The mountain path wound on ahead, and the three of them had been walking for roughly half an hour.
Three 'people' — and that included not just Kōbe Hikaru and Kikyō, but also Nurarihyon, who had apparently decided that tagging along to watch the show was a perfectly reasonable way to spend his time.
Rolling hills flanked them on both sides — not towering peaks, but enough to break up what should have been flat lowland into a patchwork of ridges and hollows. The midday sun poured down across it all in uneven patches, light and shadow splintered where the terrain cut it apart.
Tree shadows swayed on either side of the road.
Kōbe Hikaru glanced back the way they had come.
No pursuers. No war cries.
Not even a trail of dust.
Apparently the castle's warriors really had been scared out of their wits.
"Relax."
Nurarihyon's voice drifted back from up ahead. "The lot left inside that castle — even if you gave them ten times the guts they have, they still wouldn't dare chase us out here."
"You sound very sure of that."
"I've been around long enough in this era to read people at a glance." Nurarihyon shrugged, his golden hair catching the sunlight with unusual brightness. "Suda Shigenobu's private soldiers are perfectly capable of bullying peasants. The moment they run into someone who actually hits back, they scatter faster than rabbits."
"Besides — their master is dead. Right now they're probably too busy looting the storehouse to spare a thought for chasing anyone."
Kōbe Hikaru didn't reply.
He watched that swaying figure up ahead, eyes narrowing slightly.
Kikyō turned her head as well, glancing at Nurarihyon.
Her expression was calm, but Kōbe Hikaru could feel it — she was wary of something too.
"Come to think of it."
Kōbe Hikaru finally spoke.
"You've been following us for a full day and night now."
"You were there watching when we dealt with the toad. You were watching when we entered the castle. And now that we're leaving, you're still here."
"I doubt your reason is as simple as enjoying the show."
"So what exactly do you want?"
Nurarihyon's footsteps stopped.
He turned around. A faint smile played on that youthful face of his. His golden slit-pupils gleamed in the sunlight.
"Caught me, have you."
He showed not the slightest embarrassment at being found out — if anything, he seemed to find it perfectly natural. "And here I was hoping I could watch the show a few more days."
"Talk."
Kōbe Hikaru's hand settled on his sword hilt, his gaze unfriendly. "What are you after?"
He wasn't about to lower his guard just because the other party happened to be a character he recognized from the source material.
They were both demons. He knew well enough that neither of them could be called 'good company.'
Seeing Kōbe Hikaru's reaction, Kikyō didn't hesitate for even a moment — her fingers plucked the bowstring.
The easy expression on Nurarihyon's face stiffened slightly. He let out a dry laugh.
He dropped the playfulness and cleared his throat quietly.
"Kōbe Hikaru, correct?"
He asked.
"I hadn't heard of a Ghost Warrior by that name before. But I can tell — you haven't been a demon long. A year at most, if that."
"And yet in just one year, you're already approaching the level of a high-ranking demon. The purity of your demon-qi is absurdly high."
"So my purpose is actually very simple — I've got my eye on your potential, Kōbe Hikaru."
"Join my ranks!"
Nurarihyon came straight out with it.
"What?"
Kōbe Hikaru blinked, catching himself off guard.
"I said — I want to recruit you."
Nurarihyon exhaled a puff of pipe smoke. It drifted apart in the air, spreading into a hazy ring.
"I am formally inviting you to join my ranks. To join my Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
A mass movement of yokai centered around a single supremely powerful individual.
Some formed spontaneously — demons drawn together by the pull of overwhelming demon-qi. Others were organized from the start, built as a deliberate collective.
What Nurarihyon was referring to was unmistakably the latter.
But.
Kōbe Hikaru looked at Nurarihyon.
Then he looked at what stood behind Nurarihyon — which was to say, absolutely nothing.
"Your Night Parade of a Hundred Demons?"
There was unmistakable doubt in Kōbe Hikaru's voice.
"That's right."
Nurarihyon nodded, completely matter-of-fact.
