In the Wisteria Crest House, in an inner upstairs room.
Though it was broad daylight, candles had been lit inside. Amane supported her husband, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, as she helped him into the room.
Seated opposite them was a strikingly beautiful girl.
"Miss Sui," Ubuyashiki said, his voice calm and gentle, "I hope my appearance hasn't frightened you."
Sui shook her head. "I have not relied on my eyes to perceive the world for a very long time, so I do not know what you look like. I only know that you possess a warm and powerful heart."
"What a sweet-tongued child," Amane said with a smile.
"May I ask why you summoned me here?" Sui asked.
"Miss Sui, why not open your eyes and take a look?" Ubuyashiki said.
Sui's thick lashes trembled lightly. The next moment, the whole room seemed to plunge into an icy abyss, a deathly chill rolling in as though from the deepest reaches of the underworld. Amane's palms were already slick with sweat. Even though this was not her first time seeing those eyes, the pressure still weighed down on her like a mountain. These were absolutely not eyes any ordinary human could possess.
Sui opened her Mystic Eyes.
Under that deep blue light, crimson flames burned like torches. Her gaze swept over Ubuyashiki's body, and in the gray-white world of her vision, his entire form was riddled with cracks, wrapped all over in the traces of death.
Sui had never seen a person like this before.
Under the gaze of her Mystic Eyes, Ubuyashiki looked as though he were tightly bound by scarlet lines. At this moment, Sui did not even dare move carelessly, afraid that in this state, if she accidentally touched him, she might trigger his death lines and kill him where he sat.
"What do you see, Miss Sui?" Ubuyashiki asked.
"Death. You could die at any moment."
"I have long been aware of that. But my death will not come now. I have yet to fulfill the duty that is mine." Ubuyashiki said, "Miss Sui, have you ever found yourself curious or puzzled about demons? Why they are born, by what cause they are born, and for what purpose they exist?"
Sui closed her Mystic Eyes again, her lashes lowering as she shook her head.
Jigoro's explanation had been rather rough and incomplete. She wanted to hear what the Master of the Corps knew.
"Because of the first demon—Kibutsuji Muzan."
Ubuyashiki's voice was very soft, but Sui could hear within it an emotion as ծանր and crushing as ten thousand boulders.
Kibutsuji... Muzan.
Sui repeated the name once in her heart. It was this name again.
"All demons come from Kibutsuji Muzan. When Muzan injects his blood into a human body, that human mutates. The degree of mutation differs from person to person. Some die on the spot, while those who overcome it become demons—creatures that cannot be slain by ordinary weapons."
"And some, like the demon with a Blood Demon Art that Miss Sui encountered on Mount Fujikasane, are even harder to deal with. Those demons regain human-like intelligence and possess extraordinarily troublesome supernatural abilities."
"Of them, the twelve strongest demons are specially strengthened by Muzan himself. They possess power far beyond that of ordinary demons, and even Hashira swordsmen find them difficult to kill. Those twelve demons are known as the Twelve Kizuki, divided into the Upper Moons and the Lower Moons. In the history of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Lower Moons have changed hands many times, but the Upper Moons have never once been replaced. Even the strongest Hashira swordsmen have known only crushing defeat before the Upper Moons."
Ubuyashiki spoke calmly, but Sui could hear the helplessness and grief hidden in his tone.
"As for the incident Miss Sui experienced, Lord Shinjuro specifically asked us to investigate it. The fire at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto drew the attention of many powerful people. After all, it was a great shrine, famous throughout the region, that had burned down. We confirmed the state of the shrine... and brought back one piece of good news for Miss Sui."
"There is still one child from the shrine who survived."
Sui's breath caught.
"Who?"
"A girl named Hecao. Comparing the bodies burned in the shrine with the demons Miss Sui killed that night, we were able to confirm that this child is still alive. She, too, was adopted by the shrine's head priestess, Kannazuki Suzune. In terms of status, she should be Miss Sui's younger sister."
"Little Hecao... so she's alive," Sui said softly.
"Miss Sui doesn't seem very happy to hear that?" Amane asked, looking at her with some concern.
"No, it's just... unexpected."
