The night was profound at this moment, the sky like a grand, pitch-black curtain draped over the sprawling earth.
Beneath the water-like illumination of the moonlight.
Kōbe Hikaru followed behind Kikyō, stepping into the village.
This was the first time in the three months since his transmigration that he had truly walked into a human settlement.
Though called a village, it consisted of only a few dozen households with thatched roofs, wooden walls, and rammed earth floors.
Poor.
That was Hikaru’s first impression.
But this was normal.
The Sengoku Period was an era of chaos, plagued by war and turmoil where the people lived in destitution.
Having a roof to keep out the wind and rain was already considered fortunate.
Not to mention, this place had to face frequent yōkai invasions.
The villagers along the way had already dispersed from the vicinity of the shrine and returned to their respective homes.
However, they did not go inside.
Instead, they stood by their doors and windows, casting various gazes at the figure following behind the Shrine Maiden.
Awe.
Fear.
Curiosity.
And…
gratitude?
Hikaru could feel those complex gazes landing on him.
He paid them no mind.
Three months of living as a yōkai had long accustomed him to all sorts of stares, especially since these held no hostility, only pure bewilderment.
After all, a yōkai that helped them repel other yōkai…
it truly made it difficult for people to know what expression to wear.
“Do not be afraid.”
Kikyō’s voice rang out from ahead.
She did not turn her head, but her voice spread clearly throughout the entire village.
“He is a guest.”
Just those four words.
No explanation, no soothing words, just a simple statement.
Yet the villagers’ tension visibly eased.
Hikaru noticed a few children who had been hiding behind doors poking their heads out, observing him with curiosity.
“The Shrine Maiden’s prestige is quite high,”
he remarked.
To possess such great prestige and earn the trust of the villagers, one could easily imagine the efforts this Shrine Maiden before him had made.
Kikyō did not reply.
The two followed the village path all the way up, eventually arriving at the bottom of the stone steps leading to the shrine.
The vermilion Torii Gate cast a long shadow under the moonlight, and the massive Sacred Tree was lush with branches and leaves, almost obscuring half the sky.
This was Hikaru’s first time observing this shrine from such a close distance.
It was not large in scale, but it was very clean.
The stone steps were swept spotless, and the stone lanterns on either side still bore the traces of burning incense.
Although the vermilion paint on the Torii Gate was somewhat mottled, it was evident that it had been meticulously maintained.
“So this is…”
“My residence.”
Kikyō finished his sentence, “It is also the core of the Barrier protecting this village.”
She stepped onto the stone stairs, her white robe and red hakama swaying gently in the night breeze.
Hikaru followed.
His tall boots stepped onto the stone stairs, making a faint sound.
That sound was exceptionally clear in the silent night.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Twenty-seven steps.
At the end of the stone steps was an open platform facing the shrine’s main hall.
The main hall was not large, built with a wooden structure and a roof covered in gray tiles.
In front of the hall sat a bronze incense burner, still holding a few unburnt incense sticks.
Smoke curled upward, scattering in the night breeze.
Hikaru stood on the platform, looking around.
From here, he could overlook the entire village.
Those thatched roofs shimmered with a faint silver light under the moon, with an occasional lamp flickering behind a window.
Although poor and destitute, it was very quiet here.
Very peaceful.
Completely different from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood he had grown accustomed to seeing over the past three months.
“Sister!”
A childish voice broke the tranquility.
Hikaru looked toward the sound and saw a little girl running out from the doorway of the main hall.
She looked to be about seven or eight years old, with her hair tied in twin tails, wearing simple cotton clothes and a pair of straw sandals on her feet.
Her face still bore obvious panic; she had likely been hiding in the main hall during the yōkai attack just now.
“Kaede.”
Kikyō’s voice carried a rare softness.
“It is alright now.”
The little girl named Kaede rushed up to Kikyō and threw her arms around her waist.
“I was so scared!
There were so many scary noises outside!
And so many yōkai!”
Her voice carried a crying tone.
Kikyō lowered her head and gently patted her back.
“It has all passed.”
Kaede looked up, gazing at Kikyō with teary eyes.
“Really?
Were the yōkai all chased away?”
“Yes.”
Kikyō nodded.
