"The serpent god of Mount Shakara?" Fujiwara blinked. "I have heard of it before, though only as one of those stories my grandmother told me when I was little."
"Could you tell it to me in detail?" Sui asked.
Fujiwara looked troubled. "I honestly don't remember much. I only know that Mount Shakara was once infamous for its countless venomous snakes. Even the finest snake-catchers didn't dare venture too deeply inside. But despite that, a shrine was built there in ancient times, one dedicated to a serpent deity named Rokkaran. That divine name appears only in the shrine on Mount Shakara. You won't find it in any other myth or legend."
At that, Fujiwara shrugged. "It was probably just some local mountain god. There are plenty of those in remote places, and they're not really worth noting. In the old days, the only thing of value on Mount Shakara was the sheer number of poisonous snakes. Every one of them could fetch a good price on the black market."
Then his expression shifted. "Wait… why are you suddenly asking about this?"
Fujiwara was a sharp man. In the next instant, he understood.
"You mean to say the serpent god of Mount Shakara might be related to Osaka's White Snake?"
Sui nodded. "That's right."
"I want to make a trip to Mount Shakara. Is there a way to get there?"
"A car definitely won't be able to make it all the way in," Fujiwara said, scratching his head. "Mount Shakara is twenty ri from Osaka, and the mountain roads are steep and remote. There may not even be any village left there now."
"Mr. Fujiwara," Sui said mildly, "you seem to have forgotten that I'm a swordswoman."
She smiled faintly.
"Compared to clumsy vehicles like cars, a swordsman at full speed is far faster."
"I can outrun a train with ease."
Fujiwara let out a wry laugh. "I didn't realize you were that formidable. In that case, please allow me to at least take you back to the House of the Crest so you can rest first."
"There's no need," Sui said, shaking her head. "Just point me toward Mount Shakara. If things go well, I may be able to settle Osaka's little troubles tonight."
Fujiwara could only nod in agreement. The House of the Wisteria Crest existed precisely to support the movements of Demon Slayers.
And now the strongest swordswoman currently in Osaka intended to strike straight at the source.
He had neither reason nor grounds to refuse.
By now, Fujiwara had some sense of Sui's strength. A mere Lower Moon-level demon would not be enough to trouble her.
The black motorcar turned at a street corner and headed east out of Osaka.
At last, it stopped at the end of the road. Ahead, there was nothing but a slope of dirt and loose stone.
Fujiwara stepped out and courteously opened the door for Sui. Bowing deeply, he said, "May you return victorious."
Sui inclined her head. "I shall not fail your expectations."
Then she stepped onto the mountain path.
As her crimson haori swayed, her speed suddenly surged. Her figure grew smaller and smaller until it became a streak of dark violet lightning and vanished completely.
Fujiwara stood there, staring after her.
No matter how many times he saw her use Thunder Breathing, it still felt unbelievable.
After all, even among his elders, no one had ever witnessed a swordsman wield Thunder Breathing to such a degree.
He had heard that the swordsmen of this generation were all exceptionally strong.
In the past, even the Pillars had to face Lower Moons with utter seriousness.
But the Pillars of this era treated Lower Moons like helpless infants, cutting them down with ease.
Her breathing shifted. Her body darted and leapt.
The dark violet lightning faded.
Sui came to a halt.
She had arrived at the mountain Fujiwara had described—Mount Shakara.
Dense fog shrouded the forest. In truth, Mount Shakara was not a single peak but the collective name for a mountain range in Wakayama. By the time Sui reached it, she had already covered a long stretch of mountain path.
She looked up. Thick canopies blocked out the sunlight, and the air was heavy with the smell of rotting leaves.
A mountain this dark, where daylight scarcely reached, did seem like the sort of place where demons might thrive.
With that thought in mind, Sui followed the stone steps upward.
According to Fujiwara, these steps were once the pilgrimage road the villagers had used when climbing the mountain to worship the serpent god. Ever since the village disappeared, no one had maintained them. Cracks had split the flagstones, and weeds pushed up through the gaps.
The fog grew heavier.
Halfway up the slope, Sui sensed structures nearby.
More precisely, stone statues.
They took the form of coiled snakes, scattered through the forest on both sides of the stairway.
Sui stopped.
Not a single sound remained anywhere on the mountain.
Only then did she fully grasp the anomaly.
Mount Shakara had once been famous for its venomous snakes, yet even after reaching halfway up, she had not sensed the presence of a single serpent.
Not even the presence of any other living creature.
It was as though the entire mountain had died.
"So this really is the right place," Sui murmured.
The next moment, she lowered her body.
A flash of violet lightning flickered, and her figure vanished from the steps altogether. One hand rested lightly on the hilt of Hachiu as her dark blue skirt flared around her, and she shot toward the summit at tremendous speed.
If a demon truly hid within this mountain, then it would already know an intruder had arrived.
Sui needed to cut it off before it could react.
Fujiwara had praised her strength endlessly. Jigoro had openly said she now rivaled the peak of the former Thunder Pillar.
Even so, Thunder Breathing had always possessed one flaw: its explosive speed came at the price of endurance.
For Sui, that weakness was not especially obvious. She was so strong that most fights never lasted long enough to become battles of attrition.
But long-distance travel was another matter entirely.
She had crossed mountains and rough terrain to reach this place, and some of her stamina had already been consumed.
If the demon realized what was happening and fled into these vast mountains, tracking it down would become troublesome even for her.
A streak of violet lightning flashed past.
Grass and brush bent flat in its wake.
Wind roared.
The rumble of thunder followed.
Sui stepped onto the final stair. The blast of air at her feet swept away the thick dust that had gathered on the stone over untold years.
Ahead of her, the fog dispersed as well.
At the summit stood a battered vermilion torii gate.
Its worm-eaten beams leaned crookedly toward the sky, with strands of spider silk hanging from the cracked wood.
Sui wrapped her fingers around the hilt and extended her senses outward.
Nothing abnormal.
Beyond the torii stood a ruined shrine.
Half of the main hall's doors had collapsed, and the vermilion lacquer had long since peeled away.
Sui stepped inside.
There, on the ceiling of the main hall, she found a mural.
It depicted a gigantic white serpent coiled in majesty, with worshippers gathered around it in prayer. The serpent's scales had faded with age, yet its eyes—set with glass—still gleamed faintly, as though they were staring coldly at Sui, the uninvited trespasser.
Meanwhile, the dust on the floor had been disturbed in rippling, wave-like patterns, like sand dunes formed by something long and sinuous dragging itself through.
"So this is the serpent god, Rokkaran."
Sui spoke the name softly as her thumb pushed Hachiu's guard.
These tracks were far too obvious.
That demon had passed through here not long ago.
Demons did not move in daylight.
Which meant it had to be hiding somewhere nearby.
Sui took a slow breath. Tiny currents of electricity crackled through the strands of her hair.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit."
She drew her blade.
Thunder rumbled violently.
Five streaks of lightning exploded out in an instant, tearing the ruined shrine to pieces. Splinters of wood flew everywhere, electricity raced through the air, and a concealed passage beneath the shrine floor was blasted open by force.
A dark cavern yawned beneath, breathing out damp air. The rock walls were slick with white mucus.
When the entrance was exposed, an overwhelming stench poured upward, sharp enough to make even Sui wrinkle her nose.
"But at least I've finally found it," she said.
The Kasugai crow circling above the shrine dropped down onto her shoulder.
"No other tunnels! No other tunnels! The demon can't escape! The demon can't escape!"
Sui nodded.
Then, sword in hand, she leapt down into the darkness.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 31
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 27
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 26
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin