“What?! What the hell are you saying?! How dare you mock me even though you’re close to death? You’re playing with fire!” Kato screamed, throwing yet another punch in Yoichi’s face.

The blood of the young tamer’s wounds splattered over the blue-haired warrior’s face. Yoichi’s hands, which initially tried to push back his opponent, were now hanging without strength along his hips. ​​

One eye was so swollen that it could not see, while the other was injected with blood, barely distinguishing Kato’s shape.

In the background, Enatsu’s screams. The merchant kept yelling and wriggling, trying to put a stop to the fight.

After yet another punch, Kato took a gander at Yozo. With that gaze, the Heralds warrior asked his guild master for permission to go further. He agreed, smiling maliciously and nodding with his head.

On the other hand, despite Enatsu’s loud screams and the apparent outcome of that battle, Takamori had no power to interrupt the fight. Yoichi was supposed to surrender to get his life spared.

Receiving a sudden burst of adrenaline from the centre of his body, the young tamer used his opponent’s moment of distraction to hit him: no longer managing to move his arms or legs easily, Yoichi head-butted his face.

*crack* – With an unprecedented level of violence, Kato’s nose bent under his forehead, breaking. “Aaaargh! Fuck! Fuck!” he screamed, loosening his grip on his opponent’s neck and taking a step back.

Kato’s hand filled with blood while his nasal septum was slightly crooked to the left, causing him acute pain.

Yoichi remained on his knees, his gaze turned downwards. As he continued to cough up blood, a chuckle echoed in the air. Despite knowing that that provocation would trigger a strong reaction in his enemy, the young Nightblades tamer did not seem to fear death, taking advantage of every useful moment to strike.

“You’re dead meat, Yoichi!” Kato roared, dashing at him and loading all his strength into one punch. The coup de grace struck Yoichi right in the face, causing him to turn on himself and crash with his face to the ground.

The moment Kato’s hand hit him, a vision trapped his mind, unlocking an old memory.

…

Hit by a punch identical to the one just suffered, Yoichi stumbled upon a marble step and fell backwards, hitting the asphalt.

Somehow managing to interact with the memory, he looked around. A rundown alley overlooked a particularly busy street of a metropolis. The sound of horns and other noises of the city rumbled in his ears.

In front of him, a moustached and muscular man with elegant trousers and a black tank top was looking at him from the top of the stairs. A pair of black-lensed glasses covered his eyes, and one of his large hands was resting on a door behind his back.

“Next time I’m coming at you hard, motherfucker!” the man grunted, bringing his hair back with one hand and spitting on him, still lying on the ground.

Beyond the open door from which he had just been kicked out, the ‘self’ of his previous life saw a large round table. It was covered with a green game tablecloth with hundreds of cards and other items scattered on its surface. Around the table, about ten salty looking men.

*slam* – A loud noise followed the closing of that door, bringing Yoichi back to reality.

…

*gasp*anf*anf* – Breathing hard, Yoichi opened the only eye still capable of watching. In front of his mouth, the tatami dust was blown away from his breath, mingling with blood.

Yoichi could not move a single muscle, but blurry images appeared before his eyes. Several meters away, Ichiro was on the ground. The steed’s abdomen swelled and deflated, marking its last breaths.

In front of it, the Kuwatako floated menacingly, waiting for the order of its tamer to end the suffering of the Inoshuma.

Suddenly, a sensation pervaded the young tamer’s body, freeing him from anger. After experiencing his last memory, he realized that, for the umpteenth time, something was telling him that he had completely wasted his previous life.

It was as if those strange blood writings appeared every now and then came directly from his subconscious. For some arcane reason, he was given a chance to be reborn in a new body. In a new world.

My second life’s redemption attempt… Yoichi recalled, referring to the first inscription that appeared on the wooden wall of his farm. I don’t want to die again. Ichiro and Kenji don’t deserve my own fate… I… I will live for them, too.

Kato’s steps became closer and closer. Trying to keep his eyes open, Yoichi whispered his last words. “Az… Azron.”

After uttering Ichiro’s real name, the horse demon was wrapped in his own aura, dematerializing. Its Demon Tooth appeared wedged into the floor, under the scary purple eyes of the Kuwatako.

The tip of the magical object was the only part left undamaged: the side surface of the spine was scratched and corrupted and its top was broken because of the extensive damage suffered.

As Yoichi realized that Ichiro’s life was no longer at risk, he shut his eyes, unconscious.

Surrendering in the presence of Kato, the young tamer had decided to save his life and that of his demon pets. With that gesture, he wanted to prove to himself that the old Yoichi, that good-for-nothing who had wasted his life with alcohol and gambling, did not exist anymore.

…

When his heartbeat echoed in his rib cage and his lungs restart to breathe fresh air, Yoichi awoke from his long sleep.

Both of his eyes barely opened, gradually returning the senses to his body and mind. Even the muscles of the face were numb and sore: his mouth was half open and his face numb, marked by a aching expression.

The young tamer slightly closed his dehydrated lips, swallowing emptiness. Finally, after a few seconds, his eyes managed to focus on the ceiling above his head.