The night grew deeper, the oil in the lamp was nearly spent, and the flame grew smaller and dimmer.
The temperature in the room also dropped, and the early autumn night wind seeped through the cracks in the door, bringing a touch of chill.
Kikyo still sat on that tatami mat, her fingers unconsciously stroking the bowstring.
She was thinking.
About the things Kanbe Hikaru had said—about the castle lord, about the Hiraikotsu, and about challenging human nobility as a demon.
Madness.
It was madness.
But...
She thought of the villages she had passed through over the years.
She thought of the people who had been victimized by demons.
She also thought of those who had been victimized by human malice.
Demons eat people, one bite at a time.
But when humans harm each other, they can cause total ruin and the destruction of entire families.
She was a priestess; her duty was to slay demons and exorcise evil.
But over the years, she had come to understand one thing more and more clearly.
How many of the demons in this world are born that way?
Starvation litters the fields, and resentment festers.
Human hearts are treacherous, and ghosts run rampant.
The root of demons lies in humanity.
In those who commit evil.
"Kikyo."
Kanbe Hikaru's voice interrupted her thoughts.
She looked up.
She saw the grey-clad Oni Samurai had already stood up and was walking toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Outside."
Kanbe Hikaru didn't look back. "You should rest. I'll keep watch outside."
"Stop."
Kikyo spoke.
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it carried an unquestionable weight.
Kanbe Hikaru's footsteps halted.
He turned back, looking at Kikyo with some surprise.
"What is it?"
Kikyo stood up.
Her white robe and red hakama swayed gently in the dim light.
She walked over.
One step, two steps.
Until she stood right in front of Kanbe Hikaru.
The two were less than a foot apart.
"Just a moment ago, you said you only dared because I was here."
Her voice was very soft, so soft it was almost drowned out by the wind outside. "Now you're trying to run away?"
Kanbe Hikaru was stunned.
He looked at the cool, elegant face before him, looking into those deep, dark eyes.
The lamplight was too dim for him to see her expression clearly.
But he could feel it—
She didn't want him to leave.
Just as he was about to speak,
A hand gripped his wrist.
That hand was cool, yet it carried a certain reassuring warmth.
"The tatami is big enough for two."
Kikyo said, "I've already said so."
Kanbe Hikaru was pulled back by her. An Oni Samurai's strength was indeed much greater than an ordinary person's, but at this moment, he didn't resist.
"Sit down."
Kikyo let go of his wrist and sat down on the tatami first.
Kanbe Hikaru glanced at her, said nothing, and sat down as well.
The tatami was indeed not very large.
Sitting side by side, their shoulders were almost touching.
A subtle atmosphere permeated the air.
Silence.
Another long silence.
"Lie down."
Kikyo's voice came from beside him.
Kanbe Hikaru turned to look at her.
She had already laid down on her side, her back turned to him.
The back of her white robe clung tightly to her back, outlining the slender yet strong line of her spine.
Her legs were slightly curled under her red hakama, the fabric tightening over the curve of her hips, tracing a full, rounded arc.
Her sash was tied at her slender waist, clearly separating the curves of her upper and lower body.
Kanbe Hikaru's Adam's apple bobbed.
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