Shoyo: “Well, well, this is simply absurd”

Shoyo: “Ha-ha-ha, it’s getting more and more ridiculous the longer I am with him”

Shoyo: ‘What am I doing? I am a monster not a Demon Hunter, yet I am helping him hunt other monsters’

Shoyo: ‘But to be fair, none of the monsters are my kind’

Shoyo: ‘In fact, aside from me, there is none left. Demon Hunters saw to that’

As far as species goes, Yaksha were practically extinct, with Shoyo as the only surviving member.

Due to some strange misconception, majority of humans thought that all monsters were demons, hence the name Demon Hunters. Only later did they realize the fine distinction between demons and other monsters.

The name of Hunters seemed more appropriate.

Shoyo: ‘If Nagare knew what I really am, without a doubt he would have tried to kill me, for reals this time’

Yaksha are not exactly hard to kill.

Unlike demons that have unlimited regenerative ability, Yaksha’s ability to recover strictly depended on the amount of energy stored inside their body.

In Shoyo’s case, he had the capacity to fully regenerate after receiving fatal injury several times a day, approximately five times or maybe six on better days.

It was a defensive mechanism that allowed Yaksha to lose a limb, flee, and recover. It was never meant for taking unlimited damage.

As soon as the energy runs out, Yaksha is just as mortal and vulnerable to damage as a human, more so even.

During their first meeting, Nagare managed to get little too close to killing Shoyo, decapitating him five times.

Had he done it just one more time, without a doubt, Shoyo would have perished then and there.

After using up all the energy, it takes some time before the energy is replenished.

The process can be sped up by eating living beings.

For any monster, eating humans is a very good way for regaining lost energy and even becoming stronger.

Some demons that become obsessed with strength would regularly binge eat humans just to reach a new level of strength.

Personally, Shoyo tried to avoid eating humans as much as possible; however, if someone tries to kill him, no matter if it is a human or a monster, it was a fair game.

Still, considering his history, getting recognized by the member of Order of Demon Hunters was a no-no.

Two hundred years ago, Shoyo did cause a pretty big mess that almost caused their Order to fall into ruins. Without Demon Hunters to stop the monsters, humans became an easy prey.

Because of that, many monsters were allowed to roam free and multiply, which led to the world over-populated by monsters that we see today.

By the time the Order of Demon Hunters recovered, it was too late.

Ever since he caused that disaster, every now and then, the Order would send one or two of its strongest combatants to take Shoyo, or the Yaksha as they referred to him, down.

But Shoyo was still alive, while those challengers were now, not among the living.

Over-time, the Order came to recognize him as one of their two greatest adversaries.

Though, to be fair, Shoyo only killed those who tracked him down and challenged him to combat, secretly hoping that the next challenger would be strong enough to kill him.

Shoyo: “Now I am hoping that Nagare survives long enough to become a warrior who can finally put me down, for good”

Maybe it was a matter of pride, maybe it was just Shoyo being stubborn, but if he was going to die, he wanted it to be at the hands of a Demon Hunter.

More than anything, he wanted to be defeated.

Shoyo: “But until he can, I will just have to stick around and make sure he does not get himself killed”

Driving this musician away was exactly for that purpose.

Orcs may be strong, but Shoyo was confident Nagare could handle them. But if Nagare were to face against the musician in his current level, he would definitely lose.

Then there was a promise that Nagare made to him.

Shoyo: “Give me a purpose, huh?”

Nagare had no idea of the true identity of his companion. Had he known that Shoyo was one of the arch-enemies of Order, he would never have agreed to such an arrangement.

Shoyo did try to tell Nagare that he is the Yaksha, but Nagare did refused to believe it. Apparently, Nagare was still under an impression that Shoyo was a special human, not a monster pretending to be one.

Shoyo: “It is a bit of precaution, but man, this is bothersome….”

Shoving his fingers into his skull, he plucked out his right eye, then the left.

As a Yaksha, he could regrow lost body parts at any time; however, his black eyes were a dead giveaway of what he is.

Nagare is young, so he may have been unfamiliar with Yaksha’s description, but if his master, Hiromasa saw Shoyo’s eyes, he would have been immediately outed as a Yaksha. But without eyes, there was far less chance of humans finding out.

Navigating would not be a problem. After all, he rarely used his eyes, relying instead on his ears, touch, and chi sensing for years.