"Where… is this?"
The red-haired girl lay on the ground, staring blankly at clouds stained crimson by the setting sun. Her voice was weak, barely more than a whisper.
At that moment, a Soul Reaper drifted over and gently delivered the soul it carried into her body.
The effect was immediate.
Clarity returned to her eyes. She jolted upright, waving her arms to drive the Soul Reapers away.
"I don't need it! Leave me alone!"
"Kikyo, she seems pretty eager to die. Should I just toss her back into the river?"
Kagetsu 's voice came from the side, laced with faint amusement.
"Kikyo?!"
Enju snapped her head toward the sound, only now noticing the man and woman standing nearby.
The man, clad in samurai armor, looked at her with a disturbingly serious expression,as if he were genuinely considering throwing her back into the river.
Beside him stood a shrine maiden in red and white, longbow in hand. Her presence was cold and refined.
That face,
It was the very priestess from her memories.
The one who had killed Ritō.
Seeing Enju's gaze, Kikyo raised her hand slightly, signaling the Soul Reapers to withdraw.
"Do you truly wish to die that badly?" she asked softly.
Enju didn't answer. She stared at Kikyo in shock.
"You're… Kikyo?!"
"Kikyo, you know her?" Kagetsu asked, glancing at her with mild surprise.
Kikyo herself was puzzled.
"I should be asking the same. Do you know me?"
"Huh?"
Enju's eyes widened further. She pointed at Kikyo, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"You… you're alive? Then… you're not Kikyo?"
"I am Kikyo," she replied calmly. "Now tell me,your name, and why you recognize me."
"My name is Enju."
Now seated by the campfire, Enju stared into the flickering flames, her voice subdued.
"I'm one of the dead revived by Mother… to serve her. When I was alive, I was a potter. After she awakened me, I helped her create clay bodies."
"Ritō is your 'mother'?" Kikyo asked, catching the key detail.
"All of us she revived were called her 'children.'"
"So you also know the technique for resurrecting the dead?" Kagetsu leaned forward, clearly interested.
"Yes." Enju nodded, then looked at Kikyo. "I know Miss Kikyo because… when Ritō created your body, I was there helping."
"Oh?" Kagetsu 's eyes lit up. He gave her an approving thumbs-up.
"Then your craftsmanship is incredible. That body was flawless,looked exactly like the real Kikyo. Beautiful, too."
Kikyo shot him a sharp glare, her cheeks faintly flushing.
"…Thank you," Enju said awkwardly, a little flustered.
Kagetsu , however, had already pieced things together.
He remembered now,this girl had appeared before. A craftsman of clay bodies, one who mastered the art of shaping vessels for the dead.
And there was another,
Wamaru.
A man who could control the clay soldiers.
"Those pottery soldiers we ran into earlier… they're looking for you, right?" he asked.
"Yes." Enju's expression darkened. "They're Wamaru's soldiers."
"Wamaru?" Kikyo repeated.
"He's like me,a revived dead. In life, he was a samurai, betrayed and killed by his own men. But he was skilled in commanding troops."
"After Ritō revived him, she taught him how to control clay soldiers… and gave him an army."
"Then why run?" Kikyo asked gently. "Because you didn't want him controlling you?"
"No… I wanted to leave."
Enju shook her head, her voice tightening.
"After Ritō died, we were freed. But recently… Wamaru forced me to make more soldiers for him."
Her hands clenched.
"I'm tired of it… I'm tired of making things that only exist to kill."
Her voice trembled.
"He even brings me souls… just to keep me from weakening."
"I've had enough. I don't want this kind of life anymore."
"I just… want to rest."
Silence fell.
"So you escaped," Kikyo said softly.
Enju nodded.
Kagetsu broke the quiet.
"You died young, didn't you?"
Enju looked up at him.
"If you can live," he continued, "then live properly. Why insist on dying?"
He stretched out his hand toward her, a faint grin on his face.
"If you don't want to make soldiers, then don't. Change jobs."
"Come work for me. With your skill, you can make anything,not just those crude things."
Enju stared at his outstretched hand, stunned.
"…Did that fail?" he muttered, scratching his head. "Yeah… I'm not great at persuasion."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Kikyo sighed, standing up and pushing him aside.
"Go do something useful. I'll handle this."
"…Fine."
Kagetsu turned and walked off a short distance.
Then,Shing!
His blade slid free.
His figure blurred, vanishing into the darkness.
"Crack,crack,"
Pottery shattered in rapid succession.
The soldiers creeping closer never even had time to react before being sliced apart.
Moments later, he returned, sheathing his sword.
"Handled."
Kikyo glanced up. "All of them?"
"Just trash."
He sat down again, looking at Enju.
"Well?"
Kikyo smiled faintly.
"She'll come with us. Back to the shrine."
Kagetsu nodded, satisfied.
Then his gaze sharpened.
"Enju," he said, voice turning cold, "you won't object if I kill Wamaru, right?"
Enju hesitated.
Then, slowly, she shook her head.
"…No. Let him rest."
Her eyes hardened.
"I don't want to see the things I made… used to kill anymore."
She paused, then added softly,
"But he has many soldiers… countless,"
"So what?" Kagetsu cut her off with a sneer.
"They're just ants."
He looked up.
In the distance, under the pale moonlight,
A tide of shadows advanced.
Footsteps marched in perfect unison.
An army.
"It seems he's not planning to let us go either," Kagetsu said quietly.
His crimson Sharingan gleamed in the dark,
Cold.
Killing intent surging like a rising storm.