"Night Parade… of a Hundred… Demons… organization…"
Kōbe Hikaru looked again to confirm.
"That's right."
Nurarihyon held his ground without a trace of shame.
Kōbe Hikaru was quiet for two seconds.
Then he pointed at the stretch of empty mountain road behind Nurarihyon. "Just you?"
"…At the moment, yes."
Nurarihyon coughed once, entirely unbothered. "But there'll be plenty more in the future!"
He added.
"My goal is to gather every powerful demon in the land and build a true Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!"
"When that day comes, all the spirits and monsters of the world will be in my hands, every demon under heaven answering to my command!"
"I will be the greatest, the mightiest, the supreme Lord of All Demons in this land!"
He spoke with passionate conviction, golden hair rippling in the breeze.
Kōbe Hikaru just found it kind of funny.
Lord of All Demons?
He knew, of course, that this fellow was destined to become a legendary figure someday.
Nura Nurarihyon. First Supreme Commander of the Nura Clan.
But that was still decades away at the very least.
Right now, the man was a one-man army. Not a single underling to his name.
"So you followed us for a full day and night just to rope me into your gang?"
Kōbe Hikaru asked.
"Exactly!"
Nurarihyon nodded.
"Your strength is impressive, your abilities are unusual, and most importantly —"
His eyes lit up.
"You're willing to kill."
"A demon who dares lay hands on the human ruling class is a rare thing in a world like this."
"Most demons either cower in dark corners, or content themselves bullying helpless civilians."
"One who will walk into a castle in broad daylight and take the lord's head and hang it from the gates —"
"That, I respect."
Kōbe Hikaru studied him.
The man was being genuine, at least.
"There's one more thing."
Nurarihyon's gaze shifted toward Kikyō.
"That shrine maiden — if she's willing, she's welcome to join as well."
Kikyō's brow creased.
"I am a shrine maiden," she said. "Not a demon."
"What does that matter?"
Nurarihyon waved it off.
"Night Parade of a Hundred Demons — it never said only demons were allowed."
"Strong enough, and humans can join too."
"My goal is to build an unbeatable force. I don't care whether you're human or demon!"
Kikyō: "…"
Kōbe Hikaru: "…"
This man's logic really did operate on a different plane entirely.
"And furthermore."
Before either of them could respond, Nurarihyon suddenly strode forward and threw an arm around Kōbe Hikaru's shoulder.
"Brother, we're both of the demon kin!"
"What?"
"I'm a Nurarihyon, you're a Ghost Warrior — we've both got 'oni' in our blood. That's destiny!"
Nurarihyon's face broke into an eager grin. "If the two of us join forces, what couldn't we accomplish? The demons of this world, ours to command! Every spirit and monster, bowing at our feet!"
"What a magnificent undertaking that would be!"
He rattled it all off with breathless enthusiasm, and Kōbe Hikaru found himself at a genuine loss for words.
This guy…
Was he being serious?
Kōbe Hikaru looked at Nurarihyon's young face.
Those golden slit-pupils were full of expectation.
Like a startup founder pitching his vision to a potential first hire.
A startup that currently had exactly one employee.
"Ahem."
Kōbe Hikaru cleared his throat and removed the arm from his shoulder.
"What you're describing…"
"Has a lot of potential, right?" Nurarihyon's eyes brightened further.
"No."
Kōbe Hikaru shook his head.
"What I was going to say is —"
He paused.
"I'm not interested."
Nurarihyon's smile froze.
"What?"
"I said, I'm not interested."
Kōbe Hikaru repeated himself.
"Your Night Parade of a Hundred Demons — enjoy it on your own."
The look on Nurarihyon's face was that of a man who had just bitten into something very unpleasant. "Why?"
"No particular reason."
Kōbe Hikaru kept it simple.
"I have my own things to do. I don't have time to go building a Night Parade of anything with you."
"And besides —"
He looked at the empty stretch of mountain road behind Nurarihyon.
"A Night Parade of a Hundred Demons with exactly one member doesn't exactly inspire confidence."
Nurarihyon: "…"
That one actually stung.
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