Taka leaned against a cold station pillar, resting with his eyes closed under the dim, yellowish glow of the gas lamp.
But no matter how much he rested, it had been too long.
He glanced at Shinobu, who was sitting in the waiting area on the platform beside him. She was calmly reading through her notes, occasionally looking towards the tracks stretching into the darkness.
Over half a day had passed. It was four hours later than the scheduled rendezvous time.
"Tch." Taka clicked his tongue impatiently and kicked a small stone at his foot away.
"Getting anxious?" Shinobu smiled, looking at Taka curiously. "I thought you were the type whose emotions wouldn't be affected by the outside world, no matter what."
".....It's been too long. I'm worried Tomioka-san might have run into danger." Taka replied glumly.
This wasn't a lie.
After his previous battle with an Upper Moon Kizuki, Taka had developed a rather deep impression of these powerful predators.
Giyu not appearing when he should made him worry that the other party might have encountered an Upper Moon ahead of time.
"Don't worry. Tomioka-san, he...."
Before Shinobu could finish her sentence, the rumble of a new train, along with the regular rhythm of wheels rolling over the tracks, came from the distant railway.
The night train, puffing white steam, slowly pulled into the station and came to a stop with a screech of brakes.
The doors opened, and a sparse few passengers disembarked.
Finally, a figure wearing a two-toned haori over a Demon Slayer Corps' uniform, with a low ponytail, appeared at the carriage door.
The Water Hashira, Tomioka Giyu, stepped onto the platform expressionlessly. His face, which seemed perpetually without emotion, held neither apology nor explanation for his lateness, only his ever-present calm silence.
Or rather, a silence difficult for others to understand.
He walked directly towards the two waiting for him.
"Tomioka-san, you are very late." Taka spoke directly, without any beating around the bush. "Even if you had other arrangements, you should have sent your Kasugai Crow to pass a message, to prevent us from making incorrect judgments."
Seeing that Giyu hadn't encountered danger, Taka's slight concern for him turned into dissatisfaction.
Time waited for no one. Although he and Shinobu had collected important intelligence from the rural Fujino Family, which had accelerated the mission's progress, that was still no reason to dawdle.
Giyu's footsteps paused slightly. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something.
But in the end, he merely gave a faint 'Hmm' in response.
Shinobu timely stepped forward slightly. A gentle yet knowing smile on her face, she softly explained:
"Haha, Taka, you wouldn't know this...."
She waved towards an old Kasugai Crow circling above the train, as if greeting it. "Tomioka-san's Kasugai Crow is very old. Sometimes it gets the route wrong, misremembers things.... It must have mixed up the orders again and took a big detour before getting back to the station."
She had experienced this confused crow of Giyu's a few times herself, so she wasn't surprised by the lateness.
She looked at Tomioka. He didn't deny it, merely slightly averting his gaze, which served as silent agreement with her speculation.
Taka thought of his own efficient Kasugai Crow, then glanced at the rather dejected-looking old crow on Tomioka's shoulder, its feathers noticeably duller. The lingering dissatisfaction in his heart dissipated. He sighed helplessly.
"Forget it. You're here now, that's what matters." Taka waved his hand, not wanting to dwell on the topic. "Our investigation in the countryside has made progress, although the process was a bit eerie...."
Together with Shinobu, he quickly recounted what had happened at Fujino's rural relatives' home once more:
".....Too bad that monk died. We couldn't extract more intelligence. Kanao is now performing an autopsy on him." Shinobu said seriously. "By the way, he uttered a name… Doma. Have you heard of it?"
Taka added: "That ice Buddha, created by a Blood Demon Art, could act independently. We don't yet know how many such remote-controlled puppets that demon can make. Judging by the concentration of demonic aura within it, it's highly likely to be an Upper Moon."
Giyu silently nodded, listening calmly to their intelligence before speaking in a deep voice: "The useful intelligence I have is limited. I can only confirm that the cult's headquarters is on Myoko Mountain."
"Then let's go."
With the target clear, no more words were needed.
The three wasted no time. They immediately set off, leaving the desolate small station under the cover of night, heading deep into the Shin'etsu mountain range.
The night was deep. The mountain path was rugged.
Away from human habitation, the mountain forest's atmosphere became primitive and bitingly cold.
The late autumn mountain forest should have been ablaze with color, a mix of reds and yellows. But on the way to Myoko Mountain, as the altitude climbed, the air temperature began to plummet sharply.
At the foot of the mountain, there might only be a hint of coolness, but on Myoko Mountain itself, snowflakes had already begun to dance, covering the forest with a thin layer of early snow.
Moonlight spilled onto the pure white snow slopes, reflecting a clear, cold radiance. The entire peak, under the deep blue night sky, appeared especially aloof and secluded. No wonder it had the alternate name of Little Fuji.
"Taka, have you ever heard the story of the Mikoshi-nyudo?" On the way, Shinobu suddenly recalled a folk tale:
"They say there's a monster on Myoko Mountain. When a traveler is climbing the mountain path, it will silently appear further up the path and look down at them."
"When the traveler, out of fear or curiosity, looks up at it, it will grow taller and taller as the traveler's gaze rises, becoming bigger and bigger, more and more terrifying, until it scares the traveler out of their wits, causing them to stumble and fall into the abyss...."
"Legends are often another way of speaking about reality. It's likely not without foundation."
"Perhaps these legends were originally the deeds of demons, only distorted over the long transmission of time into tales of monsters." She said seriously.
Taka nodded, agreeing with this view, but stated frankly: "If it were me, the moment I saw that monster, I would draw my sword."
".....Taka, that's not how folklore stories work."
After walking for an unknown time, they rounded a huge, snow-covered exposed rock face and finally saw a flat clearing in the forest.
It was a shrine.
Completely different from the ancient or decrepit shrines Taka had imagined would be hidden deep in the mountains, the building before them exuded a deliberately created, almost eerie sense of sanctity and luxury.
The vermilion torii gate was so brightly colored it looked freshly painted, standing out starkly under the snow and moonlight.
The bright red pillars were intricately carved with intricate golden lotus patterns, layer upon layer winding from the base to the top.
Behind the torii, the lanterns lining the approach were carved from crystal clear ice, reflecting the light dusting of snow upon them into a cold blue.
Taka walked at the front, first stepping into the courtyard of this building. From a distance, he could see the large characters on the plaque of the main hall.
"What does it say?" Taka asked in a low voice.
Giyu replied expressionlessly: "Eternal Paradise Faith."
'So this was the main base of the Eternal Paradise Faith?'
Taka drew Tonan, entering a state of combat readiness.
His answer was a man's voice, so deliberate and affected that it was uncomfortable to hear just a few words:
"Oh my, oh my, why resort to violence before we've even exchanged a word?"
Two human monks slid open the sliding door from inside, and a figure emerged.
The one who came out held a pair of golden iron fans. His rainbow-like pupils looked down upon the assembled Hashira.
[Upper - Two]
The moment she saw this person, Shinobu's pupils contracted sharply. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
This was not fear, but extreme anger.