After passing through a winding path, Sanemi and Masachika arrived at the gates of an estate.
The journey had been long. They had set out at dawn, and now, by the time they arrived, the sun was already sinking behind the mountains. Black clouds gathered overhead, and the wind that came sweeping in was cold and eerie. Masachika glanced at the sky.
"Looks like it's going to rain."
"Sanemi?"
When Shinazugawa didn't respond, Masachika turned back and called out to him.
Sanemi was staring at the road behind them, his brows knitted tightly.
"What is it, Sanemi?"
"I keep feeling like someone's following us," he said in a low voice.
Masachika looked down the road Sanemi had been watching. "Probably just your imagination. Besides, when we came from the town, it was still broad daylight. It couldn't have been a demon. This estate, though... there's definitely something wrong with it."
Sanemi gave a grunt of agreement. "Yeah. I can practically smell that demon's stench already."
Before them stood a lavish, exquisitely built estate, though the wood had grown old and weathered with time. Thick scholar trees grew densely all around it, and in the liminal hour between day and night, they made the place look especially grim. Sanemi took the lead and strode toward the house.
"Oi, Masachika. Move it."
"What are these—red spider lilies? Isn't this a bit excessive?" Masachika said in admiration as he stared at the great swath of crimson flowers blooming before the estate's entrance.
"I'd call it skin-crawling," Sanemi replied flatly.
Watching each other's backs, the two of them stepped inside.
The old wooden doors creaked as they opened, then slowly swung shut behind them, sealing out the last thread of light.
Darkness rushed in.
But Demon Slayers were long accustomed to operating in the dark.
A scent hung inside the estate—thick and overpowering, like incense, yet sickly sweet to the point of nausea. To Sanemi, it smelled less like perfume and more like the rot of some decaying carcass.
At that moment, he couldn't help thinking of Hozuki.
That woman also carried a constant fragrance around her, but it was entirely different in nature. There was a bitterness to it, like medicinal herbs, yet it was infinitely easier to tolerate than this.
Sanemi shook his head, trying to drive the cloying odor from his thoughts.
"Oi, Masachika, I said—"
He froze.
"Masachika?"
He looked to where Masachika had been standing at his side.
There was no one there.
"Sanemi?"
Masachika blinked, staring at the spot where Sanemi had vanished.
A man had simply disappeared from right beside him.
He tensed at once.
A demon.
There was a demon inside this estate, and it had deliberately separated them. Was it because the thing didn't think it could win if they stayed together? Masachika thought rapidly, one hand resting on the hilt of his Nichirin Blade, ready to draw at any moment.
"Oi! Where the hell did you go, Sanemi?!"
He shouted as he searched through the estate, all the while keeping his guard up. If the demon intended to strike, this would be the moment.
"Sanemi?"
He kept searching.
The uninhabited mansion was silent and bleak, its rooms wide and empty.
But the farther he went, the more he realized the place was not entirely devoid of furnishings. In one inner chamber stood a mirror stand so conspicuous it seemed almost deliberate, and nearby sat an ornate display cabinet made of purple sandalwood. The sickly sweetness in the air only grew heavier.
"Sanemi, where are you?"
Yet even after combing through the entire estate, he found nothing unusual.
No sign of Sanemi. No trace of the missing swordsmen or the lost children either.
Masachika thought back to what the three surviving swordsmen had said before.
There's nothing here.
His palm grew slick with sweat where it gripped the hilt. There was definitely something wrong with this place. He simply hadn't uncovered it yet. The scent in the air kept growing stronger, making his head swim. By the end, he began to wonder if he had ever come here with Sanemi at all—whether he had, in fact, always been alone.
Masachika shook himself violently, then shoved the mansion doors open and took a deep breath.
The winter air swept away much of the oppressive sweetness, and his mind cleared.
He stepped outside and stood where he had first entered the estate, tightening his grip on the sword. If he truly couldn't find anything, then perhaps the best answer was to destroy the whole place from the outside.
It would take effort, but it wasn't impossible.
He adjusted his breathing.
"Wind Breathing—"
His blade came partway free of its sheath.
"Hey, boy. What do you think you're doing there? Barging into someone else's house isn't exactly proper."
An old voice rang out.
An elderly man with snow-white hair stood not far away. Judging by the shape of his clothes, he wasn't frail at all—if anything, he looked powerfully built, and even the way he spoke carried vigor and force.
"Oh? Are you a policeman?"
The old man's gaze fell on Masachika's black uniform and mistook it for official attire.
"Ah... yes, that's right." Masachika scratched his head and decided to make use of the misunderstanding. "I'm investigating matters related to this estate. My apologies if I alarmed you."
"This estate? No one's lived here for ages. What house are you talking about?"
Masachika immediately put on the sincerest expression he could manage. "Would you be willing to tell me the story of the people who used to live here?"
"That, huh..." The old man nodded and sank into memory.
"The mistress of this estate was a woman named Miei. She was very beautiful, but her parents died young, so she inherited a great deal of wealth. Perhaps because she was lonely, she married early, choosing a handsome man as her husband. Not long after giving birth to their daughter, Sasae, the man's true nature showed itself. He abused the mother and child constantly, then sold off Miei's property bit by bit so he could gamble and drink."
At that, the old man let out a sigh.
He saw the anger on Masachika's face and continued, "No need to worry. That man got what he deserved. He drowned in the river. But the good times didn't last. After his death, the villagers pitied the mother and daughter and did what they could to help them through hard times. Unfortunately, Sasae's illness worsened, and in the end she died bedridden. After Sasae died, Miei vanished too, leaving behind only this empty estate."
As he finished, the old man's eyes settled on Masachika.
"From a distance, I saw two rough-looking fellows making a racket on their way here. I got worried and came over to check."
"Is that so?" Masachika's eyes widened. "Where? Where are those two men?"
"I'm talking about you and that vicious-looking brat. Idiot," the old man said coldly. "Still, you don't exactly look dangerous. More like some harmless fool. So I doubt you're a bad sort. Just leave this place. Even if you are a policeman, you can't just walk into other people's homes whenever you feel like it."
With that, the old man slowly turned and left.
Masachika remained where he was, thinking.
The old man had just passed beneath an ancient tree and caught sight of the lights from his own home when he heard the sound of a biwa.
"Hm?"
He turned back.
In the darkness beneath the trees sat a woman holding a biwa in her lap, plucking its strings with a plectrum. Her hair hung over her face, trailing all the way to the ground.
"What are you doing here?" the old man asked.
He narrowed his brows, looking her over. Something about her felt deeply unsettling.
Zheng—
The music stopped.
The woman turned her head.
Behind the curtain of hair was a deathly pale face.
At once, the old man was reminded of an old tale.
There had once been a ragged biwa player whose performances were so exquisite that even the most fastidious guests praised them without reserve. But before every performance, she killed someone. Only after taking a life could she produce that flawless music. Later, she disappeared in the midst of one such murder. Some said she had offended a powerful figure and had been killed, but that the curse of the biwa woman remained in this world.
Zheng!
The biwa sounded again.
"What—?!"
The old man's eyes flew wide open.
A flower of blood blossomed in his chest, staining the earth beneath the woman's seat.
Three chapters left.
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 115)
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 (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
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 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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