Shijunana slammed into the black thing with a roundhouse kick. The monster went flying like it was repelled by a magnet before slamming into a nearby fence. With silver light all around her body, Shijunana closed the gap between her and the monster.
“Raaaaaah!” she shouted, and she swung her spear.
The black monster’s arm fell to the ground.
“Ugh...” Ruka had no clue what that black thing was, but it was definitely some kind of living creature. And Shijunana had cut right through it. Even though it was a dangerous monster, and Shijunana was fighting it to protect Ruka, Ruka couldn’t help thinking that had been too brutal.
“Huh...?”
Something strange was happening with that sliced-off arm. Its claylike skin no longer seemed soft and flexible, and thin cracks like the veins of a leaf started to run across the surface. Little bumps popped up everywhere before the flesh turned into sand and lost its form.
H-How the hell does that work...?
Meanwhile, the battle between Shijunana and the black thing still wasn’t over. The monster’s other arm changed into a blade and unleashed a relentless assault. She casually dodged each strike, her movements almost like a dance as she made her way closer to her enemy.
“Now vanish!” Shijunana slashed up with her spear.
A diagonal slice through the monster’s torso made it collapse like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Its body turned into black sand, just like the arm had earlier, and everything fell silent.
“To think a mere retainer would give me such trouble... I’ve gotten rusty.” Shijunana sounded annoyed as she muttered to herself. She stretched out one of her long legs and kicked the black sand.
The fight was over, and Shijunana had won.
“Are we in a battle anime or what...?” Ruka tried to process all the crazy stuff that had happened right in front of her, but she more or less gave up on thinking after a while and just stood in a daze.
Shijunana approached her. “Moriki, are you unharmed?”
It really was hard for Ruka to believe Ginka Shijunana had just fought such a wild battle. How could she stay so calm? That gave Ruka the chills. She pointed at the pile of black sand and forced herself to ask, “Did... D-Did you...murder...?”
“That wasn’t murder. It was merely destruction.”
“Wh-What’s the difference...?”
“That wasn’t a person. This is the true identity of the monster you just saw.” Shijunana kicked the black sand again, and something small and furry rolled out.
A... A dead rat. That’s even creepier! The shock might’ve switched Ruka’s brain back on, because all kinds of questions started running through her head. Why would a rat look like that? How did Shijunana-san know? Why did she show up here? And what’s with that silver spear and that shining silver stuff? The questions didn’t stop coming, and Ruka had more and more she wanted to know and ask.
“Shijunana-san... What even are you?” That was what Ruka needed to know first.
“I’m a vam—” Shijunana hesitated. She started over, with a troubled look on her face this time. “I’m a former vampire hunter.”
As Ruka stared at the girl who had just said something ridiculous, she remembered Tokiwa’s words.
“Everyone has their secrets.”
A former vampire hunter... That was Ginka Shijunana’s secret.
“For real...?”