The morning mist had yet to clear when the swordsmith wearing a hyottoko mask arrived at Momoyama.
"Hotaru Haganezuka, reporting successful completion of my task! I have brought Lady Sui's Nichirin Blade, and I have also returned the famed sword entrusted to me!"
With two long wooden cases strapped to his back, the man knocked on the gate of Jigoro's little courtyard.
"Please, come in!" Sui was already dressed and waiting for this moment.
"What a striking sight, Lady Sui."
Even Haganezuka, a man who had been single for more than thirty years and indifferent to beauty, could not help but sigh in admiration when he saw her.
Sui's Demon Slayer uniform was made in the form of a skirted outfit. The upper half was neat and impeccable, while the lower half was a long skirt reaching all the way to her ankles. The specially tailored dark-blue garment had been cut in the style of hakama, using older tailoring methods to draw in the waist and make her figure appear even more slender and elegant.
Even though the girl still kept her eyes closed, the fragile softness about her had faded. In its place was a sharp, killing air.
Inside the tatami room, Haganezuka set the two sword cases down before Sui. As the lid of one case slid open, a chill seemed to seep into the room itself.
Sui lifted out the Nichirin Blade. It felt heavy in her hand. The guard had been designed in the likeness of the cursed blade, shaped like eight serpent heads biting together to form a lotus. The scabbard was made of red sandalwood, fragrant with a faint woody scent. The whole weapon was almost a perfect recreation of the cursed sword, only lacking the prayer beads and the aged feeling of antiquity. The craftsmanship was intricate, even archaic, and it was obvious that some of its components had been made by master artisans.
Haganezuka and Jigoro sat to one side.
"Mr. Jigoro, what color do you think Lady Sui's blade will turn?" Haganezuka asked.
"Gold, of course!" Jigoro answered without hesitation. "She's the most gifted Thunder Breathing swordsman I've ever seen!"
A clear metallic hum rang out.
Sui drew the blade. Along its length were engraved the words:
Destroy Evil Demons.
"Oh! It's happening, it's happening!" Haganezuka muttered excitedly. The man was plainly thrilled.
Sui felt a warmth like sunlight radiating from the sword. When she gripped the hilt, it was as though she had plunged her hand into a hot spring.
Then the bright silver blade began to change color.
A mottled crimson spread across it, until the entire sword was covered.
It looked like congealed blood.
"R-Red!" Haganezuka cried in shock.
More astonished than he was, however, was Jigoro, who stared blankly at Sui's sword.
"How could it be red?"
"Even the hamon's been swallowed up," Haganezuka said.
And indeed, just as he said, the blade's original forging pattern—normally a wave-like line—had been completely erased beneath that dark red color.
Sui examined the blade, her own brows and lashes reflected faintly upon it.
It was like gazing into a pool of blood.
She sheathed it again and brushed her fingers over the lotus-shaped guard of eight serpent heads.
"I like it very much. Mr. Haganezuka, you have my deepest thanks."
"Does this sword have a name?" Sui asked.
Haganezuka shook his head. "None of the Nichirin Blades have names. Not even the ones specially made for the Hashira."
"Very well." Sui inclined her head and caressed the hilt. "Then I shall call you… Eight Wyrms."
The brass serpent heads reflected a cold glint of light, as though acknowledging the name.
"Normally, a red Nichirin Blade ought to suit a swordsman who practices Flame Breathing," Jigoro said. "But this isn't the sort of passionate red of blazing fire. It's a cold red—like your cursed sword. It carries a similar presence. Haganezuka's skill is exceptional, but clearly not enough to reproduce the cursed aura of that blade."
The old man looked at the girl.
"That cursed sword may have some connection to you, Sui. The aura reflected by your Nichirin Blade is very much like that of the cursed sword."
Meanwhile, Haganezuka slowly unwrapped the cloth around the cursed blade.
"I consulted an old master," he said. "His family inherited swordsmithing techniques from the Sengoku period, and the guard for Nichirin Blade Eight Wyrms was made by him. He said this sword may very well be connected to the legendary Yamata no Orochi."
"But that's only a myth, isn't it?" Jigoro stroked his beard.
"Perhaps there really was once a gigantic demon called Yamata no Orochi," Sui said.
"Impossible. By the time the legends of Yamata no Orochi were being passed down, demons did not yet exist. That is one of the oldest myths, far older than demons themselves." Jigoro shook his head. "But never mind. For now, that's not important."
He looked at Sui and asked, "This sword… will you be taking it with you as well?"
"No," Sui said.
"When I rebuild the shrine, I'll invite it back and enshrine it there."
"Oh? So you plan to rebuild the shrine. On the old site?" Jigoro chuckled.
"No. I probably won't return to Kyoto." Sui smiled faintly. "Miss Chihana, my crow, told me that my jurisdiction is in Osaka."
"Osaka… I've heard it's a city at the forefront of industry. It must be very prosperous." Jigoro picked up the cursed blade and placed it on the sword rack in the deepest recesses of the loft.
Sui draped her crimson haori over her shoulders, and at once the dark-blue uniform beneath seemed to come alive.
Her Kasugai Crow, Chihana, perched on her fingertip. Sui lifted Eight Wyrms in her left hand, then turned back and smiled at Jigoro.
"I'm off now, old man."
"Big Sis, I'll miss you!" Zenitsu popped his head out—
Only to be shoved back down by Kaigaku, who rasped, "You damned woman—one day I'll defeat you. Until then, don't you dare get eaten by a demon."
Sui smiled and turned to leave, only to be stopped by Jigoro's call.
"Wait, girl!"
The old man walked up to her, holding a dark wooden gift box.
"This is your graduation gift."
He opened it. Inside lay a hairpin, its tip carved into the shape of a peony.
"It's made from peach wood," the old man said. "The best piece of peach wood struck by lightning. Then I had the jeweler carve it. I pointed to you and told him the hairpin was for you. He said he had to use his finest craftsmanship, and had to carve the most gorgeous flower possible, otherwise he'd be too embarrassed to hand it over. He chose a peony. I think he was right. You're the most brilliant girl of them all."
"Girl—"
He got no further, because Sui threw her arms around him in a fierce embrace. Her haori spread out around her like the wings of a fledgling bird returning to its nest.
"I love it. Thank you, Grandpa," Sui said softly.
"Ah… good child, good child."
Jigoro was so happy he nearly burst out laughing, but forced himself to hold it in and simply wrapped his arms around her in return.
Sui let down her hair, then pinned it up again with the peachwood ornament. The tassels hanging from the hairpin swayed gently with her movements, glimmering in the early summer sunlight.
"Senior Brother, will we get gifts too when we finish our training?" Zenitsu asked eagerly.
"Don't act so close with me!" Kaigaku said in disgust, shoving Zenitsu's face away. "Master only values talent. If we can't reach that woman's level, how could we possibly have the face to accept a gift?"
He looked out at the woman standing beyond the doorway, battle-fire blazing in his eyes.
"I'll catch up to you!"
Kasugai Crow Chihana took flight from Sui's fingertip.
Dark violet lightning flickered at the corner of Sui's eye. In the next moment, a torrent of electricity wrapped around her body, tearing through the quiet of Momoyama.
She shot across the forest like an arrow of lightning.
The inheritor of Thunder Breathing had now officially entered the battlefield against demons.
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 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
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