Chapter 2: The Fated One

“What have you done to me!?”

Ashura, pinned to the wall, shouted angrily at the pig-like demon before her. With her abilities, Ashura should easily break free from this level of restraint. Yet, for some reason, her arms and legs wouldn’t move.

“It’s pointless~. Those restraints are enchanted. No matter how strong you are, you can’t break them with brute force alone!”

The pig demon, wearing armor typical of a mid-level official in the Demon Realm, taunted.

—Strange. Could this guy really use such high-level enchantments?

Gradually regaining her composure, Ashura pondered.

“Hehe~. You’re beautiful after all. I can’t stand the way you look.”

Drooling, the demon approached. Ashura glanced around and realized there was no one else here.

It seemed like there was only this one pig.

“I wish the boobs were a little better.”

“What did you say!?”

Those words shattered Ashura’s composure. It was a trauma that he should never touch upon.

“Well, never mind. Let’s touch it~”

The demon carelessly reached out to Ashura.

“Ugh! It hurts…!”

Ashura didn’t let go of that hand. With her only means of freedom, she fiercely bit down on the finger.

“Let go! Let go!”

Surprised, the demon slapped Ashura’s cheek with his other hand. But the pain in his finger was too much; he couldn’t muster much strength. Soon, thick blood dripped onto the floor.

“Ugh! It hurts so much!”

Shaking his bitten hand, the demon tried to free himself, but Ashura held on fiercely, almost tearing off the demon’s finger. There was a dull sound, like wet wood being forcibly snapped.

“Huh?! What was that sound just now?!”

Blood drained from the demon’s face. It was hard to tell since he was already dark-skinned.

“Uwaaaah~! Let go~!”

As the demon forcefully pulled his hand back, Ashura opened her mouth and released it. With a pitiful cry, the demon was thrown several meters and slammed onto the floor.

“Ahh, my bone’s showing!”

The panicked demon, getting up in a hurry, looked closely at his own finger and stumbled back again. His finger, covered in blood, had been bitten to the point where bone was visible. Blood flowed freely, staining the floor.

“You…you amateur!”

Pressing on his finger, the demon approached again and kicked Ashura’s abdomen hard. But due to the pain in his finger, the kick lacked force.

“Ugh.”

Though she stiffened slightly, Ashura smirked defiantly. Spitting out the demon’s blood that had gathered in her mouth, she said, “Better stop the bleeding soon, or it won’t just be a scratch.”

“Darn it! I’ll make you pay for this later! Just you wait!”

The pig demon, nursing his finger carefully, hastily left the scene.

“I won’t be cared for by a pig like you, you idiot!”

Cursing, Ashura scanned the room once again, where she was restrained.

“Where is this? Someone’s mansion? More like a shack.”

Three weak candles provided dim light. Besides a table and two chairs, there was nothing else.

“But really, I need to clean my mouth after chewing on something so unsanitary!”

Casually remarking, she checked the restraints.

“Yeah, I could probably break these easily enough. But…”

Another thought crossed Ashura’s mind.

“Haven’t seen his face in a while. Maybe I should call him.”

Grinning at this tense situation, she focused her thoughts strongly.

“Siddhartha! Siddhartha, it’s me. I need your help.”

Ashura projected her thoughts strongly towards her beloved one in a distant realm.

“Huh? I’m in the middle of a meal right now.”

The response came quickly, with a somewhat absent-minded, even more carefree voice than Asura’s.

“What, what are you saying! Am I allowed to be assaulted like that?”

Ashura screamed inwardly with anger. Well, maybe it slipped out audibly.

“Assault? That’s serious. I’ll come right away!”

Siddhartha replied in surprise. Still, he didn’t fully believe that Ashura was in such danger. Despite knowing this, he rushed to her aid immediately. That’s the kind of man Siddhartha was.

“Ashura! What happened to you!?”

“Siddhartha!”

Siddhartha appeared before the crucified Ashura. He seemed genuinely surprised.

