The mountain path was rough and hard to traverse.
Especially when carrying a bone bigger than yourself.
Hiraikotsu was heavy. The weight pressed down on his back, and the coldness from the material fused from the bones of multiple demons seeped through his spine. It was like carrying a chunk of thousand-year ice.
Shinji didn't mind.
For a demon warrior's physique, this level of weight was just light resistance training.
The real challenge was walking while also grinding affection.
[Hiraikotsu: Affection +1]
[Current Affection: 5 (Slightly less objectionable)]
[It thinks your dusting technique was passable. But that's the bare minimum. Still doesn't want to talk to you.]
This thing really had an attitude.
Shinji reached back and patted the wide bone surface. Smooth. Hard.
"We're almost at your home. Cut me some slack."
Hiraikotsu didn't respond.
Up ahead, Kikyō stopped.
They were at a hill. Steep cliffs rose on either side, leaving only a narrow path between them.
Wind rushed through the gorge, carrying a distinctive smell.
Sulfur, used for insect repellent by people long living in the wild. Herbs. And a faint trace of blood.
The kind of smell unique to places that dealt with demon corpses.
The demon slayer village.
They were here.
"Wait." Kikyō raised a hand, her white sleeve lifting in the wind.
Shinji stopped.
"What?"
"A barrier." Kikyō looked at the empty mountain pass ahead. "Someone placed a barrier outside the village. Not the work of demon slayers."
In this world, this country, this era,
The professions among humans were clearly delineated. Demon slayers were different from monks and shrine maidens.
Demon slayers specialized in physical exorcism. Whether Hiraikotsu or kusarigama, their forte was physical demon-slaying.
Spiritual barriers were the domain of monks and shrine maidens.
Shinji activated [Spirit Vision], the ability he gained through his mental link with the Shikon Jewel's pure spirit.
In his vision, a film of light indeed floated, sealing the mountain pass tightly.
The spiritual power circulating in that film was pure. Not as strong as Kikyō's, but certainly high-tier among humans.
"Looks like we have guests inside already." Shinji hitched Hiraikotsu higher on his back. "The uninvited kind."
Kikyō said nothing and walked forward.
The moment she approached, the barrier dissolved silently, like snow meeting flame.
Spiritual power, faced with stronger spiritual power, simply crushed.
They passed through the mountain pass.
The view opened up.
A mountain village appeared before them.
The wooden palisade was about a jō high, the tips sharpened and painted black, decorated with various demon skulls.
More a military fortress than a village.
Right now, the gate was shut tight. On the watchtower, several men in leather armor stood, their spears pointing down.
"Halt!" the man on the watchtower shouted. "Who goes there!"
Shinji looked up.
Those men were tense, their hands white-knuckled on their spears.
You could see their state at a glance.
Like startled birds.
The village chief had left with the Shikon Jewel and Hiraikotsu. The village was leaderless. This was a time of unrest.
"Kikyō of Kaede Village." The shrine maiden's voice wasn't loud, but it carried.
The man on the watchtower blinked.
Then came a stir.
"Lady Kikyō?"
"It really is Lady Kikyō!"
"That figure… no mistake!"
The tension dissipated instantly. The heavy wooden gate creaked open, and over a dozen demon slayers rushed out.
Leading them was a middle-aged, stocky man. His eyes were red-rimmed.
He saw Kikyō.
And he saw the grey-clad man behind her, carrying that massive bone.
His gaze locked onto it.
"Hiraikotsu…" The man's voice trembled. "That's the chief's Hiraikotsu!"
He rushed forward, reaching out but not daring to touch. Finally, he dropped to his knees with a thud.
"…Then… the chief?"
The villagers behind him gathered around.
Shinji set Hiraikotsu down, planting it on the ground.
Thud.
The ground shook.
"He didn't make it." Shinji was blunt. "We only brought this back. And his ashes."
Kikyō took out the plain cloth bag from her sleeve and offered it with both hands.
Trembling, the man accepted it, pressing the bag to his forehead, weeping like a two-hundred-pound child.
"Alright." Shinji cut off the moment of grief. "Save the crying for later. What's going on inside?"
He gestured toward the deeper part of the village. Through his [Spirit Vision], he sensed a strong spiritual energy fluctuation there.
Probably the owner of that barrier from earlier.
The stocky man wiped his face and stood up, his expression turning ugly.
"It's a shrine maiden."
"A shrine maiden?" Kikyō's eyes shifted.
"She arrived this morning." The man gritted his teeth. "Said she sensed the Shikon Jewel's presence. Insisted the jewel should be in her care. Also wanted to take over our village's demon-slaying contracts."
"Is she strong?"
"Strong." The man nodded, looking embarrassed. "None of us could stand against her. She took us all down with a single shikigami."
Shinji's expression hardened.
Demon slayers were mortal practitioners, but long fighting demons hand-to-hand, their physiques and resistance were decent. By his estimation, they could match lesser demons at the second or third transformation. No match for high-tier demons, but far from weak among ordinary people.
And they'd been taken down by a single shikigami.
Whoever this was, she was significant.
"Lead the way," Kikyō said.
They walked into the village.
The atmosphere was oppressive.
Dried demon limbs hung under the eaves of houses along the path. Unsettling.
They reached the central square. A crowd had gathered, but no one dared approach.
In the middle stood a woman.
Also in white and red.
But unlike Kikyō's cool, ethereal bearing,
This woman's bearing was fierce.
Her back was to them. She was idly playing with a slip of paper.
Hearing footsteps,
She turned.
A striking face.
Her eyes were slightly upturned, carrying an innate arrogance and sharpness.
"Finally here, huh?" She looked at Kikyō, crumpling the paper and tossing it aside. "I knew that old man would give you the jewel."
"Kikyō." As she spoke the name, there was no respect in her tone. Only provocation.
Kikyō stopped.
Her expression calm.
"Tsubaki," she uttered the name.
The woman, Tsubaki, looked at Kikyō and smiled coldly. "You're late."
She crossed her arms, her gaze sweeping over Kikyō before settling on Shinji.
Her eyes lingered on Hiraikotsu for a moment, then fixed on Shinji's face.
The look a normal shrine maiden would give a demon.
"Not only late," Tsubaki sneered, "but you brought a demon?"
"Kikyō, you've fallen."
"The great 'strongest shrine maiden,' keeping a pet demon now?"
Shinji wasn't angry.
He just shifted Hiraikotsu to his other hand.
[Shikon Jewel · Pure Spirit: It tells you: This woman is noisy. It doesn't like her.]
Shinji smiled.
Funny.
He didn't like her either.