Chapter 16: A Demon's Body in Human Lands, the Face Beneath the Oni Mask
The night had swallowed the land whole, a vast, ink-black curtain drawn across the sprawling countryside. A watery moon cast its pale, ethereal glow over the world below.
Following in Kikyo's silent footsteps, Kobe Hikaru entered the village.
This was the first time in the three months since his transmigration that he had truly set foot in a human settlement. To call it a village felt generous; it was little more than a cluster of a few dozen households, their humble structures fashioned from thatched roofs, wooden walls, and packed-earth floors.
'Poor,' was Hikaru's first, detached impression.
But this was to be expected. The Sengoku Period was an age of chaos, a time defined by the ceaselesschurn of war and suffering. To have a roof of any kind to ward off the wind and rain was a blessing in itself, to say nothing of the constant, looming threat of demonic incursions.
The villagers who had gathered near the shrine had already begun to disperse, melting back toward their homes. Yet, they did not retreat inside. Instead, they stood in doorways and peered from behind window shutters, their gazes—a complex mixture of emotions—fixed on the figure trailing their shrine maiden.
Awe. Fear. Curiosity. And… gratitude?
Hikaru could feel the weight of their scrutiny, a hundred unseen eyes tracing his every move. He paid them no mind. Three months of living as a demon had long since hardened him to such stares. Besides, there was no true hostility in their observation, only a deep and simple bewilderment.
After all, what expression was one supposed to wear when faced with a demon… who had just saved them from other demons?
"Do not be afraid," Kikyo's voice suddenly cut through the quiet.
She did not turn back, but her words carried with an effortless clarity that reached every corner of the village.
"He is a guest."
Just those four words. No further explanation, no gentle reassurance—only a simple, unadorned statement of fact.
Yet, the tension that had gripped the villagers seemed to break like a fever. Hikaru noted a few children, who had been cowering behind half-closed doors, now daring to poke their heads out, their wide eyes examining him with unbridled curiosity.
'The miko commands immense respect,' he mused. To have earned such unwavering trust from these people… he could only imagine the effort she must have expended.
Kikyo offered no response, continuing her steady pace.
The two of them walked the path that wound through the village, finally arriving at the stone steps leading up to the shrine. A vermilion torii gate cast a long, stark shadow in the moonlight, while overhead, the massive, sacred tree spread its lush branches and leaves, obscuring nearly half the sky.
This was Hikaru's first time observing the shrine from such a close distance. It wasn't large, but it was immaculate. The stone steps had been swept clean of every stray leaf, and traces of burnt incense still lingered in the stone lanterns flanking the path. Though the vermilion lacquer on the torii gate was mottled and peeling with age, it was clear that it was carefully maintained.
"This is…"
"My home," Kikyo finished for him, her voice soft. "And it is the core of the barrier that protects this village."
She ascended the stone stairs, the white of her kosode and the red of her hakama swaying gently in the night breeze. Hikaru followed. His boots made a faint, rhythmic sound as they met the stone, a sound that was unnervingly clear in the deep silence.
One step. Two. Three.
Twenty-seven steps in all.
At the top was an open platform, which faced the main shrine hall. The hall itself was a modest wooden structure, its roof covered in neat rows of grey tiles. A bronze incense burner stood before it, a few unlit sticks of incense still tucked inside. Wisps of smoke from a previous offering drifted lazily on the air before dissipating into the night.
Hikaru stood on the platform, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings. From this vantage point, he could overlook the entire village. The thatched roofs below shimmered with a faint, silvery light, and here and there, the warm, flickering glow of a lamp could be seen behind a window.
Though impoverished and worn, it was quiet here. It was peaceful. It was a world away from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood that had become his reality for the past three months.
"Sister!"
A small, childish voice shattered the stillness.
Hikaru's head snapped toward the sound. A little girl had just run out from the entrance of the shrine hall. She looked to be about seven or eight years old, her hair tied in twin tails, and she was dressed in simple cotton clothes with straw sandals on her feet. Her face was still pale with a lingering panic; she must have been hiding inside the hall during the demon attack.
"Kaede," Kikyo's voice, usually so composed, softened with a rare warmth. "It's all right now."
The little girl, Kaede, rushed forward and threw her arms around Kikyo's waist, hugging her tightly.
"I was so scared! There were so many scary sounds outside! And so many demons!" she cried, her voice thick with unshed tears.
Kikyo lowered her head, gently patting the child's back. "It's all over."