Buddha was originally a man called Siddharta. Siddhartha was his real name before he attained enlightenment. He is Ashura’s lover from her previous life.

In Ashura’s previous life, she had sacrificed herself to save Siddhartha’s life. As a reward for her deed, she became a celestial being and was appointed ruler of the Asura Realm.

Meanwhile, Buddha was still alive in the mortal realm, carrying out his missionary work. However, if Ashura called for him, he would swiftly come, even if it meant traveling with only his soul.

Although he should technically be bald ,since he’s just a soul, in the Asura Realm or the celestial realm, he would appear as a young man with luxuriant black hair flowing down his shoulders. Because that was how Siddhartha, whom Asura loved, looked.

By the way, despite being just a soul, he had a solid form. So, besides touching and just skip the details, he could also do this and that. Having attained enlightenment and liberated himself from the cycle of rebirth, he was superior to the gods of the heavenly realms and was the one and only being with unrestricted access to all six realms of existence.

Everyone, except Ashura, calls him Buddha. But for Ashura, Siddhartha would always be Siddhartha.

“I’m sorry. I let my guard down a bit.” Ashura glanced downward diagonally, looking embarrassed. “But I need you to undo the enchantment on these restraints.”

“Ah, of course. I’m glad I can be of help to you,” Siddhartha, or rather, Buddha, said. However, he realized. If it was just this level of enchantment, Ashura could easily handle it. The thought that she might have wanted to see him made him even more endearing.

“But…,”

As Buddha tried to undo the enchantment, he stopped and looked at Ashura intently.

“Hmm…? What’s this?”

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just…kind of alluring,” he said with a slightly flushed face.

Ashura felt a rush of heat throughout her body. Her cheeks were warm.

“What, what nonsense! Just undo it already!” Angered, Ashura spoke as if to suppress the rising flames.

“O-Okay, okay. Sorry about that.” scratching his head, Buddha began murmuring an incantation.

“But…,” this time it was Ashura who whispered softly.

“If you like this sort of thing, I can keep going.”

Her cheeks were now burning a bright red, as if flames were about to erupt from them.

“I’m done! Huh? Did you say something?”

However, Buddha had already finished his task and was now only halfway present in this place.

“W-What? already?!!” Ashura shouted, her cheeks still crimson. But she quickly realized this. Her hands were in front of her again, free to move.

“Thank you.”

Ashura slowly rubbed her left wrist with her right hand.

“Well then… Ashura, I’ll be looking forward to our next meeting.”

With a meaningful smile, Buddha said, then disappeared.

“Did…did you hear me!”

Ashura sighed in relief. There weren’t many wounds on her ankles. Perhaps Buddha had healed them while he was at it.

“Now, about that pig demon bastard. How should I deal with him?”

Ashura headed towards the doorway. Upon opening it, she found a short corridor.

—Strange. There’s no sign of anyone’s presence.

Was there really only one demon here?

Ashura proceeded down the corridor. Though she was free now, she was unarmed. Of course, she was confident in hand-to-hand combat. But she missed the weight of her beloved sword. She wanted to reclaim it as soon as possible.

She spotted a door at the end of the corridor. But there was no sign of anyone beyond it. Ashura didn’t hesitate to kick the door down.

“What…?”

An unexpected sight greeted Ashura. A large portal to a subspace that connected to another dimension stood wide open.

This subspace that connected different dimensions was called “Ryudo.” Creating a “Ryudo” required advanced magic. Demons like the one she faced couldn’t possibly create one.

By the way, creating a “Ryudo” in the Asura Realm was strictly forbidden. Only Ashura could create one without permission.

“What is this?!”

A gaping hole as if waiting for a guest. Ashura didn’t hesitate and jumped right in.

“Where does this lead to? I wonder.”

Without resisting the swift current of the “Ryudo,” Ashura let herself go. Ahead, she saw a gradually enlarging light. Her wrist bangle trembled. Was it sensing danger?

“Well then, let’s see who I’ll encounter.”

Ashura fell into the exit at the end of the light, as if being sucked in.