Inside the house, Sui sat at the table, savoring a cup of tea.
The Swordsmith Village lay deep in the mountains, yet the meat, vegetables, sweets, and tea here were all impeccable in quality. Every flavor was flawless. Supposedly, the village chief even kept a collection of fine sake, but since Sui had no habit of drinking, he had not brought it out to entertain her.
Sui set down her teacup.
Her sword should be ready soon.
At this rate, it would be delivered tomorrow.
Polishing a blade was ordinarily an extremely lengthy process, but since the Jiao-Wei Sword was a short blade, things were relatively easier.
Ripples suddenly spread across the surface of the tea on the table.
Sui froze.
The wind chime on her earring swayed lightly, releasing her "snakes" and bringing back a strange sound to her senses. It was as if a river had appeared outside the Swordsmith Village. From all four directions came the sound of rushing water battering walls.
Rain?
No.
Sui turned, seized the demon blade resting on the rack behind her in one swift motion, and pushed the door open.
A demon.
The moment she stepped out of the building, the presence grew even stronger. At the far end of the street, a black torrent was pouring out of the mountains. Like a flash flood, it crashed through the gates of the Swordsmith Village in an instant. Swordsmiths too slow to escape were swept into the current.
The village was surrounded by mountains on three sides for concealment. There was no space for drainage. The violent flood immediately turned the whole place into a vast pond.
The swordsmiths scrambled onto rooftops, helping each other climb up, then turned to pull up others still trapped in the water.
"Is everyone alright? Are you all alright?" one of them shouted.
"I'm fine!" a smith still in the water shouted back, grumbling, "But what is with this flood? It hasn't rained in these mountains recently! And this place hasn't flooded in over a hundred years!"
"Stop complaining," the man on the roof called back. "I'll pull you up first."
"Huh?"
The moment he grabbed the man's arm, the weight in his hand suddenly vanished.
He lifted it and stared in horror.
What he was holding was a severed arm ending in stark white bone.
"In the water!" a voice roared from afar.
"There's a monster in the water! Look out! There's a monster in the water! Don't go near it, don't go near it!"
A huge shadow glided beneath the black floodwaters, passing under the swordsmiths. Then, with one splash after another, the men floating in the water vanished. Some enormous force from beneath the surface was dragging them down. Only scarlet blood floated back up.
Fragments of a cracked Hyottoko mask washed up and slapped against Sui's feet.
"Hashira-sama! Your Nichirin Blade!" From inside the house, a burly smith rushed out. He was the same giant who had stood by the chief's side before. In his arms he carried several swords. "Haganezuka is polishing your blade in a hut outside the village, but the flood has cut off the الطريق there. These are the spare good blades left inside the village!"
"No need," Sui said.
She slowly drew the demon blade. The blade gleamed with a clean, watery arc of light. The instant it left the scabbard, the swordsmith swallowed the rest of his words. The mere overflow of its edge felt like a blade pressed against his brow. What kind of terrifying weapon was this?
"Yomotsu," Sui murmured.
Her fingers brushed over the inscription. The ancient characters—The Eight Heads Below Yomi Stir—were red as blood.
"Boom—!"
Thunder roared.
Sui's figure shot from the attic like a flash of dark violet lightning, splitting the wall of water and decapitating the hidden creature within in a single stroke.
It was a grotesque fish nearly the size of half a house, with a jar strapped over its back and human-like limbs sprouting from its body. Even in the water, it had not been fast enough to evade Sui's strike. Its severed head and body fell apart with surfaces as smooth as polished mirrors. At the cut, there was no trace of blood or bone inside, as though its entire body had been made of congealed blood.
As the wall of water was split apart, silhouettes began closing in on the rooftop where Sui stood.
They rose from the surface, hissing as if in provocation.
Though they outnumbered her, the fish-monsters only surrounded the roof and did not climb up, seemingly intending to use the flood as cover and keep Sui from acting recklessly.
The fish monster that had been beheaded regenerated almost at once and began moving again.
Its bulging fish-eyes locked onto the swordsmiths huddled on the roof.
"It's a demon!" the swordsmiths realized. "Quick! Ring the bell! Ring the bell!"
From the watchtower at the highest point of the Swordsmith Village, the alarm bell rang out.
"Enemy attack! Protect the village! Enemy attack! Protect the village!"
As the bell resounded, a whirlpool rose from the floodwaters.
