“Unless one of the dragon demons extinct thousands of years ago resurrects… no. No one can stop Gonshiro. Of course, my grandfather never travelled over Nomi Island, so he could never see Emperor Gonshiro with his own eyes. Moral of this story, the war never ended,” Enatsu replied. “The fighting that has always trapped Tentochu and Kamakiri factions is real, Yoichi. The tamers of the nation’s strongest guilds die, abandoning their families, their children.”

“I understand, my friend. Although I feel like a fish out of water when you tell these ancient stories, I’m sure there’s a solution. I am convinced that if Emperor Gonshiro is still alive, there is a way to stop him forever,” Yoichi stated, clenching his fist.

​​

The determination of the young tamer did not stop surprising the merchant. The way Yoichi faced those ancestral problems, which were bigger than him, was enviable.

He spoke of Gonshiro as if he were any ordinary person, even though he was worshipped as a god by the people of Kamakiri. After many years of monotony, Enatsu’s spirit seemed to have been reborn: a curious warrior had popped out of nowhere, ready to listen to every story passed down through his family.

“Yes, surely there will be one” the merchant smiled, without adding anything else.

*growl* – both of the stomachs of the two adventurers growled from hunger.

“Uff… I’m starving. I think it’s time to go back to Goldhaven,” Yoichi spoked. He lowered himself towards Kenji and looked it in the eye. “Hey, buddy. You did great, as always. Don’t be offended if I recall you, but I need a hand to get to the capital faster. Are you in?” he asked.

“Screek, screek!” Kenji answered, smiling with its eyes and approving that decision. In all likelihood, even the little Nekage needed some rest.

“Well then!” Yoichi continued, taking a long breath. “Ildriss!”

*swish*whoosh* – The grass uprooted from the ground due to the recent battle, and the small shrubs scattered here and there began to fly it with a swirling motion. A small tornado made of fragments of soil started to rotate around the young tamer.

Kenji’s call turned out to be as theatrical as it used to be: when the demon’s body became dematerialized into an airstream, it travelled at great speed to Yoichi, piercing his chest.

The impact between Kenji’s ‘ethereal’ version and Yoichi’s body knocked him to the ground. The usual intense burning spread throughout his chest, but he got back on his feet unharmed.

“Little by little, I’m going to get used to this weird feeling… cough!” the tamer coughed, pulling back his blond hair. Breathing slowly, Yoichi calmed down. That improvised antipanic manoeuvre relieved the pain, which gradually disappeared.

“Aren’t you excited about summoning your new demon?” Enatsu curiously asked. In the merchant’s gaze, the impatience to see the leader of the Inoshumas up close.

“Of course. Let’s see what it feels like,” Yoichi responded, clutching the yellowish Demon Tooth in his hands. As explained by his companion, the demon summoning phase was quite simple. All he had to do was to stick the sharp spine into the ground.

Without overthinking about it, the young tamer pointed the tip of the Demon Tooth towards the terrain. With a rapid gesture, he nailed it among the cracks in the ground, freeing the spirit of the new demon who had joined his team.

The same airstream trapped in that magical object at the time of capture underwent the reverse process. Vibrating in the air, the coloured wake of the Inoshuma took shape: the large hooves and the stocky build, the red mane like the tip of the tail.

The last area to materialize was the horse’s head, which appeared before the two adventurers with its eyes half-closed as if the summoning process had awakened it from a long sleep.

The wound to its spine a moment before capture had been fully healed inside the Demon Tooth. Being relatively mild damaged, it had taken only a few minutes.

Yoichi looked in amazement at his new steed, noting that the wound in the middle of his head had disappeared too. Although the Inoshuma looked in perfect shape, the deep scars on its neck and back were still there.

“Hey!” the tamer mumbled, drawing the attention of his horse-demon.

The Inoshuma’s eyes opened and framed Enatsu and Yoichi. Shaking its head, it proved that it was ready to serve its new master, the man who had been worthy of capturing it, ending its suffering.

“Hello, dude!” Yoichi repeated, approaching it fearlessly. Moving his hand forward, he prepared to caress its snout.

After a moment of hesitation, the horse approached its huge boar nose to Yoichi’s hand, allowing him to touch its soft coat.

“Wow. It’s magnificent,” Enatsu muttered, enchanted by that vision.

“How is it possible that the wounds I caused it have already completely healed?” Yoichi inquired. Still inexperienced, he needed his merchant friend’s tips.

“You said this Inoshuma almost reached level ten, right? Well, the higher the level of a demon, the less time it takes a Demon Tooth to heal its wounds. It only took a few minutes and… puf! Magic!” the merchant chuckled, approaching the stallion to admire it up close.

“Like Kenji, you deserve a name too. Don’t you think?”

“Hii!” the horse replied, confirming its tamer’s question.

“You are the first demon I have ever tamed. In a way, you’re like a firstborn to me. I’m going to call you Ichiro,” Yoichi affirmed with conviction.

“Hii! Hiii!” the horse neighed, waving its upper legs for a few moments. Although it lacked the word, Ichiro made Yoichi realize that it liked its new name.

“See? It likes the name ‘Ichiro’! Hahah!” he laughed. Stopping petting its face, his hand followed the deep scars to its back.

With a small jump, Yoichi clung to the back of the steed. Ichiro lowered itself slightly, allowing its tamer to mount on it effortlessly.

“Shh… easy, Ichiro. I’m here. I’m here with you. You will never fight alone again, my friend,” Yoichi stated, whispering in the horse’s ear and stroking its thick fire-red mane.