The electric train, that invention which had broken through the limits of the age, connected north and south.
At dawn, Hozuki bid farewell to Kanae, Shinobu, and Sanemi. Sanemi had forced himself out of bed, face stiff and wrapped in bandages from head to toe, insisting on presenting a hard, upright front when she left.
Once she descended from the mountains where the Butterfly Estate stood, Hozuki boarded the train back to Osaka.
The whistle blew, and the station seethed with people.
When Hozuki stepped off the train, she looked much the same as when she had first arrived: a dark blue skirt, a crimson haori. The only difference was the small wind-bell earring at her ear.
Amid the tide of people, Fujiwara was waiting for her as promised.
"Lady Narukami." Fujiwara bowed and thoughtfully took her luggage for her. Inside were the sweets Kanae had given her, the packets for medicinal baths, and the dark violet butterfly-patterned kimono Hozuki had worn before. "Welcome back."
"Just call me Hozuki," she said.
"That would never do. Then at least allow me to call you Lady Hozuki." Fujiwara smiled.
A black motorcar was parked at the entrance.
Hozuki paused. "This car… isn't it…"
Fujiwara gave her a proud smile. "Not the governor's car from before. I paid for this one myself. What do you think, Lady Hozuki? Brand new from the factory. I heard you'd be stationed in Osaka long-term, so I bought it especially to serve as your transportation."
"Isn't that a little too extravagant?" Hozuki tilted her head.
"Not at all. It's all thanks to you." Fujiwara opened the rear door for her, drawing the expected attention from the people nearby. "You killed Lower One. The Master rewarded us with a truly enormous sum of money. Enough to buy ten cars, even. In fact, it was so much that it finally let me realize my dream of developing the hot springs here. It's all thanks to you."
Hozuki slipped into the back seat, while Fujiwara took the driver's seat.
"By the way, Lady Hozuki, what are your plans from here on out?" Fujiwara asked as he started the car. "When Akika heard you were returning, she very much hoped I could persuade you to stay at the Wisteria Crest House again."
"I'll be rebuilding a shrine," Hozuki said softly. "At Shakra Mountain."
"What?" Fujiwara stared in surprise.
"The abandoned White Serpent Shrine on Shakra Mountain belongs to me now."
Among the papers included in the letter Kagaya had given her was the deed to a ruined shrine on Shakra Mountain. Supposedly, a flash flood at the end of the Edo period had destroyed the shrine's main buildings, and because the priest at the time had lacked the means to rebuild it, the land had been sold off. Now that deed had come into Hozuki's hands. Just like that, she had become the sole owner of the shrine.
Was that when Lower One became a demon?
The thought crossed her mind.
"Then that means you won't be returning to the Wisteria Crest House," Fujiwara said, unable to hide his disappointment. "But… why do you want to rebuild a shrine?"
"Because I am the child of a shrine maiden," Hozuki answered.
Fujiwara fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "You truly are remarkable."
"When your shrine is finished, Akika and I will most certainly visit!"
"You'd be welcome," Hozuki said.
The car wound its way through the streets. Once they had passed out of the city, Hozuki spoke quietly from the back seat.
"Has there been any progress on the investigation?"
Fujiwara's brows drew tight. "There has. Moriyama Yuko was a follower of a religion called the Eternal Paradise Faith. It was founded sometime in the early Edo period and is closely tied to the Kansai region. Their activities are sparse, and people don't come and go often, so the trail goes cold there. It's difficult to investigate any further."
"The Eternal Paradise Faith…" Hozuki murmured the name.
A possible lead immediately formed in her mind.
If it was a religious sect, then perhaps the shrine she was about to rebuild could be put to use.
A month later, in the blazing heat of July—
Deep in the ancient mountains straddling Osaka and Kyoto, in the dead of night—
The moon hung high overhead, illuminating a black shape darting through the forest.
"Damn it! Damn it! Why did it have to be a Hashira?!" A grotesque, misshapen figure tore through the woods at full speed, cursing as furiously as it ran.
The figure behind it stayed close, slender as a butterfly in flight.
It was a demon—a man-eating demon, far stronger than any ordinary human. To it, devouring people had always been as easy as eating dessert after a meal.
But tonight was different.
As always, it had gone out looking for a little extra prey. A Demon Slayer had appeared.
Ordinarily, that would not have mattered. As a flesh-eating demon, it had encountered countless Demon Slayers burning with hatred for demons. Every one of them had come wielding those special swords, drawing on strange breathing techniques, hoping to cut off its head.
And every single one of them had died.
They had died under its claws and fangs, and in death had become a fine meal.
Tonight was different.
