The man collapsed. Right afterward, the slave collar trembled ominously, and quickly tightened on the mother's oni neck. The mother oni could barely even breathe. She tore off the chains binding the kid and gently spoke to her.

"Kagura, live strongly. You are one of the proud and noble Onifolk. Please find your happiness..."

After saying that the mother oni who couldn't accept getting strangled to death by the collar picked up the man's knife and stabbed it on her own heart.