Until you break the last sword (ENG) (BokuAka)

9. What the eye can't see

The search for clues was going. In short, badly. Every person we approached said that no such incidents occur in this city and that we probably got the names wrong. I sat down on a bench exhausted from walking back and forth, and looked ahead. To my eyes appeared the sun which was setting, we have no more time. If we do not find the presence of a demonic being here this night, we will have to continue the search tomorrow. As long as this mission is really no nonsense, although the people who assign these tasks rather have information from verified sources. But if none of the people we asked about all this knew about it? A rumor? No, it would have spread through such a city very quickly.
Also adding to the difficulty was the fact that even in the evening and probably at night the city is swarming with people. Admittedly, there are not as many of them as during the day, but either way it terribly destroys the comfort of work.

- Good evening! Have you perhaps heard about disappearing people in this city? - The white-haired man asked briefly, accosting some random woman with a child. However, this one looked at him with a face full of disgust and moved on with a quick step. That's what most of the passersby did to the questions we asked. - Well, it's hard, if they don't want to tell us anything then we wait until night and find out for ourselves! - Having said that, despite the fact that he himself was already tired of this search, the boy did not let go. He braced himself and at no point in the mission did he doubt its veracity, even when Hinata and I were betting on why such a rumor about a demon could be spread. But he's right, and a big one at that, after all, lack of information isn't a sign that something isn't there, a demon can cover up traces of its abductions. It is enough to choose as victims people living on the sidelines who for others are tertiary or even quaternary, unfortunately their disappearance is usually not even noticed by anyone.

- In that case, Bokuto-san, what is the plan? Without any information it will be hard for us to find him, and I doubt he will fall into our hands on his own. - I said standing up and stretching, then looked at the boy who was standing with his hand placed at his chin and mouth. So we don't have a plan, and the boy is just thinking about it.

- I have no idea, though. - However, Koutaro did not finish what he was about to say. Our chat was interrupted by a scream. A woman's scream. The moment we heard it was short, but somehow we managed to track the direction we needed to go. Together we ran in that direction, but there was no one, this area was probably one of the less popular, because as in the rest of the city swarmed with people, so here there were none. We decided not to split up for safety reasons and kept looking.
I stopped when I knew I wouldn't run any further and grabbed my knees taking quick inhales and exhales.

- Keep searching, I'll rest a while and find you! - I shouted to the boy, and he nodded and began further searching. When he disappeared from my field of vision I leaned against the wall. I need to improve my fitness, I thought it would be much worse considering that I have hardly left the house so far. However, I can't afford to fall behind, it puts both me and the boy in danger.
My breathing has relatively calmed down, in a moment I will run to the guys. After all, there is no telling when the enemy will attack, and I have my spare Bokuto swords with me....

At one point, I observed a hand protruding from the darkest place in the alley. No one could be there, the place where this figure should have legs was illuminated. And there was nothing there. I noticed that this hand was holding something, something reasonably round. I took a step backward for safety, looking at the strange limb and the object it was holding. That's when I noticed a small detail that had previously escaped me. It was about the blood dripping from this bullet. It was dripping slowly and forming a puddle on the ground. I took another step backwards, I didn't know what to do at this point, run back to Koutaro if the hell I could find him, or try to deal with this thing on my own?
The hand I was watching suddenly made a move, darted toward me. It then waved and hid in the wall. The object rolled toward me and as it emerged from the shadows. I realized that it was, the head of a person. Or more precisely a middle-aged woman, I don't know about close to thirty years old. I stood like a wreck, observing every detail of the body part. The wound, or rather the place where the head had been cut off, was fresh, as was the blood that continued to slowly pour from it. Was it the girl who screamed?