The shrine was quiet. Only after Sui had successfully learned Wind Breathing did she finally let Shinazugawa go.
As he was leaving, he turned back and asked,
"So what are you planning to do next? An Upper Rank demon showed up in Osaka before, but now there's not even a trace of it."
"I'm going to the Swordsmith Village. The Master has approved it," Sui answered honestly. GaL2
"Hachiku was broken," she added.
Shinazugawa frowned. Every time he remembered that snowy night on Shakra Mountain, he frowned.
"That reminds me," he said. "What did that demon mean by Crimson Blade?"
Sui tilted her head, puzzled. "Wasn't it explained in detail in Himegimi's demon-slaying journal, the one passed around during the Hashira meeting?"
Shinazugawa froze. "Was it?" GaL2
Sui nodded.
"A Crimson Blade is a Nichirin Blade heated through immense grip strength until it turns crimson. When wielding a Crimson Blade, the damage dealt to demons is greatly increased, and any part of a demon cut by it regenerates much more slowly. When I killed Akaza, I left him with wounds that would not heal, so at first the demons judged me to be a Crimson Blade swordsman." GaL2
"I imagine Muzan realized afterward that my blade was not truly crimson. The wounds that would not heal came from my eyes."
"So there was something like that too..." Shinazugawa scratched his cheek.
"Did you not read it carefully, Shinazugawa-kun?"
"I read it, damn it! It's just that the latter part used a bunch of phrases I'd never seen before, so I couldn't understand it!" Shinazugawa ground out through his teeth. GaL2
"Oh, so the problem was that you couldn't read it?" Sui covered her mouth and laughed softly. "My apologies. I misunderstood you, Shinazugawa-kun."
"Don't use that pitying tone with me! I know a lot of characters already!" Shinazugawa roared.
He left the shrine wearing a face full of grievance, because he truly felt like dead weight that had been used up and kicked aside. Though Sui was still less proficient with Wind Breathing than he was, she could already exchange blows with him back and forth. Most of that was thanks to her terrifying reflexes, but it still wounded Shinazugawa's pride. GaL2
And on top of that, she'd mocked him for being barely literate.
Not long after Shinazugawa left, a member of the Kakushi appeared beneath the torii gate on the mountain path.
"Greetings, Sound Hashira-sama. I have been dispatched by the Master to escort you to the Swordsmith Village."
At that moment, the mountain mist had been dyed red by the last glow of sunset. Sui was sweeping the grounds. GaL2
Yajima Hinori was out on a mission, and after she left, not a soul remained at the shrine. Sui had been cleaning up here and there.
So when the Kakushi member arrived, what she saw was the grand shrine maiden in pure white robes moving about the training grounds, giving off a strangely desolate air.
Sui had known the Kakushi member had arrived the instant she stepped beneath the torii. She turned and bowed to her.
The Kakushi member stared for a moment, dazed, because beneath the afterglow of sunset, the woman before her was breathtakingly beautiful. GaL2
"This is our first meeting, Sound Hashira-sama," she said.
"Welcome, Kakushi miss," Sui replied.
"The Swordsmith Village is the lifeline of the Demon Slayer Corps, and its location must never be exposed. Not even the Hashira are permitted to know the route." The Kakushi member bowed respectfully to Sui. "Ordinarily, we would cover your ears and eyes and carry you there. But the Master gave special instructions." GaL2
"What instructions?" Sui asked curiously.
"He said that even if all five of Sound Hashira's senses were blocked, she would still know exactly where she was. So there was no need to bother with those procedures." As she spoke, the Kakushi member quietly studied the woman before her—more precisely, the shrine's grand miko.
They had all heard of the Sound Hashira's glorious feat of slaying an Upper Rank demon, and not just any Upper Rank, but Upper Rank Three itself. Everyone had been curious about what kind of swordswoman could possibly accomplish something so incredible.
Most of those who had participated in the battle against Upper Rank Three had survived. That alone had once been unimaginable.
Now this Kakushi member had seen her, and could not help but be astonished. At the shrine, the Sound Hashira did not seem like a swordswoman at all. She felt pure, like a shrine maiden who had lived in a sacred place all her life. GaL2
"All right."
Sui put away the broom, changed into her Corps uniform, and took the cursed blade from the inverted tower below the shrine.
When she stepped past the torii, she turned back and pressed her palms together in prayer toward the shrine.
"I'll be back," she said softly.
Those were the same words she had once spoken when leaving Fushimi Inari Shrine. Because there had always been someone waiting for her there to come home.
Now, though it was a new shrine with new people, Sui had kept that habit.
She followed behind the Kakushi member.
After every stretch of mountain road, the guide would stop deep in the forest. Several Kasugai crows would exchange signals overhead with short cries, and then a new Kakushi member would emerge from the shadows.
At each handoff, they all reacted with the same surprise that Sui had taken no precautions at all. GaL2
Come to think of it, there was also an extremely sophisticated concealment method surrounding the Ubuyashiki estate. That was probably something arranged by the family 天音 belonged to.
"Thank you for your hard work," Sui said, folding her hands before her and bowing quietly and fluidly.
"You are too courteous, Sound Hashira-sama!" one Kakushi member said, flustered. "We are merely the shadows of the Corps..."
But Sui shook her head. "If a person has no shadow, would that not make them a demon?" GaL2
Her voice was clear and steady, and her diction always carried an old, classical elegance.
It was not a blunt expression, but it lingered in the heart.
After who knew how many Kakushi escorts had changed out, Sui finally stopped.
Ahead, nestled in a village ringed by mountains, wooden houses stood neatly lined on either side. Swordsmiths wearing Hyottoko masks moved between them, the ringing of hammer on steel mingling with the smell of sulfur. A dense, iron-blooded scent seeped into Sui's nose.
The Kakushi member stepped aside.
"Sound Hashira-sama, the village chief has been awaiting you for some time."
...
Inside a dark chamber, a follower wept softly.
Doma sat high upon an ornate dais piled with cushions, lotus-patterned drapes hanging behind him on the wall.
The follower was sobbing over her husband's betrayal and the suffering of illness, while Doma lowered his eyes to her disordered coiffure, tears sliding from his rainbow-colored pupils.
He displayed "empathy" for the follower's pain and replied softly, "How pitiful. I will help you. A husband who hurt you, children who ignore your feelings—there is no need to go back to that family. Stay here. We will take care of you." GaL2
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Cult Leader-sama!" the woman cried. Having received Doma's affirmation, she nodded again and again and bowed until her forehead pressed against the cold floor.
After she left, Doma lightly fanned himself, hiding the lower half of his face behind the folding fan and showing only his mournful rainbow eyes.
"The next one..." GaL2
Suddenly, his words stopped.
"Oh my—Muzan-sama is summoning me."
The moment the words fell, Doma vanished from the luxurious platform.
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 138)
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 (Chapter155)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter172)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 158
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 144
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 165
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 140
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 120
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 95
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 80
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 50
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 40
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 50
Still playing traditional Honk 30
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