Only then did Kaede breathe a sigh of relief, the terror on her face gradually fading.
But in the next second, her gaze landed on the figure behind Kikyō.
Kōbe Hikaru.
Clad in tattered Red Gusoku Armor.
Pale, loose hair.
And that—
Red Oni Mask.
“Ah!!!”
Kaede let out a shriek and fell flat on her bottom.
She pointed at Hikaru, her finger trembling violently.
“O-O-Oni—!”
“…”
Well, this reaction was quite normal.
If it were him suddenly seeing a guy wearing an oni mask standing in front of him, he would probably be startled too.
Let alone a child.
“Kaede.”
Kikyō’s voice was calm.
“He is not an enemy.”
“B-But his face…”
Kaede hid behind Kikyō, revealing only half her head, staring unblinkingly at Hikaru.
Her eyes held both fear and curiosity.
Kikyō, however, glanced at Hikaru.
She looked as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
Hikaru understood what she wanted to say.
This oni mask was indeed too frightening.
Let alone a child, even an adult would feel a chill in their heart upon seeing it.
He looked down at himself.
Tattered armor, stained with blood.
Pale long hair, messy as weeds.
Coupled with this scarlet oni mask…
no matter how one looked at it, he seemed like a villain.
“…Never mind.”
Hikaru sighed.
He raised his hand, touching the edge of the Red Oni Mask on his face.
In the three months since his transmigration, he had almost never taken off this mask.
On one hand, it was because he was used to it; on the other hand, it was because there was no need.
After all, everyone he encountered was either a yōkai or a Demon Slayer trying to kill him.
None of them required him to reveal his true face.
Furthermore, as a Ghost Samurai, this mask was, to some extent, his second face—a layer of armor formed by his Demonic Aura, his Ghost Qi.
His ‘protective shell’.
But things were different now.
He was standing in a human village.
Standing in front of a little girl who would be scared to tears by his face.
And standing in front of the Strongest Shrine Maiden of the Sengoku Period, who seemed to have tentatively trusted and accepted him.
His fingers gripped the edge of the mask and pulled gently.
*Click.*
The Red Oni Mask came off.
Moonlight spilled onto the face that had been concealed for three months.
It was a young face.
Looking around seventeen or eighteen years old, with regular features and distinct contours.
Although his skin was so pale it didn’t look like a living person’s, that pallor instead accentuated a sickly handsomeness.
His eyes, with their inverted black and white colors, gleamed faintly in the moonlight, his scarlet pupils like two burning gemstones.
Paired with that head of pale long hair…
“So pretty…”
Kaede had poked her head out from behind Kikyō at some point, her eyes sparkling.
“Big brother is so pretty!”
“…”
Wasn’t this contrast a bit too extreme?
Screaming in terror just a moment ago, and now she was swooning?
The emotional shifts of children were truly unpredictable.
Kikyō was also looking at him.
Those cold, clear eyes seemed to carry a hint of unexpected emotion.
Perhaps she hadn’t expected that hidden beneath this oni mask was the face of a youth.
“You…”
She spoke, but swallowed the words right as they reached her lips.
What had she originally wanted to ask?
Did she want to ask who he was when he was alive?
Did she want to ask why he had become a Ghost Samurai at such a young age?
Did he die young…
But in the end, she asked nothing.
She merely withdrew her gaze and said to Kaede.
“It is getting late.
You should go home.”
“Eh—?”
Kaede pouted in dissatisfaction.
“But I still want to talk to the pretty big brother!”
“Uncle and Aunt will worry.” Although she was her younger sister, Kaede spent most of her time fostered with another family in the village.
“…Alright.”
Kaede replied dejectedly.
But after taking a few steps, she turned back and waved at Hikaru.
“Big brother, will I be able to see you tomorrow?”
Hikaru glanced at Kikyō.
Kikyō said nothing.
“…Probably.”
he answered vaguely.
“Then it’s a promise!
I’ll come find you to play tomorrow!”
Kaede’s voice gradually faded into the night breeze.
It wasn’t until her figure disappeared at the bottom of the stone steps that the shrine became quiet once more.
Only Hikaru and Kikyō remained.
Two people.
One human.
One yōkai.
Gazing at each other under the moonlight.