Or rather, that woman was different.
The woman in the crimson haori truly possessed the ability to sever its head.
I'll die. I'll die. I'll die. At this rate, I'm definitely going to die!
It was already starving. Its regeneration had slowed, and its strength was visibly waning.
"All because of that damned woman!"
It had just killed a human and was about to feed when she appeared, forcing it to abandon the meal and flee for its life.
If only I had food. If only I had food…
If it could only eat, then it would be able to fight her. At the very least, it would not be fleeing in such a pitiful state.
Its eyes darted frantically through the forest, searching for the slightest shred of hope.
Then—
"Wait…"
Blood.
The scent hit it like a wave, intoxicating and irresistible. A fragrance so delicious it filled its nostrils in an instant. Even after devouring a hundred people, it had never known such a scent. The smell alone nearly drove it mad.
Rare blood. It was rare blood!
"Heh… hehehe…"
The demon's face split into a grin.
Its legs, which had been blindly carrying it forward, suddenly pivoted. It kicked off the ground with explosive force, whipping up dead leaves and scattering dirt into the air.
It had found its target.
What luck. To think there would be an injured rare-blood human in a place like this. Once it ate that rare blood, its strength would surge. Then it would hunt down the woman who had been chasing it and torture her to death.
The perfect future had already been painted. All it had to do was get there.
It would take only a minute.
An injured human could never move quickly enough to escape.
What the demon did not notice was that no matter how hard it accelerated, the distance between itself and the swordswoman behind it never changed.
Very soon, it saw a child ahead.
Only seven or eight years old by the look of it. The child held a small knife and was deliberately cutting their own hand, letting blood drip down.
"Rare blood!" the demon snarled as it lunged forward.
The ground split open beneath it.
Sharp stakes erupted upward, piercing through the demon's body and pinning it in place.
"Gaaah!"
It tried to drag itself free, but the child drew a spear from behind their back and began stabbing over and over into the demon's still-regenerating flesh.
Its screams echoed from the trap.
"You little brat! I'll eat you alive!" the demon roared.
The child answered calmly, "There are only two hours left until sunrise. I'll stay here with you until dawn."
Hozuki came to a stop in the distance.
Quietly, she observed the child.
No—not a boy.
A girl.
Short hair. A scar at the corner of her mouth that spoiled the softness of her features. Together with that cold, almost cruel composure, it was easy to mistake her for a boy at first glance. She was executing the demon—
just as Sanemi once had.
For the past several days, Hozuki had been roaming the mountains and wilderness around Osaka, killing every demon she found.
She had not expected to make an additional discovery.
Standing on the shadowed branch of a tree, Hozuki studied the girl.
Rare-blood constitution. But far too frail. Malnourished. If Hozuki had not found her tonight, the girl might have died soon in one of these attempts to lure demons out.
Hozuki stepped out of the shadows.
The girl had no time to react.
A dark red blade flashed across the demon's neck.
Then a woman in a crimson haori stood before her, the wind-bell at her ear giving a clear chime, while behind her the demon crumbled into ash.
"This is…" the girl stared blankly.
Because above the demon's ashes, dreamlike butterflies rose into the air.
They fluttered around the woman, circling her in a slow dance before gradually vanishing into the forest.
"Death butterflies," the woman said softly. "They symbolize the souls released from the karma of demon slaughter."
"Who are you?" the girl asked, taking a wary half-step back and tightening her grip on the spear.
Hozuki answered, "I am a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. I came here to hunt demons."
"A… Hashira?"
"After night falls, demons devour humans—and demon hunters hunt demons. That is the Demon Slayer Corps."
Hozuki knelt and began bandaging the cut on the girl's hand. One of the death butterflies settled on the wound, and a cool sensation spread from it, easing the burning pain.
"Then why didn't you save them?" the girl asked. "Why didn't you save my family?"
Her voice remained steady, but beneath it lay a volcano of fury waiting to erupt.
Hozuki did not answer.
And yet the rest of the girl's accusation died in her throat.
Because Hozuki reached out and touched her face.
Then she opened her eyes and looked at her.
Those lowered eyes held such gentleness—
and such grief.
That gaze seemed to look through the girl at something far beyond her, filled with the weight of fate itself.
The spear slipped from the girl's fingers.
It felt as though an immense sorrow had enveloped her.
Was this woman grieving for her?
The girl did not know.
She only stared blankly at Hozuki, her guard slowly falling away.
Hozuki removed her haori and wrapped it around the girl's thin body, shielding her from the chill night wind in the mountains.
"My name is Hozuki," she said. "What is yours?"
"…Hina. Yajima Hina."
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 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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