Kaede looked up, her large eyes brimming. "Really? Are all the demons gone?"
"Yes," Kikyo nodded.
A long sigh of relief escaped Kaede's lips, the terror on her face finally beginning to fade. But in the next second, her gaze drifted past her sister and fell upon the figure standing behind her.
It fell upon Hikaru.
Clad in tattered crimson armor.
Pale, disheveled hair spilling over his shoulders.
And that—
That blood-red oni mask.
"Ahhh!"
Kaede shrieked and stumbled backward, collapsing onto the ground in a heap. She pointed a violently trembling finger at Hikaru.
"Oni… oni, oni—!"
Hikaru stood motionless. 'Well,'he thought with a strange sense of detachment,'this is a perfectly normal reaction.' If he were in her shoes, seeing a figure wearing an oni mask suddenly appear before him, he'd probably be stunned too. Especially for a small child.
"Kaede," Kikyo's voice was calm but firm. "He is not an enemy."
"B-but his face…" Kaede scrambled to hide behind Kikyo, peeking out with only half her head, her eyes locked on Hikaru. Fear warred with a budding curiosity in her gaze.
Kikyo glanced at Hikaru, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. She seemed to want to say something but held her tongue.
Hikaru understood. The oni mask was, admittedly, terrifying. It would unsettle a grown adult, let alone a child.
He looked down at himself. Tattered, blood-stained armor. Pale, long hair as wild as weeds. And this scarlet oni mask… no matter how one looked at it, he was the very picture of a villain.
'...Right. Might as well.' He sighed internally.
He raised a hand, his fingers brushing the edge of the crimson mask. Since his arrival in this world three months ago, he had almost never taken it off. It was partly out of habit, but mostly because there had never been a need. The only beings he ever encountered were either demons or the Exorcists who wanted to kill him; none of them warranted the courtesy of seeing his true face.
also, as an Oni Samurai, this mask was, in a sense, his second face—a layer of armor forged from his own demonic energy, his Yao Qi. It was his protective shell.
But things were different now.
He was standing in a human village.
Standing before a little girl he had frightened to the point of tears.
And standing before the strongest shrine maiden of the Sengoku Period, a woman who had, against all odds, offered him a sliver of trust.
His fingers hooked onto the edge of the mask and applied gentle pressure.
Click.
The crimson oni mask fell away.
Moonlight, pure and unfiltered, spilled onto the face that had been hidden for three long months.
It was the face of a young man. He looked to be no older than seventeen or eighteen, with well-defined features and sharp, clean contours. His skin was so pale it seemed to lack the warmth of a living person, yet this very pallor lent him a certain sickly, ethereal handsomeness. His sclera were as black as night, a stark contrast to his irises, which glowed like two burning, scarlet gemstones in the moonlight. Paired with his long, bone-white hair…
"So handsome…"
Kaede had, at some point, poked her head out from behind Kikyo, her eyes now sparkling with something other than fear.
"Big brother is so handsome!"
Hikaru blinked. '…''Isn't this contrast a little too extreme?' he thought dryly.'One moment she's screaming in terror, the next she's a fangirl? The emotional whiplash of a child is truly something else.'
Kikyo was also looking at him. Her cool, clear eyes held a trace of surprise. Perhaps she had never expected that the face hidden beneath such a monstrous mask would be that of a boy.
"You…" she began, but the words caught in her throat.
What had she been about to ask? Did she want to know who he was before he died? Or why someone so young had become an Oni Samurai? Had he died young…?
In the end, she asked nothing. She simply withdrew her gaze and turned to Kaede.
"It's getting late. You should go home."
"Eh—?" Kaede pouted, a look of clear disappointment on her face. "But I still want to talk to the handsome big brother!"
"Your aunt and uncle will be worried," Kikyo reminded her gently. Though she was her younger sister, Kaede lived with another family in the village.
"...Alright," Kaede replied dejectedly.
She took a few steps, then turned back and waved enthusiastically at Hikaru. "Big brother, can I see you again tomorrow?"
Hikaru glanced at Kikyo, who remained silent.
"...Maybe," he answered vaguely.
"It's a promise then! I'll come find you to play tomorrow!"
Kaede's cheerful voice gradually faded on the night wind as she scampered down the stone steps. Only when her small figure had completely disappeared did silence return to the shrine grounds.
Only Hikaru and Kikyo remained.
Two figures.
One human.
One demon.
Staring at each other under the light of the moon.
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