Perseverance

Kenji woke up the next morning. He was still feeling worn out from the battle he had with Monoma. He walked outside and spotted the old man cleaning up and fixing the sword after what happened the previous day. "Let's get out of here, Gramps. I need to find a place to heal myself." Kenji said quietly. Kenji picked up Toshi and started to march out of the village. "We'll come back later with the footsteps." Kenji said to the half asleep Toshi. On their way to the nearest village, Kenji and Toshi eventually got lost. "Alright, let's head back. All the villages we've checked are useless." Toshi said. Kenji turned around swiftly. The trail of footsteps they had left behind was gone. Kenji looked around. Trees. It was getting dark outside. Kenji put the old man down and drew his sword. Suddenly, a dead body fell from the tree closest to him. Kenji backed up slowly. Finally, the demon revealed himself. "So. You're the one who slayed Monoma?" Said a deep voice. Kenji could barely see the demon. He was slim and had his ribs poking out. Not only that, but he was wearing a strange half kimono half coat. He was still shirtless at that. His eyes were blood red and glowed in the overcoming darkness. Kenji started to slow his breath. He lunged toward the demon with swift motions and lightning by his side. Despite being in the darkness, he was going to fight. The lightning lit the area around him, and he was going in for an attack. The demon quickly turned and kicked him in the gut, sending him back onto the hard floor. "The trees are too tall for a human." The demon said confidently. Kenji used his sword to stand up. He jumped towards the demon again, but was knocked back as soon as he got close. Kenji was starting to get angry. Toshi was pretty much asleep by that point. "That old man still owes us demons some money for the hut he lives in! He should've learned a long time ago that this is our territory!" The demon shouted. Kenji looked at Toshi. "Blazing Wing!!" Kenji persistently shouted. No matter how many attacks he threw, he was no match for the demon. The demon was quite durable. Kenji jumped backwards and threw his sword at the demon. "What would that have done?" The demon said as the sword bounced off of him. Kenji smirked. He ran past the demon, swiftly grabbed the sword and jumped toward the demon once again. This time, he was able to cut the demons arm off and trap him with the power of ice. "I see how it is. A quick distraction, eh?" The demon muttered. Kenji kicked the demon repeatedly. "You're not getting out of here, demon." Kenji said. Kenji held his sword to the demons neck with the power of water aiding him. Kenji swiftly cut the demons head off, or so he thought. The demon had turned his neck into a material that felt like steel. Kenji jumped behind the demon. "My regenerative abilities are on point." The demon swiftly grew his limbs back and broke out of the ice. Kenji was knocked back to the hard floor. Looking up with tears in his eyes, he prayed as if it was the last time he ever would.