One of the fish-monsters leapt straight out of the water and clambered toward the tower.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
Gripping the blade, Sui drew in a sharp breath through her nose. Her haori flicked once behind her like the spreading wings of a crane.
If the weakness was not the neck, then it had to be the upside-down jar fixed to its back.
The thunder exploded across the sky. The fish-monsters surrounding Sui had their jars split apart and dissolved into blood. The streak of lightning thrust forward and cut the creature attacking the tower clean in half, jar and all.
But the instant Sui moved, fish-monsters farther away lunged onto the rooftops and began attacking the swordsmiths.
A flood deep enough to swallow an entire first floor was too troublesome. It blocked the swordsmiths' retreat and gave the fish-monsters complete freedom of movement.
"Keep ringing the bell," Sui told the smith behind her.
"Y-Yes!" the man nodded. Though he did not understand why, he raised the hammer and struck with all his strength.
Dong—! Dong! Dong!
The bell's toll echoed through the black night, carrying far and wide. Standing atop the tower, Sui overlooked the entire Swordsmith Village as her snakes spread wildly outward beneath the pealing bells.
She could sense the swordsmen stationed in the village fighting the fish-monsters. Kuroha Chiyo was among them. Her Water Breathing defenses were playing a crucial role; she was protecting the chief. That side was safe for the moment.
This flood had not appeared out of nowhere. Since it was the work of a demon, there had to be a source.
As the bell sound covered the whole village, Sui found that source.
The mountain behind the Swordsmith Village. The slope leading to the hot springs.
The one ringing the bell stared blankly at Sui's retreating back and muttered, "So that's… the Hashira who killed an Upper Rank…"
"Stay back! Don't get near the water!" The swordsmiths raised their spears, aiming them at the fish-monsters below.
…
"Is that the Hashira?" In a corner, Gyokko poked his head out of the water, watching the figure atop the tower with caution.
"According to Lord Muzan's intelligence, that woman is the one who killed Lord Akaza. But she's already blind, so she can't use those bizarre eyes anymore."
Gyokko's baby-like arm scratched at his head.
"This time, I'll use her to test Lord Muzan's theory. Even if she still has those Mystic Eyes, as long as I make sure she never gets the chance to cut me, I'll be fine. Lord Akaza lost because he never bothered to dodge. But I, Gyokko, am incredibly fast!"
"Hmm?"
Gyokko froze.
Because the Hashira atop the tower had turned her head, and somehow, impossibly, he felt as if she were staring straight at him.
The Hashira vanished.
In the next instant, a blade sliced through Gyokko's throat.
"Boom—!"
Lightning ripped through the water where he had been hiding.
"To think you could find me." Far off in a tree, Gyokko's head emerged from another pot, giving a mocking sneer.
Sui stood in silence, blade raised.
Where she had cut him before, only an empty husk remained behind, like a shed snakeskin.
"Still, now that you've come after me," Gyokko said with a grin, "what are those swordsmiths going to do? My Blood Demon Art will eat them all alive, you know. If you ignore them and chase after me, won't you be punished when you get back?"
"Oh, that's right, that's right," Gyokko added. "Since this is such a rare opportunity, would you care to admire the art I've created? You did kill Lord Akaza, after all. I've never crossed blades with a swordsman that strong before."
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Gyokko, the illustrious Upper Rank Five! The greatest of artists! A master creator of ceramic vessels!"
As he spoke, Gyokko closely observed Sui's eyes. They were beautiful, but entirely unfocused, like exquisite pieces of colored glass—lovely, but useless for seeing.
So Lord Muzan's intelligence had been correct. This swordswoman truly was blind.
Still, one should be wary of hidden tricks. Gyokko was cunning. Coiling around the tree, he had already entered a state of complete battle readiness. Iron-blue scales covered his whole body.
"My scales…" he began.
"…are as hard as diamonds."
"Hm?"
Why?
Gyokko stared blankly. The rest of his boast never made it past his lips. It remained only in his mind.
Why had he failed to say it?
"Whoosh—!"
A rush of air.
Dark violet sparks crackled along the severed end of his neck.
His neck… was gone?
He had been decapitated?
When?
When?
When?
How could that be? My scales—
While Gyokko's head was still in the process of falling, he saw the woman behind him calmly wipe demon blood from her blade and slide it back into the scabbard.
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 (Chapter160)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
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 163
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 150
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
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 145
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 125
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 27
Transmigrated as Sukuna 27
Checking In in Demon Slayer 32
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 44
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