The rear mountain.
There was an open space on the rear mountain of the Demon Slayer Village, which was one of the training grounds for generations of Demon Slayers.
At this moment, the moonlight was like water, spilling over that clearing.
Tsubaki sat cross-legged on a bluestone, her surroundings filled with faint white Barrier patterns, and three paper shikigami stood quietly around her, forming a triangular formation.
She had her eyes closed.
She appeared to be cultivating.
But at this moment, when she should have calmed her mind for meditation, this miko—who was famous enough in the outside world to be mentioned in the same breath as Kikyo—had exceptionally chaotic thoughts in her mind.
During these three days and nights, she had been constantly reminiscing and thinking.
She thought of her past,
And she suddenly thought of her childhood.
"Tsubaki, I heard that the cultivation progress of that Kikyo, who comes from the countryside, is quite astonishing."
At that time.
Her master's voice still echoed in her memory to this day.
And her master's appearance.
That was the monk who guarded the Tahoto, which was closely related to the Shikon Jewel.
He was also a Great Master recognized by the Onmyo Bureau in Kyoto at the time.
But despite being her teacher, the old man's heart never belonged to Tsubaki, his disciple.
Instead, it was that other girl, whom they had met only once by the roadside, a chance encounter.
"Both of you started cultivating at seven, yet Kikyo could independently perform exorcisms at ten. What about you?"
"Still practicing basic Barrier techniques."
The look of regret on the old man's face for not being able to take Kikyo as his disciple back then was an impression so deep that Tsubaki could never forget it.
Naturally, Tsubaki was defiant at that time.
On what basis?
On what basis was that woman, who had been called a genius since childhood, better than her in everything?
She was also called a genius.
She worked very hard too.
She practiced until late at night every day, her fingertips rubbed into bloody blisters, her spiritual power exhausted to the point of fainting, yet she never gave up.
But in her master's eyes, there was always only that one name.
Kikyo.
Kikyo.
Kikyo.
"If you could reach half of Kikyo's level, I would be satisfied."
Her master's final words before passing away were like a thorn stuck in Tsubaki's heart, still unplucked to this day.
But Tsubaki originally thought she would never have a real intersection with that miko named Kikyo; she was just a country miko, while her own background was far superior.
Until.
The year she was fourteen.
By a stroke of luck.
She encountered a group of demons besieging a village on the border of Musashi Province, and it was difficult to handle alone.
Then, that figure in white robes and red hakama appeared with her younger sister.
Kikyo.
The two fought side by side.
That was the first time Tsubaki witnessed Kikyo's strength with her own eyes.
One arrow.
Just one arrow.
The group of demons that she had to put forth all her effort just to repel were reduced to ashes under a single arrow from Kikyo.
Not even a scrap remained.
At that moment, Tsubaki finally understood.
Her master wasn't wrong; she perhaps truly couldn't compare to Kikyo.
But—
She was unwilling to accept it.
Both were mikos, both were geniuses; why could Kikyo stand at the top while she could only look up?
From then on, Tsubaki traveled the world, cultivating and slaying demons to accumulate experience.
She wanted to become stronger.
She wanted to surpass Kikyo.
She wanted to prove that her master was wrong.
She wasn't inferior to Kikyo.
...
Tsubaki opened her eyes, the moonlight still bright and clear.
The three shikigami still stood.
But her heart was no longer peaceful—or rather, it had never been peaceful.
"Shikon Jewel..."
She murmured.
That treasure that could cause any power to skyrocket, that object that could arouse the greed of all demons in the world—Tsubaki had heard of it from her teacher long ago.
And before this, she had already seen it.
In the year she was fifteen and met Kikyo, the village they found under demon attack actually had the old village head of the Demon Slayer Village—who has now died at the hands of demons—present inside.
They all knew each other.
At that time, the old village head also mentioned that he was getting old and needed to find the next person who could guard the Shikon Jewel.
Tsubaki considered herself the natural choice.
The Tahoto was originally closely related to the Shikon Jewel anyway.
Even after Kikyo appeared, she still thought so.
However, now.
That Shikon Jewel,
Had fallen into Kikyo's hands.
That old man actually gave the jewel to Kikyo instead of her.
She, Tsubaki, had traveled the world for years, slaying countless demons and spreading her fame far and wide.
And Kikyo?
She spent a huge portion of her time guarding a small village, never leaving her home.
In the end, the one who got the Shikon Jewel wasn't her!
She was even more unwilling, and even more defiant.
Yes,
Tsubaki didn't care whose hands the Shikon Jewel was in; she was simply indignant that she was inferior to Kikyo.
"Tomorrow's ritual duel..."
A cold smile curled at the corners of Tsubaki's mouth:
"I will show everyone who the truly strongest miko is."
She stood up, preparing to return to her lodging to rest.
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