According to the known intelligence, the Eternal Paradise Faith is a very unusual and extremely obscure religious sect.
The exact time of its origin can no longer be verified, but the name "Eternal Paradise" had already been mentioned in rumors during the late Edo period. Therefore, the Demon Slayer Corps believes that it has likely existed for at least a hundred years.
This sect rarely recruits followers and never holds large-scale religious activities.
The only time they come into contact with ordinary people is when their monks occasionally appear in towns and counties, offering psychological counseling and emotional comfort to those who feel defeated by life or lost in despair.
Life, love, wealth—anything that causes suffering or sorrow can be confessed to the monks of the Eternal Paradise Faith.
At worst, according to Fujino Genkuro's words, they merely "guide people toward self-abandonment and preach a decadent philosophy of indulgence." Compared with those massive temples that bully the weak and accumulate vast farmland, this seemed rather insignificant.
However, one detail made it stand out even among the countless strange religions of the era.
It had a peculiar tendency to encourage young women with tragic backgrounds or those who had suffered oppression to participate in its religious activities. Later, many of these women mysteriously disappeared.
At first, the families of these women reported the cases to the local police. Every investigation concluded the same thing: everything was normal, and their disappearance had nothing to do with the Eternal Paradise Faith.
As these incidents accumulated, speculation began to spread. Some believed the sect was secretly trafficking these women elsewhere and sharing profits with the authorities. Others believed the women were miserable victims whom the sect had secretly rescued, which was why the government chose not to intervene.
Another rumor further deepened the sect's mysterious reputation.
It was said that their prayers were remarkably effective. Those who confessed their suffering could actually hear the deity they prayed to speaking with them. Those favored by divine grace would even experience both physical and mental healing.
And now, the monk standing before Asuka had come here with exactly the same purpose.
Miss Saya of the Fujino family had suffered a miscarriage at the beginning of the year due to her frail health. Since then, she had fallen into deep melancholy, unable to eat or sleep.
Her family had taken her to doctors and prayed to various deities, but nothing improved her condition.
Until late spring, when she happened to meet this novice monk from the Eternal Paradise Faith.
With his help on several occasions, Saya did indeed show noticeable improvement. Her complexion became rosier, and the gloomy tone in her voice seemed to fade.
Yet every time the spiritual healing ended, she would soon return to this state—and each time it seemed even worse than before.
The family had waited with great anticipation for the monk's return, only for the meeting to be interrupted by Asuka.
"Excuse me, but let me see her," Shinobu Kocho said immediately after hearing the homeowner's explanation. Her expression darkened as she reached for Saya's wrist.
Her husband stepped forward to stop her, but Asuka's killing gaze forced him to retreat. He could only watch nervously as Shinobu gently grasped Saya's cold, pale wrist.
The moment she touched it, Shinobu's brows knitted together.
"Her body… it probably wasn't this bad before, was it?"
"...What do you mean?"
"From what you described, she must have been mentally exhausted before. Looking haggard would be normal. But her body wouldn't be this cold. This isn't illness. She's been eroded."
"Ah!!!"
The elderly hostess stood up in shock, trembling as she checked her daughter-in-law's body.
"T-That can't be! Eroded by what? A monster?"
"Worse than that. A demon," Shinobu said firmly. She pointed to Saya's lifeless eyes. "Even now, she remains this dull to the outside world. Her vitality has most likely already been eroded by a Blood Demon Art."
She glanced at the ice Buddha placed before the monk and began piecing things together.
"My guess is that this demon uses its Blood Demon Art to stimulate the human nervous system and internal organs, creating a sensation similar to a dying person's final burst of vitality. That way it can prove its 'salvation.'"
"In the short term, the feeling of sudden recovery after long illness is wonderful. But once the stimulation from the Blood Demon Art disappears, the body's consumption doubles. It can even cause severe side effects."
"Were you just about to use that ice Buddha to 'treat' her?"
The old woman and the man exchanged confused looks. They had no idea how to respond to all this talk about demons and Blood Demon Arts.
Instead, the child spoke first.
"Yes! The master said he would cure Mother today and take her to meet the sect leader!"
Asuka's eyes sharpened. He turned back to the monk at his feet and rotated the hilt of his sword.
"Sect leader? Where?"
The monk, pressed by Asuka's questioning, looked miserable. He tried desperately not to look at the blade resting against his finger.
"L-Let's talk calmly! Let's talk calmly!"
At that moment, Kanao entered the room while escorting Fujino Genkuro, whose mouth had been gagged.
Seeing Asuka and Shinobu already pointing blades at his family members, Fujino was instantly enraged. With a sudden burst of strength, he broke free from Kanao's restraint and stumbled toward the old woman.
"...Pah! Aunt! Are you alright?!"
He tore the cloth from his mouth and anxiously looked over his family.
Just as he was about to lash out, he suddenly noticed that Shinobu appeared to be treating his cousin's wife, carefully checking her body temperature with concern.
On the other side, Asuka had only pressed his sword against the monk's hand without actually harming anyone in his family.
After a brief moment of confusion, Fujino quickly understood something.
"Everyone! Who exactly are you? Why did you disguise yourselves and follow me home?"
Fujino Genkuro spoke as politely as he could while remaining extremely cautious.
Meanwhile, Asuka lifted the monk up by the collar and used the tip of his sword to flip up the ice Buddha that radiated the aura of a Blood Demon Art.
The monk rubbed his fingers nervously, pleading repeatedly.
"The sect leader is... is..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the ice Buddha suddenly emitted an unsettling fluctuation.
The once motionless statue of ice began to move, producing a series of cracking sounds.
Looking closer, the corner of the Buddha's mouth had split open into a grotesque smile.
Bang!
Several ice spikes burst outward from the statue as it shattered, shooting toward the monk's throat!
Asuka reacted instantly. He yanked the monk behind him and swung Nugata, cutting down most of the incoming spikes!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After a series of violent impacts, cracks spread across the ice Buddha like a spiderweb, as if it would collapse completely at any moment.
The attack had been swift and deadly. The dense demonic aura within it made Asuka's brows furrow.
Upper Rank?
He also noticed something else.
Although he had shattered the ice spikes, they had not lost their power.
Instead, the fragments of ice crystal floated eerily in the air, even trying to slip into his lungs along with his breathing.
"Third Form: Rolling Storm!"
This was originally a variation of the Breath of Wind that Asuka had improved and made his own.
With himself as the center, sword energy burst outward. The blade swept low across the ground, releasing a wide gale of cutting wind.
Crack!
The floating ice crystals were swept away, completely shattered by Asuka's slicing wind.
But the monk behind him was not so fortunate.
Overwhelmed by panic and breathing heavily, he had already inhaled a large amount of air mixed with the tiny ice shards. His face had turned ghastly pale.
He collapsed to his knees, vomiting blood in large gulps, unable to form a complete sentence.
It seemed that his alveoli had silently ruptured.
What a terrifying method.
After unleashing that brief assault, the ice Buddha finally shattered entirely, dissolving into dark, melted water that seeped into the ground.
Asuka frowned.
He had seen something like this before.
One of the Lower Rank Twelve Kizuki had once been able to create puppet demons from its own shadow. This ice Buddha appeared to operate on a similar principle.
The Eternal Paradise Faith.
It seemed this sect was far from simple.