Sui thought back to that night.
The first time she had opened her Mystic Eyes, her mind had been in total chaos. She had almost lost the ability to think, able only to kill the demons lunging at her by instinct alone.
She had not been capable of paying attention to who was alive and who was dead.
Much of what she knew even now came only from fragments of memory recalled through dreams.
"I still do not know exactly what happened at the shrine that night. Perhaps Little Hecao does. If there is any news of her, I would ask that you please tell me."
"Of course," Ubuyashiki said with a nod. "That said, I think Amane may have many things in common with you. Both of you are children of shrine families."
"Lady Amane is the child of a priest?" Sui paused, then let her senses drift toward Amane's position. What answered her was an aura of purity, clean and bright, like someone born and raised within a shrine.
"Yes," Amane said, nodding. "My father serves as a priest at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, though he rarely has dealings with Kyoto. But after hearing of the tragedy at Inari Shrine, many priests were furious and determined to uncover the culprit behind the arson. One friend of my father's even publicly expressed his wish to adopt the poor orphan left behind by the shrine."
"I am deeply honored," Sui said with a bow.
Meiji Shrine could be called one of the highest-ranking shrines in the land, and for Ubuyashiki to have married a woman like Amane, his own background was surely just as formidable. No wonder he could afford to pay the Demon Slayer Corps such astonishingly high salaries.
"If the first demon is destroyed, then will the source of all demons be severed as well?" Sui asked.
"Exactly so. For hundreds upon hundreds of years, the Demon Slayer Corps has sought Kibutsuji Muzan, hoping to kill him once and for all. But sadly, there have been times in history when the Demon Slayer Corps nearly fell to ruin, while Muzan never once did. No records have even been left behind by those who saw him."
"He is an enemy of unimaginable strength. That is precisely why we need power like yours, Miss Sui. Perhaps your eyes are the blade Heaven sent down to punish Kibutsuji Muzan for his sins."
"I will do my best," Sui answered.
This was the weight of living lives.
By becoming a swordsman, she had accepted the burden of protecting fragile human lives from the claws and fangs of demons.
Sui admitted it: aside from finding the one responsible, she had begun to like this work somewhat.
And that was before even mentioning the very generous salary the Demon Slayer Corps offered.
"One more thing," Ubuyashiki said. "Please hold out your hand. Amane will apply your Wisteria Engraving."
Sui obediently held out her hand, though she looked rather puzzled. Amane took her hand in both of hers.
"Miss Sui's hands are so soft and smooth. There's not a trace of the heavy calluses you'd expect from someone who grips a sword all day. How lovely."
A special tool made from wisteria flowers moved across the back of her hand, tracing something into place.
"There. Now try exerting a little strength," Amane said.
Sui did as instructed.
A character emerged on the back of her hand:
Kanoto.
"This is...?"
"The Wisteria Engraving. It displays the rank of a Demon Slayer Corps member. Miss Sui has only just completed the Final Selection, but after all, you killed every demon on Mount Fujikasane, including the grotesque demon and the demon with a Blood Demon Art. That is enough to raise you straight to Kanoto rank."
"And in addition," Ubuyashiki said, "I will have your Nichirin Blade forged to Hashira specifications."
"Because I believe it will not be long before Miss Sui becomes the next Thunder Hashira."
"A Nichirin Blade forged to Hashira standards takes longer to complete. When the time comes, a swordsmith will visit you to ask for the exact details you want in your blade. Miss Sui may make a list of her preferences."
Amane withdrew and knelt politely to the side of Sui.
Then she helped Ubuyashiki to his feet.
"There is nothing more for now, so Yōya and I will take our leave. Miss Sui, perhaps you should return to Mount Momoyama for a visit. Lord Jigoro misses you very much."
When they reached the entrance, Ubuyashiki suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Sui:
"A swordsman of Kanoto rank receives a monthly salary of five hundred yen. And a Hashira... well, a Hashira's wealth would be enough for Miss Sui to rebuild an entire shrine and still have money left over."
"Until next time, Miss Sui."
"Please travel safely, Master," Sui replied.
Join here to read ahead.
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